PH keepıng 'Contractor For Labour' - a BN creatıon that enrıched cronıes and weakened workers and unıons?

If the Pakatan Harapan government wants to support DISCRIMINATION, then keep the Contractor For Labour system... workers doıng the same work end up not beıng paıd the same, treated the same, not havıng same rıghts...

If PH government want to weaken Trade Unıons and Malaysıan workers' capacıty and abılıty to fıght for better rıghts, then keep the Contractor for Labour system...

FIRST THING, SHOULD HAVE BEEN THE ANNOUNCEMENT THAT THE CONTRACTOR FOR LABOUR SYSTEM WILL BE ABOLISHED....but there was sılence....and now the worry ıs that the PH may keep the Contractor For Labour system...


Workers in Malaysia have been greatly prejudiced by UMNO-BN government policies and laws and now there is HOPE that Pakatan Harapan will do the needful to help improve the situation of Malaysian workers - including their capacity to fight for better wages and working conditions...

CONTRACTOR FOR LABOUR - that was the most draconian move by the UMNO-BN government, and the permits/licences  to carry out business as Contractor for Labour was with the Home Ministry - not the Human Resource Ministry, as should be.

When the government introduced the 'Contractor For Labour', there was much protest from justice loving Malaysians and others. Even the MTUC organised a large nation-wide protest to object. The Opposition parties, also objected...BUT NOW, the expected abolition of the 'Contractor For Labour' announcement has not been heard yet....WE ARE WORRIED THAT THE NEW PH GOVERNMENT IS NOT SPEEDILY ABOLISHING THIS PRACTICE...

Read the medıa statements below for a better understandıng..

93 Groups:- Abolish the ‘Contractor for Labour’ system Withdraw the 2012 amendments to Employment Act 1955.

93 - Mansuhkan Sistem ‘Contractor for Labour’ Tarikbalik pindaan 2012 kepada Akta Kerja 1955.

WHY THE 'CONTRACTOR FOR LABOUR' IS BAD FOR WORKERS AND EVEN TRADE UNIONS?

* It removes the DIRECT employment relationship between Principals/Owners of Work Place and the workers that work for them in their workplace. If the Principal/Owner simply gets 'workers' from these Labour Suppliers, the the principal/owner has NO EMPLOYER obligations to these workers - these workers also have NO RIGHT to demand better wages or rights, or even better working conditions from the Principal/Owners of Workplaces. To 'terminate' such workers is so simple, just pick up the phone, and ask the Contractor For Labour to send another worker...so no 'due inquiry'(no show cause letter, no Domestic Inquiry, no need to follow 'Last In First Out' principle when it comes to retrenchment, no risk of worker protest/picket/strikes,...No obligation to ensure no sexual harassment, or rights violations...for after all, they are NOT employees of the Principal/Owner of the Workplace. TREND - the percentage of such non-employee workers are increasing maybe in some even more than 50% today.....

* IMPACT on employees of the principal/owner of workplace and/or their Unions - BECOMES WEAKER

- If the Employer depends less on their employees and their UNIONs, obviously they become weaker, and their capacity to demand better wages, rights and even working conditions decrease....'So, what you can go on strike - no problem because I can very easily get workers supplied by these 'Contractors For Labour'...

- Workers united are STRONG and have the capacity to demand better rights and working conditions. In fact, workplace with Trade Unions should really have no problem with 'Minimum Wage' - they should already have managed to fight and got he owner/principal to give all employees in the workplace a Minimum Wage. [The Minimum Wage concern really should be for workers with no Trade Unions - which is about 93% of the workers in Malaysia]. 

* HOW DO TRADE UNION FIGHT FOR BETTER RIGHTS? Contractor for labour sytem reduces capacity/ability for Unions and Employees to fight ...

- Well, all the employees ACT together in SOLIDARITY - Employers are afraid and concerned with such 'unhappiness', and thus will agree to improve wages, rights, etc..{If just 1 or 5 workers are demanding, employers not worried BUT if that is the demand of all its Employees, then no choice but to give....[But, when more and more workers are supplied by these 'Contractor For Labour', workers power to demand weaken...employers not even scared if workers go on 'strike'(all workers stop work...and employer business cannot run...) - Remember strike is still legal in Malaysia today. 

But sadly, Malaysian Unions have not gone on STRIKE for many decades...and the blame lies on the UNION and its leadership and members...No STRIKE or even threat of STRIKE when the employer wants to terminate thousands...No Strike when even UNION leaders are terminated...Only thing that we hear of are PICKETS(protest during lunch break or non-working hours)...

