Demise of Bro John Emmanuel D'angelus, former General Secretary of the National Union of Hotel, Bar and Restaurant Workers Peninsular Malaysia [NUHBRW].

MALAYSIA:::Bajet 2015: Naik gaji saja tidak cukup

Presiden Cuepacs Azih Muda memberitahu sedang melobi kerajaan untuk mendapatkan lebih daripada kenaikan gaji kakitangan awam ketika ditemubual, baru-baru ini.

Kakitangan kerajaan sedang melobi kerajaan untuk lebih daripada sekadar kenaikan gaji menjelang Bajet 2015 yang akan dibentangkan bulan depan kerana mereka risau dengan kos sara hidup yang semakin tinggi dan pelaksanaan Cukai Barangan dan Perkhidmatan (GST) pada April.

Kongres Kesatuan Pekerja-Pekerja Dalam Perkhidmatan Awam (Cuepacs) yang mewakili lebih sejuta kakitangan awam, sekian lama mendesak kerjaan membina lebih banyak rumah mampu milik untuk membantu mereka yang dalam kategori berpendapatan rendah di bawah RM3,000.

MALAYSIA:::Silap kementerian punca 2.9 juta pekerja asing tiada dokumen, kata MTUC

Setiausaha Agung Kongres Kesatuan Sekerja Malaysia (MTUC) N Gopal Krishnan ketika ditemubual bersama The Malaysian Insider, baru-baru ini. 

Kongres Kesatuan Sekerja Malaysia (MTUC) menyalahkan kekurangan penyelarasan antara Kementerian Dalam Negeri dan Sumber Manusia menyebabkan sebilangan besar pekerja asing tanpa izin berada di negara ini.

Setiausaha Agungnya N Gopal Kishnan berkata keadaan itu sebagai "tangan kanan tidak tahu apa yang tangan kiri lakukan".

 "MTUC dan kesatuan lain berkali-kali menimbulkan perkara ini kepada pihak berkuasa tetapi ia jatuh pada telinga yang pekak,"

MALAYSIA:::MTUC blames Putrajaya for poor control over large migrant worker population

MTUC secretary-general N. Gopal Kishnam says some employers take advantage of foreign workers by not giving them days off and not paying their wages.

The Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) has blamed the lack of coordination between the Home and Human Resources ministries for the large number of undocumented foreign workers in the country.

Its secretary-general N. Gopal Kishnam described the situation as "the right hand does not know what the left hand is doing".

"The MTUC and other specific national unions have repeatedly highlighted this matter to the authorities but it has fallen on deaf ears,"

MALAYSIA:::How electronics industry can end slavery

Verité's two-year study of labor conditions in electronics manufacturing in Malaysia has found that one in three foreign workers surveyed was in a condition of forced labor.

Because many of the most recognizable brands source components of their products from Malaysia, almost any device you purchase may have come in contact with modern-day slavery.

COURT AWARD; lagi satu in-house union yang dikatakan tajaan syarikat bungkus. Award-1085-of-2014

COURT AWARD; lagi satu in-house union yang dikatakan tajaan syarikat bungkus. Award-1085-of-2014

MALAYSIA:::Education Ministry flayed for no minimum wage / 'Mana gaji minimum tukang cuci, jaga sekolah?'

Berapa orang wakil NGO berhimpun di hadapan pejabat Kementerian Pendidikan untuk mendapatkan penjelasan berhubung bayaran gaji minimum untuk tukang cuci dan pengawal keselamatan di sekolah.

MALAYSIA:::Prejudis kaum di sektor swasta

SATU kajian empiris menunjukkan wanita di Malaysia umumnya adalah 18 peratus lebih kaya daripada lelaki. Satu sebab ialah wanita lebih pandai menyimpan duit atau pendapatan berbanding lelaki.

Mungkin ada yang mempertikai, tapi inilah hasil kajian Dr Muhammed Abdul Khalid yang dicetak dalam buku The Colour of Inequality: Ethnicity, Class, Income and Wealth in Malaysia.

