MALAYSIA:::As GST kicks in, call to rescue Malaysia from low-wage rut

As wage earners brace for higher spending under the goods and services tax (GST) that takes effect on Wednesday, they will feel the brunt of decades of Malaysia's economic policies which have kept wages low and local industries uncompetitive.

Low wages have not helped the government improve its revenue, as only 1.7 million Malaysians pay income tax out of a workforce of 12 million, and Putrajaya is seeking to increase earnings with the broad-based consumption tax.

But low wages are the legacy of Malaysia's industrialisation policy, which has long focused on making the country a low-cost, low value manufacturing hub.

Although this helped transform the economy in the early 1990s, experts are now warning that a new industrialisation policy is needed, as there are worrying signs that the government’s push for developed status in five years is not raising the incomes of the majority of people.

MALAYSIA::Special body to manage intake of foreign workers

It will coordinate intake, registration, monitoring and enforcement of foreign workers.
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KUALA LUMPUR: The government will set up a special body to manage intake of foreign workers, the Dewan Rakyat was told today.

Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the Cabinet made a decision to form the special body to coordinate intake, registration, monitoring and enforcement of foreign workers here.

He said currently, matters related to the intake of foreign workers involved 11 ministries and agencies.

Asia News Network shows how LKY used the trade union and later put the leaders in jail

This video from Asia News Network shows how LKY used the trade unions and later put the leaders in jail while he when on to be the so called "founding father".

INDUSTRIALL:::Global Labour University launches free online course

  The Global Labour University has launched a free online course on Workers’ Rights in a Global Economy aimed at trade unionists and activists. 

MALAYSIA:::Indonesia threatens to stop sending workers to Malaysia over visa fees, again

Indonesia has once again threatened to stop sending its workers to Malaysia, citing the exorbitant visa processing fees charged by a private company appointed by the Malaysian government.

The Star quoted Indonesian Manpower Services Association (Apjati) president Ayub Basalamah as saying the Jakarta-based private firm had imposed an additional RM235, in addition to the existing RM15 fee to process entry visas for Indonesians to work in Malaysia.

Furthermore, the company only accepts payments in cash, he said.

MALAYSIA:::Unions call on PM to intervene in MAS' restructuring plan that will result in loss of 6,000 jobs

PETALING JAYA: Employee unions have banded together to call on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak to intervene in Malaysia Airlines' (MAS) restructuring which will see 6,000 workers being retrenched.

International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF), National Union of Flight Attendants Malaysia (Nufam), and Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) are among those who jointly sent a memorandum to the Prime Minister's Office on the issue.

Other unions showing solidarity with MAS workers include Tenaga Nasional Berhad Junior Officers Union (TNBJOU), United Malaysia Labour Centre (UMLC), and Public Services International.

Nufam president Ismail Nasaruddin demanded that Khazanah Nasional Berhad, which owns 70% of shares in MAS and is overseeing restructuring operations, consult MAS in-house unions and threatened to picket if this is not done before downsizing starts in June.

MALAYSIA:::MTUC pleads for a postponement of the GST

PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC), today officially announced their opposition to the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax on April 1, arguing that the new taxation system would affect low wage earners who were already struggling to cope with the increased price of goods in the market.

“40% of workers are receiving less than RM2,000 as their income (per month). 65% of families get less than RM3,500 per month.

“These are the groups … that are going to be affected very badly by the GST,” its Secretary-General Gopal Krishnam Nadesan told a press conference at the MTUC headquarters here today.

MALAYSIA::: MTUC :::TANGGUHKAN PERLAKSANAAN GST, JANGAN BEBANKAN RAKYAT

Semasa pembentangan Belanjawan Kerajaan 2014 pada 25 Oktober 2013, Perdana Menteri Malaysia telah mengumumkan rancangan kerajaan untuk melaksanakan Goods and Services Tax (GST) dan penghapusan Sales and Services Tax (SST) yang akan berkuatkuasa pada 1 April 2015. Kerajaan menyatakan bahawa langkah tersebut adalah perlu kerana keadaan kewangan kerajaan adalah tenat maka dengan perlaksanaan GST akan membantu kerajaan untuk meningkatkan pendapatan cukainya dalam jangka panjang.

