Avoid any large-scale retrenchment, bosses told - The Borneo Post

Avoid any large-scale retrenchment, bosses told - The Borneo Post

File photo for illustration purposes

KUCHING: Employers in all sectors should avoid exercising any large-scale retrenchment of their workers amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.

Dr Muzaffar Syah Mallow, who is a senior lecturer of syariah and law at Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia, says the spread of the virus has created global economic uncertainty while governments around the world have taken strict measures to prevent the spread of the virus in their respective countries.

“Naturally, employers will take any step to save their businesses and to reduce losses, which include retrenching their employees.

“Whatever steps are to be taken by employers to deal with the current financial difficulties, retrenchment should be the last option,” he said in a statement received here yesterday.

Muzaffar said employers must understand the impact of retrenchment on the employees, especially those who had been working for many years, adding that it could be disastrous as it would bring adverse impact to the individual workers and also to all their dependants.

He said instead of retrenchment, employers should consider taking other steps first to save their businesses and reduce losses.

He said employers could refer to the Code of Conduct for Industrial Harmony 1975 (the Code) about steps that could be taken before exercising retrenchment.

According to him, the Code is an agreement made between the Ministry of Human Resources (then-known as the Ministry of Labour and Manpower) and Malaysian Council of Employers Organisations (predecessor to Malaysian Employers Federation and the Malaysian Trades Union Congress).

“The aim is to lay down principles and guidelines to employers and workers on the practice of industrial relations for achieving greater industrial harmony. There is no legal obligation on the part of the employer to adhere to the contents of the Code.

“However, the Code has been given its ‘legal teeth’ by virtue of Section 30(5A) of the Industrial Relations Act 1967 (Act 177), which stipulates ‘in making its award, the Court may take into consideration any agreement or code relating to employment practices between organisations, representative of employers and workmen respectively where such agreement or code has been approved by the minister’,” he said.

The Code states that in circumstances where retrenchment is likely, an employer should – in consultation with the employees’ representatives or their trade union, as appropriate, and in consultation with the Ministry of Labour and Manpower – take positive steps to avert or minimise reductions of workforce by the adoption of appropriate measures.

“Among such measures are limitation on recruitment, restriction of overtime work, restriction of work on weekly day of rest, reduction in number of shifts or days worked a week, reduction in the number of hours of work, and re-training and transfer to other departments or work.

“The Code also states that if retrenchment becomes necessary, despite having taken the appropriate measures, the employer should then give as early a warning, as practicable, to the workers concerned; introduce schemes for voluntary retrenchment and retirement and for payment of redundancy and retirement benefits; retire workers who are beyond their normal retiring age; assist, in cooperation with the Ministry of Human Resources, the workers to find work outside the undertaking; spread the termination of employment over a longer period; and ensure that no such announcement is made before the workers and their representatives or trade union have been informed,” said Muzaffar.

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2020-03-24 16:01:00Z
https://www.theborneopost.com/2020/03/25/avoid-any-large-scale-retrenchment-bosses-told/
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