Legal firms can open, what about trade unions, asks MTUC

Legal firms can open, what about trade unions, asks MTUC

The congress says it has a role to play in serving workers affected by the lockdown.

MTUC says workers need help on issues such as pay cuts, retrenchments and compliance with SOPs during the pandemic.
PETALING JAYA:
Trade union officials should be allowed to serve workers affected by the Covid-19 pandemic during the lockdown, says the Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC).

Its secretary-general Kamarul Baharin Mansor said MTUC had appealed to the National Security Council (MKN) on its request through email on June 15, and that a copy was also sent to the human resources ministry.

“MTUC is disappointed with the lack of response from MKN and we take this as a sign that MKN is insensitive to issues concerning workers,” he said in a statement today.

Kamarul said legal firms were allowed to resume operations after being categorised as an essential service, but trade unions were treated differently.

Kamarul Baharin Mansor.

According to him, MKN must seek inputs from the human resources ministry, which oversees trade unions, on this matter.

He also noted that the International Labour Organization (ILO) had stated that trade unions played a big role in managing the effects of the pandemic.

“The increase in retrenchment and employment-related issues such as pay cuts, non-compliance with SOPs and more positive cases in the workplace have caused stress to workers.

“These workers depend on union officials to help solve their issues,” he said, adding that the officials could help take some burden off the government’s shoulders in dealing with the workers’ problems.

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