College staff in limbo over unpaid salaries

PETALING JAYA: Allianze University College of Medical Sciences (AUCMS) is under fire over alleged unpaid salaries, lea­ving employees in a state of uncertainty.

Located in Kepala Batas, Penang, it has been accused of ignoring the plight of some of its higher ranked employees, ranging from acade­mic to administration staff, whose salaries were not paid for up to five months.

“Our patience is running thin. It’s been five months now and we haven’t received a sen,” said an employee who requested anony­mity.

He claimed that the situation worsened since Tabung Haji withdrew as its strategic partner on July 3, 2012.

Despite repeated reminders to the management, including a signed petition letter, he claimed that they were ignored.

“We are planning to take legal action. We will start boycotting classes,” he said.

Acting deputy vice-chancellor Dr Badrul Akmal Hisham Mohd Yusoff, when contacted, said the situation would improve “very, very soon”.

“We acknowledge that we have financial issues and we have assisted our employees in many ways, such as giving them transport and meal allowances.

“On top of that, we are also assuring them that any incurred losses they face will be borne by the company, even though it is not in their contract,” he said.

He said only 10% of the staff had left the company while the rest were still working despite the shortcomings.

The college has about 2,000 students and 500 staff members.