The owners of Malay daily Utusan Malaysia have been ordered by the Industrial Court to pay backdated bonuses to its staff after it was found to have wrongly interpreted the definition of company profits in 2009.

The court found that Utusan Melayu (Malaysia) Berhad - which owns Utusan -  had not complied with the definition of profits as agreed upon in its collective agreement with the company union.

The judgement, handed down by Industrial Court president Susila Sithamparam last May 24, ruled that the company had failed to consider the fact that as a holding company with several subsidiaries, it had posted a profit of RM5.121 million as a group.

NONE "The respondent cannot shy away from the fact that it is a holding company and has subsidiary companies.

"The court held that the word ‘keuntungan' or'profit' in article 44 of the collective agreement meant the profits which it made as a holding company in 2009.

"The union has proved that the respondent had made profits in 2009. The court ordered that the respondent comply with article 44 of the said collective agreement forthwith," the judgement read.

How difference delivered decision

The union filed its challenge against the company on March 23 last year, after Utusan Melayu decided to give out a one month ex-gratia bonus to staff of Utusan Malaysia , citing losses of RM26,169,490 as an individual company as at Dec 31, 2009.

The union argued that the definition of profits under the collective agreement does not cover Utusan Melayu's profits as an individual company but as a holding company, which includes the profits of its subsidiaries.

The union stressed that the collective agreement clearly states that the company is required to pay two months bonus to its staff annually if it posts a profit in that said year.

The industrial court ruled that since the company had already paid out a one-month ex-gratia bonus, it should pay the equivalent of one month's wages to its staff to comply with the collective agreement.