Sabah Forest Industries (SFI) has been urged to come clean on their rights record, following its insistence that it has “never withdrawn any benefits” from its employees.

Sabah Timber Industries Employees Union (STIEU) secretary-general Engrit Liaw in a statement yesterday said union members employed at the pulp and paper manufacturing company are yet to receive their Employees Provident Fund (EPF) contributions for November and December last year.

"We note that even though the mill has been shut since October, SFI had been paying workers’ salaries. However the issue of union recognition, which has been denied for almost three decades, remains a grave concern,” said Liaw.

The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) International Board had last year sided with SFI workers in their fight for recognition of their union.

The workers have been fighting for their right to have a union for the last two decades, and even won a secret ballot in 2011, prompting the human resources minister to intervene and grant recognition.

However, SFI, a subsidiary of Bilt Graphic Paper Products Ltd, challenged this by filing judicial review proceedings.

As such, despite orders by the human resources ministry, STIEU has yet to receive formal recognition due to the judicial reviews filed by SFI.

Soon after FSC’s decision last year, SFI was disassociated from the council and is now purportedly under investigation by the International Financial Corporation’s Compliance office, an arm of the World Bank, said Liaw.

Workers, however, remain hopeful that the dispute could be resolved as it was detrimental to all parties involved, she added.

“We trust that SFI is open to involving all stakeholders in their decision-making process about their future, but we will not back down on the issue of union recognition.

“When the plant is considered safe to reopen, we will continue our push to secure our rights and conclude a collective agreement. Our door remains open; we look forward to opening a new chapter of cordial relations," she stressed.