Malaysian workers have lost the right to regular employment - permanent employment until retirement, when this Malaysian government abandoned the rights and welfare of Malaysian workers and their families...A perusal of our labour laws in Malaysia clearly indicate that the employment relationship should be a permanent employment relationship. Entitlements to annual leave, medical leave, and even termination lay-off benefits also indicate clear increases in entitlement based on the number of years of service... Retirement Age - and, even now the government's move, to increase retirement age all underlies the entitlement to permanent employment
AS SUCH, we must campaign for:-
an end of short-term contract employment, and
an end of any other forms of employment agreements or arrangements - that completely destroy direct employment relationship between workers and the principal (being the owner/operator of workplaces). And this means, the contractor for labour need to be abolished, and all workers who work at any workplace, especially those involved in the core operations must be all be employees of the said principal. No more 'contract labour', 'agency workers', 'outsourced workers',....
CUEPACS wants this and is calling for all contract employees to be absorded to permanent status - and this must also be the case for all other workers...including those in private sector. [One permissible exception may be migrant workers - whose contract must be for the full 3-5 years, agreed period that migrant workers come to work in Malaysia - and no longer these short year to year employment contracts based on the duration of their current work passes. No migrant worker agree to come to work in a foreign country for just 1 year.]
Why we do not want short-term contracts?
- because it is UNJUST to workers, and even employers
- A worker is a human being with families/dependents - and as employment security is essential - when a worker gets employed, it is a factor that affects many personal/family decisions - i.e. where should he stay or settle down? (usually close to where he/she works), Should he rent a house or buy a family home?, Where should his/her spouse find employment?, Where should he sent his children to school?, Which temple/surau/church community should he/she join? Should he buy a car/motorbike? .....With a short-term contract for 1 year, months before the end of the contract period, there will be a lot of stress...and mental anguish - will he still be employed and be earning wages at the end of the contract period? Of course, for the employer, it is beneficial because a worker WORRIED about his employment future would more easily be oppressed - and will be compliant/submissive in the face of persecution...If he/she loses the employment, it would cause great difficulties for the worker and the family for the next employment maybe in some other town and state.... and loans all need to be paid every month...
- For the employer, there is no more PROBATION - and they are bound by their agreement to keep the said worker for the full duration of the contract period. With probation, the employer (and also worker) have a 'trial period' to determine suitability of the worker - which if found to be suitable will be converted to a permanent employment relationship until retirement age...
- Current laws of retrenchment and lay-off - do not cover short-term contracts at all - so an early termination of a short-term contract should result in having to pay the worker possibly normal monthly wages for remaining contractual period. (The present retrenchment lay-off benefits entitlement does not arise until after the worker has worked for a period of 12 months, and our current Malaysian government has failed to make clear laws to deal with this early termination of workers by reason of economic slow-down/closure of business when it comes to workers on fixed short-term contracts..)
- WOMEN will be discriminated - because if they are pregnant (even 1-2 months pregnant), no employer is logically going to employ them on a short-term employment contract. Why? To avoid maternity leave and maternity benefits, and all the other special treatment/leave that usually is a right to women as pregnancy advances. Those even on a contract, when it ends - will find that they will NOT be offered any new contract...
- Workers who maybe disabled partly, even by reason of some occupational related accident at that very same workplace, may find that employers will just let them off without offering them any new contracts..
- Now, even if the work is still there and workers are needed to do the work, most Employers to avoid the rise of the presumption of a permanent employment relationship will just not RE-NEW contracts but just choose to get some other NEW workers... This is so WRONG - again good Malaysian government has not made any laws to prevent this and protect workers..
WHAT THEN IS THE USE OF TALKING ABOUT INCREASING RETIREMENT AGE, MATERNITY RIGHTS AND BENEFITS, ETC... WHEN THERE IS NO RIGHT FOR PERMANENT EMPLOYMENT FOR WORKERS IN MALAYSIA. YES - ABOLISH SHORT-TERM CONTRACTS & RESTORE PERMANENT EMPLOYMENT AS A GUARANTEED RIGHT FOR THE GOOD AND WELFARE OF WORKERS AND THEIR FAMILIES IN MALAYSIA.
CUEPACS LEADS THE WAY ....MTUC MUST ALSO COME OUT AND DEMAND THIS FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT FOR ALL MALAYSIAN WORKERS...
CUEPACS Wants Contract Employees Be Absorbed To Permanent Posts
TEMERLOH, June 19 (Bernama) -- The Congress of Unions of Employees in the Public and Civil Service (CUEPACS) is hoping the government could absorb the 60,000 contract staff in the public service to permanent and pensionable posts.
Its deputy president, Azih Muda, believed that the move, besides, ensuring their future benefits, would also help to further improve the quality of the public service.
"The role of the contract staff should be appreciated as they also help in realising the government's development agenda and country's growth," he told reporters after calling on the Temerloh Municipal Council (MPT) president, Datuk Tariff Abdul Rahman, here today.
Azih said the congress also supported the suggestion by Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob recently for contract workers to be recruited through the economic stimulus package and be absorbed into permanent posts.
-- BERNAMA - 19/6/2012, CUEPACS Wants Contract Employees Be Absorbed To Permanent Posts
