Over 4,700 workers to be retrenched, says Subra

At least 4,749 workers, mostly from the electronics sector, will be retrenched by 137 employers in the next three months, Human Resources Minister Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam said.

He said the figures, including some 1,500 Western Digital workers in Kuching, were updated as of yesterday.

“My ministry will ensure that the workers get the compensation due to them.” he said after a dialogue with Malaysian Training Providers Berhad.

He said under the Employment (Termination And Lay-off Benefits) Regulations, workers would be compensated a part of their salary for each year of service.

For workers who have been with a company for two years or less, compensation would be 10 days of salary per year of work.

For those who clocked in between two and five years, it would be 15 days of salary per year and for those above five years, 20 days.

Dr Subramaniam said the Govern- ment would look into getting alternative employment for the workers or retrain them.

“So far, we have not held dialogues with these workers but we will be contacting them soon and setting up counselling sessions,” he said.

Dr Subramaniam said he was not sure whether the number of retrenched workers would increase but added that some things were beyond the Government’s control.

“However, we will ensure the retrenchment is done fairly,” he said.

He said any employer intending to retrench, lay off, offer voluntary separation schemes or reduce salaries would have to inform the ministry 30 days before such action is taken.

On foreign workers, Dr Subramaniam said the employment contract agreed between the employer and the worker had to be honoured and that the foreign worker would have to go back home if he or she was retrenched.