Monday February 23, 2009
Still no fund to help those sacked
By SARBAN SINGH
SEREMBAN: The setting up of the National Retrenchment Fund, proposed by the Malaysian Trades Union Congrees (MTUC) more than 10 years ago to provide financial assistance to sacked workers, is as good as off.
It is learnt that officials from the Human Resources Ministry, Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) and MTUC have not been able to agree to the terms in setting up the fund.
Sources said the three parties have not met for the past two years although close to 20,000 Malaysians have lost their jobs in recent weeks alone.
“Ministry officials cannot explain why companies that
have been managed well and following related laws need to contribute to the fund,” the source said.
MEF executive director Sham-suddin Bardan admitted that employers were still against the fund although there were reports to the contrary by officials.
The MTUC had proposed each worker contribute RM1 monthly to the fund while employers pay the same amount for every worker but the then prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said the Government would consider the proposal if the amount to be contributed by both parties was halved.
It was then agreed that the Social Security Organisation (Socso) would be responsible to discuss the matter with workers’ and employers’ representatives.
Attempts to get comments from Socso chief executive officer K. Selvarajah drew a blank.
MTUC secretary-general G. Rajasekaren, who admitted that the National Labour Advisory Council had not met for two years, said it was strange that authorities were not getting things moving.
The MTUC, he said, would pursue the matter with the Government.
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