KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 11: Part of the Railway Assets Corporation’s (RAC) annual operating net profits will continue to be channeled to Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) to carry out repairs on KTMB’s staff quarters and undertake welfare and training programmes, says Transport Minister Anthony Loke.
These funds are a direct injection from the government to KTMB aimed at safeguarding the welfare and interests of KTMB workers, he said at the 15th extraordinary delegates meeting of the Railwaymen’s Union of Malaya (RUM) here today.
Loke said a special fund for employees’ welfare would be created and would be administered independently to ensure transparency and efficacy.
Saying that the welfare of RUM members, especially those in the B40 category, is always a priority of his ministry, he also announced that the redevelopment of KTMB staff quarters in Bangsar would see housing units that would be more comfortable and spacious.
He has also directed that should staff in Bangsar be affected by the redevelopment of the existing area, they should not be placed too far away as they had stayed in the vicinity for a long time.
Similarly, this should also be for KTMB employees outside of the Klang Valley and that RAC is building 15 new units of staff quarters in Tanah Merah, Kelantan costing RM4.7 million, where in each apartment will consist of three bedrooms and two bathrooms, he said.
A total of 93 new units of quarters costing RM25.8 million were also built to replace quarters affected by the Gemas-Johor Bahru Electric Double Tracking Project.
All in all, the government through RAC had also spent RM4.1 million from 2020 to repair 163 units of quarters and 17 apartment blocks for KTMB employees throughout Peninsula Malaysia.
Loke said KTMB needed a proactive and flexible workforce to adapt in an ever-changing and competitive work environment.
As such, he urged RUM not to solely focus on salaries and benefits but also to get its members to reskill and upskill to ensure that KTMB has a competitive workforce.
He hoped both KTMB and RUM could work out a more holistic and effective training plan for KTMB employees.
Workers, he said, are the backbone of national development and their needs would always be given attention by the government, adding that consensus between trade unions, employers and government is important towards driving progress for the prosperity of the country.
Loke also paid tribute to RUM, which has a current membership of about 3,300, a union that was established in 1960, thus making it one of the biggest and influential workers’ organisations in Malaysia.
WE