Parti Keadilan Rakyat (Keadilan) deputy president Dr Syed Husin Ali today urged rubber manufacturing giant Goodyear Malaysia Bhd to address the grouses of its workers who have been picketing daily for over two weeks now.

After visiting the workers outside the Goodyear plant in Shah Alam, he said the company should negotiate as soon as possible to resolve the dispute over its policy to recruit foreigners and contract workers over local permanent employees.

The workers started picketing on Jan 6 under the aegis of the National Union of Employees in Companies Manufacturing Rubber Products (NUECMRP).

According to Syed Husin, the workers have been dissatisfied for some time over the employment of local contract workers as well as foreign workers through the services of a labour contractor.

"(Goodyear) pays the foreign workers' wages to the contractor but does not care how the contractor pays the workers. Compared to permanent employees, local contract workers and foreign workers are definitely exploited in terms of their wages and contract terms," he said.

Aside from this, Syed Husin said the company has also been using these non-permanent workers to weaken the bargaining power of unionised local workers.

Reinstate union executive

To resolve the matter, the Keadilan leader said Goodyear should consider re-opening negotiations with the union to discuss their differences over the company's employment policy.

In addition, he also asked for the management to reverse the suspension of union executive committee member Mohd Saad Manap.

He was suspended on allegations that he had been absent without notice from Dec 28 to Dec 30. However, the union member claimed his leave was approved by the human resources department and that the action taken against him was in relation to his union activities.

However union officials told malaysiakini that Mohd Saad has been issued a termination notice after the first day of picketing.

They also said that Goodyear Worksite Committee chairperson Sulaiman Amin has been suspended from work since the day the workers started their picket until Jan 29 for allegedly distributing job application forms to locals.

The company's human resources officials were unavailable for comment

Goodyear is one of the leading tyre manufacturers in the country, employing nearly 700 workers at its plant in Shah Alam. The company produces a wide range of passenger car tyres under three different brands - Goodyear, Fulda and Kelly.