The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has released a report assessing the ‘causes and contributing factors to migrant workers becoming undocumented in Malaysia’. The report focuses on the manufacturing sector employing workers from Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Nepal. It analyses in-depth interview data of 40 undocumented migrant workers and ten key stakeholders, along with data from two focus group sessions. The data was collected from March to August 2022.

The report found all 40 interviewed workers arrived in Malaysia through regular pathways before becoming undocumented, and most migrant workers became undocumented due to labour exploitation and unethical recruitment practices which forced them to leave their job.

The study found:

• A lack of oversight and regulation of the recruitment industry and failure to apply the employer pays principle drives migrant workers into debt, which forces workers to remain in Malaysia even if they become undocumented. For example, study participants paid up to USD 5,000 in recruitment fees and migration-related costs, largely financed through borrowing.
• Female migrants from South Asian countries faced additional barriers to regular migration channels due to a lack of safe migration options and stigma against women migrant workers in origin countries.
• Participants commonly reported recruitment agencies made false promises on their terms and conditions of employment. Five participants were asked to sign a contract a few hours before leaving, and four participants said they were only verbally promised a job.
• The waiting time to obtain a work permit following arrival was three months, with some migrant workers waiting longer. The cost of maintaining regular status was extortionate due to high renewal fees.
• All workers experienced labour rights violations. Rights infringements particularly related to wage and renumeration issues, which were often tied to concerns over the payment of debts. For example, some workers experienced underpayment and non-payment of wages. Workers also experienced poor working and living conditions, including a high risk of injury and illegal working conditions.
• Workers were incentivised to leave the workplace due to the cost of healthcare, particularly for those working in hazardous conditions.
• All study participants had their passports withheld by either their employer or recruitment agency.
• 36 of the study participants said they had no ways to report abuse or seek help. They felt reporting to authorities would put them in danger of detention. The report notes a clear link between a low confidence in the justice system and undocumented migration.
• Participants highlighted a lack of knowledge on regularisation programmes and the high cost of the application process.
• All workers stated their situation worsened after they became undocumented and indicated they would like to be legally employed.

Study participants ranked the top three priorities of migration policy reform to be:

1. Flexibility to change employers across different sectors.
2. Standardised laws to monitor migrant workers’ recruitment process and legal status throughout their migration journey.
3. Improved systems to maintain a fixed and transparent wage schedule.

Stakeholders interviewed in the study suggested the primary action to improve the protection of migrant worker rights should be to:

• Streamline the recruitment process.
• Legislate and ensure effective implementation and enforcement of protections.
• Effectively monitor unscrupulous recruitment agencies and employers.
• Make pre-departure and post-arrival orientations mandatory for all workers.