F&N workers offered VSS

SIXTY workers, including the union's secretary-general and committee members, of the F&NCC Beverages Sdn Bhd factory in Shah Alam feel oppressed after being offered a Voluntary Separation Scheme (VSS) without "valid reasons".

Advisor to the National Union of Drinks Industry Workers Peninsula Malaysia, A.Sivananthan, said all the workers in the goods-carrying machines division were offered the VSS letter on June 5 with the reason that the division's operations were being outsourced and restructured.

"They were given the letters and when the president and the secretary-general of the union wanted to see the management it refused to meet them," he said at a news conference in Shah Alam today.

He said the workers were given two weeks to decide and the company would make a final decision on the VSS offer on June 23.

Sivanathan said a letter had been sent to the Human Resources Ministry on June 8 to resolve the problem faced by the workers, all locals, and who had worked between five and 30 years at the factory.

Sivananthan said there was also regret that the owners and management of the factory were seen as acting due to dissatisfaction with the workers involved who are members of the union.

He said the VSS was not the way to resolve matters as most of the workers were aged 40-50 years and would face difficulty getting other work due to their age.

"This will be a burden to the government as they will lose their income and face a difficult life and this will lead other problems like crime and resorting to Ah Long," he said.

Sivananthan, who is also an exco of the Malaysian Trades
Union Congress (MTUC), said the government should take a serious view of the matter as the management was offering VSS when the country was facing a sluggish economy.

He said VSS was an oppressive action as legal action could not be taken against employers.

"We do not want the employer to act as they like. The government should take a serious view as it was a problem faced by people in the whole country and more companies would the same giving reasons of the weakened economy," he said. - Bernama