GOVT URGED TO SET UP RETRENCHMENT FUND

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 30 (Bernama) -- The 7,000-strong Transport Workers Union (TWU) Thursday called on the government to set up the National Retrenchment Fund to tide over workers temporarily while they sought new employment.

Its secretary-general Zainal Rampak told Bernama that contributions to the
fund must be made both by the employers and the workers, with a quantum of
RM1 (US$0.29) per month per worker.

He said the fund should be managed by a panel of professionals under the
management of the Social Security Organisation (SOCSO).

The panel could invest the fund in government equities or other guaranteed
investments instruments to generate income, he added.

In time of retrenchement, workers could be paid one-third of their last
drawn salary as a temporary measure to tide them over during their period of
unemployment.

Meanwhile, Zainal, who is the former Malaysian Trade Union Congress
president, said employers should carry out their social responsibilities to
ensure that workers were not unjustly retrenched to maintain industrial harmony
in the country.