MTUC says Malaysians don’t mind working in dirty, difficult and dangerous jobs if it pays well.
PETALING JAYA: Malaysians are willing to work in 3D (dirty, difficult, dangerous) jobs if they can earn a fair wage.
In stating so, Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) secretary-general N. Gopal Krishnam argued this was why thousands of Malaysians commute to and from Singapore to work in 3D industries.
“This is because they pay a reasonable salary there,” he told FMT when contacted today.
Gopal Krishnam said this when asked to comment on statements made by Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin who claimed the government had to import foreigners to work in such 3D jobs as the youth in this country refused to do so.
He agreed with PKR communications director Fahmi Fadzil who urged Putrajaya to set the minimum wage at RM1,500 to encourage Malaysians, especially youth, to replace foreign workers for manual labour.
“Private sector workers are not like civil servants who are also given cost of living and housing allowances.
“The salaries offered to private sector workers now is not enough. The government must be responsible for finding a way to solve this issue.”
Yesterday, Zahid had challenged the youth to replace foreign workers in the 3D sector if they disagreed with the government’s decision to bring in more foreign workers.
In recent days, Zahid has come under fire over the programme to bring in 1.5 million Bangladeshis over the next three years for employment in the construction, plantation and manufacturing sectors.
-FMT NEWS-
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