Parliamentary Workers' Caucus wants RM1 billion retrenchment funding
A bipartisan Parliamentary Caucus on workers and foreign workers established yesterday is calling for a RM1 billion retrenchment fund to be set up by the government.
It also wants the government to freeze arrivals of foreign workers as job shortages have become a pressing issue.
This comes in the middle of worsening economic circumstances that has seen lower growth projections by the government and analysts alike.
Massive job cuts are expected as demand for goods and services continue to slow. Barisan Nasional (BN), Pakatan Rakyat (PR) and independent MPs agreed after its first meeting that it would seek immediate action on these resolutions with the respective ministers.
"If RM5 billion can be allocated to Valuecap to help shareholders, why not RM1 billion for workers?" chairman Abdullah Sani Abdul Hamid (PKR-Kuala Langat) told the press today, adding that an appointment with the Human Resource Minister is being sought.
He said that if a fund was set up with just RM1 being collected each month from all employees and employers, the fact that there are 11.3 million workers would result in a fund that would hit RM4 billion in 10 years.
In October, Charles Santiago (DAP-Klang) had asked the Human Resource Ministry in the Dewan Rakyat if it would set up a retrenchment fund in the face of expected job cuts.
It had replied that it would make a decision in six months.
"By April, it would be too late," Santiago, told The Malaysian Insider today. He said that the only plan the government had in place to address the issue now was a retraining fund to redesignate workers into industries with vacancies.
"Quotas for foreign workers not only need to be frozen, but unused quotas must be abolished as well," he added. Secretary M. Kula Segaran (DAP-Ipoh Barat) said that a meeting with the Home Minister would be held to address this request.
"All countries’ first choice for retrenchment is foreigners. So we should do the same as we also have 300,000 workers in Singapore who will be retrenched and we need to accommodate them," he said.
The establishment of the caucus, which was chaired by de facto Minister of Parliament Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz yesterday, becomes just the fourth to be recognised across the political divide with Datuk Ahmad Hamzah (BN-Jasin) as its deputy chairman.
Ahmad is due to provide the names of three more BN backbenchers who will join their colleagues already in the caucus.
Source : The Malaysian Insider
It also wants the government to freeze arrivals of foreign workers as job shortages have become a pressing issue.
This comes in the middle of worsening economic circumstances that has seen lower growth projections by the government and analysts alike.
Massive job cuts are expected as demand for goods and services continue to slow. Barisan Nasional (BN), Pakatan Rakyat (PR) and independent MPs agreed after its first meeting that it would seek immediate action on these resolutions with the respective ministers.
"If RM5 billion can be allocated to Valuecap to help shareholders, why not RM1 billion for workers?" chairman Abdullah Sani Abdul Hamid (PKR-Kuala Langat) told the press today, adding that an appointment with the Human Resource Minister is being sought.
He said that if a fund was set up with just RM1 being collected each month from all employees and employers, the fact that there are 11.3 million workers would result in a fund that would hit RM4 billion in 10 years.
In October, Charles Santiago (DAP-Klang) had asked the Human Resource Ministry in the Dewan Rakyat if it would set up a retrenchment fund in the face of expected job cuts.
It had replied that it would make a decision in six months.
"By April, it would be too late," Santiago, told The Malaysian Insider today. He said that the only plan the government had in place to address the issue now was a retraining fund to redesignate workers into industries with vacancies.
"Quotas for foreign workers not only need to be frozen, but unused quotas must be abolished as well," he added. Secretary M. Kula Segaran (DAP-Ipoh Barat) said that a meeting with the Home Minister would be held to address this request.
"All countries’ first choice for retrenchment is foreigners. So we should do the same as we also have 300,000 workers in Singapore who will be retrenched and we need to accommodate them," he said.
The establishment of the caucus, which was chaired by de facto Minister of Parliament Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz yesterday, becomes just the fourth to be recognised across the political divide with Datuk Ahmad Hamzah (BN-Jasin) as its deputy chairman.
Ahmad is due to provide the names of three more BN backbenchers who will join their colleagues already in the caucus.
Source : The Malaysian Insider
