Malaysian unions urge government to prevent retrenchments as MCO starts

Two unions have called on the Malaysian government to prevent businesses from retrenching their workers as the country enacts movement controls. 

The Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) said that it had previously proposed emergency employment regulations to be enacted to prevent businesses from retrenching their employees and slashing benefits, according to Free Malaysia Today.

However, “the human resources ministry has not given any feedback on the proposal,” said MTUC, which received many complaints of retrenchments as Malaysia imposed its first Movement Control Order (MCO) last March. 

The trade union expects more workers to lose their jobs this time round, as the country’s surge in COVID-19 cases has led the government to impose movement controls in six states nationwide: Melaka, Johor, Penang, Selangor, Sabah and most recently, Kelantan, as well as the federal territories of Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan.

READ: Malaysia sees more protection for workers’ rights take effect in January

Meanwhile, J. Solomon, secretary-general at the National Union of Bank Employees (NUBE) said that the government must issue a “stern warning” against retrenchments.

“[This must be] followed by tough implementation of laws that require employers to keep their workers and not use the new MCO to further reduce their workforce,” Solomon said in a separate statement.