Construction Labor & Safety Weekly (May 19–25, 2025)
Fresh Access, Safer Sites: Dhaka Deal Restarts Recruitment as Malaysia Doubles Down on Worker Welfare
Top Labour Story — Third Joint Working Group Clears the Runway for Bangladeshi Manpower
The Malaysia-Bangladesh Joint Working Group (JWG) wrapped up in Dhaka on 22 May, producing a draft declaration to resume worker inflows “within weeks.” Malaysia signalled interest in recruiting about 1.2 million workers over six years, beginning with the 7,964 already stranded after last year’s suspension. Key points: digital contract verification, an expanded (but audited) agency list, and multiple-entry visas to stem trafficking. HR teams should validate agency agreements now and watch the Immigration FWe portal for new compliance fields.
Top Safety Story — MBAM 21st Conference Heralds “Safety-by-Design” Era
Launching the 21st MBAM Annual Safety & Health Conference on 22 May, DOSH Director-General Mohd Hatta Zakaria urged the industry to embed safety at concept stage, noting that 37 % of 2024 site deaths were falls from height. The conference theme, “Empowering CDM: Safety by Design, Sustainability by Vision,” champions early-stage risk elimination, safer material choices and robust safety files under the 2024 CDM Regulations. More than 350 stakeholders attended, signalling broad acceptance that design teams—not just site crews—own safety outcomes.
Field Reports
Labour Nuggets
Amnesty 2.0 Begins (19 May) — Immigration’s Migrant Repatriation Programme 2.0 offers undocumented workers a RM 500 exit compound (vs RM 10 000 fine and jail) until April 2026. Telugu and Bangladeshi NGOs are blitzing work camps to spread the word. Contractors should post the notice in multiple languages to avert sudden raid disruptions.
RM 3 million Wage-Claim Suit — 280 Bangladeshi workers have sued plastic-parts maker Kawaguchi Manufacturing for eight months of unpaid wages after the Port Klang factory shut down. The case, filed 20 May, highlights supply-chain liabilities that can bite main contractors if tier-two vendors collapse.
Safety Nuggets
Heat-Stress Guide Updated (6 May) — DOSH’s revised “Heat Stress for Outdoor Works” brief now mandates site-specific WBGT readings, 20-minute hydration breaks and shaded rest areas when temps top 34 °C. Add it to HIRARC registers before the July hot spell. (
Welfare Facility Ratios Clarified — A newly posted DOSH page details minimum toilets (1 WC per 25 male workers), wash-hand basins (1 per 20 staff), nursing-mother rooms and hot-water points for every site, with enforcement sweeps slated for June. Map locations on your site layout and start daily cleaning logs.
Pro-Tip Corner — HR Insight
Integrate Amnesty Checks into Induction: Add one question to every new-hire briefing: “Have you ever overstayed or breached a pass in Malaysia?” Offer an on-the-spot link to the Repatriation 2.0 portal. Helping candidates regularise status now avoids costly detention raids that can grind projects to a halt.
Final Thought
Resuming ethical recruitment while elevating welfare and design-stage safety is not a zero-sum game. When crews arrive legally, work on well-equipped sites, and build off plans that prioritise their lives, productivity follows naturally. Compliance isn’t a burden—it’s the blueprint for a resilient, competitive industry.