11-12 January 2016
Industrial Court 12, 9.30am onwards
Presided by Tuan Gulam
How do workers organize and motivate fellow workers to come together to form a trade union? Is it not the injustices, discrimination and violations of rights that is happening at the workplaces that moves people to unite for justice - and surely it is very wrong for an employer to use such statements made by a union leader as a justification for termination...
In this ICT age - organizing workers is not just through physical face to face encounters or meetings, but is more happening through social media - Face Book groups, Whats App groups, Email groups, etc.. Can employers use statements made in such groups, possibly given by some employer 'spy', as a means to dismiss a worker?
Hopefully, there will be many from
Electronic Industry Employees Union Western Region, Peninsular Malaysia
(EIEUWR) especially those working in RENESAS
Semiconductor KL Sdn Bhd (formerly known as NEC Semiconductors
(Malaysia) Sdn Bhd] as a show of solidarity to their Union President, and once fellow worker at RENESAS...
Such a show of support will also demonstrate to the management of RENESAS that truly the UNION is strong, and support for Wan Noorulazhar remains strong..
The best thing that RENESAS can do is to agree now to reinstate the Union President without any further procrastination or delay...It has been 4 years plus since he was terminated by RENESAS but Wan Noorulazhar, despite being out of a job and income, has remained committed to the UNION, and to the struggle for worker and trade union rights till today...He, I believe, is ever ready to get back to work at RENESAS.
WE all can also help urge RENESAS to do the right thing - Reinstate Wan Noorulazhar now... and do recognize the Union.
This is is best...and this is JUST.
See earlier post:-
HR Defender WAN NOORULAZHAR - dismisssed for allegedly highlighting worker rights concerns?
'Wan Noorulazhar bin Mohd Hanafiah, an employee of RENESAS who is the President of the UNION was dismissed on 26/8/2011 by RENESAS whereby the alleged misconduct, was that his actions were ‘contrary to explicit company policies’. He allegedly made statements about treatment of workers in a closed Facebook Group, whose members were fellow workers.'
Finally, his wrongful dismissal case at the Industrial Court will be heard on 11-12 January 2016 [More
than 4 years since he was dismissed, and the members of Union working
in RENESAS lost the presence of their leader in the factory. Is this
JUSTICE? Justice Delayed is Justice Denied...]
87 Groups :- RENESAS MUST IMMEDIATELY ACCORD RECOGNITION TO THE UNION AND REINSTATE WAN NOORULAZHAR
Joint Statement- 4/4/2013
RENESAS MUST IMMEDIATELY ACCORD RECOGNITION TO THE UNION
AND REINSTATE WAN NOORULAZHAR
We, the 87 undersigned
civil society organisations, trade unions and groups call on RENESAS
Semiconductor KL Sdn Bhd (formerly known as NEC Semiconductors
(Malaysia) Sdn Bhd] to respect the freedom of association and the right
to effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining, being
one of the basic rights of workers and one also one of the core values
of International Labour Organisation (ILO)'s. RENESAS must stop
obstructing or delaying, and immediately accord recognition to
Electronic Industry Employees Union Western Region, Peninsular Malaysia
(EIEUWR)/ Kesatuan Sekerja Industri Elektronik Wilayah Barat Semenjung
Malaysia(KSIEWBSM)[UNION] so that workers at RENESAS can at last begin
to enjoy the benefits of collective bargaining agreement. It has been
more than 3 years since the UNION first applied in January 2010 for
recognition by RENESAS.
In Malaysia, after being
registered, recognition by the employer is needed before the UNION can
start negotiating and enter into any Collective Bargaining Agreement
with the employer company. The UNION has to submit a claim for
recognition, and within 21 days, the company can accord recognition or
not. If not, then the Director General of Industrial Relations (DGIR)
steps in and start the process of conducting a secret ballot to ensure
that more than 5o% plus one of the qualified workers is for the union –
then the union is accorded recognition, and thereafter can effectively
represent the workers.
Even though about 70%
(1,300) of RENESAS’s workers eligible to be members of the union were
already members of EIEUWR when the first application was made by the
UNION to the company for recognition, RENESAS did not accord recognition
and after more than 3 years and RENESAS still refuses to recognize the
UNION.
On 18/1/2010, EIEUWR
submitted the 1st application for recognition to RENESAS. The company
responded that there was a pro-tem in-house union, which was
unregistered, also seeking recognition. The Director General of
Industrial Relations (DGIR) rejected this reason. Then, RENESAS claimed
that they did not receive the claim for recognition, when the
application had been hand delivered personally by Wan Noorulazhar, the
Union President, and RENESAS acknowledged receipt. The DGIR later asked
the Union to send again their claim for recognition.
