More than one million workers will be jobless tomorrow (New Year’s Day - Jan 1) because of the delayed implementation of the retirement age from 55 to 60 years.

The government’s decision to shift the effective date from Jan 1, 2013 to July 1, 2013 has affected private sector workers who are due to retire at the age of 55 in 2013.

As a sign of protest several hundred leaders and members of the Union Network International - Malaysian Liaison Council (UNI-MLC) will protest in front of the Prime Minister’s Office in Putrajaya on Friday before handing over a memorandum to him.

UNI-MLC vice-president R Chandrasekaran told Malaysiakini that because a million workers will be unemployed tomorrow, he had called the PM’s Office and requested an appointment with Najib Abdul Razak to personally hand over the memorandum to him.

“The law to extend the measure was gazetted on Aug 16 and its implementation has been delayed by employers and the Human Resources Ministry.

“Our 300,000 strong member (UNI-MLC), comprising of 74 unions, feels the the delayed implementation as unjust and unfair as more than two million workers are going to be made jobless due the nine-month delay, from August this year.

telekom union meets suhakam 181006 shapie mammal “The Human Resources Ministry is pandering to the whims and fancies of the employers who are being unfair to millions of workers,” Chandrasekaran added.

In a press conference held this morning, UNI-MLC president Mohamed Shafie BP Mammal (right) urged Najib to intervene immediately and implement the legislation of extending workers retirement age from tomorrow.

“If Najib can make a positive decision it will help the total workforce of 12 million employees and their unions in the country.

‘Confusion over the implementation’

“Although the Minimum Retirement Age Bill 2012 was passed by Parliament, there is confusion over the implementation and enforcement of the new retirement age from 55 to 60 years.

Unions have been confronted with many questions on the actual enforcement of the implementation date for retirement to 60 years.”

The matter has been aggravated with the decision of the ministry to allow deferments  up to Dec 31, 2013 on applicationsby employers needing more time to implement the Act passed by Parliament.

The UNI-MLC executive council, which represents 74 affiliated unions and more than 300,000 members, met on Dec 19, 2012 and debated on the issue of the transition of the retirement age for private sector workers from 55 to 60 years which has been approved by Parliament.

The union leaders declared that the various statements by the human resources minister were clearly misleading to the thousands of workers who hope to continue to work in 2013 with the extension of the retirement age to 60 years.

“Our survey on the reaction of the employers on the new retirement age shows nothing positive from the employers side about sending a circular to their staff on the extension of the retirement age from 55 to 60 years. This has caused at lot of confusion and misinterpretations and has lead to misleading statements. Most employers approached by the unions have said that the extension of the retirement age may be implemented on July 1, 2013,” Shafie added.

M KRISHNAMOORTHY is a freelance journalist and local coordinator for CNN, BBC and several other foreign television networks. He was formerly a journalist with The Star and New Straits Times and has authored four books.