THE Malaysian Trades Union Congress has received more than 300 complaints from retrenched workers as management moves to slash operating cost.

Companies are targeting foreign workers, said MTUC secretary-general J. Solomon, urging Putrajaya to look into their plight. 

“Some lost their jobs, while others were asked to take a pay cut or forced to go on unpaid leave. 

“We feel that this is the beginning of a serious problem arising from employers who are resorting to using the MCO (movement-control order) as an excuse to sack workers,” he said in a statement. 

Some unscrupulous employers are abandoning migrant workers despite Putrajaya’s second stimulus package for small and medium enterprises, said Solomon.

Prime Minister Muhiyiddin Yassin unveiled an RM10 billion stimulus package to help SMEs and micro-organisations to mitigate the economic impact of Covid-19.

Muhyiddin said Putrajaya is aware that employers are finding it difficult to retain workers in this difficult period.

He, however, said the government has agreed to allow employers and employees to discuss the terms of employment, including the possibility of imposing a pay cut or allowing staff to go on no-pay leave.

They are to seek advice from the Manpower Department to achieve a win-win situation for both parties. 

On Monday, Solomon said MTUC managed to document a case involving the termination of 32 documented migrant workers in USJ, Selangor, who were employed by three SMEs. 

“They were not only left unattended in their hostel with no one to turn to, but also faced pay cuts for the days they did not work during the MCO.

“Although they are all foreigners, it is the MTUC’s duty to defend all workers irrespective of where they come from.

The MTUC-ILO Migrant Resource Centre of the central region team visited the migrants in their hostel. 

“They are citizens of Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar. We found that most of them were terminated from their employment without being paid their salaries from the time the MCO was implemented.”

The workers are also living in cramped conditions with poor hygiene, which could start a Covid-19 cluster, he said. 

“This treatment is deplorable in a country although they pay a decent levy to the government annually.”

MTUC lodged a complaint with the Labour Department in Putrajaya with details of all the workers, including copies of their pay slips and contract.

“The enforcement team must act to nip this problem in the bud. Such treatment has placed Malaysia in breach of all the international labour standards and is inviting condemnation from the international community.”

The MCO was enforced on March 18 to break the chain of coronavirus infections in the country. So far, Malaysia has registered 3,963 cases with 63 fatalities. – April 8, 2020.