MALAYSIA:::Ex-NST editor urges Putrajaya to give true picture on income gap

A man pulls a cart full of goods to be carried across the waters of the Malaysia-Thailand border at Pengkalan Kubor on Monday.

Veteran journalist Datuk A.Kadir Jasin has cautioned Putrajaya against relying on the law of averages when determining income and wealth distribution in Malaysia.

Writing in the September 16 issue of the Malaysian Business magazine, he said using the law of averages was flawed, in referring to a recent survey on the rise in the household income of the average Malaysian.

Kadir’s remarks came following a statement by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Abdul Wahid Omar who said that people were now enjoying a better standard of living as average household income had risen from RM5,000 per month in 2012 to over RM5,900 this year.

MALAYSIA:::Nufam accuses MAS of neglecting crew’s safety and security

Nufam wants Malaysia Airlines to ensure the safety and security of its crew

.The National Union of Flight Attendants Malaysia (Nufam) has slammed the national carrier today over its alleged failure to take care of the safety and welfare of crew members, especially the female staff.

The union, in a statement, said crew members had been forced to travel to and from work on their own after a transport company outsourced by Malaysia Airlines (MAS) for the purpose had allegedly neglected its duties.

The union said complaints had been ignored and the situation had persisted for some time, with the company giving excuses of not having designated drivers or vehicles available during the late and odd hours.

MALAYSIA:::Direct hiring will curb abuse of workers, say Penang industries

Agencies allegedly take advantage of workers they recruited.As Malaysia comes under fire for worker abuse by a global labour rights group, industrial firms in Penang want Putrajaya to allow them to hire foreign workers directly to avoid problems caused by agencies who allegedly take advantage of and profiteer from workers.

Heng Huck Lee, president of The Free Industrial Zone, Penang, Companies' Association (Frepenca), said the government should allow only direct hiring as a way to circumvent any problems caused by “third parties”.

“Our members want to go direct, but the government does not allow us to do so,”

Apek Ini Hanya Naik MRT, Berpakain Seperti Biasa Sehingga Sebuah Akhbar Dedahkan Identitinya

APEK tua ni hanyalah antara ribuan pengguna MRT setiap pagi di Singapura. Tak ramai yang cam atau kenal siapakah apek ini hinggalah baru-baru ini akhbar republik itu mendedahkan identitinya.

‘Apek’ yang dimaksudkan itu sebenarnya adalah Lim Siong Guan. Lim untuk pengetahuan anda adalah orang nombor satu di negara itu yang ditugaskan untuk mentadbir pelaburan dan khazanah Singapura.

INDONESIA:::Pemerintah Bakal Naikkan Gaji Guru Tahun Depan

Guru bersilaturahmi dengan siswa/MI/ANGGA YUNIAR.

Jakarta: Kabar gembira bagi para guru. Tahun depan pundi-pundi penghasilan mereka akan semakin besar. Karena pemerintah telah mengusulkan kenaikan tunjangan profesi guru pegawai negeri sipil

STOP Precarious Work

On 7 October 2014, the World Day for Decent Work, IndustriALL Global Union is calling on all its affiliates to mobilize their members and join the global fight to STOP Precarious Work.

Unions are pushing against this tide by organizing precarious workers, fighting laws that expand precarious work and mobilizing in support of secure employment with good pay and working conditions.

MALAYSIA:::Stop KTMB’s sacking spree, trade union tells Najib / Kementerian Pengangkutan, Sumber Manusia Diminta Selesai Isu Pembuangan Pekerja KTMB

MTUC president Mohamad Khalid Atan (left) with RUM president Abdul Razak Md Hassan in Kuala Lumpur today.

.Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has been urged to step in to put a stop to the spree of sacking by Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB), in his capacity as the Minister of Finance which overseas the rail company, said Malaysian Trade Union Congress (MTUC) vice-president J. Solomon.

Solomon said Malaysia does not have a positive image in terms of how employers' treatment of their workers, especially foreigners.

