PUTRAJAYA: The Ministry of Human Resources is confident that the amendment to the Industrial Relations Act (IRA) 1967, to be tabled in the Dewan Negara this week, will get the support from its members.
Despite objection from the Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC), minister M. Kula Segaran said his ministry will continue with the tabling of the IRA 1967 and at the same time respect the views of all parties.
“The government is confident that the Act will be passed, this is why I bring this up. The amendment is for the well-being of workers in this country,“ he said.
Meanwhile, Kulasegaran brought up his ministry’s Meet the Consumers Day weekly programme, which is committed to listen, take action, resolve any issues and take into account ideas for improvement in human resource management for the betterment of the people.
He said it is open to helping the rakyat settle issues, even those which involve other agencies but didn’t deny that his ministry also has its limits. However, he added that there are branches in every state, referring to some who have come from as far as Penang and Johor Baru to resolve issues.
As of December 17, a total of 2,200 customers attended the programme, held every Tuesday from 8am to 10am in Putrajaya where agencies involved will assist those with issues, and discuss them face-to-face.
Close to 800 issues were raised by customers at the programme among which concerned labor issues, foreign workers, Soscso contributions, occupational safety and health, trade unions, skills training programmes, and other issues under the jurisdiction of the HR ministry.
Meanwhile, three siblings received their MyKad yesterday after their application, made four years ago, was finally approved.
According to the father of the three from Cheras, who only wants to be known as Chen, he married a Vietnamese woman without knowing the marriage had to be registered with the National Registration Department (NRD).
He said his children Joey Ey, Kean Xhu and Joey Qian, aged 16, 15 and 13, were like “foreigners” from birth, until they entered high school and he was relieved to finally collect their MyKads.
“Now I have four children and the forth has a MyKad as I registered my marriage a few years back,” he said, reiterating that he was not aware of the need to file record with the NRD on his marriage to a foreigner.
Kulasegaran met Chen and his three children yesterday, along with the Development of Human Resources in Rural Areas (DHRRA) representative, who helped resolve the problem.
