PUTRAJAYA: Employers are allowed to rehire foreign workers who were retrenched earlier, but Malaysian workers must be given priority to fill job vacancies.
Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan said foreign workers could be re-employed in sectors which have not received encouraging response from local workers.
However, the re-employment of foreign workers is subject to certain conditions.
"Only foreign workers who are still in Malaysia, with valid work permits can be re-employed, in the same sector that they had worked previously," Saravanan said in a statement today.
Employers should also ensure that the foreign workers who they wish to rehire have undergone Covid-19 screening, he said.
"Employers can access the MYEG website at www.myeg.com.my to view the list of foreign workers that have been tested for Covid-19," he said.
He also reiterated figures of retrenched workers in the same statement.
He said as of July this year, the Human Resource Ministry revealed that 67,068 local workers and 4,753 foreign workers have been laid off.
On June 22, Saravanan announced the ministry's decision to freeze foreign workers' intake until the end of this year to increase employment opportunities for locals.
However, several private employment agencies responded to that announcement by urging the ministry to review the decision.