KUALA LUMPUR: The levy companies pay for foreign workers will soon depend on the number of workers they hire.

The government is proposing a multi-tier levy – with companies having to pay more for each worker if they hire more – which is likely to be implemented by the end of this year, or next year.

“Our target is to table this proposal to the Cabinet this year,” said Human Resources Minister Steven Sim.

The government, he said, had set a target of 2.4 million migrant workers in the country by next year, adding that current number was very high.

Based on Home Ministry records, there are about 2.12 million foreign workers in Malaysia as of Feb 15 this year.

The government had previously decided that foreign workers cannot exceed 15% of the total workforce by 2025, he told the Concorde Club meeting yesterday.

Sim said initial engagement with the relevant stakeholders and industries had just begun to gather feedback to work out the formula.

“The multi-tier levy system is to incentivise companies to reduce their dependence on migrant workers and encourage them to hire and train locals,” he added.

Revenue from the multi-tier levy would be channelled to upskill local workers, particularly from small and medium enterprises (SMEs), he said.

Meanwhile, Sim said a special unit would be set up under the Labour Department to handle complaints and grouses from migrant workers.

“Many of them may not dare to come forward. A local worker who lodges a complaint against an employer can still go back to his home but a foreign worker who does so will probably get locked out of his hostel,” he said.

Sim said the setting up of the special unit should not be seen as providing preferential treatment to migrant workers but as a more humane approach of dealing with their complaints.

The idea was mooted by non-governmental organisations dealing with migrant workers just before Labour Day celebrations on May 1, he said, adding that he had asked the Labour Department to draw up plans for the unit.

However, he said no time frame had been given for the setting up of the unit.

On Dec 25 last year, 171 Bangladeshi workers walked to the Bayu Damai police station to lodge a report against their agent in Kota Tinggi, Johor. They were all arrested.

The following day, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said claimed in a social media post that 2,500 Bangladeshi migrants workers in her Pengerang constituency had also been duped by their agents.

On a separate matter, Sim said the ministry had allocated RM50mil to set up a fund under a special programme to get more companies to offer internships.

“We are targeting between 30,000 and 50,000 participants to undergo internship under the Ilham Kesuma programme,” he said.

The programme would be managed by Talent Corporation Malaysia Bhd (TalentCorp), he added.

He said companies taking part in the programme would be eligible for double tax deductions including using up to 50% of the HRDF Corporation levy for the purpose.

Based on feedback, Sim said that up to 40% of interns take up employment with companies where they had done their internship.

The Concorde Club is an informal group of editors and senior journalists meeting with politicians and key policy makers.

Previous guests of the Concorde Club, led by Star Media Group adviser and Bernama chairman Datuk Seri Wong Chun Wai, included Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow, Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan, Anthony Loke and Nurul Izzah Anwar.

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2024/05/10/multi-tier-levy-plan-for-migrants