LEAD: Malaysia accuses Japanese firms of abusing local staff

Asian Economic News, Feb 12, 2001

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb. 9 Kyodo

(EDS: UPDATING WITH COMMENT FROM JAPAN, MAKING CLEAR DEPUTY MINISTER COMPLAINED)

Malaysia has accused Japanese companies in the country of abusing training programs and cheating their local staff, the newspaper Sun reported Friday.

According to the report quoting the official news agency Bernama, Deputy Human Resources Minister Abdul Latiff Ahmad said Japanese firms sent Malaysian workers to Japan on the pretext of training them but instead they ended up working, which means they lose out on workers' facilities and rights.

There are about 1,000 Japanese firms operating in Malaysia and thousands of workers are sent for training in Japan each year.

Bernama said that by labeling them trainees the firms cut costs as they will only have to pay allowances to Malaysians instead of high wages and other perks for full-time workers.

Abdul Latiff reportedly raised the issue with Japan's Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry's Foreign Workers Affairs director Keiko Suehiro during a meeting in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday.

''We voiced our dissatisfaction over such acts. The trainees are not recognized as workers and they are not given benefits similar to those accorded to other workers in the country,'' Abdul Latiff was quoted as saying.

He said the training schemes for Malaysians in Japan usually last between three and six months. But often, the Japanese employer exploits the scheme and a staff would wind up staying in Japan for up to two years.

At present, there are some 600 registered Malaysian workers in Japan and, possibly, 10,000 illegal ones.

In Tokyo, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry promised to look into the Malaysian complaint.