Mengikut undang-undang, GST dikenakan ke atas setiap urusniaga kecuali urusniaga itu diberi pengecualian dari skop GST. Semua perkhidmatan atau barangan yang tidak diumumkan sebagai “dikecualikan” akan dikenakan GST. Walupun GST akan dikenakan pada setiap peringkat urusniaga, namun pada akhirnya pengguna membayar sekali sahaja kerana GST mempunyai mekanisma ‘Input tax credit’ dimana cukai yang dibayar oleh sesebuah firma dalam proses pembuatan dan pengagihan boleh dituntut balik. Cuma pengguna akhir sahaja yang tidak dapat meminta balik cukai yang dibayar. Di samping itu, hanya firma yang menjual barang atau perkhidmatan melebihi RM500,000 setahun diwajibkan mendaftar untuk mengenakan GST.

MALAYSIA:::Union wants PM to intervene in MAS' retrenchment exercise

PETALING JAYA, March 23, 2015:

The Transport Workers Union (TWU) wants Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to intervene in the plan by Malaysia Airlines Berhad (MAS NewCo) to retrench 6,000 of its staff.

TWU secretary-general Tan Sri Zainal Rampak said Malaysia Airlines (MAS) had more than enough time to come up with a workable solution on what to do with the staff in its restructuring plan, but nothing had come up and the unions were still in the dark.

Zainal rapped Khazanah Nasional Berhad, the majority shareholder in MAS, for not consulting the unions which would have better ideas.

MALAYSIA:::Education still the focus

THE Malaysian government's focus on education is seen as an investment to produce students with knowledge and skills.

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said that the national education system has produced intellectuals in almost all fields.

The country has made great strides to become an almost developed nation and has produced many professionals including doctor and engineers, he said when meeting the Malaysian community, during a working visit to Tokyo, Japan, last week.

MALAYSIA:::Gaji kakitangan awam tertangguh sejak 15 tahun

TEMERLOH - Kongres Kesatuan Pekerja-Pekerja Di Dalam Perkhidmatan Awam (Cuepacs) menggesa kerajaan segera mengkaji semula 252 skim gaji dan elaun penjawat awam bagi mengurangkan bebanan mereka dalam keadaan ekonomi tidak menentu kini.
   
Presidennya Datuk Azih Muda berkata, isu kenaikan elaun dan gaji kakitangan awam telah tertangguh sejak 15 tahun lepas walaupun kenaikan sepatutnya berlaku lima tahun sekali.
   
"Cuepacs meminta agar gaji serta elaun sedia ada dinaikkan sehingga 35 peratus dan berdasarkan perbincangan awal sebelum ini  kerajaan bersetuju mengkaji skim gaji kakitangan awam dalam tempoh lima tahun sekali.

SINGAPORE:::Foreign workers in Singapore served unappetising, stale food

SINGAPORE, March 20 — Foul-smelling curry, rock-solid fish with scales still intact, and roti prata so hard that it feels like one is “chewing on plastic” — these are how some foreign workers describe the food catered for them at work sites.

The situation is made worse by the fact that the meals are often delivered several hours before meal times.

Construction supervisor Zakir Hossain Khokan told TODAY: “If you come by construction sites or shipyards early in the morning, you will see how packs of food are left along the roadside.

ILO:::Global Wage Report in short: Patrick Belser

MALAYSIA:::Over two million legal foreign workers in Malaysia, Dewan Rakyat told

The country recorded 2.07 million workers holding temporary employment visit pass as at December 31 last year, the Dewan Rakyat was told today.  

Deputy Human Resource Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Abdul Muttalib said the entry of foreign workers was driven by the country’s dependence on foreign workers in critical sectors.

