KUCHING, Feb 19: The laid off employees of Lebuhraya Borneo Utara (LBU) have been putting on a brave face on their last day with the company.
As they clocked out at 5.30 pm today, they expressed their gratitude to the Sarawak section Pan Borneo Highway project delivery partner (PDP) and their pride in a good job done so far.
“We should be grateful for the great years of employment with LBU.
“We completed the Telok Melano to Sematan stretch in early January last year, followed by Jalan Nyabau to Jalan Bakun or Kick Off Project last year.
“Although we can’t get to build the Pan Borneo Highway Sarawak to the end, we however should hold our heads high for a job well done, from the beginning till now where we have seen much progress happening across all the remaining 10 work packages,” said LBU in a statement today.
LBU pointed out that it was a difficult decision to lay off its staff following the federal government’s decision to do away with the PDP model and has tried to do as much as it could to give the best lay-off compensation benefits.
“An employee assistance programme to prepare the affected staff was conducted by the HR Department. These included a series of knowledge-sharing and upskilling programmes on resume writing, interview skills, computer skills, even starting your own business. And the list goes on.
“To help the staff to secure employment, the HR Department had also cross-referred job opportunities available in the market. Time off was given to staff to attend interviews,” said LBU.
Meanwhile, for the many who have worked for LBU over the last few years, the experience will turn into good memories.
“Working in LBU has given me the opportunity to contribute ideas and efforts throughout the progress of works for this mega project. It has been a privilege to leave a legacy to Pan Borneo Highway Sarawak with all memorable achievements and fondest moment together,” said construction monitoring coordinator Izman Khairi.
Overhead purchasing executive, Shandrayah Kadir expressed gratitude to LBU – “Thank you LBU for everything that we’ve accomplished so far and good luck to everyone”.
Due to the cancellation of PDP, as many as 500 LBU workers were made jobless, most of them Sarawakians. —DayakDaily
