The Malaysian Trade Union Congress (MTUC) has urged Petronas to reconsider its plan to slash about 1,000 jobs in its restructuring exercise.

Expressing dismay over the decision, MTUC secretary-general N Gopal Kishnam said the national petroleum company should seek other ways to cut costs instead, such as reducing its dividend.

“ MTUC regrets to note that the president and CEO is giving priority to fulfil its dividend commitment to shareholders rather than its staff.

“ Although the shareholders bring in investment, the revenue is generated by the workforce.

“ It is our view that the management should not utilise the workers as commodities. Workers are becoming scapegoats for Petronas commitment to the Malaysian government,” he said in a statement today.

He also urged other employers not to take the easy way out in the current economic downturn by reducing the size of their workforce, saying that the situation should not be an excuse to shift the focus to the workers.

Gopal was responding to Petronas' announcement of its restructuring exercise yesterday, which saw a new leadership line-up and the retrenchment of 'under 1,000' positions over the next six months.

Just a day earlier, Petronas had also announced that the state-owned company remains on track to pay RM16 billion in dividends to the government, despite the low crude oil prices.

The company has a workforce of 50,949 as of the end of 2014, and paid a dividend of RM26 billion last year.