SHAH ALAM – The Selangor Workers Retrenchment Action Committee will provide an online registration service for workers who have been laid off to make it easier for the Selangor State Government to give the necessary assistance.

The Committee chaired by Dato’ Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim is also using the services of Syarikat Mesin Niaga as the  technology provider by using IBM’s software system in collecting data and worker information.

This online service will complement the manual registration service which will be started at local authority level (PBT) soon. Two PBTs will be called to attend a meeting next week to identify the steps that have been taken to realise the process of data collection which is done jointly with Officers of Community Welfare Department and Selangor Zakat Centre.

In the meeting, job agency company, JobStreet also gave a briefing on its activities and efforts in helping workers who had been retrenched whereby the committee will consider all the suggestions proposed. Meanwhile, the committee urges retrenched workers to use the service provided by the company through http://my.jobstreet.com/retrench-helpline/.

The meeting also heard briefings from State Investment Centre (SSIC), a subsidiary of the Selangor State Government, which stated that in January 2009, 451 workers had received offers for a voluntary separation scheme (VSS) while 2,205 had been temporarily laid off until the economy recovers. SSIC also informed that employers had expressed a hope for the Selangor State Government to arrange meetings with the Federal Government to ease their financial burden by reducing electric tariffs and certain taxes as this will enable more funds to be allocated for workers.

The police in their brief said that the increase in worker retrenchment no longer has any effect on the crime rate in Selangor. However, the police are monitoring activities of foreign workers who have been laid off and have asked assistance from the State Government to obtain information regarding retrenched foreign workers.

The Committee will invite representatives from the Immigration and unions which bring in foreign workers to give their views relating to this issue at the third meeting next week.  SSIC will also be involved in collecting data on foreign workers from all companies for record purposes on their numbers in Selangor

The Committee has also discussed several issues which were raised by the Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) on the issue of employee oppression as some local workers have been retrenched due to employers giving priority to foreign workers. MTUC representatives also made known their disappointment whereby the effects of the economic downturn were only felt by employees at lower levels while the salaries for those at executive level remained unchanged.

However, the Federation of Manufacturers, Malaysia (FMM) which also attended the meeting gave assurances that FMM members had been instructed to give priority to local workers. FMM also explained that paycuts had been made to employees at executive level.

The Committee was informed by MIDA that there were 2 Selangor polytechnics, in Shah Alam and Sabak Bernam, which wanted to give training services to those who had been laid off work. Therefore, MIDA was instructed to obtain detailed data of workers who had been laid off to enable them to be absorbed into the training service, immediately.

PRESS SECRETARIAT
OFFICE OF THE DATO’ MENTERI BESAR SELANGOR