Workers Retrenchment Fund

I urge the Ministry of Human Resources to expedite the setting up of the Workers Retrenchment Fund to provide temporary reprieve to those who have been retrenched due to the closing down of their companies. The Fund is all the more urgent and relevant now with the current global economic conditions and many companies were reported to be cutting down on costs and downsizing. The six-month wait for the results of an actuarial study by the International Labour Organization on the proposed Fund, as reported by the Human Resources Minister, Datuk S. Subramaniam, is too long. The Fund was first proposed a few years ago and should have got off the ground by now. In view of the high prices of consumer items triggered by the recent rise in petroleum prices, the Fund is indeed necessary to relieve the burden of the workers. I hope the Ministry will short circuit the process and seriously look into the realization of the Fund in the short term as the current assessment is that Malaysians will feel the brunt of the economic slowdown within the first half of next year.