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Borneo Post
3 days ago
- Politics
- Borneo Post
Court-backed JSC has authority over MTUC, chairman reaffirms
Solomon explains that the JSC was established through a Consent Order of the Court of Appeal, which authorised it to conduct the SDC and oversee MTUC affairs within a set timeframe. – Photo via Facebook KUCHING (June 5): Recent claims suggesting that the Joint Special Committee (JSC) lacks the authority to manage the Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) are misleading and contradict the Court of Appeal's explicit mandate, said JSC chairman J Solomon. He explained that the JSC was established through a Consent Order of the Court of Appeal, which authorised it to conduct the Special Delegates Conference (SDC) and oversee MTUC affairs within a set timeframe. 'The JSC has already fixed the date for the SDC and issued circulars to affiliated unions,' Solomon said in a statement today. He added that the Ministry of Human Resources (MoHR) had acknowledged the JSC's role by officially inviting its members to attend the Labour Day celebrations organised by the government, further recognising the JSC's legitimacy and responsibility in managing MTUC's affairs. Solomon also criticised MoHR for refusing to submit the JSC-nominated names of Workers' Representatives to the International Labour Conference (ILC), calling the action 'a deliberate act of mischief'. He stressed that the Court Order had resolved the internal crisis within MTUC and clearly mandated the JSC to manage its administration. Solomon further alleged that MoHR withheld the workers' representative list from the ILC to avoid scrutiny over the Minister's actions, which he claimed were contrary to Convention 98 regarding interference in collective bargaining process and alleged collusion with employers. 'For the first time since becoming a member of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in 1957, Malaysian workers were not represented at the ILO conference,' he said. He claimed the MoHR's refusal to submit the names was an attempt to prevent discussion about the Minister's conduct at the ILC. 'It is this agenda of MoHR which resulted in the workers of Malaysia not being represented at the ILC,' he added. Solomon advised individuals and parties against making statements in blind support of the MoHR Minister as such remarks could mislead workers and stakeholders and potentially lead to contempt of court. MTUC Sarawak has since urged the JSC to resolve the leadership impasse and refrain from issuing statements that could create confusion. It reaffirmed that the JCS had been granted a specific three-month mandate to conduct the MTUC SDC. J Solomon Joint Special Committee MTUC
The Star
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Star
No MTUC rep at International Labour Congress due to internal crisis, says source
PETALING JAYA: The internal leadership crisis within the Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) is said to be the reason why there are no representatives from the congress at the 113th International Labour Congress (ILC), in Geneva, Switzerland. According to a source, this technical issue allows the special joint committee (JBK) to carry out elections, but it cannot represent MTUC or negotiate with any third party. The source also said the JBK was supposed to bring forward the election to May, but it was postponed until August. As a result, for the first time in history, no union representatives were allowed to attend the ILC. However, the source also said that J. Solomon, who is the MTUC Joint Special Committee chairman had no authority to issue any statement on behalf of the congress. In February this year, the MTUC said it had dismissed its president, Mohd Effendy Abdul Ghani, over allegations of misconduct. The decision was made during a meeting on Jan 19 after MTUC's disciplinary committee presented its investigation findings and deliberated on the matter. On Tuesday (June 3), Solomon expressed shock and dismay at Human Resources Minister Steven Sim's decision to exclude them from the ILC, which is the official workers' representative, from the Malaysian delegation. In a statement, he said this exclusion is a "clear violation" of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Constitution, which mandates full tripartite representation involving government, employers, and workers. 'For the first time this year, the ministry has failed to include MTUC, the official representative of workers, in the official Malaysian delegation. 'This action is very embarrassing for Malaysia and the ministry officials, especially when Malaysia is the Asean chairman. 'The ministry has registered 40 government officials and eight employer representatives, but there is not a single representative from MTUC at this conference. This is a violation of the ILO Constitution, which requires full tripartite representation,' he said. MTUC has filed an official complaint with the ILO Credentials Committee regarding this serious violation, Solomon added. The MTUC further alleged that the ministry received the ILO invitation on Feb 25, and while it forwarded the invitation to the Malaysian Employers Federation, it ignored repeated requests from the congress. Despite this, the MTUC managed to gather nominations from four affiliates and submitted the names to the ministry on May 9. 'This year, Malaysia was also listed among 24 countries accused of violating ILO Convention 98 (Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining). The Committee on the Application of Standards will examine this case during this session. 'The absence of official workers' representatives from Malaysia only worsens the situation and weakens our country's credibility on the international platform. 'This has never happened in the history of Malaysia, where a Minister has excluded workers' representatives from such an important tripartite international platform,' Solomon said. The MTUC has called Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to intervene immediately and instruct his Cabinet minister to respect international obligations. They argued that Malaysian workers, as taxpayers, deserve proper representation at the ILC.
