“外籍劳工”与“移工” “Foreign Workers” and “Migrant Workers”

根据国际劳工组织（International Labour Organization, 2023）的定义，外籍劳工是指为了就业而从一个国家迁移到另一个国家的人。因此，那些离开原居国、来到马来西亚从事工作的外籍人士，就属于外籍劳工。

在马来西亚，外籍劳工从事的大多是体力劳动，例如制造业、建筑业、服务业、种植业、农业、家庭佣工以及采矿及采石业。外籍劳工得到的准证为“临时就业准证” [Visit Pass (Temporary Employment), VP(TE)]。

VP(TE)适用于在上述行业工作的外籍劳工；而若外籍人士是从事专业或技术性行业，则会获发“就业准证”（Employment Pass）。

近年来的“移工”又是在称呼谁？

近年来，“移工”这一称呼被更频繁地使用。在马来西亚，多数人习惯将外籍劳工简称为“外劳”。然而，“外劳”原本为中性词，随着时间推移却逐渐被赋予混乱、社会安全隐患及不卫生等负面含义，因而出现了污名化的问题。

基于此，不少倡议者提出使用“外籍移工”（Lan, 2005）这一更为中性、范围也更广的称呼，用以指代跨境流动的劳动者；“外劳”亦属于“移工”涵盖的范围之一。

在后续内容中，我们将沿用马来西亚较为常见的“外籍劳工”作为主要称呼，但读者在日常生活中也可以使用“移工”这一更中性的词汇来指代相关群体。

“Foreign Workers” and “Migrant Workers”

According to the International Labour Organization (ILO, 2023), migrant workers are individuals who migrate from one country to another for employment. 

In Malaysia, migrant workers are primarily engaged in manual labour, including manufacturing, construction, services, plantations, agriculture, domestic work, as well as mining and quarrying. Migrant workers are issued the Visit Pass (Temporary Employment) [VP(TE)].

The VP(TE) applies to migrant workers in the sectors listed above, whereas foreign nationals employed in professional or technical fields are issued an Employment Pass.

Who are referred to as “migrant workers” in recent years?

In recent years, the term migrant worker has been used more frequently. In Malaysia, the general public often refers to migrant workers as “wai lao” (foreign labour). Although originally neutral, the term gradually became associated with negative connotations—such as disorder, security issues, and poor hygiene—leading to stigmatization over time.

Because of this, many advocates have proposed using the term “yi gong” (migrant workers) (Lan, 2005), which is more neutral and broader in scope, to refer to cross-border labourers; the commonly used term “foreign labour” is also included within the broader category of migrant workers.

In the following content, we will use the term “migrant workers” to refer to this group. However, the term “foreign workers” remains the more commonly used expression in Malaysia.