Allow me to state that I find one particular Industrial Court chairperson's awards totally inhumane when it comes to remedies for dismissals that are unjustified or wrongful. This court has been pelting out such ludicrous remedies consistently from day one.

I wish to cite just one example involving an award published in the latest Industrial Law Report relating to compensation. In Award Number 205 of 2005, the court found that the claimant was unemployed for three months and 25 days and therefore, found it justified to pay him a compensation for the days he was unemployed only, amounting to about RM8,000.

In lieu of reinstatement, the claimant was asked to be paid about RM10,000 for about five years' service. In total, he would have received about RM18,000, after waiting for nearly five years.

As usual, the court cited the infamous and obnoxious Federal Court decision of his Lordship Gopal Sri Ram in the case involving Dr James Alfred (Sabah) vs Koperasi Serbaguna Sanya Bhd (Sabah) [2001] 3 CLJ 541 which propounded that the Industrial Court must take into consideration the post-dismissal earnings when awarding remedies.

It is my opinion that Gopal Sri Ram, by his decision, has done a big disservice to workers in Malaysia though he subsequently made some attempts to clarify the matter in some other forums.

Gopal failed to see that a heavier penalty would be a deterrent and would compel companies to seek an amicable solution, as now envisaged by the Human Resources Ministry, through mediation.

If one were to study the build-up in the backlog of cases at the Industrial Relations Department and also at the Industrial Courts, do not be surprised to find that the Federal Court's decision has had a major role in increasing these backlogs.

Liabilities arising from dismissals have become chickenfeed to companies and therefore, they feel they can dismiss without attaching much thought to the consequences.

The said Industrial Court may not be aware that it had actually punished the claimant and not the employer. I am sure cases mentioned in this court will not go through a mediation process because it is cheaper to appear in the said court.

In delivering such awards, the court should have been mindful of the fact that the fees charged by lawyers nowadays range between RM6,000 to RM10,000. Above this, some unscrupulous lawyers also demand a commission of between 20 to 30 percent of the payout. At the end of it, the lawyers benefit the most from such awards and the employer goes off scot-free.

I urge the new leadership in the Malaysian Trade Union Congress to make a written protest to the minister as soon as possible on this matter so that Industrial Court chairpersons who are a hindrance to the pre-hearing mediation effort can be removed.