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KUALA LUMPUR: Workers hired in schools, hospitals and other government entities should be absorbed into the civil service to better protect their rights as employees, opposition deputies say.
Tanjung Malim MP Chang Lih Kang said most of the contract workers had problems, including their employers’ refusal to contribute to the Employee Provident Fund (EPF), while some even paid wages below the minimum wage.
He said that the government had paid contractors RM1.5 billion in 2019, but only RM1 billion reached contracted workers.
Chang added that if the government absorbed them, they could save RM500 thousand that could be used for administrative and management purposes.
“By incorporating contract workers into the civil service, it could also ensure that their rights as workers are protected, where contributions to the EPF or the Employee Insurance Plan (EIS) are guaranteed,” he said at a joint press conference in Parliament on Tuesday (December 15) with Klang MP Charles Santiago, Lembah Pantai MP Fahmi Fadzil, Petaling MP Jaya Maria Chin Abdullah and Pasir Gudang MP Hassan Karim.
Before the press conference, a group of about 10 activists from the Alliance of Government-Contracted Workers (JPKK) gathered on the road leading to the Parliament compound to deliver a memorandum on the matter to the government.
Santiago said that informal workers, who represent 40% of the workforce, were the most vulnerable group in the country.
“They don’t have EPF (savings) or any type of social security like Socso and if they find themselves in an accident, they have to bear the costs themselves.
“What we have to do is support them to be absorbed into the government system so that they can at least enjoy the minimum wage and other support from the government,” he said.
Meanwhile, Fahmi said that hired janitors should also be recognized as avant-garde in the battle against the Covid-19 pandemic.
“I have asked the Minister of Finance and the Minister of the Prime Minister’s Department (Special Functions) to classify the cleaners as cutting edge. But there is still no answer so far, ”he said.
Fahmi added that he had spent some time with these contract workers and found that the matter should be raised with the Public Accounts Committee as it involved billions of ringgit in government spending.
“We want to ensure that the well-being of these workers is protected and public funds are spent ethically and efficiently,” he said.
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