TRADE UNION

Workers in most sectors of the economy have

been organised into unions.

To promote the industrial, social and intellectual

interests of its members.
To obtain and maintain for its members just and
proper rates of remuneration, security of
employment and reasonable hours and conditions
of work.
To promote the material, social and educational
welfare of the members,
To promote legislation affecting the interests of
the members in particular or trade unionists in
general.

As being defined under section 2 of the trade

Unions Act;
trade union" or "union" means any association or
combination of workmen or employers, being
workmen whose place of work is in West Malaysia,
Sabah or Sarawak, as the case may be, or
employers employing workmen in West Malaysia,
Sabah or Sarawak, as the case may be (a) within any particular establishment trade,
occupation or industry or within any similar trades,
occupations or industries; and
(b) whether temporary or permanent; and
(c) having among its objects one or more of the
following objects -

(i) the regulation of relations between workmen and

employers, for the purposes of promoting good industrial
relations between workmen and employers, improving
the working conditions of workmen or enhancing their
economic and social status, or increasing productivity;
(ia) the regulation of relations between workmen and
workmen, or between employers and employers:
(ii) the representation of either workmen or employers in
trade disputes;
(iia) the conducting of, or dealing with, trade disputes
and matters related thereto; or
(iii) the promotion or organisation or financing of strikes
or lock-outs in any trade or industry or the provision of
pay or other benefits for its members during a strike or
lock-out;

Membership of unions is limited geographically.

Workers in peninsular Malaysia may only join a
union whose members work in
Peninsular.
Workers in Sabah can only join a union whose
members work in Sabah, and the same applies
to workers in Sarawak.

Unions of general nature are not permitted.

They must work in the same trade, occupation
or industry and therefore possess common
interests.

Employers and employees both have the right

to form and join unions, but they must be
separate from each other.

Workers in Malaysia have the right to form

and join the trade unions. This is known as
the freedom of association and the right is
protected in section 5 of the Industrial
Relations Act. At the same time, workers
also have the right not to join a trade union.

The Act states that:

No employer shall prevent a worker from joining

a union by putting a condition in his contract of
employment;
ii) No employer shall refuse to employ a worker on
the grounds he is a trade union member or
officer;
iii)No employer shall discriminate against a worker
(for example in promotion) on the grounds he is
a trade union member or officer;
iv)No worker shall be threatened with dismissal or
dismissed if he proposes to join a trade union,
or if he participates in union activities.
i)

1.

A worker who is employed by an employer

under a contract of employment.

2.

Any worker over 16years of age.

But, those who are under 18 are not
entitled to vote on matters involving
strikes, imposition of levy, dissolution of
union or amendment of rules of the trade
union. Union members under 21 years old
are not eligible to be elected as officers of
the union.

3. Certain groups of government servants are

not allowed to join unions at all. These are
employees in the police, prison Service and
the Armed Force and those in confidential or
security work.
4. Foreign workers also can join trade unions.

Workers wishing to form a trade union must

apply to the Director General of Trade Unions
for registration within one month of establishing
the union.

Must be signed by at least seven members,

which is the minimum number needed to form a
union.

The registration is by no mean automatic since it

depends on the decision of the Director-General.

If there are two or more trade unions

registered, which represent the same group
of workers in a trade, occupation, industry,
the Director General has the power to deregister the union which covers a minority
of the workers.

The Director-general also has the powers to

do de-register or cancel the registration of a
union if it was obtained by fraud, if it is
being used for unlawful purposes, or if it
does anything to contravene the Trade
Unions Act.

Collective bargaining is a type of negotiation

used by the employees to work with the
employer or a group of employers. During a
bargaining period, a union of the employees will
approach the employers to negotiate the
contact which both parties can agree with.

For effective bargaining take place, there are

two necessary pre-conditions;
i) workers must have the right to form and join
trade unions.
ii) unions must have bargaining strength.

1.
2.

Be recognized by the employer

Has adequate financial strength, and
members are united.

The Industrial relation Act requires unions to

attain recognition before they can proceed
to invite an employer to commerce
collective bargaining.

1.The union must fill out a Claim for

Recognition Form and presents it to the
employer. A copy of this form must also
forwarded to the Director-General of
Industrial relations.
2. An

employer must reply within 21 days.

The responses;
i) voluntarily recognize
ii) Not recognize.

3. If the employers refuse to recognise, the

Union can report to the Director-General
who will investigate and take whatever
means to settle the dispute. If the employer
still refuse to give recognition, the Directorgeneral will report this case to the Minister
of human Resources. If more than 50 % of
the workers belong to the union, the
Minister will normally order recognition. The
decision is final and binding on
both
parties.

Agreement is
reached

Refuse to negotiate

Conciliation
meeting
If no resolution, refer to
Industrial court for arbitration

Must fulfill certain criteria;

a) Must specify the parties to the agreements
b) Must specify the duration of the agreement
which cannot be less than 3 years,
c) Must include the procedure for modification
of the agreement.
d) must not include the managerial
prerogatives issues such as the promotion,
transfer, recruitment, transfer, termination,
assignment etc.

The agreement is binding on all workers even if

they are not the members of the UNION.