MTUC secretary-general Kamarul Baharin Mansor said the company’s excuse of waiting for new investors to take over is unreasonable, as salary payment is a fundamental aspect of employment.

“The company’s ability to attract new investors is very much in doubt, especially since it has already ceased operations for five months,” he said in a statement.

Kamarul said a recent report about a potential investor from the Middle East withdrawing its offer caused some concern among the workers who were finding it hard to wait for some respite to their plight.

On Oct 12 last year, MYAirline abruptly suspended operations after citing “severe financial challenges”, just 11 months after taking to the skies.

Transport minister Loke Siew Fook was previously reported to have said that any investor looking to revive MYAirline must ensure all passengers were given refunds and that monies owed to the staff were settled in full.

Kamarul also said the fate of the unpaid MYAirline workers must be defended, with the company having failed to pay any wages since last October.

He called for the human resources ministry to take action and inform all the affected employees on the status of their wage claims.

“The ministry’s priority must be to obtain payment of wage arrears and to ensure the workers’s well-being,” he said.

Kamarul said the government must enact laws on wage payment methods, termination benefits, or any benefits when companies cease operations due to bankruptcy or any other reason.

Several acts need to be amended to make companies more accountable to workers and to prioritise them when a company is declared bankrupt, he said.