Malaysia is one of Asia's biggest employers of foreign labour. But recently, cases of deaths, abuse and forced labour have come to light. What is going on? Who is protecting these migrant workers?
Last June, the world body’s technical committee made recommendations to facilitate
the conformity of national labour laws with established principles of freedom
of association following complaints from the Malaysian Trades Union Congress
(MTUC).
<p>It noted that certain provisions in the Trade Unions Act 1959 (TUA) and the
Industrial Relations Act 1967 (IRA) conflicted sharply with freedom of association
principles.</p>
<p>Thus, said the committee, the "combined effect" is that trade unions’
existence and activities are "strictly controlled and permanently subject
to the discretionary powers of the administrative authorities".</p>
<p>Citing the definition of trade unions, it said: "… the government does
not deny its restrictive character but justifies it by admitting readily that
amending the legislation would enable the formation of general unions.</p>
<p>"…which might be led by persons having nothing to do with the activities
or interests of unions, and pursuing political or even subversive aims.</p>
<p>"The government considers that the present system contributes to the orderly
growth of trade unions which in turn contributes to industrial harmony in the
country."</p>
<p><b>More general unions</b></p>
<p>Malaysia has ratified the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention
1949 but not the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise
Convention 1948.</p>
<p>The government, in a reply to the ILO dated Dec 18 last year, admitted that
ratifying the 1948 convention would open the floodgates to the formation of
more general unions.</p>
<p>The ILO committee said that despite clear and specific recommendations made
in response to similar complaints filed against the Malaysian government over
the last 15 years, there has been "no significant progress".</p>
<p>Reiterating previous recommendations, the committee wants certain provisions
to be amended in order to reduce the wide discretionary powers granted to "the
responsible official", in this case the Director-General of Trade Unions
(DGTU).</p>
<p>This is to ensure free recognition and registration of the chosen workers’
organisations both in law and in practice, the committee added.</p>
<p>The MTUC filed the complaints to the ILO on Sept 22, 2003.</p>
<p><b>Restrictive provisions</b></p>
<p>When contacted, Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) secretary-general G
Rajasekaran confirmed that the government had done nothing following the ILO’s
recommendations last year.</p>
<p>"It only submitted a generalised reply. Even the type of amendments being
proposed are not indicative that the points made in the ILO recommendations
are being addressed," he said.</p>
<p>"In fact, it would be to the contrary with the provisions becoming more
restrictive."</p>
<p>The government is currently drafting amendments to the TUA and the IRA, sparking
fear of a further erosion of workers’ rights and an additional layer of executive
control to an already-stifled labour movement.</p>
<p>Rajasekaran believed that in its present form, the proposed amendments would
turn the DGTU into the "labour supremo".</p>
<p>"The proposals do not in any way indicate or reflect the government’s
intention to address long-standing problems or heed the ILO recommendations,"
he added.</p>
<p>The MTUC is a member of the tripartite National Labour Advisory Council that
is consulted over decisions regarding labour policies and laws.</p>
<p>However, the government has kept details of the proposed amendments to the
TUA and IRA under a tight lid.</p>
<p>On the proposed changes to the IRA, the veteran unionist said there may be
some improvements especially in reducing the time taken to process applications
for trade union recognition.</p>
<p>"It attempts to give the Director-General of Industrial Relations more
authority and power to act in the absence of a speedy response by an employer
in recognising a trade union, a delay that sometimes stretches into years."</p>
<p>Extensive control objected</p>
<p>Among its complaints, the MTUC said the government imposed "severe conditions
and restrictions" on the establishment and development of trade unions
through the TUA, thus encouraging in-house unions that are dominated by employers.</p>
<p>The MTUC said this was achieved primarily through the "arbitrary and far-reaching
powers" granted by law to the DGTU.</p>
<p>"…for the past 30 years, the DGTU has consistently refused the establishment
of an industrial union for more than 100,000 workers in the electronics industry,
allowing only company-based unions in that sector," the MTUC cited as example.<br>
"(Since 2000), the DGTU has arbitrarily denied organisational and collective
bargaining rights to more than 8,000 workers in the manufacturing companies
(as per the list attached)."</p>
<p>For this, the ILO committee recommended that the government immediately direct
the DGTU to grant the affected workers in 23 named companies representational
and collective bargaining rights.</p>
<p>The MTUC also objected to the "extensive and detailed control" given
to the DGTU under the TUA over workers’ organisations and most of their internal
affairs such as scope of membership, size, composition of the exco, objects
and investments.</p>
<p>It was against such absolute discretion which includes the prohibition on political
activities and restrictions on affiliation to federations and consultative bodies
abroad.</p>
<p>"The DGTU is not only given wide powers to refuse to register or to de-register
a union if it is likely to be used for unlawful purposes, but there is no (legal)
criteria for reaching a decision," stated the MTUC complaint.</p>
<p>It also noted the ineffectiveness of provisions for judicial review due to
the judiciary’s general reluctance to review a legal power and the tendency
to accept as conclusive decisions made accordingly.
Address: Wisma MTUC,10-5, Jalan USJ 9/5T, 47620 Subang Jaya,Selangor | Tel: 03-80242953 | Fax: 03-80243225 | Email: sgmtuc@gmail.com.com