KUALA LUMPUR, 10 May 2025:
Malaysian workers stand at a “dangerous crossroads,” facing a global and domestic trend of escalating living costs, diminishing job security and a gradual erosion of fundamental labor rights, a leading labour advisory in the country has warned.
“Across the globe, and also in Malaysia, workers are being pushed to the edge of the abyss,” J. Solomon, president of the Social Protection Contributors Advisory Association Malaysia (SPCAAM), said in a speech at the weekend marking this month’s Labour Day celebrations.
“The cost of living is soaring, job security is eroding, and our fundamental rights as workers are being silently erased. We are standing at a dangerous crossroads.”
Solomon cited reports of workers facing dismissal or suppression for speaking out against labour transgressions and accused authorities of deliberately delaying action on union complaints with unreasonable excuses, in the hope to frustrate workers and weaken their collective spirit.
He said one of the gravest assaults on Malaysian workers now was the “collusion” between the Human Resources Ministry and banking employers to undermine the rights and welfare of employees in the sector.
“Never before in our history have workers witnessed such a bold and blatant attack on trade unions.
“We see the Human Resources Ministry openly colluding with employers in the banking industry. We have sent complaints in the droves to the relevant authorities, without getting any response back.”
The National Union of Banking Employees (NUBE), which Solomon is secretary-general of, has repeatedly accused Human Resources Minister Steven Sim in recent months of taking the side of the Malayan Commercial Banks Association (MCBA) to fast-track to the Industrial Court disputes between the union and banking employers.
NUBE says the annual Festival Aid for banking employees and the Collective Agreement on their wages and other benefits are matters to be negotiated between the union and the MCBA — not for the minister to “intervene and hijack” to the Industrial Court.
Union-busting billionaires
Solomon said the situation in Malaysia wasn’t very different from elsewhere in the world where union-busting billionaires were seizing democratic processes to silence workers’ voices, influence policies and control governments.
“While politicians dominate the headlines, unelected billionaires are the puppeteers behind the scenes, pulling the strings of power according to their whims. The news today might be dominated by Donald Trump and Elon Musk but they are not alone. Billionaires around the world are using the same tactics against the working class — and Malaysia may not be an exception.”
All this is done, he said, to divide workers, divide unions, destroy unions that do not side with them, and silence those who oppose them.
“Billionaires don’t just want profit — they want power. And what is stopping them? Organized workers. United trade unions. People like us. That’s why they want to break us up.”
Solomon also pointed to the increasing exploitation of artificial intelligence and other forms of digitalization to eliminate jobs and degrade the workforce’s dignity.
“This is not a conspiracy theory — it is a well-orchestrated attack on democracy.”
He asserted that Labour Day 2025 should serve as a critical “wake-up call” to workers. We need to be vigilant; not need to be afraid because history has proven that when workers rise, change becomes a certainty.”