GENEVA, 3 June 2025:
The Malaysian government was condemned by the Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) for allegedly ensuring no worker representation at the world meeting of labour movements and their governments.
The MTUC’s list of delegates to the 113th session of the International Labour Conference (ILC) in Geneva between June 3 and 12 was submitted to the Malaysian Human Resources Ministry on May 9 – three days ahead of deadline, said J. Solomon, chairman of the joint special committee of the MTUC.
Human Resources Minister Steven Sim Chee Keong’s office, however, withheld forwarding to the International Labour Organization, which presides over the ILC, the 14 names submitted by the MTUC, despite repeated reminders, Solomon said in a media statement.
He pointed out that Malaysia has been an ILO member since independence in 1957 and each year, a tripartite delegation representing the government, the Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) and MTUC attended the ILC — the largest gathering of governments, employers and their workers.
“This year, for the first time ever, the Ministry failed to include MTUC, the official workers’ representative, in the official Malaysian delegation,” Solomon said. “This is an extreme embarrassment to Malaysia … especially when it is currently the Chairman of the Asean,” Solomon said. “It is an action that equates to backward countries like Myanmar.”
Sim’s office, Solomon noted, registered 40 government officials and eight employer representatives, while ignoring the MTUC. As a result, MTUC was forced to seek assistance from the International Trade Union Confederation to attend the ILC as an non-governmental organisation under the ITUC, without the full rights of a worker delegate.
“This is a clear violation of the ILO Constitution, which requires full tripartite representation,” Solomon said.
“Malaysia, as a middle-income country, now stands out negatively among ASEAN countries that have failed to follow the ILO Constitution,” he said, adding that the MTUC has filed a formal complaint with the ILO Credentials Committee over the breach.
This is not the first time that Sim has been accused of labour transgressions or union-busting tactics. The National Union of Bank Employees repeatedly called out the minister over the past two years for allegedly taking sides with Malaysian banking employers to undermine workers in the sector whom he is mandated to protect.
Solomon, who is also secretary-general of NUBE, has proposed a Royal Commission of Inquiry be established to investigate breaches by Sim and his ministry officials, which include disobeying labour initiatives directed by the Prime Minister’s Office.