MEMO TO HUMAN RESOURCES MINISTRY

200 union leaders led by MTUC officials gathered at Kementerian Sumber Manusia at 9.30am on 21 October 2009 to present a memorandum to YB Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam, Menteri Sumber Manusia. The memorandum was received by the Secretary General,KSM Y.Bhg Dato’ Segarajah. 

MTUC memorandum highlights the numerous problems faced by trade unions in the country. The Department of Industrial Relations has come under severe criticism for failing to effectively enforce the provisions of the Industrial Relations Act 1967.

After more than five years of intense dialogue at the National Labour Advisory Council (NLAC) and at subcommittee level YB Menteri Sumber Manusia pushed through the Parliament a series of amendments to the Industrial Relations Act 1967 and the Trade Unions Act 1959.

It is important to stress that the bill presented at the Parliament was contrary to the consensus reached at the NLAC. One of the amendments supported by the MTUC was Section 9 of the Industrial Relations Act relating to Recognition Claims. Unfortunately, instead of expediting settlement of recognition claims, all claims submitted after February 2008 are not being processed by the Director General of Industrial Relations (DGIR).

 The DGIR says that he is unable to act on reports from unions, because the Kementerian has not put in place appropriate Regulations. MTUC raised this matter at the last NLAC on 23 July 2009 and YB Menteri assured us that the Regulations would come into force within one month. It is now almost three months and there is no indication that the YB Menteri has fulfilled his promise.

There seem to be a serious lack of urgency in settling unions’ claim for recognition. The Human Resources Ministry fails to comprehend the numerous problems faced by workers at workplaces.

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