A Danish trade union has brought attention to alleged labour law violations by Maersk Medical, a sister company of shipping giant, Maersk Sealand, for not allowing its women workers to unionise.

According to a report published in a widely circulated Sunday newspaper in Denmark, Maersk Medical has denied 800 female workers in their factory in Malaysia from being organised in and represented by a trade union.

The report also said the company fired four active unionists over a dispute last December over the companys non-payment of a one-month bonus of about RM292 each to employees.

In relation to this, the Women Workers Union in Denmark (KAD) and the labour movements International Forum have filed a complaint with their countrys Ministry of Occupation which oversees Danish multinationals compliance with Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) labour guidelines.

Denmark, as a member of OECD, must abide by the guidelines.

The union movements believe Maersk Medical has violated chapter five in the guidelines directions which state that companies shall respect the employees right to be represented by trade unions and through the employers confederations implement constructive negotiations in preparation for reaching agreements on working conditions.

According to Benthe Petersen, a KAD-unionised employee at Maersk Medicals division in Denmark, the company does not have any agreement with its Malaysian workers.

The problem is that the company can do whatever they want to because no written agreement exists, she lamented.

Deal cancelled

Petersen, who participated in a delegation to visit the companys Malaysian operations, said an agreement was hammered out with the management on behalf of Malaysian workers last May but the deal was cancelled shortly after.

The managing director got a new job and was replaced by the present managing director who came from a job in India. Simultaneously, the agreement with the employees was cancelled, she said.

Petersen added that the workers fight for trade union membership has been going on since the 1980s.

Maersk Medicals Malaysian women workers first received permission to be represented by the Rubber Workers Union in 1988 but this decision was appealed by the companys previous American owners.

The employees then won a court action in 1994 but lost the appeal at the Federal Court which upheld the contention that trade unions were unwanted, said Petersen.

Meanwhile, Maersk Medicals managing director Ole Weiling was quoted as saying the company has objected to their employees being a part of the Rubber Workers Union as it was not a suitable union.

Weiling was reported as saying that although Maersk Medicals Danish workers are allowed to be unionised, this does not automatically translate into a right for the companys Malaysian workers because of differences in the countries labour markets and labour laws.

No clear agreement

Although conceding that the co-operation between Maersk Medicals Danish operations and its union is without problems, he said this may not be the case in Malaysia as trade unions in Southeast Asia differ widely from the hundred-year-old tradition in Denmark.

He added the decision to disallow the formation of unions was because it does not want to be considered blackleg in relation to other multinational companies in the country.

Weiling also disputed Petersens version of events taking place during the May 28 delegation visit to Malaysia saying, As far as I remember, the opinions were different concerning the minutes of the meeting. I have a minutes which does not state any definite agreement.

Instead, said Weiling, employees situation in Malaysia has been improved considerably since the Danish management took over the company from its previous American management.

Weiling and other Maersk Medical employees were unavailable for comment today.

Representatives of the Rubber Workers Union were also unreachable.

Maersk Medical is a company which specialises in the manufacture of single-use medical devices for the health sector. In 1998, the company acquired Euromedical Industries Sdn Bhd, a manufacturer of catheters and respiratory devices, based in Sungai Petani, Kedah.