Set up action committee, govt urged
KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) urged the government to set up a Covid-19 Emergency Action Committee (EAC) to manage the global pandemic domestically.
MTUC secretary-general J. Solomon said the new government took office at a time when health risks and economic fallout from the pandemic was increasingly affecting the livelihood of the country’s 15 million workers.
He said Covid-19 being declared a pandemic meant that the situation was serious enough to warrant immediate action.
“MTUC calls on the government to set up an EAC and make it a top priority to address the life-threatening issue involving workers’ health and livelihood. The EAC should comprise stakeholders, such as MTUC, to address health and economic issues related to Covid-19.
“The EAC’s main task will be to issue guidelines that can be carried out through ministries to contain the spread of Covid-19 at workplaces. The EAC will also enable stakeholders to give the government proposals for a new stimulus package. The RM20 billion package announced last month is not adequate or sustainable, especially in providing a safety net for workers, particularly those from the B40 and M40 groups,” Solomon said yesterday.
The government, on Wednesday, said it was reviewing the stimulus package.
Solomon said the EAC should come up with a guideline entailing all the government’s measures to prevent the virus’s spread at home, public and workplaces.
He added that it should also address food intake, outdoor activities, travel, mass gatherings and ensure the availability and curtail escalating cost of face masks and hand sanitisers.
MTUC expressed its concern on Malaysia Airlines Bhd and Malindo Air’s decision to urge workers to either go on unpaid leave or take pay cuts.
“Such measures are unfair on workers. The government must intervene to ensure workers are not burdened by drastic measures.”
He said employers would have made financial provisions for disasters and should be given access to the government’s stimulus package only on the condition that they impose austerity measures involving unnecessary expenses.
“Employers must prove their inability to sustain and pay salaries to the EAC before the stimulus package is provided to them.”
He also urged the government to expedite its review of the stimulus package.
In George Town, Consumers Association of Penang president Mohideen Abdul Kader said the government should impose a moratorium on debt payment.
He said this was because smalland medium-scale enterprises, which constituted 98 per cent of businesses and contributed up to 37 per cent of the gross domestic product, were affected by Covid19’s impact on tourism and disruption to the supply chain.
He urged for a ban on non-essential gatherings and the temporarily closure of tourist spots during the school holiday.
He said schools should remain closed for another week, and the closure directive should also be imposed on tertiary education institutes, preschools and childcare centres.