The National Union of Newspaper Workers (NUNW) is dissatisfied that the Sun Media Corporation Sdn Bhd has rejected its proposal for a uniform retrenchment offer for all 256 staff who were retrenched today.
NUNW executive secretary Mohd Shah Daniel said the union wants the same deal as that offered to the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) members who have a collective agreement.
We are unhappy with the differences in the offer, he told malaysiakini today.
The retrenchment benefits for NUJ members will be calculated based on the years of service while those for NUNW members are governed by the provisions of the Employment Act.
About 55 percent of NUNWs 100-odd members, employed in the printing plant at the companys headquarters in Petaling Jaya, have been affected by todays mass sacking.
We requested the management to consider an equitable retrenchment benefit for all since the lay-offs are done at the same time.
Otherwise, the different offers will constitute unfair labour practice. We will also be filing a complaint with the Industrial Relations Department under Section 18 of the Industrial Relations Act, he said.
Mohd Shah also said a request to set up a help desk for retrenched members was rejected by the management.
We have advised our members, when they collect their retrenchment letters, to sign under protest or without prejudice in order to protect themselves.
RM200 million losses
He said the company managing director Phillip Karuppiah had called the union for a meeting at 11am yesterday to notify them of the retrenchment exercise.
According to a press statement from Sun Medias new management today, it is all part of the companys overall measures to reduce operating cost.
The paper, with a circulation of about 82,000, has suffered an estimated loss of RM200 million since its inception.
The Sun , launched in 1994 and owned by Berjaya Group supremo Vincent Tan, had more than 400 employees before the latest round of sackings.
Sixty others were axed unceremoniously in less than 24 hours last month.