The Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC), an umbrella body representing nearly half a million workers in the country, has thrown its weight behind eight candidates.

Contesting the parliamentary constituencies are veteran unionist Syed Shahir Syed Mohamud (Kelana Jaya), Dr Mohd Nasir Hashim (Subang), R Sivarasa (Petaling Jaya Selatan), all in Selangor, and Dr Jeyakumar Devaraj (Sungai Siput) in Perak.

Vying for the state seats are Abdul Razak Hamid (Bagan Dalam) in Penang, P Selvam (Bukit Lanjan) in Selangor, K Kunasekaran (Jalong) and A Sivanesan (Sungkai), both in Perak.

MTUC secretary-general G Rajasekaran said the general council had no second thoughts about endorsing the eight candidates.

"We decided to openly support these candidates as they have proven to be champions of workers' rights for over 20 years," he said.

"For example, three of them are active unionists. Two are (labour) lawyers. One has been a social activist all his life while the remaining two have done a lot of groundwork in their respective areas."

Syed Shahir is the National Union of Transport Equipment Allied Industry Workers exco member; Abdul Razak - MTUC vice-president; Selvam - Flextronics Manufacturing (M) Sdn Bhd employees union executive secretary; Sivanesan - former unionist and labour lawyer.

Heading nowhere

In an immediate response, Sivarasa promised to make "serious efforts to improve the lot of workers".

He sits as legal advisor at a number of trade unions, non-government organisations and community groups, and has been involved in related litigation since 1987.

The MTUC has 242 affiliates with 464,700 members.

Citing the first of six points, Rajasekaran said work on the proposed minimum wage legislation and unemployment fund has gone nowhere.

"It has become increasingly difficult to join a trade union and have collective bargaining. Furthermore, union-busting activities by unscrupulous employers is also on the rise.

"Even major corporations that are closely-linked with the government are practising this with impunity," he noted.

He said the situation has worsened with the continuous drop in the dividend declared by the Employees Provident Fund to below five percent.

"(This) is due to the poor, and often, suspicious investments," he added.

"Even awards to victims are routinely being challenged by an increasingly unsympathetic Social Security Organisation."

On top of that, he said, the government's policy of importing foreign labour has denied many Malaysians employment opportunities.

Temporary lull

Prior to 1969, the MTUC endorsed candidates in every election but subsequently, when more and more unionists started contesting, the campaigning was more on a personal basis.

After the last polls, there was a temporary lull.

"In 1999, we were completely not involved," said Rajasekaran.

"We had remained neutral but things haven't improved since then.

"We were hoping that the government would address the issues confronting workers and trade unions. Unfortunately, the situation has worsened since then."

This was also the time when MTUC president Zainal Rampak was appointed a senator, which subsequently pressured the general council into staying off the government's case.

"The strategy for a good working relationship failed miserably, which is why we are getting involved in the election this time," he said.

He add that the general council was completely unanimous about an open endorsement for the candidates after being let down previously.

"There were no second thoughts in this round."

There are 581 trade unions registered with the Human Resources Ministry with a total membership of over 800,000.

This election offers a total of 219 parliamentary and 504 state seats, including the 17 and 11 respectively already won by the BN on nomination day. Opposition PAS won a state seat in Johor.