OPS ROOMS NATIONWIDE TO MONITOR RETRENCHMENT TREND

KUALA LUMPUR, April 17 (Bernama) -- The Ministry of Human Resources is
setting up 80 Workers' Retrenchment Operations Room nationwide to monitor
retrenchment trend daily and assist laid off workers find new jobs.

Its minister Dr S. Subramaniam said following the RM650 million
allocation for the ministry under the economic stimulus package, a tripartite
committee was established to advise the government on strategies and measures to
mitigate the impact of the economic slowdown.

"One of the significant strategies is the need for Malaysia to reduce
dependency on foreign workers, for example, by enforcing the 'foreign workers
first out' policy," he said in his speech at the Malaysian Institute of
Management and Public Bank Bhd's "Manager of the Year" 2008 Award presentation
ceremony here Thursday.

The text of his speech was read out by Deputy Human Resource Minister,
Maznah Mazlan.

The programmes would be implemented collaboratively by various departments
such as the Labour Department, Manpower Department, Deparment of Skills
Development and others under the ministry's purview, said Dr Subramaniam, adding
that the thrust was on improving the government's delivery system and preparing
the Malaysian workforce with the necessary skills to enhance their employability
in the current economic slowdown.

"In Malaysia, retrenchment is anticipated across all occupational categories
including managerial, professional, technical, clerical, machine operatorion and
assembly plants," he said.

He said that to date, a total of 30,650 workers had been retrenched by
929 employers, including 7,501 workers under voluntary separation schemes (VSS).


"In addition, almost 40,000 workers working for 332 employers are affected
by various kinds of temporary layoffs, salary reduction and less working hours,"
he said.

Subramanian said the ministry had initiated three types of training
programmes for employers and workers which is intended to facilitate
retrenched workers, unemployed youth and graduates to find employment.

-- BERNAMA