Human Resources Minister M Saravanan must investigate whether the Department of Labour was supporting a move by YTL Cement Bhd to retrench 62 workers during the movement control order (MCO) period, said the Cement Industry Employees’ Union (CIEU).
The Labour Department had acted clearly against Saravanan’s orders, CIEU vice-president S Chelvadurai said in a June 15 statement.
Assurances, said Chelvadurai, were granted to YTL Cement to retrench staff at its Rawang plant despite the government’s pledge that workers would not be laid off during the MCO.
“At a meeting on May 14, 2020 with CIEU, YTL’s Human Resources director Theresa claimed that the Labour Department had provided her with ‘extra assurance’ that YTL could proceed with the retrenchment exercise.
“In a letter dated June 5, 2020, the management of YTL Cement again confirmed to the Union that the Labour Department has given assurances that it could continue with the retrenchment of 62 workers from its Rawang plant.
“The ‘assurances’ obtained from the Labour Department clearly showed a blatant disregard of the government’s pledges that workers would not be laid off during the enforcement of the MCO. As such, we are shocked by the conduct of the Labour Department,” he said.
Chelvadurai also said that the Labour Department had not acted against YTL Cement’s management after the company barred local workers from clocking in but allowed its foreign staff to do so.
“This itself is an act of discrimination against local workers by the management and a complete violation of Sections 60L, 60M and 60N of the Employment Act 1955,” added Chelvadurai.
He said that despite a complaint being lodged by CIEU and MTUC on May 28 with the Labour Department, local workers continued to be barred from the YTL Cement plant while the foreign workers retained full access to the worksite.
He added that Saravanan’s assurances that local workers would be given priority over foreigners in job opportunities had clearly fallen to deaf ears even among top officials of the Labour Department which is under the purview of the minister himself.
“We call on the honourable minister to save the livelihood of the Malaysian workers who are being retrenched by YTL Cement under the guise of renovating the cement plant for RM300 mil. These workers are from the B40 hardcore poor group and a number of them have served YTL Cement for more than 30 years. Despite the minister’s clear directives and guidelines, senior officials in the Labour Department are seemingly complicit or in cahoots with employers seeking to lay off workers as a quick solution to cut costs and retain their bottom line,” said Chelvadurai.
YTL Cement’s only official meeting held with CIEU was on May 14 where the union had suggested that the said renovation work be carried out in phases which would help workers keep their jobs. The management then agreed to wait for the union to submit more options in writing before taking a final decision.
However, YTL Cement clearly did not honour its pledge, according to Chelvadurai. On the next day (May 15), the 62 workers were served with retrenchment letters that were backdated to May 8. Despite this, the union submitted various options to help the workers keep their jobs. However, the company refused to meet the union to discuss the options despite its earlier pledge to do so.
Chelvadurai said the whole episode also underscored the need for the government to introduce the Emergency Employment Regulations (EER) that would prohibit employers from laying off workers for a specific period. YTL Cement’s conduct in dismissing Malaysian workers and retaining foreign employees has highlighted the need to have EER to protect workers from further victimisation. – June 16, 2020