“The lack of interest and high turnover of local workers in sectors which do not good prospects for them has forced employers in the country to depend on foreign workers,” he said.  

NEPAL:::M’sia decreases penalty for illegal migrant workers

KATHMANDU, MAR 18 - Nepali migrants working without legal status in Malaysia can now return home paying RM 1,250 in fine as the Malaysian government decreased the penalty amount for the second time in a year.

COMBODIA:::Government Approves Pact to Send Maids to Malaysia

BY SIMON HENDERSON | MARCH 18, 2015

Cambodia has signed off on a draft agreement that would lift a moratorium on sending maids to Malaysia, imposed four years ago amid widespread reports of abuse, and is waiting for the Malaysian government’s approval, a Labor Ministry official said Tuesday.

The long-awaited memorandum of understanding (MoU) includes better safeguards to protect Cambodian maids against abuse, debt bondage and sexual violence, mounting evidence of which led Prime Minister Hun Sen to close the employment route in 2011.

However, critics say that due to close connections between the Cambodian government and recruitment agencies blamed for many of the abuses, it remains to be seen if the new agreement will be effective in protecting women sent to Malaysia.

MALAYSIA:::Despite US warning, Putrajaya says no proof of ‘forced labour’ in Malaysia so far

KUALA LUMPUR, March 16 — Putrajaya revealed today that it has found no evidence so far of forced labour in the country’s electrical and electronics sector, although Malaysia was placed on a global watch list by the United States Labour Department last December.

International Trade and Industry deputy minister Datuk Hamim Samuri pointed out in the Dewan Rakyat today that Malaysia is still exporting electronic products to the US as no ban is in place at the moment.

“The ministry and other relevant agencies have investigated and up till now, 25 electrical and electronic companies have been checked and we did not find any evidence of forced labour, during our preliminary investigations,” he said in his reply to Bayan Baru MP Sim Tze Tzin in Parliament.

Why a female child might be better for mothers in developing countries

An ILO report suggests that women who have a daughter to help out with household tasks lessens the earnings gap they would otherwise face

Foreign sex workers among 30 nabbed in Malaysia raid

Foreign sex workers among 30 nabbed in Malaysia raid

MALAYSIA:::Illegal foreign workers pose ‘frightening’ TB threat

Almost half of legal foreign workers suffer TB, illegals not tested, says MMA.

KUALA LUMPUR: While it is alarming that close to half of the foreign workers tested last year had tuberculosis (TB), the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) is concerned about the “frightening threat” posed by the illegal workers who are not tested.

Illegal foreign workers who do not go for medical screenings are the biggest factor behind the rise in TB cases, said MMA president Dr H. Krishna Kumar in a report in The Star.

“Those who know they are ill and cannot come in through the legal channel will come in illegally.

Vodafone offers global maternity equality

Vodafone is introducing a worldwide maternity policy, offering significantly better terms than the statutory minimum in many of the countries where it operates.

The policy includes a minimum of 16 weeks fully-paid maternity leave.

New mothers returning to work will be offered a 30-hour week on full pay for the first six months.

The company said one of the main motivations was to recruit and retain women.

ORGANISING - SKIL MENAMBAH KEAHLIAN KESATUAN.

ORGANISING - MENAMBAH AHLI KESATUAN

ILO:::Achieving pay equality for women may take 70 years

It will take at least 70 more years to achieve pay equity between women and men, the ILO said on Sunday noting that women earn on average 77 per cent of what men earn.

On the occasion of International Women's day, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) said a gender pay gap persists, both for women with and without children. In general, women earn on average 77 per cent of what men earn, with the absolute gap widening for higher-earning women.

MALAYSIA:::No proper regulations to protect domestic workers, says MTUC

The Malaysian government needs to come up with laws and regulations to protect the basic rights of domestic workers, says Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC).

Its former vice-president, Mohd Jafar Abdul Majid, told The Rakyat Post that the lack of such laws was the reason many of them had been subjected to different forms of abuse in the course of their occupation.

