PETALING JAYA: The Industrial Court has ordered a private higher learning institution to compensate 17 lecturers RM1.4 million for unfair dismissal, for reasons unclear for the educators’ retrenchment.
As the lecturer’s positions in Widad College became “redundant” thus justifying their dismissal, Court chairman Nur Fauzah Mokhtar expressed her dissatisfaction and was not assured of the lecturers’ termination being in line with the “general principles of retrenchment”, as quoted from Free Malaysia Today.
The lecturers had worked in the college between four to 20 years earning between RM2,100 and RM3,950 each and were retrenched on June 30, 2021 after they were handed a three-month notice.
They were awarded between RM51,150 and RM114,767 each in place of unused annual leave, back pay and reinstatement.
Fauzah added that the company in charge of Widad University College and Widad College,Widad Education Sdn Bhd, had not provided enough evidence to show measures in avoiding the dismissal through significant cost cutting, hence pointing out the termination was not done in “good faith”, as quoted, on grounds of redundancy.
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Not only that, the company did not provide the lecturers any other alternatives other than being dismissed.
The company’s witnesses, on the other hand, were not able to convey the “retrenchment selection criteria” even though they attended the “management committee” that decided to terminate the lecturers’ contracts, as quoted.
Meanwhile, the lecturers claimed that there was no discussion or notice about the company’s financial situation or status.
The lecturers also said they were not offered alternatives aside from retrenchment such as a reduction in pay or working hours, transfer to another department or the university as well as “forcing” them to utilise their unused leave without pay two weeks prior to their dismissal.
It was also revealed the company had spent lavishly on events from July 2021 until June 2022, such as a corporate dinner party at a hotel, despite its claims of suffering from financial losses affecting “existing cash flow and finances”, as quoted.
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But the lecturers’ claims were denied by the company regarding the annual dinner, stating the funds were collected by the staff club and students, adding that it experienced a RM9 million loss for four years in a row.
Furthermore, Widad Education’s student intake plummeted from 2016 to 2020.
“The company had been unable to pay the salary of employees as well as those of former employees of Shahputra College, which it had bought over. Monthly tax deductions and EPF and Sosco contributions were also in arrears,” Widad Education was quoted as saying.
Prior to the lectures’ dismissal, the company said the statutory dues and outstanding salaries amounted to RM5.89 million.
