OVER TO YOU: Mondari Manjat (third right) handing over the documents on outstanding issues to his successor Ting Tien Ngo and witnessed by other office bearers at the KPSSBS office.
KUCHING: The Sesco Workers’ Union is asking the management of Sarawak Energy Bhd (SEB) to give them fairer treatment such as increasing the retirement age to 60, salary revision, payment of annual bonus, collective bargaining (CB) and medical benefits.
The union, Kesatuan Pekerja-Pekerja Syarikat Sesco Bhd Sarawak (KPSSBS), said the members were now extremely disappointed that the few requests they made to the management had fallen on deaf ears despite constant follow-ups.
KPSSBS outgoing president Mondari Manjat said the union had on various occasions met the management on the CB issue but till today there had been no response over the matter.
“Following the privatisation of Sesco in 2005 we had written in officially, apart from meeting the management on various occasions, on the CB issue but until today it has yet to become a collective agreement (CA).
“We feel that this is long overdue and we want our new office bearers to pursue this matter and we hope the management will seriously look at it because we feel that our welfare is being ignored,” said Mondari after officially handing over duty to his successor Ting Tien Ngo at the union’s office here yesterday.
He revealed that the management’s refusal to entertain their requests until today had sparked unhappiness among the members as shown during the union’s recent Triennial Delegates Conference (TDC) in Miri and Extraordinary Delegates Conference (EDC) in Sibu.
He said among the other things that the union had requested the management to consider was to extend the retirement age to 60 years old for those still fit to work.
“At the moment although the government has reviewed the retirement age for civil servants to 58 ours is still 56, and many who have retired from the service are still healthy and fit to work.
“While we feel that it is such a waste of highly experienced workforce we also view it as being very unfair to us.
“What the new office bearers are expected to pursue is salary revision because since the privatisation of Sesco five years ago there has not been a single revision.
“This is a very important issue. Even the salaries of government servants have been revised after taking into account the higher cost of living following the increase in the cost of fuel and other essential goods,” Mondari said.
He said the 1,080 union members throughout the state had been waiting eagerly for the management to look into their plight.
“These issues had been brought up during our TDC in Miri in September last year and Assistant Environment and Public Health Minister Dr Stephen Rundi, who was present, also fully supported us.
“The assemblyman for Nangka Dr Annuar Rapa’ee, who was present during our EDC in Sibu last Saturday, also supported us,” said Mondari, who had been the union president for 22 years.
He said that the struggle of the union would now be left to the new office bearers who were elected during the EDC.
The new KPSSBS officer bearers are Ting Tien Ngo, president (former deputy president), Azman Abdullah, deputy president, Bujang Gangan, vice-president (1), Djoesmee Supian, vice-president (2), Chan Ban Fock, treasurer general, Albert Duhas, asst treasurer general, John Jamas, secretary general, Andrew Bajat, asst secretary general (1) and Zaidel Rermidi Suhaili, asst secretary general (2).
The branch chairmen are Leo Munai (Kuching branch), Lam Tien Poh (Sri Aman branch), Ying Chung Huo (Sarikei branch), Johari Jukni (Sibu branch), Chong Sing Chung (Bintulu branch), Sylvester Ganing (Miri branch), and Salleh Mumin (Limbang branch).