Force bosses to send workers for retraining, union tells Putrajaya

Some employers are reluctant to send their workers for retraining as it will affect their day-to-day operations. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, February 29, 2016.The Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) wants Putrajaya to impose mandatory instructions for employers to send their employees for retraining programmes under the Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF) in order to produce skilled workers.

Its secretary-general N. Gopal Kishnam also urged employers to stop giving illogical and unreasonable excuses for denying their workers the opportunity to improve their skills.

He said there have been reports of some employers who were reluctant to send their workers for retraining as it would affect their day-to-day operations while others were concerned that if their employees returned with additional skills, they would demand higher wages.

Gopal added that HRDF was a government initiative to encourage private sector employers to upgrade their employees’ skills.

“MTUC views this development as unfortunate and sad to hear.

“Some employers are reluctant to send their workers for retraining on the ground that retraining their employees will affect their operations.

“In fact, there are employers who take a negative stance that if their employees come back with additional skills, they would demand higher wages,” he said in a statement.

The statement comes amid reports of more foreign workers being brought into the country.

Urging the government to make it mandatory for employers to enable their workers to upgrade themselves, he said this would also help reduce dependency on foreign workers.

“The country needs highly skilled Malaysian workers and at the same time, reduce dependency on foreign workers.

“Employers must extend cooperation to produce highly skilled workers in the long run via HRDF.” – February 29, 2016.