TV3, unions to meet over staff retrenchment

KUALA LUMPUR: A meeting will be held between Media Prima Bhd with Sistem Televisyen Malaysia Berhad (TV3) Employees Union (KSKSTMB) and TV3 Executive Union (KESTMB) today to discuss the labour crisis in the company, says Human Resource Minister, M. Kula Segaran.

He said the matter was announced by KSKSTMB president Khairuzzaman Mohammad when submitting a memorandum to the ministry to protest the move to retrench workers by Media Prima.

He said the ministry would listen first today and it was still too early to make any assumptions.

“We will listen first because we don't have anything in writing. We will see how they want to resolve the matter.

“If not, the matter will be referred to the ministry for a decision on whether it should be referred to the court,” he said in a media conference after receiving the memorandum at Parliament lobby yesterday.

Local media have reported that the unions concerned are protesting the retrenchment of 190 technical workers in the Eng and Props Department as well as compulsory MSS (Mutual Separation Scheme) involving 43 employees of the News and Management Services Department.

The unions also called for the intervention of Ministry and government to strike out the actions of Media Prima to carry out retrenchment which the unions claimed was not conducted according to the law.

Among the contents of the memorandum mentioned was that Media Prima Bhd management did not hold discussions with the unions on the matter before announcing the retrenchment exercise. - Bernama