A total of 958 contract workers of the Inland Revenue Board (IRB) are seeking Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s intervention over the termination of their contracts.

Speaking on behalf of them, Malaysian Trade Union Congress (MTUC) secretary-general Kamarul Baharin Mansor called on Anwar, who is also the finance minister, to reinstate the workers’ contracts which expired on Dec 31 last year.

“We request for the government to look into it.

“When these workers (contracts) are terminated, their (income) is cut off. We call for an appeal,” he said.

While acknowledging that termination of contracts was the norm, Kamarul claimed that the IRB had hired over 700 new employees as permanent staff effective Jan 1.

He said that instead of hiring new staff, the former employees, who had been working at the IRB between two and 16 years, could have been promoted to different roles.

“This remains a big question for us: the IRB could have absorbed them (the retrenched workers) as permanent staff, promoting them as officers. (Instead), the new employees were immediately appointed as officers,” he said.

The MTUC secretary-general added that those affected were previously earning around RM65 a day, totalling RM1,600 a month, and were mostly women.

Kamarul said the former employees were from different departments within the IRB, with some as officers’ assistants and clerks.

Over 100 of the IRB’s former employees from across the country gathered in Putrajaya earlier today to hand in a memorandum, pleading for Anwar’s intervention.

The memorandum was received by the prime minister’s political secretary Shamsul Iskandar Md Akin, who said that the matter was being reviewed.

“I informed the prime minister about this matter earlier this morning and it will be looked into. Of course, a solution will be given. We will gather all views and opinions before making a decision,” he said.

967 tax officers appeal to PM for contract extension

967 tax officers appeal to PM for contract extension