Andrew Lo
KUCHING (Mar 7): The number of workers who were retrenched in Sarawak is worrying, opined the Malaysian Trade Union Congress (MTUC) Sarawak.
Following a report that a total of 6,767 workers were retrenched in Sarawak for the whole of last year, MTUC Sarawak secretary Andrew Lo opined that the numbers could be higher.
“The figures revealed by the Labour Department appears to relate to only workers covered under the Sarawak Labour Ordinance, therefore the actual numbers of all workers retrenched, or those who have their salaries reduced, could be much higher,” he said when contacted by The Borneo Post today.
He said that such a scenario reinforced the need to have a holistic approach towards human resources development in the state while it is unacceptable that Sarawak does not have any state ministry for human resources.
Apart from that, he also expressed his concern that despite the number of workers in Sarawak being retrenched, the State Disaster Management Committee was allowing foreign workers back into the state.
“Seeing what has happening to many workers in Sarawak recently, it seems employment agents are dictating manpower needs,” he said.
Lo thus believes that the state government should also come up with solutions such as providing wage subsidy to employers in the state to help maintain employment among workers given the federal government’s abject failure to provide much needed support to the private sector.
Despite the state government announcing aid such as Bantuan Khas Sarawakku Sayang (BKSS) 5.0, Lo also believes that the state government could do more than the measures announced thus far.
“We believe that more can be done (by the state government) to not only alleviate the sufferings of the people but to stimulate the economy by putting more cash into the economy,” he said
The BKSS 5.0 was introduced to help Sarawakians cushion the economic impact arising from the Covid-19 pandemic last month.
A total 6,767 workers were retrenched in Sarawak for the whole of last year, revealed a labour statistics issued by the Sarawak Labour Department recently.
Kuching district was the worst affected having recorded the highest number of retrenchments with 3,381 followed by Miri with 2,538 workers retrenched.
Other districts affected are Marudi with 275 retrenchments, Sibu (201), Bintulu (126), Mukah (68), Sri Aman (45), Betong (42), Saratok (30), Limbang (26), Lawas (26) and Samarahan (9).
Sarawak Labour Department director Awang Raduan Awang Omar in a statement said the financial stress caused by the Covid-19 pandemic had led to employers to undertake this retrenchment exercise.
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