NGO lauds sewerage company for setting example in 'locals first' bid
PSM-linked NGO Jaringan Rakyat Tertindas (Jerit) today called on Putrajaya to improve the wages for dirty, difficult and dangerous (3D) jobs in order to encourage more locals to take them up.
This comes amid the government's plan to bring in more migrant workers to take up such jobs on the premise that locals are unwilling to tackle them.
"Jerit feels better wages, benefits and labour protection would attract more Malaysians to work in 3D sectors.
"Jerit would like to reiterate our call to increase minimum wage to RM1,500. This will certainly reduce the number of migrant workers in 3D sectors," it said in a statement.
The NGO used the example of sewerage service company Indah Water Konsortium (IWK) which it said employed locals.
Apart from wages, Jerit said Malaysians are also turned off by 3D jobs due to safety risks and job security issues.
"According to the Department of Occupational Safety and Heath’s statistics, as of December 2015, the most number of accidents occurred in the manufacturing sector, followed by the plantation sector (agriculture, forestry logging and fishing) and the construction sector.
"Most of them are employed on a contract basis which makes their condition more vulnerable.
"It is a known fact that under the contract system, employees have no permanent jobs and are often not provided benefits such as medical allowance or insurance," it said.
As such, it said these issues must be addressed if the government is serious about getting locals to take up such jobs.
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