PUTRAJAYA is not thinking outside the box to ensure that workers retain their jobs, the Malaysian Trades Union Congress said today.

MTUC secretary-general J. Solomon said the congress was ready to assist the government, together with the Malaysian Employers’ Federation (MEF).

“We can assist the government to shape new and more effective initiatives to ensure that millions of workers are not deprived of their livelihood and sincere employers are able to sustain their businesses without laying off employees,” he said in a statement today.

“The government clearly needs to think outside the box and formulate new approaches to ensure workers retain their jobs. Some of these new measures may include a carrot and stick approach.

“The government has to decide on the size of the carrot and the stick, to make sure both are effective enough to minimise job losses and the economic turnaround is not impeded by massive retrenchments,” Solomon said.

Methods such as continued subsidies for workers’ salaries are not sustainable, he added, as there is no proper oversight or enforcement to ensure employers are not victimising workers.

The MTUC wants the government to instead introduce the Emergency Employment Regulations that prohibits employers from laying off workers for a specific period.

“Although many employers have balked at this proposal, it should be discussed at the National Labour Advisory Council (NLAC) to give us a chance to defend it with sound reasons.”

Solomon added that it was time for an urgent meeting between the Human Resources Ministry and the NLAC given recent warnings by the MEF that the unemployment rate would hit 12% in the coming months, rocketing up from the 5% recorded in April.

“Employers are telling the government that it is not doing enough and remain convinced they need to let their workers go.

“Clearly, the MEF’s warning that the unemployment rate is likely to spike to 12% only shows that the initiatives under the Prihatin and Penjana stimulus packages are not enough for employers.”

Solomon said the MTUC disagreed with the MEF’s use of expected unemployment as justification for more government subsidies, and that Putrajaya needed to think of other solutions.

The predicted loss of jobs for over 2 million workers after Hari Raya festivities would translate to about 2.05 million local and migrant workers.

The local workers affected would mostly be from the B40 group, already struggling to sustain themselves and their families, Solomon said. – June 16, 2020.