When workers in government premises like courts and schools have their rights violated - salaries not being paid, it is the GOVERNMENT(Now PH-led government) that ought to be EMBARRASSED.
Really, these workers working at government premises like schools, courts, etc should BEST be public servants (penjawat awam) - having non-precarious employment, being regular employment until retirement.
The practice of 'outsourcing' work to "private' contractors even in government schools, courts, government departments, etc was a practice that was started by the previous UMNO-BN government....which really should be abandoned - and a new policy where these gardeners, wardens, security guards, cleaners should really be public servants(penjawat awam) ...
What really is the problem of providing employment security for these usually lowly paid employees....They too deserve a stable livelihood for their families..
Recently, in Malaysian courts, cleaners went on strike (because of non-payment of wages? or some other worker right matter?] ...so much so judges had to clean toilets (or do more than their jobs] - What is the Human Resource Ministry(Minister) doing about this? Have they done the necessary inspection and enforcement of rights of these workers? What is the HR Minister doing about this - oddly, Minister
in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of Judicial Affairs is talking about this ...why is the HR Minister silent?
A government Ministry, department, etc (including the judiciary) must never lack the capacity to function speedily and efficiently....Now, the problem with getting private contractors or sub-contractors causes delays and yes inefficiencies too - better if we had expert maintenance teams, cleaning and even security teams who are public servants...
Now, when the cleaners at the court went on 'strike' because of problems with their private contractor bosses - see what happened? Likewise, school cleaners, etc ..
What kind of employees do these 'contractors' have - usually short-term employees - which is a precarious form of employment....Regular employees are always better especially for the worker - as there is and will be financial stability for the worker and his/her families - something most needed today, when workers tend to buy household appliances, cars and even homes on loans - where loan obligations are monthly > hence, all the more better for Malaysian workers to have employment security - which will ensure employment/income stability, increment of income with tenure, increment of rights with tenure...
UMNO-BN allowed precarious employment like short-term employment contracts(usually lasting not more than 1 year)....and this is certainly not good for the Malaysian worker. After contract expires, he/she will have to struggle to find another job - and may be forced to take up even lesser paying employments...
PH needs to not simply look at the general well-being of the national economy - but also the general well being of individual Malaysian workers - and to ensure this, there must be regular employment until retirement age, and even for short-term contracts it must be for a period for so long the work the worker has been hired lasts...
Did the Malaysian government have a responsibility to workers of contractors it used? YES - it must have...The Employment Act 1955 itself places this obligation for the principal(the government in this case) to even advance up to 3 months salary for such workers...Did the government step in to pay these court cleaners at least 3 months pay...?
Najib talked about 'high-income nation' - but that did not mean high-income Malaysian workers, did it?
Government has obligation to Malaysians - and for workers, they need the right to regular employment until retirement age...
3-D work - UMNO-BN discriminated these kind of work ...and many believe that they are work unfit for Malaysians. Now, all work are dignified work...and for these 'dirty' work, the way forward to increase Malaysian worker participation is maybe by a 'higher minimum wage' and also employment security in the form of regular employment...YES - pay people who are willing to do these 'dirty' work...usually more difficult more wages...cleaners, gardeners, road repairers, drain cleaning and maintenance, garbage collectors, etc ....HIGHER MINIMUM WAGE?
In some Local Councils, they hired 'contractors' to even sell parking tickets - these young Malaysian ladies sat in non-aircon booths at different parts in town - guess what, when I asked them about wages, they said that they were daily rated workers(they were paid for the days that they worked) - SHOCKING? [This was a few years back...not sure of their status now] ....They should all be monthly waged workers...who enjoy paid rest days, public holidays, maternity benefits, etc ....
The government, be it Federal, State or Local Government, must always ensure all their employees, and the workers of the private contractors they use are treating workers RIGHT - and not underpaying or treating them bad.
HR Minister really must look into increasing inspections and enforcement of worker rights in Malaysia...Workers are too 'scared' to complain - so inspection by the HR Ministry must be done without any need for a worker complaint - it must be random and regular looking to make sure that workers are not exploited and their rights violated...
