Eight members of the National Union of Drink Manufacturing Industry Workers (NUDMIW) have been dismissed by F&N Coca-Cola (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd (FNCC).

The union members claim the dismissal was unfair and aimed at intimidating workers.

Malaysiakini understands that the sacking was the culmination of a series of management-worker disputes which started in July last year. The union said the management had disallowed paid leave for union business, a practice enjoyed by top union officials for 20 years.

In response to this change, workers refused to work overtime from Jan 12 to 21, a busy period right before the Chinese New Year.

Instead of working a 12-hour shift, the workers only worked eight-hour shifts The union said overtime is not mandatory as under the Collective Labour Agreement, only eight-hour shifts are compulsory.

FNCC said in a statement today that the work disruptions "placed tremendous strain on our production capability and significantly impacted our operations," requiring it to take action against the workers involved.

The union, however, claims that FNCC used force and threatened the 36 workers involved in the incident. This led the deputy general secretary of the union to lodge a police report against the company at the Section 15 police station in Shah Alam on Jan 14.

Workers suspended, then fired

On Jan 23, FNCC suspended 14 workers, all of them union members. The union claims that only two of the 14 workers were involved in the alleged work disruption. It also claims that FNCC failed to carry out a domestic inquiry, something it is obliged to do under Article 9.2 of the Collective Labour Agreement.

FNCC says that "action was taken against the employees following a process of inquiry and after lengthy deliberations on all their responses to show-cause notices and facts surrounding the matter".

"As a result of the global downturn, the Malaysian business environment has also not been spared and the actions of these employees seriously undermine the company's efforts to strengthen its position to face a major downturn, which has already impacted many businesses and thousands of jobs," the company added.

Of the 14 suspended union members, eight were fired yesterday. The union has called the company's actions a "blatant victimisation and an unfair labour practice," and has reported it to the Industrial Relations Department in Shah Alam.

The NUDMIW will hold an extraordinary general meeting on Sunday to consult its members about the union's next move.

FNCC markets, produces and distributes the Seasons, F&N, Fruit Tree, 100 Plus and Coca-Cola brand drinks in Malaysia. The company employs 1,500 people and is a branch of Frasier and Neave Ltd in Singapore.