Refrain from airing grievances publicly, ex-Spad employees urged
The former staff of the now-defunct Land Public Transport Commission (Spad) have been urged to refrain from publicly voicing their unhappiness with their new job positions.
This is because they may affect their own chances of securing a new job in the private sector, Transport Ministry secretary-general Mohd Khairul Adib Abd Rahman said today...
The former staff of the now-defunct Land Public Transport Commission (Spad) have been urged to refrain from publicly voicing their unhappiness with their new job positions.
This is because they may affect their own chances of securing a new job in the private sector, Transport Ministry secretary-general Mohd Khairul Adib Abd Rahman said today.
Besides placing the former Spad staff in the new Land Public Transport Agency (Apad) and other relevant agencies, Mohd Khairul said the Transport Ministry was also assisting them in securing jobs in the private sector.
"We have sent out more than 50 curriculum vitae to employers (in private sectors) and some were hired," he told Malaysiakini.
The actions of some former staff, such as taking to the media to air their grievances or staging a protest, may scare away potential employers and would make the Transport Ministry's efforts to approach the private sector more difficult, he said.
"While we endeavour to do our best (to place them in new jobs), I think their actions are not necessary as the employers are shying away from employing such kinds of characters," Mohd Khairul added.
Malaysiakini reported on Tuesday that many former Spad staff members who had been placed in new jobs were considering resigning following an alleged mismatch of job scopes and pay cuts of up to 70 percent.
A former Spad employee, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the talent mapping exercise carried out by the Transport Ministry to place staff in their new positions had been a rush job and a "gargantuan failure".
"Many ex-Spad personnel are placed in divisions or departments that have nothing to do with their respective expertise or experience.
"Some of them are now doing clerical jobs, and those who used to do back-end jobs are now thrown to the frontline, as tellers manning counters," the source said.
Lodge complaints internally
While acknowledging that mismatches may have occurred, Mohd Khairul (photo) said the former Spad staff could lodge their complaints via an internal channel, by sending an email to the Transport Ministry within three months of being assigned to their new job.
The ministry would then look into the issue, be it a job scope mismatch or lower wages, he added.
"We are endeavouring to find them a job, our promise is to find them a job. If they feel that the job does not suit them, we will see how it goes later, but now we have to offer everyone (a position) first."
Mohd Khairul said that the ministry had relied on Spad’s former management to place 961 people, who were left jobless after Spad was disbanded, in new jobs according to their skills and experience.
As for the complaints on pay cuts of up to 70 percent, he said that such pay cuts had occurred as the salaries of the Spad employees had generally been higher than those in the public sector.
"Some of them got salaries more than a minister (sic). This was a private sector (entity parked under Prime Minister's Department).
"Of course, we are not able to offer them (those kinds of salaries) as we are guided by the public service salary scheme," Mohd Khairul said.
This is why former employees had been compensated after Spad was dismantled, he added.
When Pakatan Harapan took over Putrajaya, 961 Spad employees were retrenched and promised new jobs.
Last month, a group of about 130 former employees sent a memorandum to Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad seeking his help over their jobs.
About RM23 million in compensation was paid to all former Spad employees last month.
Are you sure you want to delete this comment?
This action cannot be undone.