Good news for private sector employees.
Plans are under way to raise the retirement age from 55 to 60 for private sector workers. And a new law is currently being drafted by the government that will mandate retirement at 60 -- in other words, private sector employees cannot be "forced" to leave their employment upon reaching 55 years old, else it could be deemed as "unlawful dismissal".
Raising the retirement age is line with global trend. Most countries have already done so a few years back. Here's a partial list of the retirement age of selected countries:
** Singapore - 62 years
** China - 60 for men, 55 for women
** France - 60
** UK - 65
** Taiwan - 65
** USA - 65 for those born before 1960, 67 for those born after 1960
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Competition Act: Malaysian Competition Commission
The Malaysian Competition Commission (myCC) launched its website and logo today (see mycc.gov.my). It is great to read that the long-awaited Competition Act will come into force next year 2012.
The Malaysian Competition Commission's Chairman in an interview today said that they will investigate all anti-competitive behaviors/activities based on public complaints and when they stumble upon such behaviors.
This is definitely positive news for the consumers and even (small) businesses as we now have another avenue to complaint against unfair competition/practices such as price-fixing, market-sharing, abusing one's dominant market position etc.
A good example is the recent MAS-Air Asia's deal and collaboration agreement. The Commission's Chairman had said they may be looking into the deal
Well, below is an excerpt from the media release by MAS:
" Subject to appropriate anti-trust review, the Company, AirAsia and AAX agree that each party (whether by itself or through a subsidiary or affiliate) will focus only on the following business segments: • MAS will focus on being a full-service premium carrier (“FSC”). • AirAsia will focus on being a regional low-cost carrier (“LCC”). • AAX will focus on being a medium-to-long haul LCC. MAS intends to review Firefly Sdn Bhd’s operations, and MAS’s shorthaul FSC business may be undertaken by itself and/or through a new MAS subsidiary (“Sapphire”), and MAS has the flexibility to re-designate capacity, assets and resources from Firefly Sdn Bhd to form Sapphire "
Now, the statement above sure does sound pretty much like a "market-sharing" agreement to me as a lay person. And to review Firefly's operations which currently competes directly with AA, wouldn't this be construed as yet another evidence of "market-sharing"? Hmmm....
It will be interesting to see what happens next year when the Act is enforced. What will the Commission's response if a complaint is lodged? Would MAS-Air Asia be exempted from Act? Would share swap and collaboration be deemed as not infringing the Competition Act? Judging from the various negative comments from other blogs, I would think someone would definitely be lodging a complaint. Interesting 2012
In the US and Europe, many big companies have been subjected to anti-competition suits in the past and recent years.
e.g. Merger of AT&T' and T-Mobile in 2011 was blocked by US regulators on grounds of being anti-competitive and because it could cause wireless prices to rise as competition reduces from 4 big players to 3
e.g. Coca-Cola's proposed acquisition of China Huiyuan in 2009 was blocked by Chinese regulators who concluded that the transaction would have adverse effect on competition
e.g. Google is being investigated by US regulators - probe will focus on Google's advertising business and whether Google has been directing search users to its own services over the competition
e.g.IBM was probed by European Commission in 2010 - whether IBM was abusing its dominant position in the market for mainframe computers
Let's see how strong and effective this new watchdog is in comparison to its US and EU counterparts.
The Malaysian Competition Commission's Chairman in an interview today said that they will investigate all anti-competitive behaviors/activities based on public complaints and when they stumble upon such behaviors.
This is definitely positive news for the consumers and even (small) businesses as we now have another avenue to complaint against unfair competition/practices such as price-fixing, market-sharing, abusing one's dominant market position etc.
A good example is the recent MAS-Air Asia's deal and collaboration agreement. The Commission's Chairman had said they may be looking into the deal
Well, below is an excerpt from the media release by MAS:
" Subject to appropriate anti-trust review, the Company, AirAsia and AAX agree that each party (whether by itself or through a subsidiary or affiliate) will focus only on the following business segments: • MAS will focus on being a full-service premium carrier (“FSC”). • AirAsia will focus on being a regional low-cost carrier (“LCC”). • AAX will focus on being a medium-to-long haul LCC. MAS intends to review Firefly Sdn Bhd’s operations, and MAS’s shorthaul FSC business may be undertaken by itself and/or through a new MAS subsidiary (“Sapphire”), and MAS has the flexibility to re-designate capacity, assets and resources from Firefly Sdn Bhd to form Sapphire "
Now, the statement above sure does sound pretty much like a "market-sharing" agreement to me as a lay person. And to review Firefly's operations which currently competes directly with AA, wouldn't this be construed as yet another evidence of "market-sharing"? Hmmm....
