KUALA LUMPUR (May 17): The Malaysian Trade Union Congress (MTUC) has called on the Government to formulate a special Act to protect Technical Education and Vocational Training (TVET) graduates, especially in terms of gaining employment opportunities.

MTUC president Datuk Abdul Halim Mansor said the law should among other things, require industry players to prioritise the recruitment of TVET graduates over foreign labour.

“This step should be taken to ensure industry players are involved in the development of human capital and providing job opportunities to TVET graduates.

“Currently, we do not have any protection because there is no ratio (for hiring foreign employees). In Singapore, there can only be one foreign worker for every 10 locals hired,” he said when contacted by Bernama here today.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad called on key industry players to actively develop human capital and support the transformation of TVET to help improve the quality of the workforce.

Commenting further, Abdul Halim said most employers in the country looked to ‘invest’ in low-cost foreign labour, as hiring locals would require them to comply with the minimum wage rule which is considered to be burdensome.

“We have to change the attitude of employers to favour nationalism over capitalism, that is being responsible in helping the government develop human capital, especially among TVET graduates,” he added.

Source: Bernama