ADDRESS KEY ISSUES, MTUC TELLS KULA
Prioritise justice for workers and dispute settlement mechanism, says sec-gen
JUSTICE for workers and urgent attention to the dispute settlement mechanism are among issues which the Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) hopes the new human resources minister-designate will prioritise.
Its secretary-general, J. Solomon, said MTUC was looking forward to working with Human Resources Minister-designate M. Kulasegaran to address critical issues.
“MTUC has always been tolerant and is willing to work with the government, but the previous minister had disappointed MTUC and failed the workers.
“We hope the new minister will stop the secretary-general and top management of the Human Resources Ministry from interfering in MTUC’s administration and undermining its constitution and rules.
“We hope the rule of law emphasised by the prime minister (Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad) will be instilled in the Human Resources Ministry, otherwise issues faced by workers will be sidelined and individual interests will take precedence.”
Besides dispute settlement, MTUC hoped that the ministry would address issues such as trade union recognition without hindrances, industrial court practices, legal recourse for wrongful dismissal, as well as protection for unions, such as criminalising anti-union activities and victimisation of trade unionists.
It also called for the ministry to look into funds to facilitate upskilling and reskilling of workers.