KUALA LUMPUR, April 18 — Thirteen civil society groups are banding together to hold a May Day rally on May 1 to highlight the daily struggles of low-income workers.

The theme this year is "Gaji Bermaruah, Jaminan Makanan” or in English a dignified salary and food security.

Its organising committee said the theme is to remind employers of the workers’ right to earn a dignified salary as many are struggling on their current pay with the sharp increases in the daily costs of living.

"The theme was chosen because Malaysia and its people were affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

"Although our economy is reviving well, it cannot be denied that the cost of living for most households in Malaysia is too high.

"The B40 segments, especially workers, small traders, students, and unemployed have been badly affected with the high cost of living,” Parameiswary Elumalai, one of the organising committee members, told a news conference here.

The organisers said the 29th edition of the May Day rally in Kuala Lumpur this year will start with a rally from the Maju Junction Mall on Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman and end at Medan Pasar, some 1.4km away.

Present at today’s news conference was Informal Workers Network coordinator Ahmad Yasin who said his group wants a formal mechanism for gig workers.

"We are living daily without a fixed income. We are asking for the government to set us up with EPF and Socso. This is for our security if anything goes wrong,” he said.

EPF is short for the Employees’ Provident Fund while Socso stands for the Social Security Organisation.

Also present was Abdul Andieka Amirul, a community coordinator for a government contract employment network, who said his organisation is pressing for permanent positions for government contract workers.

"If the government wants to hire an employee, it has to be on a full time basis.

"This is because contract workers, mostly security guards and cleaners, will not receive a pay rise. Their income will be stagnant for years to come,” he said.

Abdul Andieka also said the government should not prevent the formation of trade unions or their attempts to grow their membership in a workplace or union busting as it is a way of shutting down workers’ right to expression.

A programme officer for Sisters In Islam, Huda Ramli, said her organisation will be using the rally to push the government to enact a gender equality law.

"Half of the labour force in Malaysia are women. They should earn a dignified living wage as it is their right. The gender equality law is not only for Malaysian women but for all women in Malaysia,” she said.

The other NGOs that will take part in the rally are Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram), Malaysian E-hailing Union, Centre for Independent Journalism, and Food Sovereignty Forum.

Suaram documentation and monitoring coordinator Jernell Tan Chia Ee said his NGO demands the abolishment of laws that violate human rights such as the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 or better known as Sosma.

"We also demand for freedom of expression, such as media freedom. Without it, we cannot have a constructive social discussion. We also demand to appeal Section 233 of the Communications & Multimedia Act 1998 or at least change it so we can have better freedom,” she said.

Section 233 of the Communications & Multimedia Act 1998 provides criminal penalties of up to one year imprisonment and a fine for the use of "network facilities or network service” to transmit communications that are "obscene, indecent, false, menacing or offensive in character with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass another person”.

Parti Sosialis Malaysia deputy president S. Arutchelvan who was also present at today’s news conference said the rally is important as it is a platform for workers to express their demands peacefully.

"We will follow all the procedures. We will ask for police’s permission five days before the rally and the march will be observed by the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia and the Malaysian Bar,” he said.

The organisers hope workers will turn up on May 1 and join the march to express their rights.