Suhakam commissioner Mah Weng Kwai also said plantation owners should bear the initial costs incurred by foreign workers in coming to Malaysia to prevent debt bondage.

He said a human resources ministry representative had revealed during a roundtable discussion that they did not have enough labour inspectors to check on forced labour.

He said there were only 400 labour inspectors to monitor plantations.

Mah told a press conference today that all stakeholders at the meeting agreed that forced labour was a problem that needed to be effectively handled.

He said debt bondage, abusive working conditions and excessive overtime were among the main concerns.

“In terms of debt bondage, it takes workers months to pay off the initial expenses that they incur after coming to Malaysia because the recruitment fees are exorbitant.

“It is time to ensure that these fees are borne by employers. If workers have no choice but to pay for it, the fees should be fair and reasonable,” he said.

Mah said abusive working conditions included lack of proper accommodation and sanitation.

He added that excessive overtime should not be encouraged as this could lead to other consequences such as health issues.

On Malaysian exports being restricted over claims of forced labour, Mah said the countries concerned should disclose details of the alleged breaches to help companies learn and improve.

“We need to know the actual grounds or reasons for the ban on consignments. It should not just be a blanket order as this will leave everybody guessing,” he said.

Mah said that there should be no monopoly by labour recruitment agencies in Malaysia, adding that healthy competition would benefit the industry and lead to better services and lower costs.

He also said government-to-government (G2G) labour agreements should be transparent.

Suhakam commissioner Jerald Joseph, who was also at the press conference, said G2G labour agreements should be made public in order for foreign workers and recruitment agencies in their home countries to know what the requirements were to avoid being cheated.

“The opaqueness of the recruitment process may lead to foreign workers being easily abused. It is time to stop such secretive agreements. More transparency will build confidence in labour negotiations,” he said.