PUTRAJAYA’S call for businesses to automate during the coronavirus crisis is “irresponsible” and “ill-timed”, said the Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC), as it will worsen unemployment.

MTUC secretary-general J. Solomon slammed such a call in the wake of thousands of workers suffering pay cuts and forced to take unpaid leave while thousands more risk losing their jobs because of the economic impact of the coronavirus.

International Trade and Industry Minister Azmin Ali said recently automation would mitigate the economic impact of Covid-19 as it reduces a company’s workforce.

Economists and employer associations estimate that the shutdown in almost all business because of measures to contain the virus could lead to up to two million job losses.

“It is beyond MTUC’s comprehension as to why Azmin, a senior minister, would want to inflict more woes unto helpless workers, especially at a time when the government should be seen to be doing its best to encourage employers not to neglect the workers’ welfare,” Solomon said in a statement.  

“By urging employers to ramp up automation without a sound plan for affected workers, Azmin risks worsening Malaysia’s unemployment problem, both in the short and long term.

“MTUC is already seeing thousands of Malaysian workers in the manufacturing and service industry suffering after losing their jobs through VSS and retrenchment exercises under the guise of e-banking and digitalisation.”

The minister should instead focus on getting workers back to their jobs in a safe and secure environment instead of talking about automation, he said.

MTUC said it is not against automation but has repeatedly advocated it as a way for Malaysian industries to reduce its addiction to cheap foreign labour.

The constant use of imported workers has suppressed wages for Malaysian workers, Solomon said.

“As such, the employers never saw the need to take automation seriously as thousands of foreigners continue to find their way to Malaysia to provide cheap labour for the construction, manufacturing, SMEs plantation and services sectors.

“The government, while giving lip service to the need for automation, also benefited greatly from this arrangement by earning healthy taxes from employers who became increasingly reliant on cheap labour as a means to rake in excessive profits.” – May 3, 2020.