NGO urges govt to absorb contract workers at schools, hospitals as permanent staff

 

The Government Contract Workers' Network has submitted a memorandum to Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz, urging the government to absorb contract workers at schools and hospitals as permanent staff.

Its co-ordinator S Arutchelvan (above) said it proposed to the government to abolish the contract system for hiring cleaning workers, security guards and gardeners at these government facilities.

He said that since 2016, the NGO had received many complaints regarding contractors’ exploitation of contract workers at schools and hospitals, such as not paying or delaying their salaries, cutting their wages unreasonably and not contributing to the Employees Provident Fund and Social Security Organisation.

“The biggest problem is that workers under the contract system do not have job security because the contractors are changed every three years. Workers will also lose their years of service and become new workers. In fact, there are workers who lost their jobs,” he said.

Arutchelvan said this to the media after handing over the memorandum to the ministry’s Corporate Communication Section head Julina Johan at the ministry in Putrajaya today.

Besides the memorandum, the NGO also handed over its research on the proposal, which it said can save the government up to RM200 million a year. The same memorandum would be sent to Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin next year.

- Bernama