India, Malaysia sign bi-lateral labour agreement

New Delhi, Jan 3 (PTI) India Saturday signed a bi-lateral
labour mobility agreement with Malaysia aimed at improving
conditions of existing workers and enhancing their legal aid.

The agreement will benefit around 1.5 million existing
Indian workers who are officially registered in that country.

It also aims to reduce unscrupulous activities of
recruitment agents and provide workers seeking jobs legally a
fair deal as far as working terms and conditions and promises
about compensations are concerned.

"With this agreement, we hope to improve the conditions
of the existing workers and bring them under the prevailing
labour laws and social security net of the country," said
Malaysia's minister for Human Resource S Subramanian.

Describing the agreement as a major milestone, Minister
for Overseas Indian Affairs Vyalar Ravi hoped that the pact
will bring to fore a mechanism to facilitate recruitment and
employment for Indians in Malaysia. "There is scope for
enhancing pre-departure and orientation training for workers
in the agreement. It will also check unscrupulous agents."

A Joint Working Group comprising six members of both
countries will be constituted to review and set the
administrative framework of the agreement in days to come.

The group and a ministerial committee will meet
periodically every year. Negotiations for the pact were made
in the fourth Joint Commission meeting in February last year
in New Delhi.

"We will allow orderly recruitment of workers between
India and Malaysia based on these mutually accepted
principles," Subramanian said, adding "existing labour laws in
Malaysia do not differentiate between Malay and Indian
workers. PTI