Saturday, December 15, 2012

CUEPACS should fight for regular employment until retirement for workers

Regular or permanent employment until retirement is a fundamental right and entitlement of all workers.  Workers need employment security - with security of tenure. Abolish short-term or fixed-term employment practices. [Of course, there are exceptions to this general policy/rule when it comes to maybe construction workers who generally are employed until the completion of the particular construction projects. Another exception may be migrant workers who generally come to Malaysia to work for an agreed period between 3 to 6 years]

But for all other workers, they must be regular employees until retirement. Employers may re-structure or shut down certain operations, and in such genuine cases, they can always 'retrench' or 'lay-off workers'. When they shut down operations, workers can also lose their jobs.

Regular or permanent employment until retirement in this day and age is more important. Many buy cars/motorbikes and even homes, and end up with monthly loan-repayment obligations which last many many years. Employment also determines where the worker and their family 'settles down' - where the spouse finds employment, where the children schools, where the family gets involved in the socio-cultural activities of the community... 

The use of short-term contract employment by employers have been allowed to grow - and this Barisan Nasional government failed to stop this 'new' practice - and, in fact, have even started to use short-term employment contracts itself...

CUEPACS is now pleading for an extension of this contracts - I believe that they should be asking that all short-term contract employees should be converted (or 'transformed') into regualr employees...





 
Cuepacs: Give extension to 50,000 contract workers
  • Bernama
  • 2:06PM Dec 12, 2012
 
The Congress of Unions of Employees in the public and Civil Services (Cuepacs) today urged government agencies to extend the contract of their 50,000 employees whose terms would expire at the end of this year.

Cuepacs president Omar Osman said they had received pleas from contract employees to mitigate their dilemma.

"We will protect their welfare, considering that most had served for more than 10 years. Most importantly, they also have families to support so we hope the government will review the decision," he told reporters after chairing Cuepacs' supreme council meeting at Wisma Cuepacs in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

On the 10 percent reduction in intake of employees into the civil service beginning next year, Omar opined that many new graduates from public and private institutions of higher learning might not be able to get a job.
No opportunity
Meanwhile, Omar said about 3,000 kindergarten teachers and assistant teachers might not have the opportunity to become permanent teachers in the national Unity and integration department despite their working experience of between 15 to 20 years.

"Cuepacs had previously sent a memorandum to the department but we did not receive any response," he said.

He stressed that the department should not only accept teachers who possessed a diploma but should also take work experience into consideration.

Omar said Cuepacs had during the meeting, also raised the corporatisation of the Malaysian Industrial Development Authority.

"Cuepacs urge the government to defer the implementation. The government must first brief the agency's workforce on it and Cuepacs should be rightly involved in the corporatisation.

"In this regard, Cuepacs proposed that the workforce be offered a choice, whether to opt for early retirement, be transferred to another department or resign from the service," he said.

- Bernama - Malaysiakini, 12/12/2012, Cuepacs: Give extension to 50,000 contract workers

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