PUTRAJAYA, Nov 10 – The Human Resources Ministry will hold a dialogue with the trade unions in the near future on the issue of workers in the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP). Its minister Datuk Seri Richard Riot Jaem said the ministry took note of the views of the trade unions in relation to protection, welfare and rights of workers in the TPPA document as reported by Bernama on Sunday.
Richard said the ministry welcomes the proposal by the trade unions that there should be a dialogue session to discuss the matter. He said this in his statement here on Monday. Yesterday, several trade unions urged the government to hold a dialogue to discuss the issues of workers in the TPPA.
Union Network International-Malaysian Liaison Council (UNI-MLC) president, Mohamed Shafie BP Mammal said this was because the information regarding the TPPA was still unclear, as it had not been fully released. He said the TPPA had some clauses that would affect the people and country, especially employees, including the entry foreign workers. He said apart from trade issues, minimum labour standards should be established and be taken seriously.
