A group of disgruntled workers for British American Tobacco (BAT) Berhad have taken to the streets to picket their alleged dissatisfaction over a voluntary separation scheme (VSS) offered to about 50 workers by the company.

The 20-odd protesters carrying drums and placards were led by Petaling Jaya National Union of Tobacco Industry Workers (NUTIW) chairperson Ahmad Fikri Rajab and have been protesting the issue since Monday.

Their placards bore the words ‘Company not fair’, ‘Company disregards workers' rights’ and ‘Company prioritises foreign workers’.

The picket was held at the junction of the BAT premises in Section 13, Petaling Jaya and saw the workers asking passing motorists to honk in solidarity with their predicament.

Ahmad Fikri ( left ) said the workers were unhappy that BAT management made the VSS offer to workers who were mostly union members as a ploy to weaken their in-house union.

“The new job of ‘product specialist’ offered under the VSS is only open to personnel who then cannot join the union. If they do not accept this new job, they will have to leave the company,” explained Ahmad Fikri.

“They are doing this to weaken the union by reducing the number of unionised staff,” he told Malaysiakini Wednesday.

The VSS offer with the new job designation was said to have been offered to the 56 workers on March 24 and they were supposed to have given their decision by March 27.

When the offer was not accepted by majority of the workers, Ahmad Fikri alleged BAT management “locked up” the workers on March 30 and tried to “arm-twist them” into making an immediate decision.

'A terrible decision'

“The company took a drastic measure the following Monday where they locked up all the workers in a room from 8am to 12.30pm to force them to make a decision on whether to accept the offer of a production specialist or be retrenched,” claimed Ahmad Fikri, a quality control assistant with BAT.

He also claimed only 30 positions were offered despite there being 56 workers involved in the VSS exercise.

When interviewed, the workers said in their view, the purpose of the VSS was to reduce the number of local workers to allow the hiring of foreign workers at a cheaper rate.

They also claimed BAT did not adhere to “proper procedures” when it came to the VSS and no discussion was made with the union prior to the offer being presented.

Fadhil Ibrahim, a process technician with BAT for over 29 years, said it was unfair of the management to terminate them in such a manner.

“This is such a terrible decision. We feel like we have not been appreciated at all. They can’t just force us into a room and ask us to make a decision in three hours [...] that is unfair,” he said.

The senior worker urged his management to “open their eyes and follow proper procedures and laws” when it came to worker-related issues.

Fadhil also said BAT called in the police to halt them from protesting outside the company’s entrance on Tuesday. The situation was defused by Malaysian Trade Union Congress (MTUC) president Mohd Khalid Atan who was present.

“They sent the police to chase us the other day and Khalid had to get involved. He helped explain to the police that picketing was part of our rights and we were not causing any harm in any way,” he added.

BAT denies union-busting

When contacted, BAT Malaysia managing director Stefano Clini said the company “strongly disputes the allegations made by NUTIW” including the allegation of “union busting”.

“As with all human resources related matters, the recent restructuring and cigarette ration exercises has been embarked upon with strict adherence to relevant internal guidelines and policies, applicable labour laws and the relevant codes,” said Clini in an email today.

The recent restructuring exercise, he said, was made due to the “challenges impacting its manufacturing division which necessitates the release of some of our staff involved in this division of the company”.