PETALING JAYA (Mar 23): Six trade unions have urged Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak to intervene in and halt the employment termination for 6,000 workers of Malaysian Airline System Bhd (MAS).

International Transport Federation Malaysia (ITF) council secretary-general Tan Sri Zainal Rampak, who spoke on behalf of the trade unions, said the 6,000  MAS employees whose employment would soon be terminated under MAS' restructuring should not be victimised in the current situation.

"I have lost my confidence in Khazanah Nasional Bhd and I want the Prime Minister to appoint a special committee to look into the issues and resolve the problems.

"ITF and the five trade unions will submit a memorandum to Najib that seeks the resignation of the top brass of Khazanah and MAS officials," Zainal said this to reporters today at a press conference that was also attended by representatives from other five trade unions.

The five comprise the Malaysian Trade Union Congress (MTUC), UNI-Malaysia Labor Centre (UNI-MLC), ASEAN Services Employees Trade Union Council Malaysia  (ASETUC), Gabungan Kesatuan Sekerja Dalam Syarikat GLC & Penswastaan  (GLC) and the Public Services International Malaysia (PSI).

Zainal said he was dissapointed with state-owned MAS' controlling shareholder Khazanah for failing to resolve the plight of these workers under the restructuring. Loss-making MAS' revamp follows two aviation mishaps involving the airline last year.

These mishaps had resulted in MAS posting a net loss of RM1.33 billion in the nine months ended September 30, 2014 from a net loss of RM830.25 million a year earlier.

Khazanah had privatised and delisted MAS in December 2014 to restructure the airline.

Today, Zainal said Khazanah had not sought the full cooperation of the airline's unions representing the cabin crew to resolve the employment issues.

Zainal also said Khazanah had not been transparent on its restructuring plans for MAS including the termination plans for the 6,000 employees, who were still in the dark about the matter.

"It was not professional of Khazanah to merely make decisions and issue statements on the restructuring plans without consulting the unions and employees at stake," he said.