35% jobs will soon be no more - What will happen to Malaysian workers?

The government is responsible for all Malaysians - not just the rich and powerful but everyone including workers...

Everyone needs to be able to generate regular income to support oneself and one's family...and most people do not have their own business, farms or income generating activity, and as such they need WORK - they need jobs and/or employment that will enable them to earn an income...

So, in Malaysia with a population of over 30 million and growing, and a workforce of about 14 million plus, JOB/EMPLOYMENT creation for its citizens is a major responsibility for the government...

BUT - number of jobs are declining being replaced by automation and robotization... one Senator recently raised this concern, where he said, " ...35% of existing jobs would be replaced by automated, electronic and robot systems..." Sadly, most media failed to highlight this major concern...A problem for the nation that have to be dealt with NOW...not when it is too late..

Meanwhile, Senator Khairul Azwan Harun recommended that the Human Resource Ministry identify the job sectors which were exposed to the challenges of the Industrial Revolution (RI) 4.0.

He said 35% of existing jobs would be replaced by automated, electronic and robot systems with the advent of RI 4.0 and this was a threat to job security.

“For example, when I first served as an accountant, auditing was done manually but nowadays, we use computer applications which are more effective.

“As such we need to prepare the youngsters who are in school today so that in 20 to 30 years’ time they would be employed and earning a living,” he said.- FMT News, 11/12/2017

Let us look at the TOL collection companies - they are getting automated...and we are all forced to use our Touch n' Go cards...Let us look at the number of job loss here (noting of course that most of these individuals were Malaysians). A single tol booth operating 24 hours would need at the very least 3 workers(operating on 8 hour shifts) and there also need to be extra workers to cover workers on leave or on sick leave. So, how many jobs disappeared for Malaysian workers, when UMNO-BN allowed this change ...tell us what happened to these workers go? 

Then, we have the banking sector  - with the rise of automation, how many bank employees are losing jobs...

Now, they want to send us e-statement and even make e-payments - how many jobs are lost ...maybe even the postman soon may be a thing of the past...after all stamp prices are going up, and so very few even send Raya or Christmas cards...

If you visit an electronics factory today...you will find that they is already little requirement for skilled workers...companies can afford to terminate today, and get a new worker trained and doing the work in 2 days...and, yes they are using more automation and robotization...In China, recently 60,000 worker lost jobs to robotization...

Local jobs in petrol stations were taken away...when government promoted 'self-service'..One has to realise that there are highly educated and more lowly educated Malaysians...and this is the reality. Increasing skill could happen for a small group of workers...but for the majority they will always be low-skilled. Anyway, since workers are being employed on the basis of short-term contracts - and they lose their job in a year, all skill they gained is also lost - since unlikely for them to find the same job in another company, or even a job in a similar industry...Remember, we are talking about the majority...not the minority few??

Many workers, by reason of higher cost of living, poor quality of life and low wages have elected to leave urban centres and factories to go back to their communities - They end up opening small food stalls, rearing fish, small farms...but the problem is that it has become saturated and it is not an option for many more...As it is, there are too many, and as such income naturally will drop...

When jobs becomes even lesser, what will Malaysian government do...

Solutions are:-

 

- DELAY AUTOMATION - to make sure that there are jobs and employment for Malaysian workers..

- Increase wages ...and reduce working hours. Even an 8 hour work day will not work...we need to reduce number of working hours and even rest days, so that more people will have jobs and income... In a lot of developed countries, this is happening... Higher minimum wages?

- Increase wages even for what Malaysian government now calls 3D jobs - "Dirty, Dangerous and Demeaning" (often "Dirty, Dangerous and Demanding" or "Dirty, Dangerous and Difficult"). Traditionally, these workers were well paid - but as there is now  a lot of workers willing to do this work for a lower wages, we have exploited this - using migrant workers. Sometime, I believe, that it is our government that tried to discourage local workers ...hence opening that profitable for some migrant worker recruitment and maintenance industry. Well, if wages are higher - then surely local workers will be attracted back...

-  ....what else?

 

 

Technology

Foxconn replaces '60,000 factory workers with robots'

By Jane Wakefield Technology reporter

• 25 May 2016

Apple and Samsung supplier Foxconn has reportedly replaced 60,000 factory workers with robots.

One factory has "reduced employee strength from 110,000 to 50,000 thanks to the introduction of robots", a government official told the South China Morning Post. 

Xu Yulian, head of publicity for the Kunshan region, added: "More companies are likely to follow suit."

China is investing heavily in a robot workforce.

In a statement to the BBC, Foxconn Technology Group confirmed that it was automating "many of the manufacturing tasks associated with our operations" but denied that it meant long-term job losses.

"We are applying robotics engineering and other innovative manufacturing technologies to replace repetitive tasks previously done by employees, and through training, also enable our employees to focus on higher value-added elements in the manufacturing process, such as research and development, process control and quality control. 

"We will continue to harness automation and manpower in our manufacturing operations, and we expect to maintain our significant workforce in China."

Since September 2014, 505 factories across Dongguan, in the Guangdong province, have invested 4.2bn yuan (£430m) in robots, aiming to replace thousands of workers.

Kunshan, Jiangsu province, is a manufacturing hub for the electronics industry.

Economists have issued dire warnings about how automation will affect the job market, with one report, from consultants Deloitte in partnership with Oxford University, suggesting that 35% of jobs were at risk over the next 20 years.

Former McDonald's chief executive Ed Rensi recently told the US's Fox Business programme a minimum-wage increase to $15 an hour would make companies consider robot workers.

"It's cheaper to buy a $35,000 robotic arm than it is to hire an employee who is inefficient, making $15 an hour bagging French fries," he said. - BBC, 25/5/2016