It will be interesting to see what happens next year when the Act is enforced. What will the Commission's response if a complaint is lodged? Would MAS-Air Asia be exempted from Act? Would share swap and collaboration be deemed as not infringing the Competition Act? Judging from the various negative comments from other blogs, I would think someone would definitely be lodging a complaint. Interesting 2012
In the US and Europe, many big companies have been subjected to anti-competition suits in the past and recent years.
e.g. Merger of AT&T' and T-Mobile in 2011 was blocked by US regulators on grounds of being anti-competitive and because it could cause wireless prices to rise as competition reduces from 4 big players to 3
e.g. Coca-Cola's proposed acquisition of China Huiyuan in 2009 was blocked by Chinese regulators who concluded that the transaction would have adverse effect on competition
e.g. Google is being investigated by US regulators - probe will focus on Google's advertising business and whether Google has been directing search users to its own services over the competition
e.g.IBM was probed by European Commission in 2010 - whether IBM was abusing its dominant position in the market for mainframe computers
Let's see how strong and effective this new watchdog is in comparison to its US and EU counterparts.
Monday, September 19, 2011
Hooray...ISA is abolished
Am elated to hear the news live over TV...although it was not a complete surprise as several online news portals have earlier mentioned about such possibility. News must have leaked.. I must say these journalists have reliable insider sources (wonder who ??). I read about how some Cabinet Ministers were sworn to secrecy but I supposed somehow some talked
Hope more similar Acts would be repealed and one day, all Malaysians can freely express their thoughts without fear
Hope more similar Acts would be repealed and one day, all Malaysians can freely express their thoughts without fear
Complaint: Airline's poor service
My flight is delayed. I was only notified about the delay 2 hours before the departure time via SMS. I tried to call the airline company but was greeted by the automated voice response system. I opted to speak to an operator but all the call agents' lines were engaged. I redialled numerous times but could not reach the call centre agent.
I had to spend my time waiting at the airport as I had made prior transport arrangement to send me to the airport and couldn't re-arrange the pick-up time. I was still feeling a little upset when I checked-in. There were long queues at all the check-in counters. Rushing to clear the queue (for other flights which are due to take-off quite soon), the personnel manning the counters were not smiling nor apologetic. Neither were the stewardesses. They greeted passengers rather reluctantly. I was not happy.
After my trip, I decided to complain about the airline's poor service. I checked their website for their email address. Wrote them a complaint email but did not receive any reply. I wrote to the newspapers but my letter was not published (perhaps because this airline co is a big advertiser, so papers are rather careful not to publish negative letters on co).
I decided to escalate this up. First, I forwarded my complaint email to the airline co's CEO and CCed everyone whose email address I can find in the company (googled and simply add anyone with this airline company email address). Tepid response.
Then, I checked the airline's website to find out the industry awards that they have won recently - e.g. Airline of the Year, Best Managed Company etc. I wrote to the organizations that gave out the awards (e.g. Skytrax http://www.airlinequality.com/ and Euromoney) and told these organizations why I, as a customer, think this company did not deserve the award(s). I made sure I CCed the CEO and customer relationship desk.
Will try facebook and twittering next.
I had to spend my time waiting at the airport as I had made prior transport arrangement to send me to the airport and couldn't re-arrange the pick-up time. I was still feeling a little upset when I checked-in. There were long queues at all the check-in counters. Rushing to clear the queue (for other flights which are due to take-off quite soon), the personnel manning the counters were not smiling nor apologetic. Neither were the stewardesses. They greeted passengers rather reluctantly. I was not happy.
After my trip, I decided to complain about the airline's poor service. I checked their website for their email address. Wrote them a complaint email but did not receive any reply. I wrote to the newspapers but my letter was not published (perhaps because this airline co is a big advertiser, so papers are rather careful not to publish negative letters on co).
I decided to escalate this up. First, I forwarded my complaint email to the airline co's CEO and CCed everyone whose email address I can find in the company (googled and simply add anyone with this airline company email address). Tepid response.
Then, I checked the airline's website to find out the industry awards that they have won recently - e.g. Airline of the Year, Best Managed Company etc. I wrote to the organizations that gave out the awards (e.g. Skytrax http://www.airlinequality.com/ and Euromoney) and told these organizations why I, as a customer, think this company did not deserve the award(s). I made sure I CCed the CEO and customer relationship desk.
