Proposal for Young Workers' Union

KUALA LUMPUR: The Youth Parliament today passed a motion to establish a Young Workers' Union to look into the concerns of the young working group.
Among the role of the Young Workers' Union are to address the increasing problem of underemployment of local graduates from both higher learning institutes and the skills and training institutes as well as gender equality issues.
The motion, tabled by Alif Rosli (Terengganu) from the Education and Career Committee on Saturday, raised the issue of "unreasonable" salary scales for young graduates and the education modules that are not on par with industry demands.
"The minimum starting salary for graduates from higher learning institutes and skills and training Institutes has to be determined as the basic salary to ensure that these graduates receive a fair salary," he said.
Alif said the study modules in the higher learning institutes are not on par with industry needs or based on the existing career opportunity.
"This is contributing to the increase in underemployment. Besides that, poor communications skills is also a cause for underemployment and unemployment among our graduates," he said.
Mohamad Anis Md Yusof (Johor) stressed that a union specifically for the young working class is necessary despite the existence of national workers congresses and unions, because of issues that affect young workers are different.
"This union will cater to the demands of the young people who will be newly entering the industries and will ensure that their rights are not exploited," he told the Youth Parliament sitting in the Dewan Rakyat today.
Wrapping up the debate on the motion, Ahmad Wafi Sahedan (Penang) said the Congress of Unions of Employees in the Public and Civil Services (Cuepacs) and the Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) may have overlooked young workers' issues.
"We need to establish a collective agreement under the union to ensure that the welfare of these young workers are well protected," he said.