KUCHING, June 25: Kesatuan Kakitangan Petronas Sarawak (Kapenas Sarawak) resents the “one size fits all offer” from Petronas where Kapenas Sarawak members have been “pressured” to accept a lower salary increase compare to members of four other unions.
The secretary-general of Kapenas Sarawak today issued a statement protesting against Petronas’ statement released earlier today in response to Kapenas Sarawak’s decision to picket yesterday.
In the statement, Kapenas Sarawak expressed its resentment especially towards the paragraph where Petronas stated “We deeply regret to note that Kapenas Sarawak has decided to proceed with the declaration despite the competitive offer given to all the five unions of which the other four have accepted and came into effect on 1st January 2019.”
“It is patronising, insulting and arrogant for the national oil corporation to expect and demand that all its employees’ unions accept a ‘one size fits all’ offer and refuses to take into account the different situation and sensitivities.
“It is disturbing for Petronas to demand that Kapenas Sarawak blindly follow other unions that are by virtue of the Federal Constitution and the Trade Unions Act, separate and distinct.
“It is hypocritical for Petronas to now expect Kapenas Sarawak to follow the other unions when its own management team tried to pressure Sarawak to accept a lower salary increase compared to the other four unions,” said Kapenas Sarawak.
The union also pointed out that it was not surprised by contents of Petronas’ statement.
“We are not at all surprised by the statement, given the similar attitude the management has displayed during the negotiations.
“We call on the management to act in good faith if it is serious in resolving the matter in the interest of its employees,” said Kapenas Sarawak.
Earlier today, Petronas released a statement saying that it has had four sessions of Collective Agreement (CA) 2019-2021 negotiations with Sarawak Kapenas, with the most recent one held on April 16, 2019, where Sarawak Kapenas declared a deadlock.
“We deeply regret to note that Sarawak Kapenas has decided to proceed with the declaration despite the competitive offer given to all the five unions of which the other four have accepted and came into effect on 1 January 2019.
“We are working closely with all relevant authorities and stakeholders to ensure that the matter is resolved soon in the interest of our employees,” said Petronas.
Petronas issued the statement in response to the picket held by Sarawak Kapenas in Bintulu yesterday afternoon from 5 to 6pm at Paragon, Bintulu.
Sarawak Kapenas claimed that 500 people, many wearing yellow shirts, participated in the protest. — DayakDaily