“We have been fighting for these workers’ rights for a while now and yet nothing has been done.

INDONESIA:::100 Perempuan akan Ikuti Rally Mogok Makan

Jakarta: Dalam rangka memperingati Hari Perempuan Internasional pada 8 Maret mendatang, lebih dari 100 perempuan di Indonesia akan melakukan rally mogok makan. Aksi ini merupakan bentuk keprihatinan terhadap nasib pekerja rumah tangga di Indonesia.

Menurut para aktivis perempuan, situasi kerja tidak layak untuk para asisten rumah tangga merupakan perbudakan modern. Para aktivis perempuan juga menyayangkan sikap Menteri Tenaga Kerja Hanif Dhakiri yang menolak membahas Rancangan Undang-Undang PRT dan Ratifikasi Konvensi ILO 189. 

ILO:::"The future of work must also deal with the future of women at work"

Statement by Guy Ryder, ILO Director-General, on the occasion of International Women’s Day, 8 March 2015
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Two decades ago the 4th World Conference on Women in Beijing adopted a visionary and far-reaching Declaration and Platform for Action on gender equality and women’s empowerment. What progress there has been since then must be tempered by the reality that it is far less than what we had hoped to see by now.

In the areas of national gender equality policies, and legislation against discrimination based on sex, much has been accomplished. Nevertheless, progress on the ground remains elusive.

Unite and organize for Women's Day on 8 March!

We are commemorating this 8 March, International Women’s Day, against the backdrop of violence that is affecting more and more women worldwide; women victims of armed conflict and religious intolerance - conflicts that have nothing to do with religion, where yet again women are used as tools of war.

MALAYSIA:::Ramai bimbang gejala 'berubat sendiri'

BAGAN SERAI - Perlaksanaan sistem pengasingan fungsi klinik dan farmasi di negara ini tidak sesuai dilaksanakan buat masa ini kerana dibimbangi akan menyebabkan gejala self medication atau ‘berubat sendiri’ dalam kalangan rakyat.

Ahli Parlimen Bagan Serai, Dr Noor Azmi Ghazali berkata, kebimbangan kemungkinan berlaku gejala merawat sendiri penyakit dihidapi pesakit di negara ini, amat tinggi berikutan langkah ‘doktor diagnosis, farmasi beri ubat’ dijangka akan meningkatkan lagi kos rawatan dan perubatan.

“Apabila sistem dispensary separation (DS) atau pengasingan fungsi klinik dan farmasi diperkenal, ia pasti akan menekan golongan rakyat yang terpaksa menanggung caj konsultasi rawatan dan pembelian ubat yang lebih tinggi.

“Ini kerana pelaksanaan sistem DS akan menyebabkan pengamal perubatan klinik kenakan caj konsultasi jauh lebih tinggi, pada masa sama farmasi juga akan meletakkan harga ubat-ubatan dengan lebih tinggi memandangkan unsur monopoli bakal berlaku di situ,” katanya kepada Sinar Harian.

Right to strike upheld at ILO

After months of pressure from trade unions, the right to strike has been recognized by the employers’ group at the International Labour Organization (ILO) following a crucial tripartite meeting in Geneva from 23 to 25 February. 

A joint statement from the employers’ and workers’ groups at the meeting affirms that the right to industrial action is recognized by the ILO.

The bilateral ceasefire promotes a package of proposals to end the deadlock that has led to an impasse at the ILO since 2012.

MALAYSIA:::Beware the silent killers at work

THEY are known as the silent killers. The plethora of non-communicable diseases (NCD) creeping into our society must surely be cause for grave concern.

But it is not a new phenomenon. It is a problem that many developed and developing countries have to struggle with as increased prosperity brings about lifestyle changes that come with unhealthy ramifications.

The statistics that emerged from the 300,000-plus employees who went for the Socso free health screening do not reveal the whole picture.