Hundreds of employees from Nationwide Express may face the new year without a job as the Malaysian courier company winds down operations.
According to the employees, about 680 of them are being left in the lurch after the sudden termination and they are being phased out in stages, starting tomorrow until Jan 24.
Some of the employees said they have been working for the company for nearly three decades and still have salaries owed to them.
In a protest outside the Registrar of Societies (ROS) office today, 67 workers from the company’s Selangor branch demanded unpaid wages.
Mohd Hezri Rosli, 42, an employee of 13 years, said he received a notice on Dec 1 regarding his contract termination which will be effective on Jan 24.
He worked as a driver for the company and claimed his salary had not been paid fully by the company for nearly a year.
“It is not fair for the company to just let us go like that, especially when they haven’t paid our wages and this includes our allowances, EPF, and Socso.
“There is no way all of us can find new jobs quickly and, in general, we’re not making that much,” he told reporters.
The father of two who lives in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan, said throughout his employment, he had to travel back and forth to the company’s headquarters in Shah Alam, Selangor.
Accompanying the group at the protest were representatives from the Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) to represent them in a discussion with ROS officials.
Employees will form committee
MTUC secretary-general Kamarul Baharin Mansor said during the meeting, ROS officials recommended that employees bring the case up to the Labour Department as the ROS cannot help them.
“The employees have now decided to create their own committee so that the Labour Department heeds their demands.
“I also hope that by doing this, they will attract the attention of our government, namely the Ministry of Human Resources, to step in and help them,” Kamarul said.
He also slammed Nationwide Express’ actions, calling them irresponsible as most of the employees come from lower-income households and can barely make ends meet.
He said the courier service should have at least transferred the employees to different companies if they could not afford to pay their full wages.
Nationwide Express ceased operations after 37 years on Dec 15 and Kamarul told reporters that only director-level staff remain to process employee termination.
Malaysiakini contacted a representative from Nationwide Express who confirmed the company closed down. They refused to comment on the compensation issue. - Mkini
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