Groups hand memo to ministry over alleged inaction on union-busting

Summary

• This is over union-busting at six companies, including three cases this year.

• They accuse authorities of failing to act despite repeated complaints and urge the government to form a task force, prosecute offending employers, and reform related labour laws.

Workers from six unions gathered outside Parliament this morning to hand over a memorandum to the Human Resources Ministry, calling for action against alleged union-busting.

In the memorandum, the unions claimed that union-busting tactics had been employed at six companies, with three of the incidents occurring within this year.

"We have raised the issues of union busting with the authorities, especially the Industrial Relations Department (IRD), but no firm action has been taken by the authorities to protect the rights of workers as enshrined in the Industrial Relations Act 1967 and International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention No 98.

"The local and international laws clearly state that union busting is wrong, though employers have never been given appropriate punishment, workers are oppressed by companies without any negative consequences," the memorandum said.

Expressing disappointment in the authorities' alleged lack of action, the memorandum stated four demands:

1. The formation of a high-level task force to probe all cases of union-busting.

2. The prosecution of employers who engage in union-busting through the enforcement of the Industrial Relations Act.

3. The reformation of laws and regulations to restrict employers from union-busting.

4. The reformation of laws to ensure that collective bargaining is carried out within 60 days of a union gaining a secret ballot victory, with industrial action permitted if a company delays collective bargaining.

The memorandum was handed over to Human Resources Minister Steven Sim's political secretary, Kelvin Yii, who is also Bandar Kuching MP.

Also present were Bakri MP Tan Hong Pin and Gopeng MP Tan Kar Hing.

The memorandum was written by Industriall Malaysia secretary Gopal Kishnam Nadesan, who is also the secretary for the National Union of Transport Equipment and Allied Workers (NUTEAIW).

The NUTEAIW is one of the six unions which issued the memorandum, the other five being the Paper and Paper Products Manufacturing Employees' Union (PPPMEU), Electronics Industry Employees Union Northern Region (EIEUNR), Electronics Industry Employees' Union Southern Region (EIEUSR), Electronics Industry Employees' Union Western Region (EIEUWR), and National Union of Textile, Garment, Leather, Fibre, and Plastic Workers (NUTGFLP).

Union members fired

According to the memorandum, the first case involved a paper manufacturing company based in Kedah, which allegedly fired 20 activists from the PPPMEU between August and September.

The second case allegedly revolved around intimidation tactics employed by a Penang printed circuit board manufacturer to discourage workers from taking part in a secret ballot for the EIEUNR. This occurred on July 14 to 15, and workers have since lodged over 80 police reports against the employer.

Secret ballots are held to gauge support for the recognition of a union among workers. Only a union that is recognised by the employer can proceed to the collective bargaining stage - the negotiation of terms of employment conducted on behalf of employees.

The third issue brought up by the memorandum involved an Ampang-based electronics manufacturer, who allegedly disrupted the secret ballot process of the EIEUWR through a mix of intimidation, encouragement of snitching on union supporters, and threats. This happened between March 5 and 6 last year.

The fourth saw 32 union members fired after the NUTEAIW held a briefing outside of work hours and outside of the premises of an automotive manufacturing company in Pahang on Dec 4, 2015. A complaint lodged with the IRD led to 27 of the workers being reinstated in their jobs, but the company allegedly refused to return five former employees to their jobs.

The NUTEAIW claimed that the five had been informed that the Attorney-General's Chambers had rejected the union's application.

Another case involved the EIEUSR, which saw its employer, a semiconductor company in Negeri Sembilan, delay the collective bargaining process despite a successful secret ballot on May 13.

Lengthy dispute

Lastly, the PPPMEU claimed it has yet to see an end to its 12-year dispute with a flexible packaging company in Perak.

PPPMEU said it won a secret ballot in 2013 but the employer had challenged the Human Resources Ministry's recognition of the union. It has since been waiting on an investigation from the Trade Union Affairs Department.

Despite a meeting with the department on March 2, 2022, the union said it has yet to receive a concrete answer about the employer's recognition of it.

The six unions challenged the Madani government to implement all four of their demands if "Madani Malaysia is not just a slogan".

"We request the Human Resources Ministry to hold regular meetings with trade unions to follow up on the above cases, until all disputes are resolved fairly and professionally," the memorandum said.

IRD urges workers to file complaint

In response to the workers’ protest outside Parliament, IRD urged the unions or their members to file complaints to the department on union-busting issues, as empowered under Industrial Relations Act 1967 (Act 177).

“IRD does not compromise with any form of intervention that intends to prevent workers from joining a union, suppress union activists or delay the collective bargaining process after the union has been recognised through a secret ballot.

“We respect the right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly as guaranteed by the Federal Constitution (as well as the) right of workers to form associations and carry out union activities which is fully protected under Act 177.

“We will examine the demands raised in the memorandum (and we) always practise an open and holistic approach to ensure that the industrial relations process runs fairly and harmoniously and does not affect the interests of any party,” it said in a statement today.

It also pointed out that action had been taken at the department level on all the cases filed by Industriall Malaysia - on Feb 5, 2016, involving Hicom Automotive Manufacturers (M) Sdn Bhd; on Aug 11, 2025, involving Flextronic Technology Sdn Bhd; and on Aug 18, 2025, involving XSD International Paper Sdn Bhd. The case involving Hicom Automotive was decided by the Court of Appeal on Nov 23, 2020.

On Oct 8, Deputy Human Resources Minister Abdul Rahman Mohamad revealed that the IRD received 246 complaints on union-busting between 2015 and August 2025.

He said 158 of the complaints had been resolved amicably at the department level, while another 24 complaints remain under the department’s consideration.

A further 64 complaints have been referred to the Industrial Court, he added.

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