MALAYSIA:::Pencarum tetap terima dividen walau usia 75 tahun / EPF contributors above 75 still getting dividends

• 

KUALA LUMPUR - Kumpulan Wang Simpanan Pekerja (KWSP) menjelaskan bahawa semua pencarum, termasuk yang berumur 75 tahun dan ke atas, sentiasa menerima dividen tahunan mereka.
Ia menafikan laporan bahawa kira-kira 260,000 pencarum KWSP berumur 75 tahun dan ke atas tidak menerima dividen.
"Polisi yang diluluskan pada 2008, tidak dilaksanakan. Sebaliknya, KWSP menggalakkan pencarum menyedari risiko simpanan mereka dipindahkan kepada Pendaftar Wang Tidak Dituntut jika simpanan tersebut tidak digunakan.

Vietnam to verify report of 'modern slavery' among workers in Malaysia

Vietnam will investigate whether 40 percent of its migrant workers suffer passport retention and debt bondage in Malaysia’s electronics sector as suggested in a US-funded report, which described the situation as tantamount to "modern slavery."

MALAYSIA:::Pay the minimum wage, MTUC tells employers

Malaysian Trade Union Congress (MTUC) president Mohd Khalid Atan says employers must comply to the Minimum Wages Scheme and there should be no more excuses

PETALING JAYA, Sept 22 ― Employers must comply to the Minimum Wages Scheme and there should be no more excuses said Malaysian Trade Union Congress (MTUC) president Mohd Khalid Atan

Mohd Khalid said there is no reason for not complying as time has been given to the employers to meet the requirements.

MALAYSIA:::260,000 EPF accounts earn zero dividends

KUALA LUMPUR: Several million ringgit in the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) accounts of some 260,000 contributors aged above 75, have been earning zero dividends.

Whether it is known to them or not, the EPF has since 2008 stopped paying dividends to account holders once they turn 75.

ASEAN Economic Community to open door for more foreign workers in Vietnam

VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam has been warned that it could witness a strong wave of workers from ASEAN countries after the the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) becomes official next year.

Ryan Lee, managing director of Moldpia Byuckjin, a South Korean enterprise specializing in making prototypes at its factory in the Thach That Industrial Zone in Hanoi, said the company set up in Viet Nam to take full advantage of the cheap and skilled labor force. However, he said that the company realised that recruiting skilled workers was not as easy as they had thought.

MALAYSIA:::10,000 majikan swasta gagal laksana Skim Gaji Minimum

Kira-kira 10,000 majikan swasta masih gagal melaksanakan Skim Gaji Minimum yang dikuatkuasakan pada 1 Januari tahun lepas, kata Timbalan Menteri Sumber Manusia, Datuk Seri Ismail Abd Muttalib.

Beliau berkata kerajaan memandang serius tentang perkara itu walaupun bilangannya hanya 5% daripada 200,000 majikan berdaftar dengan Jabatan Tenaga Kerja (JTK) Kementerian Sumber Manusia.

ILO:::ILO statement on the VERITE report concerning working conditions in Malaysia's electronics sector

BANGKOK (ILO News) - The ILO’s Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (RO-Asia and the Pacific), is seriously concerned about the findings of the report by Verité, “Forced labor in the production of electronic goods in Malaysia: A comprehensive study of scope and characteristics”. Although RO-Asia and the Pacific is not in a position to verify the specific numbers given in the report, it confirms that there are real problems with working conditions, employment and recruitment practices - particularly in relation to migrant workers - that need to be urgently addressed.

MALAYSIA:::Kesatuan pekerja tidak diajak berunding dalam penggabungan bank Malaysia

Setiausaha Agung Nube J Solomon berkata Kementerian Kewangan membuat semua keputusan secara unilateral dalam cadangan penggabungan mega RHB Capital, CIMB Group Holdings Berhad dan Malaysia Building Society Berhad (MBSB). 

 Kesatuan pekerja bank di Malaysia mengkritik Putrajaya kerana gagal berunding dengan mereka berhubung kemungkinan tiga institusi kewangan bergabung atau memastikan dana persaraan mereka dibelanjakan dengan baik semasa proses berkenaan.