The 2nd claim for
recognition was submitted on 17/8/2010, this time by acknowledged
receipt registered post, and again RENESAS claimed they did not receive
it, and the UNION also did not receive back the duly signed acknowledged
receipt card from the postal services.
The 3rd claim for
recognition was submitted to RENESAS on 8/10/2010, and this time using
the National Courier Poslaju. After receipt of the UNION’s letter,
RENESAS send it back to Poslaju asking that the letter be returned to
the UNION. Poslaju provided a letter confirming this. RENESAS could not
deny receipt this time, and rightfully the DGIR should have done the
needful which was to the conduct of a ‘secret ballot’. But, there was
inaction on the part of the DGIR for many months despite repeated
demands by the UNION, and finally on 12/8/2011, the UNION had a picket
in front of the Ministry of Human Resources. The DGIR then informed the
UNION that the said relevant documents had been misplaced, and the blame
was put on the Deputy DGIR responsible, who allegedly has since then
been removed from that position. The DGIR then asked the Union to submit
yet another claim for recognition.
The 4th claim for
recognition was made on 8/9/2011. RENESAS’s now challenged the validity
of the registration of EIEUWR(the UNION) itself, and the qualification
of the UNION’s General Secretary, one Bruno Gentil Pereira. When the
Minister rejected this objection on 9/4/2012, RENESAS proceeded to filed
a High Court case to challenge the Minister’s decision on 8/5/2012,
whereby on 28/6/2012, the High Court dismissed the RENESAS’s
application. RENESAS then appealed to the Court of Appeal who also
unanimously dismissed the case on 5/12/2012.
After the High Court
dismissed RENESAS application on 28/6/2012, there was no court order
stopping the DGIR from proceeding with the secret ballot but the DGIR
did not do anything.
After much protestation
by the Union, the DGIR finally started the process by writing to RENESAS
to submit Form B, as required by law, on about 14/12/2012. RENESAS did
not comply and a second letter was sent by the DGIR on 14/1/2013.
RENESAS again did not comply, and now it is believed that a third
letter has been sent by the DGIR.
When, and if the day
finally comes for the ‘secret ballot’, the workers entitled to vote
would be the workers as of the date the claim was submitted, being
8/9/2011 but with the existence of short-term contracts, many of the
pro-union workers may no more be employees of RENESAS, and this will
prejudice the UNION, who still will have to show that it has the support
of at least 50% plus one of the number of qualified employees as per
the list of qualified employees on 8/9/2011. The tactic of delaying the
secret ballot works in favour of the employer, and prejudices the UNION.
Wan Noorulazhar bin Mohd
Hanafiah, an employee of RENESAS who is the President of the UNION was
dismissed on 26/8/2011 by RENESAS whereby the alleged misconduct, was
that his actions were ‘contrary to explicit company policies’. He
allegedly made statements about treatment of workers in a closed
Facebook Group, whose members were fellow workers. The alleged
misconduct It had nothing to do with his work performance. The wrongful
dismissal case is now before the Industrial court.
The current trend at the
Industrial Courts when it makes a finding the worker has been wrongfully
dismissed by the employer is not to order reinstatement, but to rather
order compensation. If not reinstated, workers of RENESAS would be
deprived of a leader. RENESAS can at any time reinstate Wan Noorulazhar
bin Mohd Hanafiah without loss of benefits.
On 14/3/2013, EIUWR and the workers of RENESAS again had a protest picket at Putrajaya.
We call on RENESAS
Semiconductor KL Sdn Bhd to immediately accord recognition to
Electronic Industry Employees Union Western Region (EIEUWR), and
immediately reinstate Wan Noorulazhar bin Mohd Hanafiah and all other
worker leaders terminated.