Will try facebook and twittering next.
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Retrenchment / VSS compensation packages in Malaysia: A Comparison (part 2)
More data...
************************
Malaysia Airports (airport, 2002, Source: news article)
Employees accepting the VSS offer will be paid between 0.75 and 1.75 times their last drawn salary multiplied by their years of service.
Intel Malaysia (2006, source: Intel sources)
VSS: Offered 1.5 months salary for each year of service and three months pay for leaving on short notice
Hualon (2008, receivership, news article)Note : This is a unique case. Co was bankrupt, put under receivership and then sold to a new owner. Local law does not provide for retrenchment benefits if company is bankrupt. However, Hualon employees campaigned and got something at the end : "Hualon Corporation textile workers received compensation ranging from RM1,000 to RM17,000 based on years of service"
A good article below for more details on case
http://www.socialistworld.net/doc/3254
Hong Leong Bank, MIMB (post-takeover of EON Bank), Nov-2011
VSS payment formula is based on a VSS multiple that ranges from 1.4 (for executives) to 1.6 (for non-executives) multiplied by the length of service (capped at a maximum of 22 years) multiplied by the basic salary or 50% of total monthly salary until retirement, whichever is lower.
************************
Malaysia Airports (airport, 2002, Source: news article)
Employees accepting the VSS offer will be paid between 0.75 and 1.75 times their last drawn salary multiplied by their years of service.
Intel Malaysia (2006, source: Intel sources)
VSS: Offered 1.5 months salary for each year of service and three months pay for leaving on short notice
Hualon (2008, receivership, news article)Note : This is a unique case. Co was bankrupt, put under receivership and then sold to a new owner. Local law does not provide for retrenchment benefits if company is bankrupt. However, Hualon employees campaigned and got something at the end : "Hualon Corporation textile workers received compensation ranging from RM1,000 to RM17,000 based on years of service"
A good article below for more details on case
http://www.socialistworld.net/doc/3254
Hong Leong Bank, MIMB (post-takeover of EON Bank), Nov-2011
VSS payment formula is based on a VSS multiple that ranges from 1.4 (for executives) to 1.6 (for non-executives) multiplied by the length of service (capped at a maximum of 22 years) multiplied by the basic salary or 50% of total monthly salary until retirement, whichever is lower.
In addition, the Bank is also offering
medical relief of up to RM1,000 reimbursable for a period of 6-months
from the date of separation, continuation of housing and motor vehicle
loans at staff preferential rates for a period of 12 months from the
date of separation.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Retrenchment / VSS compensation packages in Malaysia: A Comparison
Usually companies do not make public the severance packages (retrenchment, voluntary separation scheme) paid to the affected employees. You will find that you are most likely to get such data only if the company has an in-house union and/or belongs to an industry with a strong union (e.g. banks)
It is always good to arm yourself with some form of market data (who paid how much to whom) especially if you want to negotiate with your employer for a better severance package. Note however, that no circumstances are exactly the same -- Compensation package typically depends on the type of organization e.g. MNC/GLC/local, industry, job position, circumstances under which you've been made redundant, company's financial position, company's moral and CSR standing etc.
Hence, the compensation data below (or which you've gathered) should only be used for general comparison purposes only. That said, as you can see below, most companies pay above statutory rates (i.e. min. required as per Malaysian Employment Act) which is ---
For service up to 2 years: 10 days wages per year of service
Service between 2-5 years: 15 days wages per year of service
Service of more than 5 years: 20 days per year of service
I also hope that more retrenched employees would share the compensation data that their ex-employer have paid out in the past. This will help the other soon-to-retrenched workers
***********************************************************************
Maybank (bank, VSS in 2001, source: news article)
paid 1.35 to 1.85 months per year of service or 65% of one's last drawn salary X no of months to retirement (whichever lower, subject to a maximum of 36 months)
also gave RM 1,000 cash as medical assistance and continuation of certain staff benefits for 2 years
Intel Penang (electronics, 2001, source: news article)
Report indicated that those who opt for the scheme will receive 4 months' base salary as well as a 1.5-month salary for each year of service.
