Akta Kerja: Dr Subra dibidas dakwa MTUC kelirukan rakyat

Oleh G Manimaran
October 13, 2011

KUALA LUMPUR, 13 Okt — Kongres Kesatuan Sekerja Malaysia (MTUC) membidas Datuk Seri Dr S Subramaniam dengan menegaskan tuduhan Menteri Sumber Manusia itu bahawa badan induk pekerja ini memutar belit dan mengelirukan rakyat berhubung pindaan Akta

Kerja 1955 adalah “tidak adil dan tidak wajar” sama sekali.

“Soal MTUC atau Setiausaha Agung MTUC memutarbelitkan rakyat mengenai Rang Undang-undang Kerja (Pindaan) 2011 adalah tidak benar sekali... tidak wajar sama sekali, kami tidak kelirukan sesiapa,” kata Setiausaha Agung Abdul Halim Mansor kepada The Malaysian Insider.

Sebaliknya kata Halim, MTUC telah berusaha untuk membincangkan kontroversi berkaitan Rang Undang-undang Kerja (Pindaan) 2011 dengan lebih lanjut demi kepentingan para pekerja, tetapi tidak mendapat kerjasama daripada Kementerian Sumber Manusia.

Katanya, piket yang diusahakan oleh MTUC di kawasan Parlimen pada 3 Oktober lalu sebenarnya dapat dielakkan jika Kementerian Sumber Manusia sanggup bertolak ansur untuk mengadakan perbincangan.

“Kami telah menghantar surat kepada Menteri Sumber Manusia ketika mesyuarat NLAC (Majlis Penasihat Buruh Kebangsaan) yang diadakan pada hari piket diadakan.

“Sekiranya Menteri Sumber Manusia (yang mempengerusikan mesyuarat NLAC) sanggup mengatakan bahawa sedia berbincang, sudah pasti piket hari itu telah ditangguhkan... jadi tidak wajar mengatakan kami yang memutarbelitkan isu,” kata beliau lagi.

Ketika ditanya sama ada Kementerian Sumber Manusia memanggil mesyuarat NLAC secara kebetulan ataupun sebaliknya pada hari yang sama piket MTUC, Halim berkata, “saya tidak pasti, dan saya tidak mahu mengulas perkara itu.”

Tetapi beliau menegaskan, piket 3 Oktober sudah asti boleh dielakkan jika kerajaan bersedia untuk menangguhkan bacaan kali kedua Rang Undang-undang Kerja (Pindaan) 2011.

“Sesi Parlimen kali ini berlangsung sehingga bulan Disember, jadi saya bacaan kali kedua sebenarnya boleh dielak atau ditangguh bagi kami berbincang lagi, sepatutnya tiada masalah, tapi...,” kata Halim.

Malah menurut Halim, MTUC tidak pernah membantah kesemua peruntukan yang dibawa menerusi pindaan Akta Kerja, sebaliknya “hanya meminta agar dibuat pindaan bagi melindungi kepentingan pekerja.”

“Ini penting untuk diketahui, kami tidak membantah kesemua peruntukan. Kami hanya mahu perlindungan pekerja dipertingkatkan, ini yang telah kami minta,” kata beliau.

“Dalam pertemuan-pertemuan yang diadakan dengan Kementerian Sumber Manusia, MTUC telah memberikan banyak cadangan untuk pertimbangan kementerian, tetapi ia tidak mendapat perhatian yang sewajarnya,” katanya.

“Jadi, cadangan tinggal cadangan, apa kami boleh buat?” kata Halim turut menambah, beliau sendiri telah cuba menyelesaikan isu semasa dengan harmoni sehingga berhadapan dengan risiko hampir-hampir “digantung jawatan.”

“Jadi, untuk mengatakan kami dan saya sendiri mengelirukan rakyat adalah tidak benar, tidak adil,” kata Halim merujuk kepada kenyataan Dr Subramaniam kelmarin, antara lain berkata pihaknya sedih dengan tindakan MTUC yang memutuskan untuk mengadakan piket peringkat nasional berhubung isu Rang Undang-undang Kerja (Pindaan) 2011 pada 3 November ini.

Kata Dr Subramaniam beliau juga amat sedih dengan tindakan MTUC yang memutarbelitkan fakta dan mengelirukan orang ramai.

“Saya amat sedih dengan tindakan MTUC, Akta Kerja digubal atas permintaan kesatuan pekerja yang lain dan hanya MTUC yang menentang sedangkan saya sudah menjelaskan hal yang sebenarnya,” kata beliau.

“Akta itu bukan dibuat ikut arahan majikan, sebaliknya berdasarkan tuntutan pekerja sejak beberapa tahun lepas lagi,” kata beliau menegaskan tindakan Kementerian Sumber Manusia terhadap pindaan akta tersebut.

