Breaking news

Malaysian law reforms must comply with ILO Convention on Freedom of Association

Three Malaysia affiliates of IndustriALL Global Union, the National Union of Transport Equipment & Allied Industries Workers (NUTEAIW), Electronics Industry Employees’ Union Coalition (EIEU Coalition) and Paper and Paper Products Manufacturing Employees Union (PPPMEU, participated in the consultation meeting on 28 April 2019 in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia.

Malaysian law reforms must comply with ILO Convention on Freedom
 

A contentious issue was the definition of a trade union, which currently can only represent workers in a similar trade, occupation or industry. Many in the union movement want to keep this provision to strengthen industrial unions and promote industry wide bargaining.

The government proposes to change this, bringing the law in line with the labour consistency plan agreed upon by US and Malaysia during the negotiation of the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement.

After much deliberation, the majority of participants decided to endore this international labour standard and agreed with the proposed change.

1557427097 569 Malaysian law reforms must comply with ILO Convention on Freedom

““For a long time we have been advocating for ratification of ILO Convention 87 on Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise, we cannot be self-contradictory by imposing limitation on formation of unions, we must be honest in our struggle”

S. Somahsundram, executive secretary, PPPMEU

ILO C 87 stipulates that workers have the right to form or join trade unions without distinction.

Union leaders discussed anti-union discrimination in the recognition process. They shared their frustration that sometimes no workers took part in the secret ballot due to employer interference and intimidation.

To ensure employers respect workers’ right to vote, union leaders suggested a new sub section to the law, stating that the secret ballot shall be deemed invalid if no workers participate, and reset for a date not later than 30 days.

The secretary of the IndustriALL Malaysia Council, Gopal Kishnam, criticized the government’s industrial relations department for its failure to enforce the law forbidding unfair labour practices. He argued that the law was clear that the employer could not interfere in trade unions. Participants proposed that the Industrial Relations Act be amended to clarify this.

The current penalty for unfair labour practice is inadequate. Employers who dismiss, injure or threaten a worker for joining a union will be fined no more than RM 2,000 (US $480) and imprisoned no more than one year.

Participants proposed increasing the fine to RM 20,000 (US $4,800) and imprisonment of not less than two years.

Trade unionists urged the government to remove legal restrictions inhibiting workers’ right to strike, to expand the scope of collective bargaining in accordance with ILO Convention 154 on Collective Bargaining, and to refer all matters relating to the suspension of trade unions to the industrial court.

1557427098 407 Malaysian law reforms must comply with ILO Convention on Freedom
 

Source

Disclaimer: All third-party opinions expressed via IASWI accounts linked to and from this page are those of the individuals concerned and do not necessarily represent those of IASWI or its affiliates. No copyright infringement is intended nor implied. To discuss this disclaimer or the removal of appropriate credit for materials of which you hold copyright please contact us. All the third party videos and contents found on workers-iran.org is not hosted on our servers; all third party videos or contents are hosted on a third party site. The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the various authors and news sources on the www.workers-iran.org do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the IASWI or official policies of the IASWI. These posts are only generated for the purpose of information sharing on the labour related issues.