Malaysia Airline (airline, 2006, source: press release)
Payment based on current monthly salary ranging from 1-3 months for every year of service. Apart from that, MAS will give a one-off medical benefit, buy back all unutilised leave, give a free air ticket to be used by the end of the year and give laid-off staff hospitalisation coverage for a year
Timedotcom (telecommunications, 2006, source: news article)
Package of between 1.8 -2 months' salary for each completed year of service with the company
EON (car distributor, VSS in 2006, source: news article)
paid 1.5 times their last drawn salary per year of service subject to a maximum of 24 years, or last drawn salary X remaining months to retirement subject to a maximum of 36 months, which ever is lower. Medical assistance of RM 1,000 per employee. Outplacement training and workshops, and employment placement assistance
NST/MalayMail (newspaper publisher, 2006, source: thestar quoting sources)
voluntary separation scheme (VSS) of between 1.1- 1.75 months' salary per year of service based of the last-drawn basic salary.
Spansion Penang (electronics, VSS in 2009, source: news article)
Employees who have served < than 2 years offered 10 days’ pay and a month’s salary in lieu of notice, those who have clocked 5 years or more were offered 20 days’ pay and two months’ salary in lieu of notice. The offer for employees in between the two categories was 15 days’ pay and 1.5 months’ salary.
More cases (especially for involuntary separation or dismissals)
One good website to check is www.mp.gov.my which is the official website for the Industrial Court of Malaysia for past cases. Or simply google using keywords such as "malaysia industrial court case RM" and one can get a list of past court cases and the judgement passed by the court (e.g. how much was awarded).
I will update compensation database as I get more data
It is always good to arm yourself with some form of market data (who paid how much to whom) especially if you want to negotiate with your employer for a better severance package. Note however, that no circumstances are exactly the same -- Compensation package typically depends on the type of organization e.g. MNC/GLC/local, industry, job position, circumstances under which you've been made redundant, company's financial position, company's moral and CSR standing etc.
Hence, the compensation data below (or which you've gathered) should only be used for general comparison purposes only. That said, as you can see below, most companies pay above statutory rates (i.e. min. required as per Malaysian Employment Act) which is ---
For service up to 2 years: 10 days wages per year of service
Service between 2-5 years: 15 days wages per year of service
Service of more than 5 years: 20 days per year of service
I also hope that more retrenched employees would share the compensation data that their ex-employer have paid out in the past. This will help the other soon-to-retrenched workers
***********************************************************************
Maybank (bank, VSS in 2001, source: news article)
paid 1.35 to 1.85 months per year of service or 65% of one's last drawn salary X no of months to retirement (whichever lower, subject to a maximum of 36 months)
also gave RM 1,000 cash as medical assistance and continuation of certain staff benefits for 2 years
Intel Penang (electronics, 2001, source: news article)
Report indicated that those who opt for the scheme will receive 4 months' base salary as well as a 1.5-month salary for each year of service.
Malaysia Airline (airline, 2006, source: press release)
Payment based on current monthly salary ranging from 1-3 months for every year of service. Apart from that, MAS will give a one-off medical benefit, buy back all unutilised leave, give a free air ticket to be used by the end of the year and give laid-off staff hospitalisation coverage for a year
Timedotcom (telecommunications, 2006, source: news article)
Package of between 1.8 -2 months' salary for each completed year of service with the company
EON (car distributor, VSS in 2006, source: news article)
paid 1.5 times their last drawn salary per year of service subject to a maximum of 24 years, or last drawn salary X remaining months to retirement subject to a maximum of 36 months, which ever is lower. Medical assistance of RM 1,000 per employee. Outplacement training and workshops, and employment placement assistance
NST/MalayMail (newspaper publisher, 2006, source: thestar quoting sources)
voluntary separation scheme (VSS) of between 1.1- 1.75 months' salary per year of service based of the last-drawn basic salary.
Spansion Penang (electronics, VSS in 2009, source: news article)
Employees who have served < than 2 years offered 10 days’ pay and a month’s salary in lieu of notice, those who have clocked 5 years or more were offered 20 days’ pay and two months’ salary in lieu of notice. The offer for employees in between the two categories was 15 days’ pay and 1.5 months’ salary.
More cases (especially for involuntary separation or dismissals)
One good website to check is www.mp.gov.my which is the official website for the Industrial Court of Malaysia for past cases. Or simply google using keywords such as "malaysia industrial court case RM" and one can get a list of past court cases and the judgement passed by the court (e.g. how much was awarded).
I will update compensation database as I get more data
More than a year
It's been more than a year since i stopped blogging...now everyone's twitterring
Is blogging a dying trend?
Is blogging a dying trend?
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