Activist group urges gov't to abolish labour outsourcing to safeguard workers' rights

 

Jaringan Pekerja Kontrak Kerajaan (JPKK) has urged the Putrajaya to abolish the practice of labour outsourcing which it claimed has resulted in cleaners, security guards and gardeners being exploited and deprived of their labour rights.

The workers' rights group also demanded the government take in these contract labourers as permanent staff and treat them fairly.

Led by their secretary-general M Sivaranjani, JPKK activists arrived at the Health Ministry at Putrajaya today to submit a memorandum on the matter. 

Sivaranjani then explained to media why the need to get rid of labour outsourcing and absorbing the workers into the civil service.

"As a government that cares for the welfare of the B40 group, they should get rid of middlepersons. The government should provide this group of workers with job opportunities," she said.

She saw this as a way to improve administrative efficiency and reduce wastage of government resources.

"The labour outsourcing system was an extension of privatisation in the 1990s and it was initially meant to reduce cost and improve efficiency. However, it led to many labour disputes with private contractors which in turn increased the cost of the Labour Department and Industrial Relations Department," said Sivaranjani.

 She estimated a total of 100,000 workers were hired by the private contractors as cleaners, security personnel and gardeners though prior to 1997, these jobs were under the civil service. 

As a result, she said the welfare of the low-income group was neglected and the private companies continued to enforce and extend the contracts despite complaints being lodged with the authorities.

Sivaranjani also urged the Health Minister Dr Adham Baba to recognise cleaners at public hospitals as frontliners.

"During the Covid-19 pandemic, they are frontliners too. The government should recognise them as such due to the contract system which was outsourced (to private contractors)," she told the media after handing over the memorandum to the ministry.

On Tuesday, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Mohd Redzuan Md Yusof said the one-off payment of RM300 under Budget 2021 for medical frontliners did not include hospital cleaners. - Mkini