MTUC: Criminalise retrenchment for now

CORONAVIRUS | Malaysian Trade Unions Congress secretary-general J Soloman has urged the government to introduce a law to make retrenchment of all workers illegal for a period.

In a statement today, Soloman (photo, above) said although the government had introduced a wider wage subsidy scheme yesterday, those in the RM4,000 to RM8,000 category were not covered, and they risk being laid off.

"They form between 30 to 40 percent of the SME workforce... As these workers are not covered directly in any of the government rescue plans for SMEs, they are at the complete mercy of employers as a priority target for lay-offs or wage cuts to reduce overheads.

"In other words, the government initiatives to avoid mass retrenchments remains a stark possibility for workers earning RM4,000 to RM8,000," said Soloman.

To remedy this, Soloman proposed the government enact an Emergency Employment Regulation to bar firms from retrenching their staff for a limited time.

MTUC, said Soloman, has already received about 300 complaints that employers are disregarding government warnings not to layoff workers or enforce pay cuts during the movement control order (MCO) period.

He said complaints include being persuaded to take unpaid leave or pay cuts and the non-renewal of contract staff.

Yesterday, Putrajaya said it would subsidise wages at a rate of between RM600 to RM1,200, depending on the size of the workforce in a given company, for three months.

Companies which opt-in for this scheme will have to retain those staff during the three months the scheme is applied and at least three months after.

The scheme only covers those earning a monthly salary of RM4,000 and below.

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin's announcement yesterday also urged employers to renegotiate contracts with their staff.

Solomon described this policy as a "gift" and "generous gesture" to SMEs which must be revoked.

While Muhyiddin had stressed that the revised contract must be lawful and mutually agreed upon, Soloman argued that employers have the leverage to force workers into accepting unfair terms.

He said although SMEs now have easy access to cheap loans, workers will likely be easy targets for cost-cutting measures.

"With the likelihood of the MCO being extended again, these workers will clearly suffer and be hard-pressed to sustain themselves and their families.

"Giving employers leeway to rewrite the job contract of the workers at this point of time will have dire consequences on the survival of the employees," he said. - Mkini