WH4C - Workers Hub For Change

  The last breath of the labour movement? Charles Hector Published:  Nov 19, 2017 8:00 AM ⋅ This is the final part of a series on the Malaysian labour movement. FEATURE | Malaysia continues with its “divide and rule” policy with the labour movement, permitting only unions based on occupation, sector and industry, and disallowing the formation of unions or federations across different sectors. Private and public sector workers alike are still prevented from belonging to common unions. The Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) and the Congress of Unions of Employees in the Public and Civil Services (Cuepacs) continue to be registered as societies. The justification for the control of unions and labour rights is “competitiveness,” or the need for Malaysia to attract foreign investors to set up factories, and hence create jobs and income. Low wages and a passive workforce make Malaysia attractive, and the fact that there have been no mass strikes for almost four o...

How the British suppressed the Malayan labour movement Charles Hector Published:  Nov 18, 2017 7:52 AM ⋅ Updated:  Nov 19, 2017  This is part three of a series on the Malaysian labour movement. FEATURE | In 1947, the Pan-Malayan General Labour Union, which was established in 1946, changed its name to Pan-Malayan Federation of Trade Unions (PMFTU). It boasted a membership of 263,598, and this represented more than half the total workforce in Malaya. 85 percent of all existing unions in Malaya were part of the PMFTU. The attitude of the Malayan worker was more assertive during this period. For instance, a strike was reported of Chinese and Indian hospital workers because they no longer wanted to be addressed as 'boy', and workers began to see their subjection to physical punishments as unacceptable.  Tamil trade unionists refused to suffer any longer the use of the derogatory term “Kling”. Estate workers no longer dismounted from their bicycles when a...

The origins of the labour movement in Malaysia Charles Hector Published:  Nov 17, 2017 10:52 AM ⋅ Updated:  Nov 19, 2017  Editor’s note: This is part two of a series on the Malaysian labour movement. FEATURE | The fact that the Malaysian trade unions movement played a significant role in the political, economic and sociocultural life of Malaysia has been forgotten by many. The labour movement did actively struggle for independence from the British colonial powers, and contributed significantly even in the determination of the future of Malaysia, including the drafting of the Malaysian Constitution. But alas, all that is in the past, and the trade unions have been systematically weakened and isolated from involvement in the life of the nation, first by the British colonial masters and thereafter by the Umno-led coalition that has governed Malaysia since independence. This weakening, nay, annihilation, of the labour movement still continues today through...

The state of the labour movement in Malaysia Charles Hector Published:  Nov 16, 2017 11:17 AM ⋅ Updated: Nov 19, 2017 Editor's note: This is part one of a series on the Malaysian labour movement.   FEATURE | In Malaysia, the trade union movement seems to be weakening, with the number of unions and unionised workers steadily decreasing. According to the Trade Union Affairs Department, only 875,193, or six percent, of the 14.5 million workers in the country, are currently union members. Union membership in the private sector also shows a marked decrease, dropping from 433,702 in 2009 to 359,206 in 2017. Traditionally, trade unions have been controlled by laws, first imposed by the British colonial administration. This practice was continued post-independence by their successors, the Umno-led BN. Malaysian trade union and labour laws fall far short of minimum international standards. Even when Malaysia wanted to be part of the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement ...

This was an ILO program , where Workers Hub For Change(WH4C) participated in - also present were Malaysian worker reps -Mohd Ridzwan Rama ABDULLAH, Executive Council, Electrical Industry Workers’ Union (EIWU), Selangor, Malaysia and Wan Noorulazhar Mohd HANAFIAH, President, Electronic Industry Employees Union (EIEU), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. # Do follow the link to see the contents of the program and discussion - it is CLEARER that the cut and copy content in this page   Global Dialogue Forum on the Adaptability of Companies to Deal with Fluctuating Demands and the Incidence of Temporary and Other Forms of Employment in Electronics (Geneva, 9–11 December 2014) Final report of the discussion GDFACE/2014/9   Final report of the discussion Global Dialogue Forum on the Adaptability of Companies to Deal with Fluctuating Demands and the Incidence of Temporary and Other Forms of Employment in Electronics (Geneva, 9–11 December 2014) Sectoral Policies DepartmentGeneva, 2015 ...