Read this article in:
English
30 October, 2024The National union of transport equipment and allied industries workers (NUTEAIW) is demanding reinstatement of five union leaders at HICOM Automotive Manufacturers, after both the employer and the government continue to ignore an ILO decision from 2022.
The five union leaders were dismissed in 2016 after joining a union briefing on the status of collective bargaining outside the HICOM Automotive premise after working hours. The company accused the unionists of tarnishing the image of the company.
In June 2022, the ILO Committee on Freedom of Association (CFA-ILO) ruled that the dismissal of NUTEAIW members and leaders for joining a union briefing on collective bargaining deadlock outside working hours and out of company premises “is not in conformity with freedom of association and can amount to intimidation preventing the exercise of their trade union functions”.
And yet the employer refuses to reinstate the workers. Earlier this week, NUTEAIW held a press conference at the Malaysian parliament. The IndustriALL Global Union affiliate expressed its disappointment that HICOM and the authorities are ignoring the decision of the CFA-ILO.
NUTEAIW general secretary Gopal Kishnam Nadesan said the union also submitted complaints to the Industrial Relations Department and the Prime Minister's Office last year, but after 14 months, no stern action has been taken against HICOM.
"The five unionists have been unemployed for the last ten years; imagine their economic suffering. We demand that the company reinstate them immediately with back pay, benefits and seniority. If HICOM management failes to do so, the authorities must strictly enforce the law and prosecute staff involved in the union busting,"
said Nadesan.
Two members of parliament, Chow Yu Hui and Hassan Karim, support NUTEAIW's demands. They said that as a state party to ILO convention 98, the Malaysian government has an international obligation to protect workers from acts of anti-union discrimination, especially when they participate legitimate in union activities outside working hours.
Chow called on the government to take union busting seriously and take action to settle the dispute. He said not only the government must defend workers' rights, but it must also protect the good name of the Malaysian government in the international stage.
"I echo the CFA-ILO conclusion that anti-union discrimination is one of the most serious violations of freedom of association and it may jeopardize the very existence of trade unions. IndustriALL supports NUTEAIW's campaign for justice for the five unionists. It is time to bring the dispute to a closure after ten-year’s waiting,”
said Ramon Certeza, IndustriALL South East Asia regional secretary.