SEEKING FAIR TREATMENT: A large crowd of retrenched workers listening to a briefing by MTUC Sarawak Division secretary Andrew Lo after their representatives presented their petition to the state government.
KUCHING: The state government will take a relook at the Sarawak Labour Ordinance to ensure that the law is sufficient to protect the interest of workers since Sarawak is moving towards developing its industrial potential.
“Whatever needs to be improved, we will improve it,” assured Minister of Industrial Development Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan at a press conference yesterday after meeting representatives of retrenched workers of Sanmina-SCI Corporation (M) Sdn Bhd.
“Our concern is on the welfare of the workers and full compliance with the Sarawak Labour Ordinance (by the company).”
Expressing the government’s sympathy with those retrenched, he said the government had actually been taking actions within the ambit of the law to assist them.
He pointed out that on Nov 16, the State Labour Department received a joint claim from 356 ex-employees of Sanmina at its office on the payment of retrenchment benefits and payment in lieu of notice.
SUBMITTING PETITION: Only eight out of the 800 strong who had gathered outside were allowed to enter the new DUN complex for a closed-door meeting. Jalai (second right) submitted the petition of Sanmina retrenched workers to Awang Tengah in the presence of Industrial Development Assistant Minister Datuk Peter Nansian (second left) and Investment and Promotion Assistant Minister Julaihi Narawi.
“The claim was mentioned in the Labour Court on Nov 20.”
He added that further action from the government from the legal aspects would have to wait until the Labour Court’s decision.
In the meantime, he said, the Labour Department had organised a job placement programme where 17 ex-employees of Sanmina were offered jobs with various companies while 77 ex-employees had their applications under consideration.
“In addition, the Labour Department has also arranged open interviews specifically for the retrenched employees on Nov 19 to 21.”
He said based on a report from the Labour Department dated Nov 13, a total of 928 out of the 1,019 employees of Sanmina had been retrenched.
In his meeting with top leaders of the company on Oct 29, Awang Tengah said he had appealed to Sanmina to defer the retrenchment exercise until the end of the year so as to enable the state government and Malaysia Investment Development Authority to find a solution to the problem, to give sufficient time for employees to look for jobs elsewhere, and to enable the Labour Department to help them.