Senator Syed Shahir bin Syed Mohamud
Charles Hector
Mohd Roszeli bin Majid
Pranom Somwong
Badrulzaman bin Mohd Ghazali
For and on behalf the 87 organisations listed below
ALIRAN
Andhra Pradesh State Domestic Workers' Union, India
Asia Monitor Resource Centre(AMRC)
Asia Pacific Forum on Women , Law and Development ( APWLD)
Asia Floor Wage Alliance- SEA Office
Building and Wood Workers International Asia Pacific Regional Office (BWI APRO)
Center for Migrant Advocacy ,Philippines
Centre for Human Rights and Development (CHRD) Sri Lanka
Center for Orang Asli Concerns (COAC)
CIMS- Centre for Indian Migrant Studies
Clean Clothes Campaign
Committee for Asian Women, Bangkok
Community Action Network (CAN), Malaysia
Confederation of Free Trade Unions of India
Dignity International
GoodElectronics
GoodElectronics Thailand (GET)
Hope Workers' Center, Taiwan
Hsinchu Catholic Diocese Migrants and Immigrants Service Center (HMISC), Taiwan
Human Rights Ambassador for Salem-News.com
IDWN( International Domestic Workers’ Network)
IMA Research Foundation, Bangladesh
International Campaign for Responsible Technology, US
International League of Peoples' Struggle – Canada
Legal Support for Children and Women (LSCW), Cambodia
LIPS (Lembaga Informasi Perburuhan Sedane/Sedane Labour Resource Centre) Indonesia
MADPET (Malaysians Against Death Penalty and Torture)
Malaysian Physicians for Social Responsibility
MAP Foundation, Thailand
Maquiladora Health & Safety Support Network, Berkeley, CA USA
Migrant Care
Migrant Forum in Asia (MFA)
Migrant Forum India (MF India)
Migrant Forum Lanka (MFL)
Migrants Rights Council India
Myanmar Ethnic Rohingya Human Rights Organization Malaysia (MERHROM)
NAMM (Network of Action for Migrants in Malaysia)
NDWM - National Domestic Workers' Movement, India
NLD-LA (National League for Democracy-Liberated Areas), Malaysia
Pakistan Rural Workers Social Welfare Organization (PRWSWO)
Parti Rakyat Malaysia(PRM)
People & Planet, UK
Persatuan Masyarakat Selangor & Wilayah Persekutuan (PERMAS)
PINAY Quebec
Progressive Labor Union of Domestic Workers- Hong Kong
PSWS (Persatuan Sahabat Wanita Selangor)
Pusat KOMAS (KOMAS)
Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU), Bangladesh
SALT (School of Acting Justly Loving Tenderly and Walking Humbly)
SBMI (Serikat Buruh Migran Indonesia)
Solidarity of Cavite Workers (SCW), Philippines
State Enterprises Workers' Relations Confederation (SERC), Thailand
State Railway Workers' Union of Thailand (SRU), Thailand
SUARAM (Suara Rakyat Malaysia)
Tenaganita, Malaysia
The Alliance of Progressive Labor - Hong Kong
Tourism Employees Association of Maldives
Women's Rehabilitation Center (WOREC) Nepal
Workers Assistance Center, Inc, Philippines
Workers Hub For Change (WH4C)
Women Workers Lead
Writer Alliance for Media Independence (WAMI)
Youth For Peace/Peace Institute of Cambodia (YFP/PIC)
Malaysian Unions
Kesatuan Sekerja Industri Elektronik Wilayah Timur Semenanjung Malaysia (KSIEWTSM)
Kesatuan Sekerja Industri Elektronik Wilayah Selatan Semenanjung Malaysia
Kesatuan Sekerja Pekerja Industri Elektronik Wilayah Utara
Kesatuan Pekerja-Pekerja MHS Aviation Berhad
Kesatuan Pekerja-Pekerja Polyplastics Asia Pacific
Paper & Paper Products Manufacturing Employees' Union Of Malaysia (PPPMEU)
TNBJOU (TNB Junior Officers Union), Malaysia
Malayan Technical Services Union (MTSU)
NUBE (National Union of Banking Employees), Malaysia
Association of Maybank Executive
Kesatuan Kebangsaan Pekerja Pekerja Perusahaan Alat Alat Pengangkutan Dan Sekutu(NUTEAIW)
Kesatuan Pekerja-Pekerja Dalam
Perkhidmatan Perubatan Dan Kesihatan Swasta-[Union Of Employees In
Private Medical And Health Services]
Kesatuan Eksekutif Canon Opto (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd
Kesatuan Pekerja-Pekerja Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional Sdn.Bhd.
Electrical Industry Workers' Union (EIWU)
Kesatuan Pekerja Pekerja Fujikura Federal Cables Sdn Bhd
Kesatuan Pekerja Pekerja Kelab Semenanjung Malaysia
Kesatuan Eksekutif Airod (KEA)
UNI Global Union-Malaysia
MTUC Pahang
MTUC Penang Division
MTUC Bahagian Melaka
Kongres Kesatuan Sekerja Cawangan Pulau Pinang
MTUC Selangor & Wilayah Persekutuan
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