Chinese carmaker Geely will be monitored to ensure that locals are prioritised, following its takeover of Proton last year, said Human Resources Minister M. Kulasegaran (pic).
"As for Proton, we will carry out comprehensive investigations if there are grounds to do so," he said when replying a question by Abdullah Sani Abdul Hamid (PH-Kapar) in Dewan Rakyat on Tuesday (July 24).
Abdullah Sani asked if the Government would ensure that Zhejiang Geely Holdings Group would not neglect local workers, after acquiring a 49.9% stake in Proton last September.
Kulasegaran said that employers are bound by regulations on the hiring of foreign labour.
He noted that under Section 60(m) of the Employment Act, employers who wish to downsize their operations are not allowed to lay off local workers, at the expense of their foreign counterparts.
Abdullah Sani also lamented that the Labour Department had only 400 labour inspectors to check on employers to ensure they abided regulations on the hiring of foreign workers.
In response to this, Kulasegaran admitted that there was a shortage of labour inspectors.
"There are currently only 350 labour inspectors.
"We have applied to the Ministry of Finance to increase their numbers," he said.
He also noted that labour inspectors had to rely on archaic vehicles when on their rounds, posing a risk to their safety.
Earlier, Kulasegaran informed the House that there were 1,781,598 registered foreign workers employed in five sectors, as of March 31 this year.
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