KUALA LUMPUR, March 17 — The Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) urged the government to act against Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) members that refuse to pay employees during the two-week mandatory shutdown.
MTUC secretary-general J. Solomon said the MEF's decision is 'most inhumane' as its members will directly benefit from the government’s RM20 billion stimulus package.
“Yet they have no qualms about leaving their workers high and dry, without income. We call on the government to convene and urgent meeting with MEF and MTUC to address this pressing issue, as workers must be assured of an adequate safety net when the shutdown is executed,” he said in a statement.
Solomon added that workers affected by the shutdown of their workplaces could be significantly helped by a moratorium on their housing and vehicle bank loans, until they get back on their feet.
“Our banking industry is solid and can easily do this. MTUC lauds the decision by Bank Rakyat, SME Bank and Tekun Nasional to waive monthly loan payments for six months for B40 and M40 workers.
“The banking industry must immediately step in to discharge their obligations towards helping these workers and MTUC has written to the Association of Banks in Malaysia to consider the deferment of the instalments on housing, vehicle and education loans,” he said.
Solomon said the movement control order will also impact up to 300,000 Malaysians employed in Singapore, whom he said will need to know as soon as possible if they will be allowed to travel to the island republic or take paid leave.
“There must be a government-to-government dialogue between Malaysia and Singapore to address this issue urgently for more clarity. If the welfare of the 15 million workers in Malaysia can be given the utmost priority, MTUC is confident the government will have effectively dealt with any spillover from the movement control order,” he said.
The secretary-general pledged MTUC's cooperation with the government in ensuring Covid-19 is effectively contained, while also safeguarding workers so they do not end-up short-changed.
“The order is a decisive measure necessary to contain Covid-19's spread, even though there will be consequences. However these will be negligible compared to not having taken this important decision.
“MTUC agrees that the movement control order is not a lock down but rather a strict course of action to impose large scale social distancing, without denying people access to their daily essential needs,” he said.
As low wage earners will suffer the brunt of the Covid-19 economic downturn, Solomon called upon the government to not delay in showing its resolve to champion their rights and welfare.
“There is no better opportunity to do so then now, when they are facing such dire challenges due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“In that endeavour, 'the haves should share their wealth with the have-nots' in simple terms,” he said.
The order was announced by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin yesterday night, and will start tomorrow until March 31. This will affect all business premises as they will have to shutdown, with supermarkets and grocery stores selling daily essentials being exempted.
All government and private premises will also be closed during the movement control order, except for essential services such as utilities, telecommunications, transport, banking, health, pharmacies, ports, airports, cleaning and food supplies.
