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Case of guard sacked by US Embassy to proceed in Industrial Court
According to Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) deputy chairperson S Arutchelvan, this comes after attempts by the counsel representing the US government to postpone the case failed...
The hearing of an unlawful dismissal claim brought by a security guard who worked at the US Embassy in Kuala Lumpur is set to proceed at the Kuala Lumpur Industrial Court on Feb 16 and 17.
According to Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) deputy chairperson S Arutchelvan, this comes after attempts by the counsel representing the US government to postpone the case failed.
“Earlier, counsel for the US government, Lim Heng Seng and Summer Chong, asked for a postponement of next week’s proceeding as they have made an application to strike off the claimant’s case on Dec 23, 2022.
“The US’ counsel further stated that since the claimant filed an affidavit in reply to the US’s application, they would need to take instruction from their clients on the filing of an affidavit in reply to the Industrial Court case.
“This postponement was opposed by counsel for (the sacked guard) L Subramaniam (on right in the picture above), who said that this is a further attempt to delay proceeding of the case in Industrial Court as directed by the Federal Court,” Arutchelvan (middle, in the picture above) said in a statement yesterday.
The defendant’s application to postpone the hearing was rejected by Industrial Court chairperson Amrik Singh.
Service ‘unfairly terminated’ claim
Arutchelvan said that the court chairperson was of the opinion that the defendant should have filed an application to postpone upon the receipt of the claimant’s statement of the case.
The claimant, Subramaniam, 55, who worked with the US Embassy in Kuala Lumpur for more than 10 years, claimed that his service was unfairly terminated in 2008.
He then filed a representation under Section 20 (1) of the Industrial Relations Act 1967, claiming that his dismissal by the embassy was without just cause and excuse, and sought reinstatement to his position as a security guard.
In April 2019, the then human resources minister M Kulasegaran referred the matter to the Industrial Court for adjudication of the dispute.
The US government then filed a judicial review application in the High Court seeking, among others, to quash the then minister’s reference decision and a declaration that it and its embassy were immune from the jurisdiction of the Industrial Court.
The High Court on Jan 8, 2020, ruled that the US government and its embassy were protected by immunity and prohibited the Industrial Court from adjudicating Subramaniam’s unlawful dismissal claim case.
High Court decision overturned
In 2021, the Court of Appeal overturned the High Court’s decision and ordered the Industrial Court to proceed with hearing the dispute, prompting the US government to bring the matter up to the Federal Court.
The Federal Court in June 2022 upheld the ruling of the Court of Appeal.
Meanwhile, Arutchelvan opined that justice delayed is justice denied.
He said that the US government had attempted on several occasions to deny Subramaniam the right to hear his case in court.
“It is only now, after 15 years, that the Industrial Court will hear the unlawful April 14, 2008, dismissal of Subramaniam.
“This very critical case is a story of Subramaniam, an ordinary security guard, who managed to successfully go against the most powerful country in the world by effectively taking them to court and winning for his case to be heard,” Arutchelvan said.
He added that PSM, which has been helping Subramaniam over the years, intends to crowdfund to raise money for people like Subramaniam and other B40 workers who have been dismissed unlawfully.
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