Malaysia Airlines (MAS) must not neglect the needs and interests of its employees, said Human Resources Minister Dr Fong Chan Onn today.

"We respect the right of MAS to do all that is necessary to restructure but the needs and interests of their workers must also be taken into consideration in the process.

"What is legitimate or entitled to them (employees), should be given," he told a press conference following the launching of a Chinese medium comic-based book on the Employment Law in Kuala Lumpur.

Fong was asked to comment on Finance Ministry parliamentary secretary Helmi Yahya's proposal that MAS should consider offering a voluntary separation scheme (VSS) to its employees due to its financial situation.

He said the MAS management will have to do all that is necessary to improve the company's performance and productivity.

However, the MAS employees union has blamed the poor planning and bad management for the woes.

"I would not like to get into the problem of MAS itself. What I would like to say...under the provision of the law, any company facing financial difficulties, has the right to restructure to improve operations," said Fong.

On whether MAS should exhaust all other avenues before resorting to the VSS, the minister replied: "I am sure the MAS management is aware of that."

Employment Act

Commenting on the changes to the Employment Act, Fong said he will be meeting the unions and employers to discuss the proposed changes tomorrow.

He said it was time to make these laws more relevant to the current situation.

Among the proposed changes are the incorporation of an employment performance-linked system into the Act. The system refers to productivity - the more the worker performs, the higher the worker earns.

"While we are looking at the productivity-linked, we also need to look at giving the workers a sense of security so that at the end of the day there is a safety net for them," he added.

He said the traditional seniority-based system - the longer the worker serves the organisation, the higher the worker earns - is less relevant to current economic needs.