ASEAN warned of massive job losses<\/p>\n
KUALA LUMPUR (Agencies): Massive job losses could hit
\nSoutheast Asian countries as a result of the economic slowdown in
\nthe United States, government officials warned on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Thousands of jobs have already been shed this year in the
\nexport-dependent region as the global slowdown begins to bite,
\nparticularly in countries such as Malaysia and Singapore which
\nrely on U.S. demand for electronics components and products.<\/p>\n
The economic downturn is at the top of the agenda for a
\nmeeting of labor ministers from Association of Southeast Asian
\nNations, plus Japan, South Korea and China, in Kuala Lumpur on
\nThursday and Friday.<\/p>\n
Senior officials began meeting Tuesday to finalize details for
\nthe ministerial talks.<\/p>\n
\"The U.S. economic issue is the main problem, that will be a
\nstarting point for the ministers to discuss,\" Bounnhou
\nPhommavongsa, the deputy director-general of Laos' labor
\nministry, said Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Syed Muhamad Abdul Kadir, the secretary-general of Malaysia's
\nhuman resources ministry, said urgent action was needed to curb
\nlayoffs which were the result of employers in export industries
\nanticipating a reduction in demand.<\/p>\n
\"We must be productive to ensure that we do not face major
\ndifficulties,\" Syed Muhamad said. \"The important thing is to take
\nimmediate action to curb massive retrenchments.\"<\/p>\n
The nature of the action would be discussed by the ministers,
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
In Malaysia, where U.S. demand for electronics exports helped
\npull the economy out of recession brought on by the Asian
\nfinancial crisis, official figures show that almost 3,500 workers
\nlost their jobs in the first quarter of 2001. However, the
\nofficial unemployment rate remains at less than 4 percent.<\/p>\n
Bounnhou said the ministers would discuss how to fund various
\nhuman resources and worker skills development projects which were
\nagreed to at their last meeting in Manila.<\/p>\n
He said Southeast Asian countries would seek funding from the
\nricher Asian nations of China, Japan and South Korea, and that
\n\"we are hopeful that they will help us.\"<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the Singapore union movement has ratcheted up the
\npressure on employers to accept its proposal to cut wages instead
\nof jobs, as the global slowdown bites into the economy.<\/p>\n
The National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) has issued an
\nultimatum demanding all companies build a \"variable component\"
\ninto salaries or risk losing union support for other cost saving
\nmeasures, the Straits Times reported on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Singapore's trade-driven economy is vulnerable to global
\ndevelopments such as the U.S.-led economic slowdown, and the NTUC
\nfears there could be more than 12,000 job retrenchments this
\nyear.<\/p>\n
Since the city state emerged from the 1997 financial crisis,
\nthe union movement has been pushing employers to set aside part
\nof wage increases as a variable component which can be cut to
\nreduce costs and save jobs during an economic downturn.<\/p>",
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