KUALA LUMPUR: There may not be a Hari Raya Aidilfitri bonus for postmen but the company is doing its best to convey its appreciation to the hardworking staff.
Following a Facebook post of a postman in tears over the absence of this year's bonus payout, Union of Pos Malaysia Uniformed Staff (Upus) denied that the company had neglected its workers' interests.
Upus president Ismail Ali said Pos Malaysia had paid out one-off allowances for the month of Ramadan, as well as tokens for the increased workload during the Movement Control Order (MCO) since March.
"At the beginning of Ramadan, the company gave out RM250 to each frontliner working during MCO, including our postmen, as they are also our unsung heroes.
"All postmen received the RM250 token while support units received RM100.
"We understand that their workload tripled during the MCO. We are used to handling 300,000 to 350,000 items in a day. And during the MCO, the numbers grew close to 800,000 items a day."
Ismail said bonus payments depended on the company's financial performances.
"There is no bonus for the workers this year, as financial records show that Pos Malaysia has suffered losses close to RM250 million in 2019 and RM100 million in 2018.
"Of course, it seems that Pos Malaysia is making a huge profit at the moment. However, it still needs to wait until our financial account for the year 2020 is finalised to determine bonuses, among others, for this year.
"Hence, the company is not able to pay bonuses," he told New Straits Times when contacted today.
On May 18, 2020, a Facebook user wrote a post about the woes of a teary Pos Malaysia postman over the bonus payout.
"Is it true that there is no bonus for them this year? Hasn't it been good business for you since the MCO is in place and people are using your services more than ever? Why can't you give bonus to your staff members?
"Please don't use Covid-19 and its financial impact as an excuse from helping your staff members," read the posting.
Ismail said a police report had been lodged over the posting.
"It is a heavy accusation. We found out that there are no postmen or Pos Malaysia staff member suffering or struggling as how it was depicted in the posting."
Ismail said Upus and Pos Malaysia had always been in talks to look into ways to pay their staff better from time to time.
"Through the minimum wages order, the company has decided to increase the basic salary range.
"And they have also agreed to promote non-executive postmen from NP1 to NP2 which resulted in increased salary range as well. This has been ongoing since February 2020, which costs close to RM11.4 million.
"We will always ensure that our workers' welfare is taken care of."