KLANG: Effective Aug 1, contractors and companies supplying workers to plantations must register with the Manpower Department, said Human Resources Minister Datuk Dr S Subramaniam (pictured right) yesterday.

He said failure to do so will lead to legal action.

The ruling is to ensure the contractors and companies adhere to rules and regulations pertaining to the workers especially in regard to their welfare.

“My ministry views this seriously in regard to problems faced by workers who are employed by plantations both through contractors or sub-contractors,” Dr Subramaniam said when officiating at the 2008 Workers Day organised by the National Union of Plantation Workers (NUPW).

The ruling to register comes in light of some contractors exploiting workers to the point of making them forced labourers.

Dr Subramaniam said a study by the Manpower Department of 1,408 plantations recently revealed that 15,201 workers were contractored by 1,066 contractors and nine companies supplying workers.

The Manpower Department has been directed to do a compre-hensive examination of all contractors, sub-contractors and companies supplying workers to ensure they adhere to regulations regarding their workers, he said.

He said his ministry always paid attention to the welfare of plantation workers especially on housing, basic amenities and employment terms.

Dr Subramaniam said based on a Manpower Department study there were 49,565 workers’ houses of which 41,207 were built according to the Workers Minimum Standards of Housing and Amenities Act 1990 while the rest were ‘sub-standard’ and needed improvement.

On electricity and water supply, he said the department found that 33,500 workers’ houses were supplied by public enterprises while the rest were supplied by sources maintained by their employers.

He said the department found that a large portion of plantations were supplied electricity at commercial rates and that was not fair to the workers.

Dr Subramaniam said to overcome the problem the Manpower Department met with TNB and the plantations and that TNB agreed to provide electricity to the houses via individual meters. On water supply, the department was asked to talk to the relevant agencies to ensure water supplied was clean.

He said his ministry was also actively promoting a scheme whereby workers could eventually buy the houses they lived in.

–Bernama