Bintulu Member of Parliament Dato' Seri Tiong King Sing said the employers should be more compassionate by issuing out salaries at least a week before any major festival to allow ample time for their staff to make their preparations.

He took this stand after hearing numerous grievances from longhouse residents that he met during his pre-Gawai visits over their employers' insistence that their pay day would be at the final day of the month.

"This had apparently reflected the insensitivity of the employers and their low-level of respect to the festivals to be celebrated by their staff," he said at Rh Seman, one of the longhouses that he visited on Sunday.

The employers' reluctance had spoilt the mood for those celebrating the festivals while encouraging mad rush in the final hours to return back to their respective villages or to do the necessary shopping.

Some of the workers would only arrived at their hometown a day or two after the celebration days or worst still, could not return at all for not being able to get their salaries at earliers dates.

The attitude of waiting at the "very end of the month" could also deter the spirit of the employees to share the joy of the festivals to foster family ties as they could feel depressed for being unkindly treated by their respective employers.

On the other hand, he hope the longhouse residents who had worked under considerate employers and had been receiving their salaries timely for the celebration would not be forgetting about their responsibilities.

"When your employers had been considerate enough to pay out your salary early, you should not be thinking about celebrating for the whole year and refused to return back to work after your holidays are over," he added.

He also felt that giving out salaries early could be a pre-emptive move by an employer to motivate their staff to be more productive in contributing towards the companies' prosperity.

Besides Rh Seman, Tiong who was accompanied by members of Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP) here and staff of his People's Service Centre also visited Rh Thomas and Rh Billy, all in the Pandan area in Sebauh.