Do collective bargaining agreements apply to migrant workers?
Our policies is that even if a migrant workers has signed an individual contract, wherever there is a union and a collective agreement, the latter applies to everyone, including migrants. We are managing to implement this MTUC policy but it has become increasingly difficult since the government introduced a system of supplying labour, two years ago, and issued around 270 licences for what it calls outsourcing companies. We call them labour traffickers, who extract money from migrants and employers. These outsourcers do not operate in any particular sector, but they are the migrant workers’ official employer; they are not employed by the company where they work. The problem here is knowing what union to join, as Malaysian unions are organised along sectoral lines. Outsourcing also means that the collective agreement signed with the company does not apply to these migrants, even though they work there. What specific actions are you taking to assist domestic workers? One of our key demand
