The government has increased the allocation for the Trade Union Affairs Programme (PHEKS) to RM10mil this year, announced Human Resources Minister Steven Sim.
Speaking during a working visit to the Federation of Trade Unions of Independent Statutory Bodies with Segregated Remuneration on Monday (Jan 20), Sim stated that the increased funding aims to strengthen trade union movements through enhanced skills training and greater adoption of technology.
He also revealed that the ministry plans to establish several task forces to review overlapping and outdated legislation under its jurisdiction.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Today, I have a job interview to meet with GKSB BDSB.
00:17Under this union, there are 9 unions.
00:24They are Kaki Tangan Perkeso, Kaki Tangan Perkeso Sarawak, Kaki Tangan Perkeso Sabah, Kaki Tangan Lembaga Tabung Haji,
00:35Kesiatuan Pegawai-pegawai Bank Simpanan Nasional, Kesiatuan Pegawai Hasil Dalam Negeri, Kesiatuan Pekerja-pekerja Perkhidmatan Sokongan,
00:45Kesiatuan Lembaga Hasil Dalam Negeri Senanjung Malaysia, Kesiatuan Kaki Tangan Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera,
00:52Kesiatuan Kaki Tangan Perbadanan Hal Ewa Bekas Angkatan Tentera.
00:56So, there are 9 unions under this union.
01:00Today, we have visited Kesiatuan Kaki Tangan Perkeso, where the president, Mr. Azman, is also the chairman of this union.
01:17So, several things have been discussed, including the introduction of each union.
01:25And this is one of our goals, so that when the team goes down to Sumatra, together with the highest management,
01:33including KP, Jabatan Heiwa Kesatuan Sekeja, KP JTK, KP JPP, KP JPKP, the Executive Chair for Perkeso, for HRD Corp, for NIOS.
01:48When I go down, we bring the right and high management together, so that we can see the union's operations,
01:57listen to the issues faced by the union and the workers in general, and then we try to solve the workers' problems.
02:05So, earlier, there were not only a few statements about the activities of each union,
02:12but also a few questions about issues that may have been held up for a long time.
02:17So, we have managed to have a dialogue that I think is quite productive.
02:22I have also said that this year, for the HAL Ewa Kesatuan Sekeja program,
02:30we have funds every year for what we call PECS, the HAL Ewa Kesatuan Sekeja Development Program.
02:40In 2023, the funds for this program are RM2.6 million.
02:48And in 2024, I have increased it to RM5.8 million.
02:55This year, I have announced earlier, a good news for the members of the union,
02:59we have increased it from RM5.8 million to RM10 million for this year.
03:05And the ceiling or maximum funds that can be raised in terms of funds for the training cluster,
03:16we have increased it to RM10,000 in 2023.
03:19Last year, I increased it to RM20,000.
03:21This year, we have increased the maximum amount that can be raised to RM30,000 for each request.
03:28This is one of our efforts in Kesuma to strengthen the union,
03:36through skills training programs and a new sector or cluster,
03:45which is the digitization of the union management operations.
03:50Because one of the issues that I got when I went down to see the union offices,
03:58is that there are many unions that may not have information technology management systems or computer systems.
04:06So, there are those who ask for funds for digitalization.
04:11So, this year, we will introduce digitalization funds,
04:15all of this to facilitate the management of the union and also strengthen the union.
04:22Currently, we have 759 unions across the country registered with JAX.
04:30And the total number of unions is more than 1 million employees.
04:36So, I hope with bigger funds, with the efforts of Kesuma,
04:44and also the leadership of this union movement,
04:49we can attract more workers to become members of the union.
04:55And one of the benefits of becoming a member of the union
05:00is that we strengthen a platform
05:05for workers to promote better welfare in their respective jobs.
05:11If there are issues about salary,
05:13issues about the benefits of employment,
05:15issues about job loss,
05:17the union can play an important role
05:21in creating a more harmonious industrial situation between workers and employers.
05:28So, I encourage workers who are not yet members of the union to join the union.
05:35www.jax.gov.au