Monday, October 17, 2011

Crackdown on illegal workers

PUTRAJAYA: More than four million people, including three million Rela members, will be mobilised for a massive crackdown on errant bosses and illegals.
Home Ministry secretary-general Tan Sri Mahmood Adam said, however, that those who failed to register under the 6P legalisation programme would still be given time to do so.
He said the crackdown, which would involve 125,000 policemen and 110,000 army personnel, would be led by Immigration officers.
He said the operation would also see cooperation with other departments, including civil defence, Customs, local councils and village safety and welfare committees.
“However, the actual enforcement will only be carried out by agencies empowered under the Immigration, Passport and Anti-Human Trafficking Acts,” he said in a statement yesterday.
“Others can only carry out their enforcement operation with participation from the Immigration Department as the lead agency.”
The Cabinet Committee on Foreign Workers and Illegal Immigrants, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, had last week directed enforcement authorities to act against errant employers with immediate effect.
Muhyiddin had said bosses had been given ample time to register their illegal workers, including an extension of the deadline.
Mahmood said a meeting on Thursday discussed the operation's approach and methods.
“Based on the work procedure proposed by the Home Ministry, both employers and illegals will be given a specific time to come forward,” he said.
Should they do so, they would be exempted from any legal action, he added.
“But at the same time, the employers will be required to send the workers back to their original countries, with the costs to be borne by them,” he said, adding that the deadline for this would be announced soon.
“After that, we will start our enforcement.”

Source : The Star

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