Don't cut school cleaners' wages during MCO, Education Ministry urged

 

Jaringan Pekerja Kontrak Kerajaan (JPKK) has claimed that many school cleaners have had their minimum wages docked wrongfully due to the movement control order (MCO) limiting the workforce capacity.

“Many school cleaners have complained to us that their wages have been cut during MCO.

“The contractor gave the excuse that the district education office had to cut its allocation because the Education Ministry said not everyone has to work every day; (they) have to take turns.

“But the Human Resources Ministry said you cannot cut wages during MCO. You even want to cut minimum wage?” JPKK said in a posting on Twitter yesterday.

They attached the posting with four screenshots of WhatsApp messages from purported school cleaners complaining about having their wages docked.

One of the screenshots contained a message from a contract worker in Kuantan who said they received a 40 percent cut in their wages based on the 60 percent attending workforce as stipulated by the Education Ministry.

The other three said they were forced to take unpaid leave during this current MCO, among other complaints.

In another tweet, JPKK pointed to the guidelines from the Education Ministry which stated that 60 percent of the cleaning staff still need to work on premises based on current needs and agreements between the contractor and the administrator of the premises.

JPKK also included a screenshot from the Human Resources Ministry’s MCO guidelines which stated that employers are mandated to pay their workers their full salaries under the lockdown.

Daily wage workers, meanwhile, have to be paid based on the agreed-upon rate between employers and the workers, as stated in their offer letter, service contract, or latest increment.

As such, JPKK urged the Education Ministry and its minister Radzi Jidin to take responsibility and issue an order to not cut the wages of school cleaners.

It also urged any school cleaners out there to contact them via their hotline if they have any workplace complaints so that they can help. - Mkini