MALAYSIA:::'Modern slavery' in Malaysia electronics factories

Nearly one-third of the 350,000 workers in Malaysia's electronics manufacturing sector -- a major supplier for leading global brands -- suffer labour conditions akin to "modern slavery", a report released Wednesday said.

The study by US-based fair-labour organisation Verite said at least 28 percent of workers toiling in Malaysian electronics factories -- particularly foreign migrants from impoverished nearby countries -- were stuck in a spiral of indentured servitude, unable to pay off excessive recruitment fees.

Verite said the study was commissioned by the US government, which bans the import of goods made with forced labour.

MALAYSIA:::MTUC: Impose heavy penalty on irresponsible bosses

THE Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) has urged the government to impose a heavier penalty on employers who neglect their workers’ safety, leading to workplace accidents and deaths.

Its deputy secretary-general, A. Balasubramaniam, said the MTUC viewed accidents at workplaces seriously.

He said there was a need for tough action to be taken against errant employers.

Global solidarity for Cambodian garment workers campaign for living wage

Solidarity action in Sydney on September 17. Photo by Peter Boyle.

Activists demonstrated outside global big brand fashion outlets in the centre of Sydney's central shopping district on September 17 to demand that these companies pay the workers who make their products (in countries like Cambodia) living wages and respect their right to organise.

Other solidarity actions in Australia were held in Canberra and Melbourne.

These actions were part of a global solidarity campaign held on the same days as some 50,000 Cambodian garment workers from about 100 factories participated in gatherings, banner and sticker actions to demand a rise in their minimum wage from US$100 to US$177 per month.

Two union organisers were briefly detained in the capital Phnom Penh and there was a strong military presence on the streets outside the major industrial parks in the city. In January, a strike by garment worker was brutally repressed by the military. At least four workers were killed and many were arrested.

source:::https://www.greenleft.org.au

MALAYSIA:::Malaysian electronics workers abused, not allowed unions, MTUC says

Most workers in the electronics industry in Malaysia do not have trade unions to
 look out for their interests.

Malaysian electronics workers are not only abused but are not allowed to form unions to fight for their rights, says Malaysia's main labour group amid a report on widespread abuses in the country's key manufacturing sector.
Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) secretary-general N. Gopal Krishnan told The Malaysian Insider that unlike most other sectors which had national unions to protect workers and ensure they enjoy benefits and privileges, the electronics industry was strongly resistant to the formation of unions and had even sacked workers who attempted to set up unions.International labour rights group Verite recently released a report in which it claimed that a third of the workers in Malaysia's electronics industry suffered from debt bondage.

MALAYSIA:::MTUC against 24/7 work hours

KUCHING: The Malaysian Trade Union Congress (MTUC) Sarawak  is wondering whether Sarawak will soon witness the emergence of 24-hour massage parlours, pubs, and “perhaps tuition centres to spot UPSR questions”.

Its concern comes in the wake of reports that a new supermarket mall, within the jurisdiction of the Padawan Municipal Council, will operate around the clock.

“Please don’t use development as an excuse,” said MTUC Secretary Andrew Lo in a statement expressing the union’s objections. “This will lead to an adverse quality of life.”

MALAYSIA:::Have comprehensive policy to protect rights of migrant workers, govt told

Malaysian Trades Union Congress president Mohd Khalid Atan says that most migrant workers, especially those from less developed countries such as Indonesia, Nepal and Thailand, have suffered abuse from their employers who took advantage of their desperation. — File pic

The government must come up with a comprehensive policy for the hiring of foreign workers to safeguard their rights and avoid them from being mistreated by their employees.

Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) president Mohd Khalid Atan said this in response to the recently published study conducted by Verite, an international labour rights group funded by the US Department of Labour.

MALAYSIA:: No EPF payment, 249 directors can’t leave the country

Errant employers were fined RM162,200 by the courts

KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 249 names of company directors have been submitted to the Immigration Department to prevent them from leaving the country for not settling their Employees Provident Fund (EPF) contribution arrears.