When it was GST, there was so much effort at inspection and enforcement - but UMNO-BN seem less bothered about such inspection and enforcement of worker rights ...Will PH-led government be more caring?
Minister
in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of Judicial Affairs, Datuk
Liew Vui Keong (3rd from left) said stern action should be taken
against the contractor if they had breached the contract. Pic by
NSTP/LUQMAN HAKIM ZUBIR
KUALA
LUMPUR: The government will review its contract with Perfect Solution
Sdn Bhd, the company which supplies janitors for Kuala Lumpur Court
Complex in Jalan Duta.
Some 20 cleaners have been on strike
for the last three month resulting in the staff including judges and
magistrates sweeping floors and cleaning toilets,
Minister
in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of Judicial Affairs, Datuk
Liew Vui Keong said stern action should be taken against the contractor
if they had breached the contract.
“I find the contractor is not performing by not supplying enough janitors to clean the court complex.
“They
are supposed to supply 150 janitors but in July, only half of the
number was provided and it’s getting worse day by day although payment
has been made to the company.
“This is unacceptable and
stern action must be taken against the contractor. We will review the
contract immediately. We will terminate the contact if necessary,” he
said at a press conference after visiting the court complex with Chief
Justice Tan Sri Richard Malanjum.
He said there were
several major issues which needed to be tackled immediately at the
premises, especially the air conditioning and structure issues.
“Based
on my visit today, I found that 84 air conditioning units in the
building were malfunctioning and some of the staff had bought their own
portable air conditioning units.
“This is very unhealthy
and the air conditioning is not sufficient to keep the air circulated. I
do not want our judges to deliver justice in a hot atmosphere,” he
said.
He said Richard had also shown him some cracks in the building.
“I will ask my staff to come out with a comprehensive report and I will present it in the cabinet meeting.
“We must take immediate action as I do not want any mishaps here,” he said.
It
was reported on Friday that members of the courthouse – including
judges, magistrates and other staff members– had been carrying out their
own cleaning work, such as sweeping floors and cleaning toilets, after
some 20 cleaners went on strike following the fasting month.
It is learnt that the strike was due to alleged arrears in salary payment.
In
a separate mater, Liew said instructions has been given to police to
look deeper into the disappearance of several people in the country,
especially the missing Pastor Raymond Koh, social activist Amri Che Mat,
Pastor Joshua Hilmi and his wife Ruth Hilmi.
“This is unacceptable that people are missing in our country and I have asked the police to investigate deeper.
“We must know what happened to them and who is responsible for their disappearance,” he said.- New Straits Times, 30/7/2018
Ipoh school cleaners cry foul over 8 months’ unpaid wages
They are owed RM139,250 after they were told to
continue working by the Kinta Utara District Education Department after
their company went broke.
PUTRAJAYA: Twenty cleaners from seven schools in Ipoh are hoping
against hope that they will be paid the RM139,250 owed them in unpaid
salaries since 2015.
Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) central committee member S Arutchelvan
told FMT that the government was unable to provide a solution.
“The government has said it could not do anything to help us get the
eight months’ salaries owed to each of the cleaners,” he said after
meeting an education ministry official here.
Arutchelvan said the official had advised them to write to the Kinta Utara Education Department.
PSM central committee member Rani Rasiah said the cleaners had
continued to work at the behest of the Kinta Utara District Education
Department after their employer, Time Medi Enterprise, was declared
bankrupt in July 2015.
“Time Medi ceased operation in October 2015, but the cleaners
continued to work until the end of that year,” the political activist
said.
PSM and the workers met and discussed the issue with the education ministry in September last year.
It was reported in March last year that 51 cleaners in schools were each owed nine months’ salary from April to December 2015.
But Rani said more than half of the workers had since opted to drop
their case against the government because they had given up hope.
PSM would help the workers to write to the Education Department for
redress but he was not optimistic of getting a positive outcome.- FMT, 23/2/2017
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