About three hundred angry Tenaga Nasional Bhd's (TNB) employees staged a noisy picket outside the company's headquarters in Kuala Lumpur yesterday evening over an alleged violation of collective agreement (CA) by the company.

Comprising mainly of meter readers from the TNB Junior Officers Union, the picketers donned headbands with the words, "We want justice" and shouted fiery slogans condemning TNB chief Che Khalib Mohamad Noh for treating them like 'machines'.

Under the watchful eyes of the police, the crowd marched peacefully along Jalan Bangsar opposite the Abdullah Hukum LRT station displaying their placards to passing motorist who honked in support.

The union was upset over the modification of meter readers' overtime pay scale since Jan 2 which they argue was unfair to workers, many of whom have served the company for many years.

Union president Hang Tuah Raja Iskandar told a press conference earlier that this violated Article 1(5) of the CA that guarantees existing benefits to remain enforced unless a new agreement is met between the management and the union.

Government-linked company

"Such a malpractice should not happen in a GLC (government-linked company). If this can happen in TNB, what is going to happen in smaller companies?

"We don't need a rich CEO who does not understand industrial relations, we want the government to put someone from TNB in that post, not an outsider," he said adding that the starting salary of an average TNB worker is only RM700.

Under the new overtime scheme, TNB will pay overtime based on performance and no longer by the hour.

Hang Tuah claimed that the nature of the scheme was not of major concern but it should have gotten the union's agreement first.

"Under the old scheme, meter readers were paid overtime by the hour, which is calculated on the number of meters you read equivalent to an hour's work. Now they fixed the rate to 40 sen per extra meter, and each reader is also given a set quota every month," he said.

Unfair

The fixed quota means meter readers have to complete reading the minimum number of meters before they can claim overtime, regardless of how many days they work each month. Even if the worker is sick or on leave, the quota is fixed.

"The flat forty cents per extra meter caused senior meter readers to suffer pay cuts because their overtime pay is no longer calculated based on their basic salary, which is higher than new employees. Now, everyone gets the same," he said.

Hang Tuah said this is also unfair to workers because it does not take into account the location of the meter reader.

"Whether you are working in Kuala Lumpur or Alor Setar, you get the same 40 sen. This is unfair as meter readers in KL cover areas that are densely populated whereas the Alor Setar person would have to travel far in paddy fields to cover a much smaller number of meters," he said.

The pickets are set to continue every week until the matter is resolved. Hang Tuah also denied allegations by TNB's management that the union was seeking better renumerations based on the recent electricity tariff hike as they merely wanted status quo on existing benefits.