Borneo Bulletin Opinion
| Labour
Dept wants to meet unpaid employee I refer to the letter 'No salary on time - only grunts and grumbles' by Feeling Cheated (BB, 16 November 2005). Such letter to the press probably indicates that employers may be under the impression that they can get away from paying their workers; and the workers also think nothing can be done to get heir earned wages. I do not think such impressions should be allowed to go on as if there is no provision in the law. We have no hesitation to haul errant employers to court in order to see justice prevail. I regret what had happened to her. As much as I would like to help, it would only be possible if details of her case are made known to us. But I can tell that Labour Act is quite clear on the points raised by her. In accordance with section 108(1) employer must pay his worker's salary no later that the 10th day of the month. Failure to do so is an offence under section 120(b) which carries a penalty of a fine of $1,500 or in default thereof imprisonment for 6 months. As a normal procedure she must lodge a police report at the nearest police station and for her to be present at the Department of Labour so that statements can be recorded to enable us to set the case in motion. As I understand from the letter she had been on loan to other employer through mutual agreement. As far as the Department of Labour is concerned such private arrangement is never been granted as it does not cover under the Labour Act and there is no proper contract of service signed by both parties. On this point, it must be good to bear in mind that she is still the responsibility of the actual employer and not the other employer in the eye of the law unless of course, the transfer of employment was done in accordance with the said Act. I would urge her to contact Mr Shariful Bahri bin Haji Sawas, Assistant Commissioner of Labour or Mr Rosli bin Matnoor, Senior Labour Inspector, telephone no. 2382802 or 2383006 Ext. 4500 during office hours or the Enforcement Section Hotline 2381848 for further assistance. 'Muafakat Membawa Berkat' - Haji Omar Bin Haji Abd Rahman - Commisioner of Labour - Brunei Darussalam |
| Is
there a shortage of containers at gas stations? I am a resident of the Muara district. My nephew tried to buy fuel from the local fuel station and was rejected saying an 'improper' container was used. I asked for a sample of the approved small container but there aren't any. He had to drive several kilometres down to another fuel station and sadly they too had ran out of stock. It's good to implement such policy and looking after the safety and well-being of the people, but they should also ensure that serious action is taken. - Anak Brunei |
| Orange
foam on the beach Why is there a newly built big drain leading to Kuala Belait? Is it because now, there's a lot of drainage systems leading to the sea. Apart from the environmental damage, the beach is a beautiful place so why pollute it? I really hate seeing orange foam forming at the beach and the water looking so bad. Isn't there any enviromentalist that can see to this problem out there? Maybe in five years time, the beach will be so polluted that no one will ever want to go there again. I wish there's someone out there to help in this matter. - SIR |
| DST
regrets writers' problems DSTCom welcomes feedbacks from its customers and wish to thank the writers to the Opinion Column pages of Borneo Bulletin between 29.10.05 to 19.11.05 for bringing these issues to our attention. Foremost, DSTCom would like to express regrets for any inconvenience caused to the writers and would like to clarify these issues. Over the past few months, DSTCom has launched several new promotions to its Prima and Easi products. The new revised charges and the 4 Prima Plans: Prima Essential ($35), Prima Extra ($55), Prima Executive ($85) and Prima Elite ($165) have been encouragingly received by our customers, with the individual plan packaging and bundling for outgoing calls, SMS and MMS. As such with regards to 'Wildfire Returns', DSTCare 151 has been overwhelmed by its customers since the launch of these promotions. In fact the number of callers has doubled than the previous months and coupled with a limited maximum capacity to handle the number of calls, has made access to DSTCare 151 difficult. However, to alleviate these capacity concerns, DSTCom has already made plans, in the immediate term and long run, to increase the capacity. Please bear with us whilst we undertake the various accessibility improvements to DSTCare 151. On the issue of the Prima's bill statement as highlighted by 'Frustrated Mobile User', DSTCom appreciates the difficulties encountered by the writer. Generally, the bill statement details will indicate the (i) Prima plan type subscribed (ii) Total bundled minutes/sms/mms (iii) Usage charges and other charges. Confusion could arise when there is a change of Prima Essential ($35) plan to the Prima Extra ($55) plan. The change would result in (i) Prorating $35 of the Prima Essential plan and (ii) Prorating $55 of the Prima Extra plan as of the date of change, within the same bill. The prorating also extends to the Total bundled minutes/sms/mms and Usage charges, which as described by the writer as being Miscellaneous charges, where appropriate adjustments has to be made. We wish to highlight that calls to DSTCare 151 and retrieval of DBill via 8885555 will not be charged. Charges are only applicable for the content download services from 8885555. However, to be more specific, we invite the writer to contact our Manager, Counter Operations, Yayasan Branch, at the earliest convenience, to assist the writer with the Prima account enquiries. With respect to 'Annoyed Customer', we wish to advise that DSTCom Airport Counter is not an Express Counter and provides all counter services except for Prima new registration. DSTCom wishes to apologise to the writer over her unpleasant experience whilst at the branch. We assure the writer that DSTCom continually strives to improve our customer services and customer relations not only through trainings, as suggested, but also through feedbacks by our customers such as the writer. We highly appreciate the writers loyalty and continued patronage with DSTCom. DSTCom would be happy to receive any suggestions for improvements from our customers and they can do so by writing directly to the undersigned. - The Manager - Corporate Communications Unit - DST Headquarters Building - Tungku Link BE 3816 - B.S. Begawan - email : dst.corporate@simpur.net.bn - Fax: 2411 873 |
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Winning students deserve more
praise |
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Remember ‘click-clack front and back' I would like to bring to the attention of the readers the dangerous practice of parents allowing their children to travel in their cars unrestrained by seat belts. On many occasions during the four months I have lived in Kuala Belait, I have witnessed young children standing on seats and jumping around while the car was in motion. On Saturday last, I followed a mini-van along Jalan Maulana with two small children standing up with the upper portion of their bodies protruding from the window as they stretched their arms out waving to those who passed by. The potential for disaster was enormous. The driver only needed to swerve or brake suddenly and the children would have been thrown forward sustaining serious head injuries or, they could have fallen out of the open window onto the roadway and been run over. A fair proportion of the adult population appears to wear their seat belts, so it puzzles me why there is not the same level of compliance with children. These young children are the future of Brunei and they deserve a safe travel environment. So please parents, make sure your children are buckled into their seat belts when you fasten your own belt at the beginning of your journey. Parents and teachers could teach the children to repeat the rhyme: "click-clack, front and back" and this might remind parents to check that all seat belts are fastened before they commence driving. - Concerned Resident, KB |
| Land
Commission wants more details on land matter We would like to refer to the article published on September 10, 2005 concerning 'Have land but can't build house'. We hope that the writer could send us more information about the matter by contacting us directly and come forward to Bahagian Perkhidmatan dan Kawanlan Tanah, 3rd Floor, Land Commision Department, for the said matter. - Dyg Saharana binti Haji Ahmad - Pesuruhjaya Tanah - Negara Brunei Darussalam |
| Can't
we check what's on menu? I was a regular customer of a certain restaurant and last week I went there for dinner with my friend. When I reached there, like usual I went to the food display to check what food was available. I was so shocked that I was scolded by a foreign worker. I was very angry at that moment but what could I do? I wonder why people with such attitude are employed. They simply spoil the restaurant's image. I hope the restaurants would check their employees' behaviour. - Angry Customer |
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