Lack of foreign workers? Pay better for local ones, Ramasamy says

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GEORGE TOWN – Penang Deputy Chief Minister II P. Ramasamy has rebuked restaurants in Penang requesting the government to relax entry requirements for foreign workers as they were for before the pandemic due to manpower shortages.

The human resource exco said that no government in its right mind will increase foreign workers in the country as damage has already been done by bringing them here.

“The aim is to reduce the number of foreign workers, and employers also need to look at why locals do not want to take up these jobs.

“It is because the job is difficult, menial and requires them to toil for long hours. Local workers will not want to take that salary if they can get more pay and work fewer hours.

“If you want to get local workers, you have to pay them better,” he told The Vibes.

He depicted the current situation as highlighting the woes of a “capitalist workforce”, where they are required to work long hours and stay in cramped living quarters.

He dismissed the reasoning that foreign workers need to be brought in as no locals are taking the jobs, saying it is not a legitimate excuse.

Now that a portion of foreign workers have been repatriated, Ramasamy said the country should make do with those who are still here.

The federal Human Resource Ministry can also make necessary transfers to channel foreign workers to where they are most needed.

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