In a statement today, EPF said the names submitted was for the second quarter of the year.

Head of Corporate Affairs Nik Affendi Jaafar said the EPF would not hesitate to take firm action against employers and company directors who failed to remit their employees’ monthly EPF contributions.

Sweden welcomes trade unionist as prime minister

Former president of Swedish union IF Metall Stefan Löfven is set to become the next prime minister of Sweden. As leader of the social democrats Stefan Löfven saw his party win the national elections on 14 September.

Stefan Löfven, Sweden's next prime minister.

The election results mean a return to a socialist government after eight years of conservative rule in Sweden.

A welder by trade, Löfven rose from the ranks of membership of IndustriALL Global Union affiliate IF Metall to become president of one of Sweden’s largest trade unions.  He was also a member of the Executive Committee of the International Metal Workers’ Federation (IMF).

In the opening speech at IndustriALL’s founding congress in Copenhagen 2012, Stefan Löfven said:

“Wherever there is a political discussion, workers’ voice should be heard and respected. I’m still one of you, I’ll always be.”

Malaysia among the worst for rights of workers

Malaysia is ranked among the worst countries in the world to work in, according to the recently released International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) Global Rights Index.

MALAYSIA:::KTMB continues witch- hunt, sacks more unionists

The witch-hunt against members of the Railwaymen’s Union of Malaya (RUM) continues with the sacking of seven more members over the past week, bringing the total to 18 persons.

The union’s president Abdul Razak Md Hassan told Malaysiakiniyesterday that three of these were branch committee members and the other four are ordinary members.

He reiterated that the sackings are unfair because the union members were only conducting legitimate union activities, and urged Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai to intervene.

“We hope Liow and the prime minister intervene immediately because they are in a position to make an immediate decision to stop this oppressive action.

Cambodia: Thousands of garment workers take action

Global unions joined thousands of garment workers in Cambodia today in an international day of action to demand an increase in the minimum wage from US$100 to US$177 per month.

MALAYSIA:::'Forced labor' rife in Malaysian electronics factories:

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Nearly a third of some 350,000 workers in Malaysia's electronics industry - a crucial link in the international consumer supply chain - suffer from conditions of modern-day slavery such as debt bondage, according to a study funded by the U.S. Department of Labor.

The survey by Verite, an international labor rights group, found that abuse of workers' rights - particularly the tens of thousands from low-wage countries like Nepal, Myanmar and Indonesia - was rife in a $75 billion sector that is a mainstay of the Southeast Asian country's export-driven economy.

MALAYSIA:::KEKEJAMAN/ MEMORANDUM KEPADA YAB DATO SERI PERDANA MENTERI

Kita hanya membayangkan kekejaman "ZIONIS" terhadap "PELASTIN!" Rupanya masih ada lagi kekejaman yang berlaku di Malaysia sebuah negara yang telah "MERDEKA" selama 57 tahun.

INDONESIA:::Bawa 'Gurita Raksasa', Ribuan Buruh Ajukan 10 Tuntutan di Depan Istana

Jakarta - Ribuan buruh yang tadi berkumpul di Bundaran HI kini bergerak ke depan Istana Merdeka. Mereka yang berseragam dan beratribut serba merah itu menuntut 10 kesejahteraan bagi kaum buruh.

Pantauan detikcom, di seberang Istana Merdeka, Jalan Medan Merdeka Utara, Jakarta Pusat, Senin (15/9/2014) pukul 14.05 WIB massa beroasi dan meneriakkan yel-yel sambil menenteng spanduk. Ada juga beberapa buruh yang terlihat memanggul boneka gurita raksasa berwarna biru simbol kesengsaraan buruh yang terbelit permasalahan kerja kontrak dan upah yang dirasa belum layak.

