Tuesday, October 6, 2015

MTUC HQ LABOUR BULLETIN SEPT 2015



MALAYSIA:::Medical fraternity remains anxious over TPPA

The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) is anxious over the impact of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) on healthcare services in Malaysia.
MMA president Datuk Dr N.K.S. Tharmaseelan (picture) said an agreement could see the potential increase in the cost of medicines and healthcare services.
“Many countries now use generic drugs to treat diseases as effectively as patent drugs. This has brought down the cost of medication and health care,” said Dr Tharmaseelan.
“But with the TPPA, intellectual property provisions could be an issue as the production and importation of generic drugs will be deemed illegal until a certain period.”
He added the liberalisation of the healthcare service sector would also send “costs of healthcare spiralling upwards”.
“Managed care organisations (MCO) and health maintenance organisations (HMO) are third parties who act as intermediaries between doctors, patients and hospitals. The rising number of complaints cannot be acted upon due to the lack of appropriate Acts to regulate these third party administrators in Malaysia.

ILO seeks to ‘eradicate child labour’ in Myanmar

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) is planning to eradicate child labour in Myanmar by running a pilot project in 2016, according to a press release issued on October 3.
The four-year model pilot project will be implemented in three areas - Yangon, Ayeyarwady regions and Mon state, focusing on over 3,600 children and their family members.

MALAYSIA:::MTUC calls for six-hour work day

The Malaysian Trade Union Congress (MTUC) has called on the government to implement six-hour work day, citing the health of employees as a reason.

MTUC president Mohd Khalid Atan told daily Harian Metro that the body has always been championing for lesser working hours, from the current 48 hours per week to 40 hours.

He cited Sweden as one of the countries which had reduced its working hours from eight hours to six per day.