MALAYSIA:::Citing study, ministry denies US claims of child labour in palm oil sector

The oil palm industry is a major component of the agriculture sector and a major export revenue earner. The Plantation Industries and Commodities Ministry today denies an American report claiming that the sector employed children. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, December 3, 2014.

There is no child or forced labour in Malaysia's palm oil sector, Putrajaya said, in response to a US Department of Labour list that cites the country's billion-ringgit industry for employing children.

The Plantation Industries and Commodities Ministry said a six-month survey completed in June this year on 68 plantations and smallholdings in several states found that there was no forced or child labour in the sector.

The survey was conducted in Selangor, Perak, Johor, Pahang, Sabah and Sarawak and covered 1,632 workers.

"In the case of Sabah, the study shows children of foreign workers accompanying their parents to the work area due to lack of supervision at home and assisting in simple tasks such as loose fruit collection.

ILO:::Forced labour generates $150m yearly

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has stated that forced labour generates $150 billion profits every year.

Speaking on the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, the ILO stressed the need for leaders and people across the world to join forces to end slavery in the 21st century.

MALAYSIA:::Kementerian nafi dakwaan AS buruh kanak-kanak dalam sektor kelapa sawit.

Kementerian Perusahaan Perladangan dan Komoditi nafi dakwaan Amerika Syarikat berhubung kewujudan buruh paksa dan kanak-kanak digunakan dalam sektor perladangan kelapa sawit negara.

Tidak ada kanak-kanak atau buruh paksa dalam sektor perladangan kelapa sawit Malaysia, kata Putrajaya, mengulas senarai yang dikeluarkan Jabatan Buruh Amerika Syarikat (AS) memetik industri berbilion ringgit negara itu menggunakan tenaga kerja kanak-kanak.

Kementerian Perusahaan Perladangan dan Komoditi berkata, kaji selidik 6 bulan yang siap Jun tahun ini membabitkan 68 ladang dan syarikat kecil di beberapa negeri mendapati, tidak ada buruh paksa atau kanak-kanak dalam sektor itu.

MALAYSIA:::Akta MAS beri kekebalan kepada MAS, nafi hak pekerja, kata Nufam

Kesatuan Kebangsaan Anak-anak Kapal Kabin Malaysia berkata Akta MAS yang diluluskan di Parlimen minggu lalu menghalang MAS dari diambil tindakan undang-undang oleh pekerja.

Rang Undang-Undang Malaysian Airline System Berhad (Pentadbiran) 2014 yang diluluskan Dewan Rakyat minggu lalu didakwa memberi kekebalan mutlak kepada MAS dalam hal ehwal pekerja, lapor Sinar Harian hari ini.

Setiausaha Agung Kesatuan Kebangsaan Anak-anak Kapal Kabin Malaysia (Nufam), Mohd Akram Osman berkata, ia menghapuskan sama sekali hak pekerja membuat sebarang tuntutan atau mengambil tindakan undang-undang terhadap MAS.

MALAYSIA:::Kids helping parents not child labour, union says of Malaysia’s palm oil sector

Independent smallholders will use all available help, including family members, in running an oil palm plantation. 

Claims of child labour in the local palm oil sector must be backed by more evidence, said the National Union of Plantation Workers (NUPW), referring to a list of goods produced by child and forced labour issued by the US Department of Labour which cited Malaysia.

NUPW executive secretary A. Navamukundan said the children who "worked" in the palm oil sector were likely those in oil palm smallholdings run by families, where they helped out in their free time.

This did not necessarily denote child labour, he said, responding to the list issued on December 1 by the department's Bureau of International Labour Affairs (ILAB).

ILO :On Day to Abolish Slavery, UN urges end to modern-day scourge trapping 21 million

Children engaged in stone and sand collection in Jaflong, Sylhet (Bangladesh). UN/Regina Merkova

2 December 2014 – Today, 21 million women, men and children worldwide are trapped in slavery, denied the right to live and ultimately work in freedom, dignity and equality, the United Nations International Labour Organization (ILO) has spotlighted on this International Day for the Abolition of Slavery.

In his message on the Day, marked annually on 2 December, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called on world leaders, businesses and civil society alike to “banish the barbaric practices” of human trafficking, sexual exploitation, the worst forms of child labour, forced marriage and the forced recruitment of children for use in armed conflict.

We need to improve the lack of access to education and skills for people who live in poverty and suffer discrimination. We must fight the oppression of workers who seek to join trade unions. And we must ensure stronger law enforcement to stop human trafficking once and for all.

“Each day, women are trafficked, sold and locked in brothels. Every day, young girls are forcibly married, sexually abused or exploited as domestic workers,” Mr. Ban explained.

MALAYSIA:::DON'T ANYHOW INVEST OUR MONEY! EPF must involve workers in investment decisions - MTUC

KUALA LUMPUR - The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) should give priority to workers' views when making investment decisions, the Malaysian Trades Union Congress vice-president J. Solomon said today.

He said this was essential as the EPF was meant to be an "old age" fund to sustain the workers when they retired.

"It's therefore of utmost importance that the workers are involved in such investment decisions since this would affect their future," he told Bernama.

He claimed that some companies known to be anti-workers and for other worker-related violations were beneficiaries of the fund's investments.