Businesses and employers complained of the pinching of foreign workers by companies offering higher pay which has resulted in job hopping as the chronic shortage of foreign labor hampers the economic recovery.
The Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry said many members, especially those in the manufacturing and plantation sectors, complained of foreign workers being lured away by higher wages.
They say it has resulted in many foreign workers having switched companies, although this is against the law.
Industry players say although businesses have embarked on automation and technology, the process will take time and, meanwhile, without workers, their output and exports reduces, affecting Malaysia as a leading exporting nation in the world.
The Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) said that despite Malaysia’s 4.2 percent unemployment rate with more than 690,000 locals out of a job and the youth unemployment rate at 11 percent, employers in the plantation, construction and manufacturing sectors faced extreme difficulties in finding the required manpower.
MEF suggests that to secure the future, there is a need to find new ways to manage talent by shifting the focus to quality job creation and assisting workers to equip themselves through upskilling and reskilling.
-HR HUB
