PLS 2143: INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS AND

EMPLOYMENT LAW

Case Assignment

Individual Assignment 15%

Lecturer: Madam Nazirah Binti Abdul Rohman

Name Matric

SARANYA VALLUVAR 4223004371

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Acknowledgement.

I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to everyone who helped me complete

this group project on Industrial Relations and Employment First and foremost, I want to
thank our Madam Nazirah Binti Abdul Rohman for your advice, experience, and unwavering
support throughout the course of this project.
I’d also want to thank Allison Lai the write of the article and TheStar newspaper for
their insightful news article, which served as a cornerstone for my research. Their well-
researched and eloquently written piece provided a crucial foundation for the development of
this assignment.
Finally, I wish to thank my family and friends for their patience and support
throughout the difficult parts of this work. This group was a joint endeavour, and I am
grateful for the collaborative attitude that made it a success.

Sincerely,
Saranya Valluvar

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Table Content:
No Content Page

1 Introduction 4
Summary of the news

Issues discussed in the article

2 Impact of each of the issue to employer or employee or to the 5

government.

Recommendations for action.

3 References 6

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Introduction.
Staying aware of the complicated dynamics of Industrial Relations and Employment
Law, is critical for any organization’s success and longevity in today’s changing business
scene. This project serves two purposes, it provides students with a thorough training ground
for the research and trends and concerns in the fields of Industrial Relations and Employment
Law. The objective in to provide us with the analytical abilities and foresight required to
traverse the complicated environment of employment dynamics and ensure that they can
contribute significantly to organisational success.

Figure 1: The news article used in this assignment from TheStar.

Summary of the news:

Malaysia’s Malaysia Employers Federation (MEF) president, Datuk Dr Syed Hussain
Syed Husman, has urged the government to establish a single ministry to manage all matters
related to foreign worker’s management. The Human Resources Ministry is deemed the right
ministry to manage all human resources issues, including foreign labour. The group believes
that a single ministry would enhance efficiency and improve the management of foreign
workers in Malaysia. The Auditor-General’s Report on the management of foreign workers
the Foreign Workers Integrated Management System (ePPAx) and Foreign Workers
Centralised Management System (FWCMS) highlighted inefficiencies. Syed Hussain urged
the government to collaborate with all source countries on the development and usage of
FWCMS, and to involve stakeholders, particularly employers, in the consultation process. He
also emphasized the importance of processes and facilitate the recruitment of foreign
workers.

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Issues discussed in the article.

 President of Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF), Datuk Dr Syed Hussain Syed

Husman pointed that Human Resources Ministry is the right ministry to manage all
human resources issues, including foreign labour.
 The Foreign Workers Integrated Management System (ePPAx) and Foreign Workers
Centralised Management Systems (FWCMS) systems, which were intended to
enhance the efficiency of managing foreign workers, were not fully utilised.
 Important of developing systems that simplify processes and facilitate the recruitment
of foreign workers.

Impact of each of the issue to employer or employee or to the government.

 Government:
 Low-skilled foreign workers’ distortions to the economy.
The readily available pool of cheaper low-skilled foreign workers distorts domestic
factor prices, and thus discourages industrial upgrading. It makes labour relatively
cheap when compared to capital, and thus weakens incentives for firms to substitute
labour of technology.
 Employer:
 Foreign workers hiring process should be handled.
This makes a cumulative score of higher workforces considering remote working
environment over the legacy practice due to flexibility it offers.
 Employee:
 Foreign workers taking job opportunities away.
Affect employment opportunities and wages of Malaysians because they occupy very
different economic spaces from Malaysians, and therefore do not directly compete
with Malaysians.

Recommendations for action.

 Hiring more low-skilled foreign workers creates demand for domestic workers in
mid-skilled and supervisory professions, it is debatable if this is the best way to
achieve that result. Automation and the use of increasingly advanced technology
generate their own need for more trained people. These roles often pay more and can
be filled by retrained jobless graduates.
 Employers must obtain quota approval from the Ministry of Home Affair before
hiring foreign workers. The quota system ensures that the employment of foreign
workers is balanced and aligned with the country’s economic needs. One of the
solutions to limiting the number of foreign workers in an organization is to ensure that
there are enough jobs for locals.

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References.

Ang Jian Wei, Athreya Murugasu and Chai Yi Wei (March 2018), Low-Skilled Foreign
Workers ‘Distortions to the Economy; Central Bank of Malaysia. Economics Department
0124/826852

Economic Impact of Foreign Workers in Malaysia: An Objective Review, (2019, January 9),
Khazanah Research Institute, https://www.krinstitute.org/Views-@-
Economic_Impact_of_Foreign_Workers_in_Malaysia-;_An_Objective_Review.aspx#:~:text
=Public%20discussion%20on%20this%20issue,of%20large%20negative%20economic
%20impacts.

Consequences of Poor Human Resource Management, (2019, October 22), The Christopher
Group, https://www.tcgco.com/consequences-of-poor-human-resource-management/

Santosh Kadam (2013), WHY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FAILS; INTERNATIONAL

JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT (IJM). Volume 4, Issue 2, pp, 306-309, ISSN 0976-6502
(Print)

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