Don’t exploit workers during shut down periods

THE Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) Penang Division has been receiving complaints that some employers are considering resorting to work replacement, annual leave deduction, and even not paying salaries during the shut down of operations due to the statewide water supply disruption scheduled for Jan 10 to 14.

From reports we have received, employers are planning work replacement on public holidays that would fall in the coming months. Alternatively, they are scheduling to replace the number of hours lost during the shut down by extending working hours on other normal working days. MTUC Penang Division is of the view that it is unfair to impose any form of replacement working hours or to require workers to work on public holidays in substitution thereof, as it would mean working longer hours; the same would be true when workers are made to work on recognised public holidays. And enforcing annual leave during the shut down period would deprive workers of their annual leave entitlement.