GENEVA, 5 June 2025:
Malaysia’s treatment of unionised workers, particularly those in the banking sector, has drawn rebuke from the International Labour Organization (ILO) – which accuses the government of repeatedly violating workers’ rights and refusing to account for it when questioned.
The ILO’s Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations (CEACR) expressed concern over the routine and expeditious use of the Industrial Court in Malaysia by the Human Resources Ministry to settle labour disputes, when union-management negotiations ought to be the way.
The committee said it was disturbed by the “discretionary powers” of the director-general of industrial relations in Malaysia in referring labour disputes to the Industrial Court.
It said it has repeatedly sought clarification from the Malaysian government on the procedures involved in this regard.
“Effective protection against acts of anti-union discrimination requires rapid and effective procedures and remedies through reinstatement and adequate compensation, as well as sufficiently dissuasive sanctions,” the CEACR reminded Malaysian government officials attending the International Labour Conference here in Geneva.
“The committee notes, however, with regret that the Government has not provided the requested information on the outcome and duration of the procedures concerning anti-union discrimination cases.”
The ILO’s criticism comes in the wake of the Human Resources Ministry’s (MOHR) failure to include the Malaysian Trade Unions Congress (MTUC) in the country’s official delegation to the world labour body’s June 3-12 meetings.
Malaysia has been part of the ILO since independence in 1957. Prior to 2025, the MTUC, the country’s leading workers’ organisation, used to attend ILO meetings as part of an official tripartite delegation that also comprised government and employer representatives.
At this year’s meeting, Malaysia’s official delegation has 40 government officials, as well as representatives from the Malaysian Employers’ Federation. But there is not a single person officially included from the MTUC — meaning zero worker representation for the country.
Government just wants to shield ‘union-busting’ HR minister, says MTUC
The Human Resources Ministry, which is required to submit in advance to the ILO the names of those attending, did not give a reason for excluding the MTUC. But a newspaper report in recent days quoted anonymous sources as saying that a “crisis” within the MTUC had led to its disqualification from this year’s ILO meeting.
J. Solomon, chairman of the joint special committee of the MTUC, however, rubbished that report, saying the government just wanted to stop union representatives from airing at the meeting the “union-busting tactics” of Malaysian Human Resources Minister Steven Sim.
Solomon, who’s also secretary-general of the National Union of Bank Employees (NUBE), has accused Sim in the past of colluding with the country’s banks to deprive banking workers — whom the minister is duty-bound to protect — of legitimate benefits and rights.
“The only reason the names of the MTUC representatives were not sent by MOHR was because MOHR wanted to thwart the discussion of the Minister’s conduct,” Solomon said, referring to the ministry of human resources by its initials. “It is this agenda of MOHR, which resulted in the workers of Malaysia not being represented.”
The exclusion “is a mischief, done deliberately”, added Solomon, who is in Geneva with 13 other MTUC representatives registered instead as representatives of the International Trade Union Confederation — a non-governmental organisation.
Malaysia’s denial of an official seat for its workers at the meeting was a “clear violation of the ILO constitution”, said the MTUC, which has urged the world labour body to investigate.
The ILO acknowledged the complaint. It noted that while Malaysia made some progress on the labour front by making some legislative amendments to the Industrial Relations Act (IRA) and Trade Unions Act, “the changes have not gone far enough to ensure full conformity with international labour standards”.
Highlighting negativities in the IRA, the ILO said the law granted the Director-General of Industrial Relations unchecked discretionary power to decide whether to refer anti-union discrimination complaints to the Industrial Court.
Such discretionary power, the ILO emphasised, hindered rapid and effective remedies — such as reinstatement and adequate compensation — which were crucial for protecting workers.
Workers in Malaysia were, meanwhile, denied direct access to the courts — creating a lopsided rule that favoured the government, the ILO said.