KUALA LUMPUR: Political parties should focus on the rakyat's plight, instead of pushing for a no-confidence vote.
The National Union of Bank Employees (NUBE) said it is greatly concerned with talk and speculation of political leaders collecting statutory declarations to gain majority support in Parliament recently.
It said such a move during a serious pandemic like Covid-19 does not help workers and their families in Malaysia.
Nube general-secretary, J. Solomon, said the banking sector union wants economic and political stability in Malaysia to enable the government under Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to do its best for the people, as well as ensuring all help announced in Budget 2021 reaches the targeted groups.
"The PM took office during the most challenging time of 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic, and was confronted with the most serious socio-economic and health crisis of recent times.
"It is the wrong time to try and bring down any government during a pandemic crisis, given the need for continuity in making policies to address contemporary issues and implementing them," he said in a statement, today.
He added that among the major issues is the rising rate of unemployment that has been made worse by the push for digitalisation and automation in all sectors of the economy.
Among the hardest hit will be bank employees, as owners are going full speed ahead with anti-union activities which are going to result in more jobs being lost in the banking sector, he said.
"We also hope the politicians on all fronts will allow (Tan Sri) Muhyiddin (Yassin) to continue the premiership until the next election after Covid-19 is over. Only the next GE (General Election) will resolve the current predicament of the slim majority the government has. Until then, let us strengthen our resolve, as Malaysians, to work together and overcome this Covid-19 crisis," Solomon said.
Solomon added that a steady hand and continuity are paramount to help the hundreds of thousands of workers who have been displaced.
"In the banking sector, scores of workers may find themselves out of a job if their employers are allowed to carry out unbridled outsourcing even as the pandemic rages on. Here, we are urging the PM to use his good offices to check on unscrupulous employers who are taking advantage of the situation to lay off workers," he urged.
Solomon said it is pertinent to emphasise here that most of these workers are from the B40 and M40 groups, and many are already being asked to stay at home, as their jobs are being readied to be outsourced to third parties within the country and elsewhere in the region.