MTUC: Don’t use economic crisis as excuse
Star Online
BUTTERWORTH: Employers should not use the global economic crisis as an excuse to deprive workers of their rights, said MTUC president Syed Shahir Syed Mohd.
He said employers should find ways to deal with any impending economic problems instead of taking advantage of their workers.
So far, the movement had not received any complaints from workers deprived of their rights caused by the global economic crisis.
“We hope employers will come out with contingency plans to protect their workers instead of instituting retrenchment or depriving workers of their rights.
“Unfortunately, the Government has not stated what is in store for the people other than repeating that our fundamentals are strong,” Syed Shahir told reporters during a visit to the MTUC Penang office yesterday.
He said it was clear the crisis was the result of governments pursuing a free market policy in support of big capital and big businesses.
Syed Shahir said MTUC was concerned that employers would ask workers to make sacrifices, adding that the union was not prepared to accept any unfair burden imposed on workers.
“The Government should closely monitor the situation and prepare for contingencies. It should also take urgent pro-active measures to protect the interests of workers,” he said.
MTUC has some 500,000 members under 240 affiliations nationwide.
