KOTA KINABALU – The RM1 billion fund allocated under Budget 2021 to retrain retrenched workers is not enough in view of Sabah’s rising unemployment rate, said the Malaysian Trade Union Congress’ (MTUC) state chapter.
Sabah MTUC secretary Catherine Jikunan said the state’s unemployment rate in 2019 was at 5.8% (117,100 people) and the rate today was much worse.
“The pandemic is the biggest factor in the rise of unemployment in Sabah. MTUC has received reports of many workers in Sabah being laid off since the movement control order in March,” Jikunan told The Vibes today.
“For example, hundreds of tourist guides lost their income and had to acquire new skills.”
Under Budget 2021, RM1 billion has been allocated to reskilling and upskilling programmes, and is expected to benefit 200,000 trainees.
A portion of a RM100 million allocation will also go to the Sabah Economic Development and Investment Authority and the Iskandar Regional Development Authority to provide new skills training to workers affected by the closure of borders, such as those in the tourism industry.
Jikunan also expressed her concern that some financial institutions may lay off workers, especially those in IT departments, and said they had no hope that the government would provide some kind of retraining for them.
“Banks no longer require personnel to do manual work as most of our activities such as apps, internet banking, ATMs, and more have been computerised.
“So when bank staff members lose their jobs, they need to be reskilled to adapt to new jobs,” said Jikunan, adding that not all of the RM1 billion would be spent on the jobless, but only those trying to upgrade their skills.
Jikunan said that reskilling is not new as MTUC has been helping reskill new graduates by linking them to employers for internship programmes lasting six to 12 months.
“We still need the government to provide us the relevant statistics as to which areas need reskilling.
“We have asked the government to give attention to the agriculture sector, as the plantations and farms need modernisation.
“I believe if the jobs in the plantation are modernised and are matched with good wages, local people will eventually take them up,” she said. – The Vibes, November 9, 2020.
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