New Delhi, Jan 03: India on Saturday signed a bi-lateral
labour mobility agreement with Malaysia aimed at improving the
recruitment, employment conditions of workers and promote
legal migration.
With the agreement, both countries hope to reduce the
activities of unscrupulous recruitment agents and provide
workers a fair deal as far as working terms and conditions and
promises about compensations are concerned.
Currently there are officially 1.5 million Indian workers
in Malaysia.
"With this agreement, we hope to improve the conditions
of the existing workers and bring them under the prevailing
labour laws and social security net of the country," said
Malaysia's minister for Human Resource S Subramanian.
Describing the agreement as a major milestone, Minister
for Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA) Vyalar Ravi hoped that the
agreement will bring to fore a mechanism to facilitate
recruitment and employment for Indians in Malaysia.
"There is scope for enhancing pre-departure and
orientation training for workers also in the agreement. The
agreement will also check unscrupulous agents," said Ravi.
A Joint Working Group consisting of six members from both
countries will also be constituted to review and set the
administrative framework of the agreement in days to come.
The Joint Working Group and a ministerial committee will
meet periodically every year.
Negotiations for the agreement were pursued by both the
countries and were finalised during the fourth Joint
Commission meeting during February last year at New Delhi.
"We will allow orderly recruitment of workers between
India and Malaysia based on these mutually-accepted
principles," Subramanian said, adding that the existing labour
laws in Malaysia does not differentiate between Malaysian and
Indian workers.
Bureau Report
First Published: Saturday, January 03, 2009, 00:00