No reports lodged to labour office on retrenchment

GEORGE TOWN: The retrenchment rate in Penang is still under control and so far no complaint has been lodged to the state labour office, said Penang labour force deputy director Azhar Ahmad.
He said the retrenched workers would be relocated to some other factories that needed workers.
"Employers who are hiring and retrenching will have a special interview to see where their retrenched workers could be relocated," he said in a press conference here today.
Currently, there were two types of retrenchment which were voluntary and with a prior notice and factories that were going through retrenchment plans must inform the nearest labour office within one month.
"This is for us to get ready and come out with an alternative plan for them so that they will not lose their income," he said.
However, Azhar also acknowledged that there might be a reduction in salary once the workers were relocated.
"We would not stop that from happening. Once the worker is retrenched, they will lose their seniority and they only carry with them their experience in their related field. If they are relocated to some other factories that is in a difference sector, they might have to start again from the bottom," he said.
According to the Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC), over 2,000 workers had been retrenched in the state and the trend was expected to rise in coming months.
Industrial experts had forecasted that the industrial sector was going through a tough time due to the global economic slowdown but it would bounce back in a few years. — Bernama