THE Malaysian Trades Union Congress said it feared the government was trying to play down the growing unemployment problem in Malaysia caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

MTUC secretary-general J. Solomon said the government has failed to insulate employees from the devastating economic impact of the pandemic that has seen “hundreds of thousands” of them either losing their jobs or facing pay cuts.

He also said Putrajaya’s action plan to mitigate Covid-19 has failed to shield employees from employers who used the pandemic as an excuse to carry out massive retrenchments and pay cuts.

Solomon was disputing Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz’s statement yesterday that nearly 70% of the work force has returned to their jobs in the various sectors and that Malaysia’s economy is set to rebound next year.

“We are baffled as to where the minister got his figures from and worry that he is attempting to mask the reality of the growing unemployment problem in Malaysia, which has been worsened by the economic crisis triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Many employers, including SMEs, have been talking about massive lay-offs being ramped up in the coming weeks, including a grim prediction by the Malaysian Employers Federation that up to 2 million people are expected to lose their jobs after the Hari Raya celebrations,” he said in a statement.

Solomon pointed out that MTUC did not wish to be the prophet of doom or douse Tengku Zafrul’s rather exuberant optimism on Malaysia’s prospects for the next year.

“However, the devil is in the details and the details will show there are hundreds of thousands of workers who have lost their jobs or are forced to take deep pay cuts from their already meagre salaries.

“The MTUC is aware of any attempts by government leaders to trivialise or downplay the dire situation of Malaysian workers, by insisting a rebound is imminent.”

He blamed the government’s refusal to introduce the Emergency Employment Regulations (EER) as proposed by MTUC as a contributing factor in job losses.

The EER would bar employers from retrenching workers for a specific period, he added.

“Instead, the government is seen to be only keen in indulging employers, rather than protecting the livelihood of workers.

“Consequently, due to the absence of the EER, workers were laid off from the very first day the MCO was enforced as employers went on to receive billions of ringgit in grants and soft loans under the Prihatin stimulus packages.”

He urged the government to trigger the National Labour Advisory Council (NLAC) – comprising the government, and MTUC and MEF representatives – to make recommendations that addresses the needs of the business community and the welfare of workers.

“No NLAC meeting has been called for the purpose and so we wonder where and how the government is collating information on the ground.” – May 31, 2020.