EFFORTS to eradicate forced labour in the country will be comprehensively increased through the amendment of the Labour Act 1955 (Amendment 2022) that came into force on January 1, said Human Resources Minister V. Sivakumar. 

In a statement today, he said the addition of Section 90B provided for penalties against employers who committed forced labour offences under the Act. 

He said this was among the measures taken to resolve issues related to forced labour as well as those stated by the US Department of State in its Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report for 2023 released yesterday. 

Sivakumar said Malaysia welcomed the report, which placed the country on the Tier 2 watchlist for 2023, an improvement after two consecutive years of being at Tier 3. 

He said the role of the Labour Department would be strengthened through the increased capacity of labour inspectors to ensure that more prosecutions were initiated against employers who committed forced labour offences.  

Sivakumar said cooperation with the US would be strengthened through the establishment of a joint working group to improve the country’s image and through the removal of restrictions on local products, namely Withhold Release Orders by the US Customs and Border Protection Department. 

He said the government was also cooperating with representatives of trade unions, employers’ federations, and industries to implement the National Action Plan on Forced Labour 2021-2025. 

This, he said, was in line with the commitment of the country – which ratified the 2014 Protocol to the Forced Labour Convention 1930 (P29) – to improve the management of foreign workers, including establishing strategic cooperation with source countries. – Bernama, June 16, 2023.