“Illegal for employers to retain staff passports”

…Two lawyers have urged authorities to look into the plight of migrant workers who are being forced to surrender their passports in return for employment.

Lawyer Datuk Sankara Narayanan said depriving migrant workers of their passports restricts their movements.

“Retaining passports seems to be a standard condition for their employment. However, the action by employers to withhold the passports of migrant workers is a breach of international law.

“The workers would be unable to move around freely on their off days. This leads to mental anguish and frustration in the long term,” he said.

Another lawyer, Derek Fernandez, said according to Section 12(1)(f) of the Passports Act 1966, an employer cannot take possession of an employee’s passport unless it is for a specific reason such as visa renewal…

… some (migrant workers) are misled, taken advantage of or have to pay lump sum of “unofficial” money to unscrupulous agents, some of whom are in the migrant workers’ countries, just to secure their jobs in Malaysia…

Some migrant workers are even given wrong information as to the actual expectations of their prospective employers, working hours and conditions…