Isnin lalu, MTUC sebulat suara memutuskan untuk mengadakan piket di seluruh negara bagi membantah tindakan Putrajaya meneruskan bacaan kali kedua Rang Undang-Undang Kerja (Pindaan) 2011 di Dewan Rakyat, Khamis lalu.

Piket akan diadakan serentak di seluruh negara.

Pendirian tegas ini, susulan piket di kawasan Parlimen pada 3 Oktober lalu, diputuskan oleh mesyuarat majlis am khas.

Kali terakhir MTUC mengadakan piket nasional adalah pada 2007 berkaitan dengan dasar minimum.

Perkembangan semasa dijangka membawa kesan dari segi sokongan pekerja kepada parti pemerintah pada pilihan raya umum ke-13.

Sambil menegaskan MTUC telah memberi pandangan yang salah kepada rakyat, Dr Subramaniam berkata kerajaan masih lagi bersedia berbincang dan berunding dengan MTUC agar mempertimbangkan semula berkenaan penganjuran piket di seluruh negara.

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/bahasa/article/akta-kerja-dr-subra-dibidas-dakwa-mtuc-kelirukan-rakyat/

Union calls for policy review on foreign workers

by Murib Morpi. Posted on October 11, 2011, Tuesday

KOTA KINABALU: Malaysia need to review its policy on foreign workers and set a

clear recruitment guideline to limit the number of imported workers to be allowed for every sector.

Asean Service Employees Trade Union Council (ASETUC) when suggesting this yesterday said, limiting the number of foreign workers is important to allow more opportunities for the locals to take up jobs in the various sectors currently dependent on immigrants.

Its general secretary Mohamed Shafie BP Mammal said, this will become a vital start towards promoting a decent work environment for workers in the country.

“We are not against foreign workers, but there must be a limit. Initially, foreign workers were brought in for the plantation and construction sectors, but today, we see that they are in all fields, competing with the locals,” he said to reporters at the ASETUC Malaysia National Advocacy Workshop held at Tang Dynasty Park Hotel here.

Mohd Shafie said, ASETUC Malaysia recognises that the influx of immigrant workers is a major issue in Sabah and in the country.

He also acknowleged that foreign workers were being exploited for minimal salary by their Malaysian employers, and this has been one of the major obstacles against the effort to introduce minimal wages for many sectors in the country.

“We want the government to be very serious in this. They have to look at it based on the actual needs and requirements of the industry. By actual needs I mean, what sector which really requires foreign workers and should be allowed to employ immigrants, and how many.

“We need to define what we mean by shortage of workers, because in my opinion Malaysia has more than enough readily available workers. It just that the ‘pulling factor’ is not there to attract the locals… the wages are too low, the allowances are too low, and they (employer) do not seem to be interested in hiring Malaysians.

“These are the factors causing Malaysians to shy away from certain sectors, but if the treatment is good, the benefits are there, I think the locals would grab the (job) opportunities available,” he said, stressing that the limitless availability of foreign workers ready to be employed with such low salaries has been the major obstacle to get the local industry to adopt a proper minimum wage limit.

Mohamed Shafie suggested that a special action committee to be set up specifically for reviewing the approval given to employers to hire foreigners and to come up with a fairer formula to all parties.

He added, the new system should also emphasise on allowing the authorities to effectively keep track and control the number of foreign workers being hired in the different sectors and ensure that locals are given the priority to fill the vacancies available.

He stressed that until today the government cannot even state the actual number of immigrant workers hired, let alone having a proper means of limiting their number in the industries.

“Because of this situation, foreign workers continue to migrate in big numbers into Malaysia, and there is no control. We don’t even know how many of them are here, the figure varies and keep changing depending on who announces it. So we need to study the requests from the employers, whether they are really relevant. We cannot simply approve and let them in, there must be a quota for all the industrues and for every sector. And we need to know the exact figure.

“In addition, we cannot deny the rights of the locals. They should be the ones to decide, if they say they don’t want any more then we should not let more to come in… These jobs that are given to foreigners can actually be done by the locals but the employers do not see this.

“The locals are not appreciated as competent workers, we label them as lazy and choosy. This has to change. The Prime Minister is talking about transformation and this element also has to be transformed,” he said.

This was the first advocacy workshop organised by ASETUC in Sabah, they had previously organised two similar events in the peninsular to promote discussions and collaborations between the employee unions, the employers and the government in addressing common issues.

Over 40 union members from Sabah and Sarawak attended the two-day workshop, which is also aimed at consolidating the responses of trade unions from these regions and to incorporate them into the strategic plan of Malaysia’s trade unions.

http://www.theborneopost.com/2011/10/11/union-calls-for-policy-review-on-foreign-workers-latest/