This UMNO-BN government has failed to protect the well being of workers in Malaysia - with the regard to employment security and rights. Remember that employment security is very important as it affects financial security of the worker and their families, even more today when many persons in Malaysia are bound by monthly loan-repayment obligations and the growing cost of living.
REGULAR EMPLOYMENT guarantees employment security, and with tenure it also ensures wage and rights increment annually which is needed as the economic needs of human persons(and their families) do naturally increase with time.
Regular employment comes with PROBATION(should be a maximum of 3 months) - enabling the employer to consider the suitability of the worker, and if satisfied confirming him as a regular employee - a permanent employee until retirement generally.
Employer, if he shuts down his workplace and no more need workers, OR changes his operations and will need lesser workers can always legally RETRENCH or LAY OFF workers. Thus, pro-employer argument that they cannot get rid of Regular Employees is baseless...Those workers who have been employed for more than 12 months are entitled to Retrenchment Benefits.
TERMINATION - Well, employees can also be terminated for serious employment misconduct or for breach of contract. The law protects workers giving them the right to Defend Against Allegations Made By Employer - the Domestic Inquiry.
REGULAR EMPLOYMENT guarantees stability and financial security for the worker and their families...This also allows the worker and family to 'settle down' - spouse may get work nearby, and children get into schools. Worker and family also integrated into the community - socio-cultural and political groups. Regular employment also ensures increment in income as generally employers provide for annual wage increase, etc. Regular employment also ensures loyalty and commitment...
This was the form of employment that the UMNO-BN government ensured by law and policy...
BUT, then the failings of UMNO-BN government ...
SHORT-TERM EMPLOYMENT CONTRACTS - Employers started using this form of employment, normally these contracts are for 1 year or less.
Why?
- Avoid having to pay RETRENCHMENT BENEFITS (note less than 1 year - no entitlement in Employment Act]
- Avoid having to 'increase wages' - end of contract, employer simply finds a new worker...
- Avoid extending contracts simply because an extension may presume the worker is a regular employee, and all rights will follow.
- Makes it very easy to WRONGFULLY DISMISS workers - why? Because even if worker claims for reinstatement, entitlement would be until the end of the duration of existing contract. Given the time taken for Industrial Court cases to be referred to court, the workers period of employment would have expired, and the claim may be just for a few months. Minus the cost of hiring legal representation and going through trial, etc - workers will more likely abandon claims - hence facilitation of an environment where employers can very easily violate worker rights and ESCAPE...
- Makes workers VULNERABLE and fearful (always hoping for extension of contract, new contract or even possibly regular employment) - Workers less likely to claim rights, highlight wrongdoings, join UNIONs, etc..). Unions also are not changing - their election is once every 3 years, so, with no possibility of standing and running for elections - should workers join unions?. If no trade union, 1 year contract employees will not even be able to form or have an effective trade union - by the time the Union is registered, they may be out of a job..
* Other issues - allowed the 'contractor for labour system' - workers supplied to work in factories not employees of factory - so, no right to demand from factory even rights and better working conditions. Weakens the strength of Unions. Creates discrimination - between factory employee and others(supplied workers doing the same thing)
* If I do the work, I should be paid immediately after the work is done. As it is, the law protects employers - allowing to pay only AFTER work is done at the end of the month(or before the 7th day of following month). UMNO-BN government amended law - now employer can delay another month before paying workers overtime, etc ..Work overtime in January, and only get paid for that when you get paid for February...INJUSTICE. Do workers get interest(faedah) for that one month delay - No. Most other things like 'Touch and Go', phone, etc ...pre-paid, and if billed later need to pay a Deposit...but workers?
UMNO-BN government could have:-
TERMINATION - Well, employees can also be terminated for serious employment misconduct or for breach of contract. The law protects workers giving them the right to Defend Against Allegations Made By Employer - the Domestic Inquiry.REGULAR EMPLOYMENT guarantees stability and financial security for the worker and their families...This also allows the worker and family to 'settle down' - spouse may get work nearby, and children get into schools. Worker and family also integrated into the community - socio-cultural and political groups. Regular employment also ensures increment in income as generally employers provide for annual wage increase, etc. Regular employment also ensures loyalty and commitment...
This was the form of employment that the UMNO-BN government ensured by law and policy...
BUT, then the failings of UMNO-BN government ...
SHORT-TERM EMPLOYMENT CONTRACTS - Employers started using this form of employment, normally these contracts are for 1 year or less.
Why?
- Avoid having to pay RETRENCHMENT BENEFITS (note less than 1 year - no entitlement in Employment Act]
- Avoid having to 'increase wages' - end of contract, employer simply finds a new worker...
- Avoid extending contracts simply because an extension may presume the worker is a regular employee, and all rights will follow.
