COMMENT | Let not death of Ipoh management employee be in vain
COMMENT The silence from authorities and a multinational company (MNC) in Perak over the death of a management employee who had recorded a video detailing the trauma he suffered at work before he was suspended is deafening.
After recording the video that went viral, he crashed his car into the company’s premises and reportedly hurled a Molotov cocktail into the management office last week. He then left the building of the US-based technology company on foot and was killed when hit by a lorry while crossing a road.
The anguish and trauma faced by him underscore the suffering of many Malaysian employees at the hands of multi-national companies in this country which must elicit a comprehensive investigation by the authorities. Otherwise, there will be many such cases, especially due to the Covid-19 pandemic which some companies blatantly use as an excuse to arbitrarily terminate workers without justification or compensation for the sake of their own bottom line.
The employee's tragic death must not be in vain or cast aside. Instead, it should galvanise the government and authorities to launch a thorough investigation of the treatment of Malaysian workers by multi-national companies in all sectors, including the banking industry. ...
COMMENT | The silence from authorities and a multinational company (MNC) in Perak over the death of a management employee who had recorded a video detailing the trauma he suffered at work before he was suspended is deafening.
After recording the video that went viral, he crashed his car into the company’s premises and reportedly hurled a Molotov cocktail into the management office last week. He then left the building of the US-based technology company on foot and was killed when hit by a lorry while crossing a road.
The anguish and trauma faced by him underscore the suffering of many Malaysian employees at the hands of multi-national companies in this country which must elicit a comprehensive investigation by the authorities. Otherwise, there will be many such cases, especially due to the Covid-19 pandemic which some companies blatantly use as an excuse to arbitrarily terminate workers without justification or compensation for the sake of their own bottom line.
The employee's tragic death must not be in vain or cast aside. Instead, it should galvanise the government and authorities to launch a thorough investigation of the treatment of Malaysian workers by multi-national companies in all sectors, including the banking industry.
Nube is worried as certain MNC banks continue to implement unfair and discriminatory policies which have resulted in Malaysian employees from the B40 and M40 categories being displaced and losing their jobs or shut out from carrier advancements. Such policies are also designed for union-busting tactics as employees are discouraged or prevented altogether from joining unions. There is ample proof of these unethical practices.
At this point, details are scant on what went so wrong in the Ipoh case but only because the MNC employer has refused to shed any light on the events that led to the tragic death of its manager. Even more frustrating is the Human Resources Ministry’s indifference. There has not been any announcement by the state Labour Department or Putrajaya that a transparent probe will be conducted on the events which contributed to the tragic death.
Nube has a direct interest in this case as a large number of our members are from multi-national banks. Over the years, we have seen a growing number of them suffer from various levels of mental stress and emotional breakdown due to varying forms of persecution by the management of certain banks.
Undoubtedly, there are certain multi-national banks as well as Malaysian-owned ones which are “living” examples of the ill-treatment of their lower cadre workers and mid-level officers. But it takes just one rotten apple to spoil the whole barrel and there is certainly more than one bad apple in the Malaysian financial sector.
These few multi-national banks have long practised policies which are meant to deny or prolong any negotiations that require them to improve the welfare of their workers. Employees who are active in Nube were targeted and left out in promotion exercises or were terminated as a warning to others to stay away from union activism.
Such actions by certain by these banks have been rampant since mid-2018 right under the noses of Bank Negara, the Finance Ministry and the Human Resources Ministry without any action or investigation whatsoever. Nube has the first-hand experience of the lackadaisical attitude of the former minister of finance and minister of human resources when they deliberately avoided addressing the issue of workers’ exploitation.
Our appeals to both the former ministers and Bank Negara fell on deaf ears. This multinational bank was shown favouritism by three government agencies. The Labour Inspectors did not even conduct any inspection on this bank despite our numerous complaints.
To add insult to the injury suffered by lower-income employees in the banking sector, the central bank has introduced policies for banks to outsource the functions indiscriminately to locals and foreign entities. The central bank’s action is not only disrespectful to the livelihood and interest of the worker but also disregards collective agreements that have the cognisance of the industrial court; as a result, it has also created joblessness of the B40 and M40 workers.
The persecution of local employees by some MNCs, including certain MNC banks, is executed by overzealous Malaysians hired into senior positions in the human resource department. This is merely to shield the MNC’s from being accused of acting biasedly against the local workforce.
The reality is that these MNCs are devoid of compassion and bent on doing things their way, do not tolerate dissent from workers and their unions, no matter how justifiable the complaints are. As a result, in the absence of any intervention by the authorities, workers are left at the mercy of these banks and end up paying a heavy price.
Exploitation and abuse
The late employee, in the video he recorded before he died, spoke of his frustration in getting his MNC employer to provide evidence on accusations that his work performance was not up to the mark. Sadly, we at Nube have also hit one brick wall after another when seeking justice for our members in certain banks. This type of stonewalling tactics by MNCs are rampant in our country, much to the disadvantage of unions such as Nube in trying to obtain justice for workers.
MNCs which come to Malaysia to do business must ensure they are respectful of the laws of the country and ensure the workers in Malaysia are treated with full respect, fairness and dignity.
The heads of human resource management employed by the MNCs should be well versed with the Malaysian labour laws, guidelines, the Code of Conduct for Industrial Harmony, international labour standards and the Malaysian diverse culture.
The Malaysian government, like any other government which invites foreign investors, must draw upon their commitment to protect the Malaysian population against exploitation and abuse. MNCs must be made to provide this commitment as a pre-requisite to obtaining investment incentives.
The government should not allow MNCs to exploit Malaysian workers and siphon off the wealth of the nation. The government agencies which are supposed to prevent exploitation of Malaysian workers and ensure protective legislation, policies and guidelines in place have failed miserably.
The government must show its political will to ensure the deceased’s powerful albeit sad message in the video will be investigated for it also highlights the very same injustice and persecution faced by thousands of other MNC employees. In the event the exploitation is true, the employee's death is not accidental; it is murder.
Therefore, the government agencies should send its labour inspectors with unions to carry out an immediate inspection of such MNCs so that we do not live to see more such cases.
Nube empathises with the late employee’s family and urges the authorities to take the necessary action against those responsible for the workplace emotional trauma which led to his death. Not only do workers in this country have to be fearful of the Covid-19 virus but it appears that irresponsible employers and lackadaisical government agencies bring problems to workers that are even worse than the pandemic.
Malaysians must be mindful of the fact that laws of this country that make it difficult for management employees such as the Ipoh employee to be represented by any union and therefore are left at the complete mercy of their employers. The government should immediately make amendments to the law, to make it mandatory for all workers including those in the top management to become a member of a trade union immediately upon being employed.
In order to eradicate poverty, inequality and exploitation to all workers in Malaysia, the government should urgently amend the relevant labour laws to make it mandatory for workers to join the union once employed.
Nube prays that the tragic death of the employee will sound the alarm for the government to rescue other employees of certain MNCs, including those in the banking sector, which continue to make a mockery of our labour laws and wantonly persecute those deemed as excess to their needs.
J SOLOMON is general secretary, National Union of Banking Employees (Nube).
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.
