Industrial court sets aside NUJ's challenge against Sin Chew
Three years after filing the case, the Industrial Court has set aside the National Union of Journalists' (NUJ) challenge against the management of Sin Chew Daily.
The court ruled that there was no breach of the Collective Agreement (CA) when Sin Chew Media Corporation Bhd punished NUJ general secretary Chin Sung Chew by a demotion and pay reduction, according to a court document signed by Industrial Court chairperson Kalmizah Salleh....
Three years after filing the case, the Industrial Court has set aside the National Union of Journalists' (NUJ) challenge against the management of Sin Chew Daily.
The court ruled that there was no breach of the Collective Agreement (CA) when Sin Chew Media Corporation Bhd punished NUJ general secretary Chin Sung Chew (above) by a demotion and pay reduction, according to a court document signed by Industrial Court chairperson Kalmizah Salleh.
"The court found that the respondent (Sin Chew Media Corporation Bhd ) has the prerogative rights to decide the appropriate punishment for the act of misconduct by their employees.
"In this case, the respondent found that Chin was guilty and took into account his service duration before deciding on the demotion.
"The court could not interfere nor replace it with any other form of punishment," read the court document dated July 23.
The CA is a collective bargaining agreement between media companies and NUJ representatives.
In response to this, Chin expressed his disappointment and said that he would reserve the right to appeal.
"I am really disappointed by the court decision. It shows that the court has accepted all the company's explanations and did not look at the issue from the perspective that we (NUJ) argued."
He pointed out that the court ruling in this case may silence other media practitioners to express their dissatisfaction in the future.
“The judgement may have subsequent impacts. If you have set such a precedent, who would dare to voice out dissatisfaction in the future?" Chin told Malaysiakini.
In May 2017, Chin revealed in a Facebook post the situation of industrial relation negotiation on his case which allegedly irritated Sin Chew's management.
The management accused him of "divulging the discussion among the employer, employee and the IR officer" and the post had "tarnished the image of his supervisor and can be deemed as serious misconduct".
Chin was demoted from senior reporter to reporter and his salary was reduced according to the grade.
NUJ then filed a case at the Industrial Court to challenge the decision.
It argued that the pay reduction was not one of the disciplinary actions written in the CA signed by Sin Chew's management.
Active involvement in union since 1990s
Chin joined the media industry in 1991, and became a part of Sin Chew Daily in 1993.
He chaired the NUJ Sin Chew branch for 16 years from 2000 to 2016.
He was also elected NUJ president in 2011. When the dispute happened in 2017, he was the then NUJ vice-president.
Knowing that his active involvement in the union had caused discomfort with the management, Chin said that he still "loves" Sin Chew Daily as his commitment of 28 years with the Chinese language newspaper was concrete proof of that.
“I work hard as a journalist. There were no issues when I first joined the media company. However, after I held some important positions in the union, I gradually felt the pressure.
"I received harsh comments and I was embarrassed intentionally or unintentionally.
"But I think I still love Sin Chew, I did not leave after so many years. I was just raising up the inadequacy of the managing system, there is nothing wrong for being bold when facing unfair treatment."
Malaysiakini has contacted Sin Chew Media Corporation Bhd for a response.
Given that media monopoly is an open secret in the country's media industry, Chin said that media practitioners have limited space to change their workplace when their labour rights are infringed.
As the industry is undergoing a wave of closures and layoffs, he added, the number of workers' unions has decreased.
Chin is concerned that the strength of the journalist union may gradually weaken.
"If the union is not strong enough and the conditions in all aspects are insufficient, the union will lose its original role in defending the media practitioners' rights," he said.
This is not the first case where NUJ leaders were targeted by media companies.
Former NUJ Utusan Melayu branch chairperson Amran Ahmad, former NUJ president Hata Wahari and former NUJ Kwong Wah Yit Poh branch chairperson Chua Cheong Wee were sacked by their employers in 2009, 2011 and 2017 respectively.
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