HAMPIR 2,000 PEKERJA DIBUANG SETIAP MINGGU

The Sun melapurkan antara 1,000 hingga 2,000 pekerja terbuang setiap minggu berikutan kemelesetan ekonomi Amerika.

Menteri Buruh dan Sumber Manusia, Fong Chan Onn menyatakan kebanyakan pekerja itu sudah mendapat kerja lain. Fong juga menyebut ada 46,000 jawatan kosong dalam sektor perkilangan. Namun bilangan angka untuk kekosongan jawatan para jurutera tidak dinyatakan pula.

MTUC mengatakan lebih 90,000 akan kehilangan kerja. Sektor elektronik menyumbang lebih 50% ekspot negara di mana Amerika adalah rakan dagang terbesar Malaysia. Permintaan negara itu terhadapan barangan Malaysia telah menolong Malaysia pulih semasa krisis ekonomi 1997-98 tetapi kelembapan ekonomi A.S. ketika ini dijangka akan menggugat Malaysia.

Beberapa ribu pekerja sudahpun dibuang tahun ini dan bilangan itu dijangka akan bertambah lagi.

MTUC: PIKET DITERUSKAN

The Sun juga melapurkan MTUC akan meneruskan piketnya terhadap KWSP selepas menolak tawaran Fong. Fong kelihatan letih dan penat selepas mesyuarat selama 90 minit dengan wakil MTUC itu. Beliau hanya mampu menyelesaikan satu tuntutan sahaja di dalam enam isu yang dikemukakan oleh MTUC yang mewakili 550,000 pekerja itu.

Fong akan mencadangkan satu formula yang sesuai kepada cadangan MTUC agar skum anuiti KWSP digantung dan skim khairat kematian serta faedah hilang upaya hidupkan semula.

Antara isu yang tidak dapat diselesaikan adalah

1. Dividen 6% yang diumumkan tahun lepas adalah yang terendah dalam tempoh 26 tahun - dianggap satu 'jualan murah gila'
   

2. Pembelian 78.8 juta saham terbitan IPO time dotCom yang mewnyebabkan kerugian atas kertas sebanyak RM96.7 juta.
   

3. Penolakkan KWSP terhadap usul supaya panel pelaburannya bertanggungjawab kepada lembaga pengarah

-Terjemahan Ringkas Man Kubur-

http://livenews.lycosasia.com/cgi-bin/get.pl? pi_news_id=595983&pi_ctry=my&pi_lang=en

Malaysia Minister Says Up To 2,000 Workers Laid Off Wkly

KUALA LUMPUR (AP)--The government says between 1,000 and 2,000 workers are being laid off weekly due to an economic slowdown caused by shrinking demand from the U.S., a news report said Saturday.

The Sun daily cited Human Resources Minister Fong Chan Onn as saying that most of the laid off workers have found other jobs.

The ministry's officials couldn't be reached for comment Saturday as government offices were closed for the weekend.

The Sun quoted Fong as saying that there were about 46,000 vacancies in the manufacturing sector. He also said electronic companies had vacancies for positions such as engineers but didn't give any figures.

The Malaysian Trade Union Congress says that more than 90,000 Malaysians will soon lose their jobs in the electronics sector due the slowdown in the U.S., the nation's largest trading partner.

Electronics goods comprise more than 50% of Malaysia's exports.

The U.S. appetite for Malaysia's exports of electronics goods helped Malaysia recover from the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis, but the slowing U.S. economy is expected to crimp Malaysian growth this year.

Government officials say several thousand workers have already been laid off from factories and the figure is expected to increase.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires 05-05-01

http://www.thesundaily.com/Archives/0405/HomeNews/news1.html

No more talks, says MTUC

By K. Ravindran
ravindran@thesundaily.com

KUALA LUMPUR, Thurs: The MTUC will go ahead and picket against the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) after rejecting a last-ditch effort by Human Resources Minister Datuk Fong Chan Onn. While Fong vowed to continue efforts to avert the May 12 action that will coincide with Workers' Day celebrations to be attended by Asean labour ministers, the MTUC says there will be no more talks.

However, the congress accepted a proposal made by Fong - that workers need not use Form 17A to keep their EPF contribution at 11%. Instead, employers can submit a group consent by employees. The government, in a move to encourage spending and boost a slowing economy, had reduced the employees' contribution to 9% for a year from April 1.

A weary-looking Fong told reporters after a 90-minute meeting with MTUC leaders today that he could resolve only one of the six issues irking the 550,000-strong private sector labour centre. He said he will propose a suitable formula to MTUC's proposal to suspend the EPF annuity scheme and restore the death and incapacitation benefits.

The other issues are:

1. 6% dividend declared for last year, the lowest in 26 years, considered a "selling-out";
   
   

2. Purchase of 78.7 million TimeDotcom initial public offer shares which incurred an overnight paper loss of RM96.7 million. (The government had said no money was involved in the transaction as the sum was the unpaid portion of the company's borrowings of RM500 million from the fund in 1996);
   

3. EPF rejection of MTUC's proposal to make its investment panel accountable to the board.
   

Asked about the planned picket, Fong said: "It is up to MTUC." The MTUC officials left the meeting immediately without speaking to the press. However, its secretary-general G. Rajasekaran, contacted later, said: "The message, as we perceived during the meeting, is not encouraging although we appreciate the minister's sincerity in trying to seek a solution.

"We have no reason to review the general council's unanimous decision to picket as planned. "We sensed that Employees Provident Fund (EPF) did not demonstrate similar enthusiasm. It seemed to be bogged down with procedural matters more than the need to address the issues raised," he added.