Tackle outstanding issues, union urges govt
KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Trades Union Congress wants the government to look into a number of issues involving workers, which have yet to be resolved despite being highlighted over the years.
MTUC president Syed Shahir Syed Mohamud said that one of the most urgent was a minimum wage.
“We have been calling for a minimum monthly wage of RM900 as well as RM300 in cost of living allowance,” he told the New Straits Times in conjunction with Labour Day on Friday.
He said they have been pursuing the matter since the 1950s.
Another urgent matter is the setting up of a retrenchment fund.
“We have been asking for a retrenchment fund since 1998 but it has yet to be realised.”
He also called for a review of the amendments to the Trade Unions Act 1959 and Industrial Relations Act 1967, which were gazetted last year.
The MTUC had said the amendments would result, among others, in the Industrial Court’s loss of independence, allowing for easier union busting, promoting the removal of union activists and labour flexibility and the reduction of wages and other benefits.
“We want these to be reviewed.”
He also also called for the security of tenure for workers in the country, which involved having permanent instead of contractual jobs.
“This is more relevant now because of the uncertainty brought on by the recession.”
The MTUC will hold its annual labour gathering at the USJ sports complex in Subang Jaya on Friday.
