The Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) has called on the Klang Port Authority (KPA) to immediately revoke licences of ancillary service-providing contractors who illegally lease their businesses to

third parties.

Such practice was now rampant in the port area and was causing deep concern to the workers as their wages faced artificial depression, MTUC vice-president A Balasubramaniam said today.

He told Bernama that the modus operandi pertained to licensed contractors illegally leasing out their rights to a third party which provided lashing/unlashing and tally clerk services at much reduced rates.

The third parties were able to do this because they employed cheap labour from Burma, Bangladesh and India, thus affecting the wages of local unionised members who were employed by genuine licensed contractors.

Genuine contractors were also at the mercy of these illegal third parties as they were providing unfair competition, he said, adding that in the long term, it was detrimental to the overall operations of the port.

Balasubramaniam, who is also Union of Employees of Port Ancillary Services secretary, said that more than 500 local workers were affected by such practice which was first identified in 1994.

Of late, it re-surfaced due to the lackadaisical attitude of the port

authority, he added.

- Bernama