00181194

open access

Version of Record

マレーシア ノ ロウドウ クミアイ ショウニン モンダイ

Trade Union Recognition in Malaysia

Japanese (日本語)

国際協力論集

2(1)

91-114

神戸大学大学院国際協力研究科

1994-06

2007-04-12

In Malaysia trade union recognition is granted to only a registered union under the Trade Unions Act, 1959. Registration as a trade union is essential for a union because an unregistered union is treated as illegal one under this Act. Namely compulsory registration system is adopted in Malaysia. Furthermore the Registrar judges whether a trade union can be registered or not. The Registrar has wide discretionary competence at this compulsory registration system. The Registrar may refuse to register a trade union if he is satisfied that there has already been in existence a trade union in respect of the particular trade or occupation or industry. Therefore the problem depends upon discretionary judgement of the Registrar whether a house union will be registered when an industrial union has already been registered at the particular industry. The Malaysian government has a policy to encourage workers to organise house union because house union will be cooperative with management to promote productivity. Conversely the government judges an industrial and occupational union as hindrance to productivity growth. This policy is named "LOOK EAST POLICY". To ascertain this policy, the definition of trade union was amended in 1988, saying that the trade union was an association or combination of workmen who functions within any particular trade, occupation or industry or within similar trades, occupations or industries or within a single enterprise or establishment. Next problem must be considered whether registered house union can get recognition even when an industrial union has already been granted recognition. Two cases are examined in this article. It can be concluded that the Court does not obey the government policy. The same problem is considered in the electronics industry. The Registrar refused to register Electrical Industry Workers Union (EIWU) which was organizing workers in the electronics industry. The reason was that EIWU could not organize workers in electronics industry because electronics industry was different from electrical one under the classification of industry in Malaysia. The government had a policy to invite foreign capitals to Malaysian electronics industry in order to promote industrialization. For this purpose the government adopted anti-unionism policy in the electronics industry. This problem was judged by the Committee of Freedom of Association whether it was violation of freedom of association under the I.L.O. Convention No. 98 which was ratified in 1961 to refuse registration. The Committee answered in the affirmative. But the government did not change the policy. In September 1988 U.S. Government threatened Malaysian government to abolish Generalized System of Privileges. Under this pressure the government decided to change the policy. The government admitted workers in electronics industry to organize only house union under "LOOK EAST POLICY". Even under this new policy EIWU was not granted recognition because EIWU is an industrial union. As the result Malaya Trade Union Congress, the biggest national center of labour, opposed this policy, asserting that the workers shall have freedom to choose what kind of trade union is organized. On the other hand many house unions have affiliated to MTUC since the foundation of MTUC. Therefore MTUC has dilenma that he cannot absolutely oppose the house union policy. This problem arises from the friction between economic development policy and workers' right to organize trade unions in the developing country. Attention must be paid how this problem shall be finally resolved in Malaysia.

紀要論文