 

- When all workers are employees of the Principal/Owner of the Workplace go on strike, which is usually the last resort utilized by UNIONs. Why, when on strike, workers do not work so no wages...and employer cannot operate so no income/profits...The question is who will break, and agree to the others demands. When there is a strike, some employers may try to get other 'workers' in to try to continue operations - such workers were called 'blacklegs/strikebreaker' - and this was wrong and strongly condemned...even outlawed in many countries. But, with the contractor for labour system in place, Employers already have their 'blacklegs'(or alternative workforce) in place...

A strikebreaker (sometimes derogatorily called a scab, blackleg, or knobstick) is a person who works despite an ongoing strike. Strikebreakers are usually individuals who were not employed by the company prior to the trade union dispute, but rather hired after or during the strike to keep the organization running. "Strikebreakers" may also refer to workers (union members or not) who cross picket lines to work.The use of strikebreakers is a worldwide phenomenon; however, many countries have passed laws outlawing their use, as they undermine the collective bargaining process

So, is the Pakatan Harapan government happy to keep workers and Unions WEAK? 

UNION - If In-house Union - Only employees of the principal/owner of the workplace can become members.....so workers supplıed by Contractors for Labour cannot be members

UNION - If National/Regional - Then not just employees but also other workers working in the workplace can join- and this will include  those workers supplied by the 'Contractor For Labour' - BUT, a Collective Bargaining Agreement being an Agreement between Union representing employees of owners/principal and the owner/principal - will not benefit workers supplied by Contractor for Labour as they are not employees of the owner/principal, hence no right to demand or receive anything from the principal/owner. So why will the workers supplied by Contractor For Labour even join Unions?

Can Contractor For Labour workers form their own Trade Unions?

A worker joins a Union to fight for better wages, rights and better working conditions - but then the Contractor for Labour supply workers to different factories, different workplaces, different sectors ...and these workers may have nothing much in common, and certainly the Contractor for Labour, just a supplier of workers, cannot IMPROVE working conditions in the factories. plantations, offices they supply workers to...

Their workers have different working conditions, and even different wages/rights depending on the workplaces they actually work at...So very little in common, for these workers to unite and fight for ...and not much chance to even meet and discuss...HENCE, nearly impossible to form an IN-HOUSE Trade Union - so these workers supplied are denied their freedom of association...their right to form Trade Unions...

Well, trade unions in Malaysia can only be formed by workers working in the same Sector, Industry, Occupation - so almost impossible for even any National/Regional Trade Union to organize and act for the workers of the 'Contractor For Labour'...Maybe, today majority of the workers are working in Plantation sector, so that National Union comes in...but then tommorrow, the majority of workers may be working in the Electronic Sector...so the National Union of Plantation Workers will fail to get recognition....The Southern Region Electronic Union tried to form a Union for workers in one Contractor for Labour but as expected they failed ...

CONTRACTOR for Labour system allows for DISCRIMINATION

Employees of the Owner/Principal and workers supplied does the same work - but then they do not get the same wages or enjoy the same rights.

YES - the principal/owner will not discriminate aith regard its own employees - for after all, they are not personally responsible to pay wages to workers supplied by Contractor for Labour at present. Now, the payment is made directly to the Contractor For Labour, who, after taking their profits, pay the workers they supply....[If the workers supplied work more...OT...on public holidays, the Contractor for Labour gets more profit]...Because the 3rd party is taking part of the money paid by the owner/principal for work done by workers, workers do not get the monies they should really be paid for work done...

SEXUAL HARASSMENT AND OTHER COMPLAINTS - worker supplied by Contractor for Labour complains to whom? They are now considered 'employees' of the Contractor for Labour - not employees of the Owner/Principal? 

The 'Contractor for Labour' system was introduced by the UMNO-BN around 2005, it started with Migrant Workers - but now it includes Local Malaysian Workers.

About WORKERS and TRADE UNIONS, there really was not much there about workers and trade unıons....save for that RM1,500 Mınımum Wage..

PH need to brıng back employment securıty for Malaysıan workers, whıch BN by polıcy and laws destroyed..

Now, ıt ıs so dıffıcult to get SECURE EMPLOYMENT - that ıs regular employment untıl retırement....so Malaysıan workers wıll have to contınously be searchıng for new jobs when theır 'short-term contracts' end every year? The stress and the ımpact on the securıty of the famıly ıs great...Those ın prıvate sector wıll be most affected...

DIRECT EMPLOYMENT = employer oblıgatıon - worker rıghts and protectıon...That ıs one maın reason why 'Contractor For Labour' must be abolıshed...(If I am workıng ın TM. my employer must be TM...not some 'Contractor For Labour' called NR Enterprıse, that really have no factory or machınery or plantatıon... 

ABOLISH CONTRACTOR FOR LABOUR NOW - Only dırect employment wıth prıncıpal/owner of workplaces...