MALAYSIA:::Cuepacs mahu kerajaan timbang dua bulan bonus

• Azih Muda

BATU PAHAT – Cuepacs berharap pada pembentangan Belanjawan Negara 2015, kerajaan dapat mempertimbangkan pemberian bonus sebanyak dua bulan kepada penjawat awam.

Presidennya, Azih Muda berkata, permintaan berkenaan memandangkan Keluaran Dalam Negara Kasar (KDNK) yang dicatat negara kini antara yang tertinggi.

INDUSTRIALL:::Negotiating Security Trade union bargaining strategies against precarious work

Negotiating Security Trade union bargaining strategies against precarious work (industriall)

Urgent call to action for Cambodian garment workers! | IndustriALL

IndustriALL Global Union, the ITUC and UNI Global Union are asking affiliates to join Cambodian unions in a Global Day of Action on 17 September to demand a living wage for garment workers.

Bangladeshi worker killed in Malaysia accident

About eight workers were working at the site when the bricks fell from a crane, says a witness

A Bangladeshi worker has been killed and two others have been injured when some 200 bricks fell from a crane at a construction site in Malaysia.

The incident happened at around 1:40pm on Saturday at a construction site located at the Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway, reports The Star of Malaysia.

MALAYSIA:::NUTP: Gantung tugas pengarah, timbalan LP wajar

• UPSR Bocor

KUALA LUMPUR - Tindakan kerajaan menggantung Pengarah dan Timbalan Pengarah Operasi Lembaga Peperiksaan susulan kebocoran soalan kertas peperiksaan Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) adalah wajar dan efisien, kata Kesatuan Perkhidmatan Perguruan Kebangsaan (NUTP).
  
Setiausaha Agung NUTP, Lok Yim Pheng berkata, tindakan itu menunjukkan kerajaan memandang serius terhadap insiden itu yang membabitkan hampir setengah juta murid yang mengambil peperiksaan.
  
"Kami berharap kerajaan dapat menyiasat perkara ini hingga ke akar umbi...walaupun pengarah digantung, tidak semestinya beliau bersalah," katanya kepada Bernama hari ini.

Global unions unite to back Cambodian garment workers’ action day

Three global unions, representing millions of workers around the world, are mobilizing to back Cambodian garment unions’ demands for higher wages.

IndustriALL Global Union, UNI Global Union and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) are joining Cambodian garment workers in a day of action on 17 September calling for a rise in the minimum wage from US$100 to US$177.  

Case between Electronic Industry Employees Union Northern Region Penisular Malaysia and Elna Sonic Sdn. Bhd.

 The case about Elna Sonic Sdn Bhd, breached Sec 4(3) of Industrial Relation Act 1967, where the company form In House Union so the can control the union. 

We serve recognition claim on 2010, after 3 years IR dept conducted the secret ballot and we lost. because 2/3 are migrant workers who are already left the industry. On 1.4.2014 the company issued a memo of In House Union Formation, whereby the company elect a proterm committee. 

EIEUNRPM on 11.4.2014, complained to DGIR about the company breach Sec 4(3) IRA 1967, under Sec 8(1) IRA 1967. the industrial Relation Department, Penang fixed the 1st meeting on 22.5.2014 unfortunately the company failed to attend the said meeting. 

On 29.5.2014 IR Department fixed 2nd meeting and there are no solution and the matter being refered to Industrial Court for a decision.

MALAYSIA:::Railway union chief seeks open debate on sackings

Railwaymen’s Union of Malaya (RUM) president Abdul Razak Md Hassan, in a press conference today, challenged the Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) president Elias Kadir to an open debate on the actual reasons for the disciplinary action on 112 KTMB workers.

MALAYSIA:::Bangladesh Believes In Malaysia's Way Of Solving Issues Of Foreign Workers

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 9 (Bernama) -- The Bangladeshi government believes in Malaysia's way of solving issues of foreign workers, especially from Bangladesh, Dewan Negara president Tan Sri Abu Zahar Ujang said.

So much so, he said Bangladesh would not question the decisions made by Malaysia concerning the Bangladeshi workers in the country, including action taken on those who violated the law.