Study Says Forced Labor Pervasive in Malaysian Electronics Industry
A recently released, Department of Labor-funded study railed against worker rights and labor conditions in the Malaysian electronics sector. Migrant workers in the country are exploited through high recruitment fees and a complex recruitment process, insufficient legal protections and deception…
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about “eventual working conditions,” said the study, conducted by Verité, a labor consultant firm. “The conditions faced by foreign electronics workers in Malaysia have the potential to result in forced labor,” it said. The study was based on the International Labor Organization’s survey guidelines, and Verité chose to define forced labor “narrowly,” it said. “Forced labor was found in the study sample in significant numbers across all major producing regions, electronics products, foreign worker nationalities, and among both female and male workers,” said the study. “These results suggest that forced labor is present in the Malaysian electronics industry in more than isolated incidents, and can indeed be characterized as widespread.” Among other concerning findings, Verité said more than 90 percent of foreign workers have their passports held by their broker or agent, and more than two-thirds of the sample said it was impossible or difficult to get their passports back.