Wednesday June 27, 2012
What a sweeping response!
By DERRICK VINESH
derrickvinesh@thestar.com.my
Questions and answers: Applicants attending the interview held at MPSP headquarters in Bandar Perda, Bukit Mertajam. A TOTAL of 2,161 hopefuls thronged the Seberang Prai Municipal Council (MPSP) headquarters in Penang to attend a walk-in interview for jobs as contract cleaners.
Municipal councillor Soon Lip Chee said although there were only 1,000 vacancies, the overwhelming response was highly encouraging.
“We did not expect such a large turnout. The positions are strictly meant for Malaysians as we want to give priority to locals to take up the posts,” he said yesterday.
Soon said the interview, which was originally scheduled from 8.30am to 3.30pm on Sunday, was extended until 11pm the same day due to the big crowd.
He said the interview panel comprised several municipal councillors and officers from the council’s Urban Services Department.
He said it was the first time that the council conducted an interview on a Sunday to make it more convenient for candidates.
“The vacancies, in the Grade R1 position under the support group category, are open to Malaysians, aged 18 years and above, who possess a minimum qualification of UPSR.
“We were surprised that many of the candidates were youths and some of them had higher qualifications,” Soon said.
He said the starting salary offered was RM823.98, adding that those hired would also receive a cost of living allowance (Cola) of RM300, permanent housing allowance of RM180 and permanent service allowance of RM95.
He said the job entailed house-to-house and station-to-station garbage collection, general cleaning services such as grass cutting and drain cleaning, cleaning of garbage dumpsites, garbage truck washing as well as maintenance of cleaning tools.
Soon said council’s Management Services Department would process all applications received from the interview panel before submitting short-listed candidates to the council’s Employee Appointment Committee to pick and appoint the rightful candidates.
“We hope the appointments can be made within a month or two even though the maximum waiting period for the applicants to receive an official reply is six months,” he added.
The state government, had earlier this year, given the MPSP an additional allocation of RM20mil to employ more cleaners as well as buy more garbage trucks and related tools.
Soon said the move was in line with the state government’s decision not to surrender solid waste management services in the state to a federal government-appointed company under a national privatisation programme.
He said the council hoped that its own general workers would undertake 60% of the council’s cleaning services, while the remaining 40% would be done by its appointed private contractors.
“It will be easier for us to monitor our own cleaners as the inefficient ones can be slapped with warning letters or termination notices if the need arises,” he said.
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