- Makes it very easy to WRONGFULLY DISMISS workers - why? Because even if worker claims for reinstatement, entitlement would be until the end of the duration of existing contract. Given the time taken for Industrial Court cases to be referred to court, the workers period of employment would have expired, and the claim may be just for a few months. Minus the cost of hiring legal representation and going through trial, etc - workers will more likely abandon claims - hence facilitation of an environment where employers can very easily violate worker rights and ESCAPE...
- Makes workers VULNERABLE and fearful (always hoping for extension of contract, new contract or even possibly regular employment) - Workers less likely to claim rights, highlight wrongdoings, join UNIONs, etc..). Unions also are not changing - their election is once every 3 years, so, with no possibility of standing and running for elections - should workers join unions?. If no trade union, 1 year contract employees will not even be able to form or have an effective trade union - by the time the Union is registered, they may be out of a job..
* Other issues - allowed the 'contractor for labour system' - workers supplied to work in factories not employees of factory - so, no right to demand from factory even rights and better working conditions. Weakens the strength of Unions. Creates discrimination - between factory employee and others(supplied workers doing the same thing)
* If I do the work, I should be paid immediately after the work is done. As it is, the law protects employers - allowing to pay only AFTER work is done at the end of the month(or before the 7th day of following month). UMNO-BN government amended law - now employer can delay another month before paying workers overtime, etc ..Work overtime in January, and only get paid for that when you get paid for February...INJUSTICE. Do workers get interest(faedah) for that one month delay - No. Most other things like 'Touch and Go', phone, etc ...pre-paid, and if billed later need to pay a Deposit...but workers?
UMNO-BN government could have:-
# Passed laws ensuring that required all workers to be employed as REGULAR EMPLOYEES - employees until retirement.
# Passed laws setting a QUOTA - like not more than 5% employees could be employed as short-term contract employees.
# Passed laws stating that employees doing work in the core business of the employer must be REGULAR employees [Non-Core Business may be like toilet cleaning and cleaning, maybe even security]
# Passed laws requiring the employer to extend employment contracts if the work that the worker had been doing still exists...That means, that after your one year contract, if the work you had been doing still exist, the employer must extend your contract...until the work does not exist anymore...[Now, the taking of new workers every time also means a loss of SKILL already acquired by the worker exiting employment at the expiry of the contract...]
BUT the UMNO-BN government failed to show concern for workers & did things to help employers 'exploit' workers more easier. The government failed the worker and their families - not bothered about employment security and financial security for workers and their families. Wrongfully dismissed workers cannot even take their cases straight to the court - still the Minister interferes and decides whether the case goes to court or not...WHY? These cases must be speedily settled...workers lost work and income, so must never DELAY...So much 'DELAY' and Red Tape ...frustrates worker rights...and many just give up their claim for justice...Remember Justice Delayed Justice Denied
See Relevant Post:-
See Relevant Post:-
Worker and Trade Union Rights in BN-ruled Malaysia - A pro-business government that undermined worker rights, welfare and livelihood -
WHAT IS THE OPPOSITION GOING TO DO FOR WORKERS IF AND WHEN THEY WIN THE NEXT GENERAL ELECTIONS?
ALL forms of PRECARIOUS EMPLOYMENT must be abolished - especially short-term or fixed-term employment contracts.
There must be limited exceptions:-
- Construction maybe - but regular employment until the end of the project? Or maybe regular empployment until the work the worker is employed for is completed - if the employer is a one-time housing developer, if not, it should be regular employment.
- Some times person are employed for a particular job - so until the job is done.. When was the last time PAS came out in defence of worker rights? When was the last time PKR did? DAP did?
There has been numerous retrenchment even in Opposition ruled States - Did the State Government or the MP or ADUN come out, supported or helped resolve issues of workers?
There have been pickets and various worker issues - but alas, most Opposition parties do not even bother...
They are very concerned about 1MDB, RM2.6 Billion, MO1...but have they demonstrated care and concern for workers?
Opposition-ruled State of Kelantan, Penang and Selangor - they have the POWER to protect and promote worker rights..
* They can impose conditions for businesses operating their States like 'Worker and Trade Union Rights Must Be Respected' - Is this conditions found in any of these State or Local Council's permit/approval of businesses?
* The States can impose conditions on businesses as to Regular Employment, even QUOTAs with regard to non-Regular Employees, even the permissible Migrant-Local Worker, Insist that all employees are employees of the place they work in [No 'outsourced workers' - no workers supplied by contractor of labour] - well, if the companies do not agree to this, then they can be penalized or even asked to leave. A government that allows BAD employers with no respect to worker's rights to operate in a State is a bad employer... Remember Trengganu rejected Lynas ...but sadly Pahang said 'OK'...State governments have a lot of power - they can decide which company can operate in their State, and which company should get out...but sadly our Opposition governments have been failing when it comes to protecting its workers...
WILL THEY CHANGE? Make sure you do the right thing now for workers and ordinary people ...if this does not happen, will it happen when the manage to control the Federal Government?
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