M'SIA ALLOWS CUT IN WORKING DAYS By Sajad Hussein

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 29 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian government will allow companies and factories to shorten their operations to three days a week, provided workers were agreeable to the move, Labour director-general Ismail Abdul Rahim said Thursday.

He said the government's main concern was to ensure minimal job loss and
that companies continue to operate, albeit on a low gear.

He said it was necessary for employers to get the consent of the workers
because if working days were reduced, workers would get less pay.

"It is the duty of the department to ensure that workers were adequately
protected and at the same time, companies did not lose out," Ismail told
Bernama.

Ismail felt that it would be ideal if employers, workers and their unions
could work together for their mutual good and the good of the nation.

Meanwhile, the Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) was of the view that it
was better for the workers to take a temporary pay cut than to lose their job.

"As employers, we do not want to lose our employees and would do our best
to retain as many as possible," assured MEF executive director Shamsuddin
Bardan.

"However, economic conditions are such that we sometimes have no choice but
to cut back on employment to keep afloat ," he said.

Since Jan 1, about 10,000 workers have lost their jobs in the country and
more are expected to face the axe if the economic situation did not change
for the better, said Shamsuddin.

He added that although the United States and Europe were the most affected
by the global economic crisis, Malaysia would not be spared either, as it was a
major trading nation and depended a lot on exports to these markets.

Last week, Human Resources Minister Dr S. Subramaniam announced that
almost 45,000 workers, mostly in the electronic sector, would be laid off.

Another 7,000 workers have been retrenched and they would be assisted by the
government.

The government had proposed that these retrenched workers be paid RM500
monthly while waiting for a new job. They might also get an offer to be
retrained and acquire new skills or improve on their existing skills.

However, according to Ismail, the mechanics of the payment and training
was still being worked out.

Meanwhile, the Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) has pledged full
cooperation with the government and employers to ride over these difficult
times.

Secretary-general G. Rajasegaran said all affiliates had been informed to
extend cooperation and maintain industrial harmony in their respective
workplaces.

Meanwhile, Deputy Human Resources Minister Noraini Ahmad advised
workers who were aware their companies were folding up or facing imminent
retrenchment to contact the ministry for assistance.

She said, if the ministry was informed that some companies were about to
fold up, its Labour Department would look for jobs in other companies by placing
the names of the soon-to-be-affected workers in its Workers Mini Carnival
programme.

"We will also re-train workers who have been retrenched and give them RM500
each in the duration of their training while waiting for new jobs," she told
reporters after handing over a RM1,500 cheque for funeral arrangements to Siti
Mariam Rosidi at her house in Kuchai Entrepreneur Park here.

Siti Mariam's husband, Malaysian Central Bank employee Noor Azhar Hassan,
30, died in a road accident on Jan 22.

-- BERNAMA