The government should allow workers from the electronics sector to unionise and not deny them an effective platform to fight for their rights, said Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.

In a statement issued on Monday, Wan Azizah said workers have the right to negotiate for better employment and economic terms.

"It is imperative for the government to remove the ban on electronics workers to unionise," the Permatang Pauh MP added.

She said the government had prohibited the formation of a trade union in the industry based on the belief that organised labour would scare off foreign investors.

Other sectors had already unionised and received foreign investments, she said, adding that workers facing retrenchment could seek protection through a unionised body for collective negotiations.

Workers retrenched

In a written parliamentary reply, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) released key figures that showed 25,537 electronics workers had been laid off from 1998 until April 2006, with 63 factories closed down.

The document also showed that 13,190 workers had been laid-off from 2001 until April of this year. Johor, Kedah, Penang and Selangor are the states hardest hit by the electronics industry downturn with Penang registering 12,223 workers laid off from 1998 to April 2006.

On the same note, MITI reported that from 2005 until June 2006, a total of 316 projects worth RM18 billion have been approved. It also reported that 61,305 job opportunities were created by the infusion of the investments.

Wan Azizah said she would ask the MITI minister Rafidah Aziz if the new jobs created would allow those retrenched to be absorbed into the workforce.

"There can be a problem if new and existing companies employ only cheap and available migrant labour. Many of the workers in the electronics industry are women who bear a difficult and heavy burden of supporting their families," she added.

She said the government must protect Malaysian workers who lost their jobs due to downsizing and closure of factories.