Four ex-employees of Maersk Medical have filed a complaint with the Industrial Relations Department against their former employer after being dismissed for allegedly organising two strikes last December to protest against the non-payment of bonus.

The two strikes held at the companys plant in Sungai Petani, Kedah, on Dec 27 and Dec 31 involved some 300 workers who were dissatisfied with the managements decision to default on verbal promises, regarding the bonus, made during a company meeting in April last year.

Following the incident, the company issued show cause letters to 16 employees listing out various charges, including organising and leading the strikes. The four were subsequently fired over the matter.

According to K Veeriah, who is the industrial relations officer for the National Union of Employees in Companies Manufacturing Rubber Products (Rubber Workers Union), a conciliatory meeting was held on March 5 at the Industrial Relations Department in Alor Setar, Kedah, but company officials have refused to reinstate those fired.

We now have to wait for the Ministry of Human Resources to refer the case to the Industrial Court, said Veeriah, who is also the secretary for the Penang division of the Malaysia Trade Union Congress.

Those fired were even called in by the management to help end the strikes. They were given assurances that they would not be victimised over the dispute, he told malaysiakini today.

Unfairly dismissed and accused

Meanwhile, Salmah Mustafa, who headed the movement, said she had been unfairly dismissed and accused of leading and organising the strikes.

In fact, I advised (the employees) not to organise the strikes but they were fed-up over the situation and decided to go ahead, said Salmah during a telephone interview.

According to her, the payment of one-month bonus had been a practice of the plant for the past 10 years regardless of whether the company makes a profit or otherwise. The second month bonus was to be dependent on the employees work record.

Last April, the management said we would be paid 1.4 months bonus after taking into account work complaints.

However, at the end of the year, they refused to pay because they did not make a profit, said Salmah who had worked in the plant for the past 20 years.

Salmah also said she was not given any compensation following the sacking. However Salmah and the other three have been receiving financial support from a Danish trade union.

The sacking of the four employees followed a long-standing dispute between the management and employees over the latters demands to be unionised under the Rubber Workers Union.

Campaign for rights

Veeriah said the four were long-term employees who had been actively involved in the campaign for union rights over the past 10 to 20 years, despite ownership changes of the plant.

Maersk Medical, the sister company of Danish shipping giant Maersk Sealand, had acquired the plant in 1998.

The plant, which manufactures single-use medical equipment such as Foley catheters and respiratory tubes, employs some 800 workers, of which 80 percent are women.

However, various managements over the years have refused to allow workers to be organised under the Rubber Workers Union on the pretext that the union was not a suitable one for the plants employees.

According to Veeriah, the Ministry of Human Resources had pronounced that the union was competent and even carried out a membership check for the purpose.

However, the former management of the company had refused to recognise this and challenged the ministrys decision at the High Court, where the decision was overturned.

Appeal yet to be heard

Veeriah said the union had filed an appeal at the Appeals Court four years ago but the case has yet to be heard.

We had offered to withdraw the case if the new management (Maersk Medical) retracts their objections but so far, they have refused to do so.

We do not understand this because in Danish culture, contesting against trade union recognitions are unheard of, he added.

The trade unionist said despite the difficulties, a majority of the plants workers continue to seek their rights as evident from the presence of some 500 to 600 employees at a general meeting organised by the Rubber Workers Union in May last year.

Veeriah added that some 200 workers signed membership forms on the same day.

Meanwhile, the case has also attracted the attention of trade union groups in Denmark, prompting protests against Maersk Medicals policies in Malaysia.

Two powerful trade union groups have lodged a complaint against Maersk Medical at the Danish Ministry of Occupation for possible violation of labour rights under the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development guidelines which are applicable to Danish multinationals.