Minister: Only 20pct ex-SPAD staff yet to receive offer letters

Only about 20 percent of former employees of the now-defunct Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) have yet to receive offer letters for their new jobs, confirmed Transport Minister Anthony Loke.

"Twenty percent of the postings have not been given offer letters pending the approval of the Public Service Department (PSD)," Loke told Malaysiakini via text message this morning.

He was responding to a report that some 250 former SPAD employees had turned to the Congress of Unions of Employees in Public and Civil Services (Cuepacs) for help, claiming not to have received any postings despite promises by the government.

Commenting further, Loke said the allegations by the former SPAD staff "did not tell the whole story".

The minister told Malaysiakini: "All of them (were) given good compensation and promised jobs.

"The ministry's management met them last week (on the matter)."

According to portal The Malaysian Insight (TMI), a former contract staff claimed he was initially informed he would be posted to the Road Transport Department, but no job had materialised since.

“We have given up hope and we hope Cuepacs can help us. It’s not like we have not tried to find work elsewhere. I have not been able to find another job in the last eight months,” he was quoted by TMI as saying.

Some 937 employees were affected when the Pakatan Harapan government disbanded SPAD, formerly under the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), following the May 9 general election and it was absorbed into the Transport Ministry.

The agreement to retrench the staff reached with the transport minister is said to stipulate that they would get a two-year contract, according to their current positions, as well as compensation.

A group had also turned to Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad for help last month, after not receiving any offer letters allegedly promised by Loke by Dec 15.

The affected former staff mostly worked in SPAD’s legal, licensing and development units. - Mkini