Govt going against own laws in contract workers' plight, claims group

The Government Contract Workers Network (JPKK) has claimed that the government is violating its own laws regarding contract workers.

JPKK project consultant Sivarajan Arumugam alleged that the government is disguising permanent positions as fixed-term contract roles.

“This is what we call in industrial relations terminology as disguising permanent work as fixed-term contracts, which is wrong.

“And the issue is, the person doing this is the principal employer. Who is the principal employer? The government.

“So the government is breaking its own laws,” he said at JPKK’s latest report launch this morning.

Its latest report focused on the demographics and employment experiences of contract workers, particularly school janitors, gardeners and security guards.

Sivarajan claimed that the government violated Section 11 of the Employment Act 1955 which stated that contract work must specify the work done and the duration.

However, these workers are often employed on contract for two or three years, a standard procedure set by the Finance Ministry, and the expiry of these contracts leads to new contracts under different contractors, he explained.

“It’s the same school (they are working at) and the same workers, but the employer (contractor) will come and go. So the problem we’re seeing is that every time a new contractor comes in, the workers become new workers.

"So the whole seniority of work experience all just goes down the drain,” he said.

Losing out on benefits

The PSM central executive committee member highlighted that as a result, this prevents the workers from enjoying the benefits of permanent employment as provided for in the Employment Act which includes salary increments and bonuses.

JPKK previously launched two reports in 2019 regarding the plight of contract workers. 

The first report was on the outsourcing of government support service systems to private contractors to reduce expenses.

The second study identified the weaknesses in the government’s procurement system which have led to unqualified contractors as well as suggestions for the government to reform its pre-tender processes. 

JPKK was established in 2016 and is mainly made up of cleaners, gardeners and security guards who work on government premises. Its long-term goal is to support the abolishment of the contract system and to spearhead procurement system reforms.

At the report launch today, PSM secretary-general Sivaranjani Manickam said JPKK received a call from the Education Ministry.

“It (Education Ministry) said that it wants to meet about this study,” she said.

JPKK national coordinator Christine Maryanna Gabriel said the group hopes to pass its latest report to the relevant parliamentary special select committee.

She further expressed hope for the report to be tabled at the next parliamentary sitting in October.

Job uncertainty

The report found that 52 percent of its 453 respondents were employed for only three years, while 29 percent were contracted for two years and 15 percent were unsure.

This causes persistent uncertainty over whether their employment will be extended as they are vulnerable to the possibility of losing their job after the two or three years if the incoming contractor does not employ them, the report noted.

“This lack of job security undermines their financial stability and the overall socioeconomic status of their families,” it said.

Besides that, 33.7 percent faced issues such as inconsistency, delays and uncertainty in receiving their salary slips.

Thirty percent did not receive letters of appointment while two percent were uncertain about whether they had received any.

This is despite the Employment Act requiring employers to provide employment documents to workers.

Furthermore, 97 percent of the respondents reported that they did not receive any annual increments, bonuses, or allowances.

“These workers would have received bonuses if they had remained government staff, as how it was before privatisation of such services,” the report said.

In the same vein, 22 percent said they were ineligible for annual leave while 19 percent were not allowed to take medical leave and 29 percent were not allowed to take public holidays.

Workers faced notable issues such as:

• limited benefits,

• exploitative practices,

• lack of career progression,

• age discrimination,

• suppression of complaints, and

• inadequate personal protective equipment management.

The respondents were from 85 schools across all states in Peninsular Malaysia.

Workers' group submits 8 proposals for progressive wage pilot project

LETTER | Sabah Labour Ordinance amendments a long-awaited leap

Govt building support staff plead with PM for 'withheld' minimum wage

PSM candidate: Contract system that preys on B40 must be abolished