KUALA LUMPUR: The employment of foreign workers for the barber, textile and goldsmith sectors, which saw a freeze recently lifted, would be handled on a case-by-case basis.
Human Resources Ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Dr Zaini Ujang said while the government had agreed to allow the intake of 7,500 migrant workers for the industries, employers must submit applications according to their respective needs.
"The overall quota will not be increased. If a company needs three foreign workers, then it would be indicated in the application and would be processed as such.
"Keep in mind that the Human Resources Ministry is the coordinating agency while the implementor is the Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Ministry," he told reporters after the launch of "Tafsir Mawdu'i Sungai" book, which he co-wrote with Professor Datuk Dr Zulkifli Mohd Yusoff.
Zaini said employers with prior issues regarding workers such as levy payments might face issues getting the approval.
He said details were being finalised and would probably be ready by the end of the year.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had previously said conditional approval would be implemented following the lifting, though employers should also look at training local youths in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) so that they could be employed in the sectors as well.
About 3,000 employers in the three sectors were affected by the freeze, with most of them in small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
Foreign workers in the businesses have been on temporary employment passes renewed annually, following the ban.