Will Putrajaya use NSC Bill, anti-terror laws against workers on strike? DAP rep asks

December 4, 2015   Source : The Malay Mail Online

PETALING JAYA, Dec 4 ― DAP MP Charles Santiago questioned today if the federal government would use anti-terrorism laws and the proposed National Security Council (NSC) law to counter the expected increase of strikes by trade unions if Malaysia enters the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

Santiago claimed that the view in Malaysia of trade unions as the “number one enemy” is reflected in a cost-benefit analysis of the TPP by the Institute of Strategic and InternationaI Studies (ISIS), which he said had shockingly categorised obligations that Malaysia must fulfil to lift labour standards as “public order and stability” matters.

Santiago highlighted the ISIS analysis report stating that the government is “aware of the potentially disruptive threats of labour actions and is studying measures to mitigate them”, and then questioned planned action on workers.


“Because you are now considered as part of public order and stability, so therefore will POTA be used against them, will SOSMA be used against them, will the new National Security Council Bill be used against them when they go on strike?” the Klang MP told a news conference here, referring to the Prevention of Terrorism Act and the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act that are aimed at fighting terrorism.

The ISIS report released yesterday said the adoption of international labour rights - including the removal of restrictions on forming unions and the right to strikes ― would have a negative impact on Malaysia.

But Santiago said the government's alleged suppression of workers' rights for the past two decades had led to the current income inequality problem that Putrajaya is trying to address.

“Now why did we have a situation in Malaysia right now where workers are being paid so low, workers are having a problem with wages, workers are not able to support their families and the 10 per cent become richer? It's because for the last 20 years, the rights of workers have been denied and taken away,” said the Klang MP, who is a member of Parliament's bipartisan caucus on the TPP.

Workers should be viewed as an asset and an important part of a country's development process instead of being seen as a security concern, Santiago said.

He claimed many in the global business community are also backing better wages to reduce wealth inequality.

According to the ISIS study, there are 727 trade unions representing 918,673 workers as of September 2014. Santiago said this represents only 6.5 per cent of the Malaysian working population.

Among other things, the ISIS report notes the existing measures by the Malaysian government to mitigate business disruptions when workers refuse to work as a sign of protest, including control on trade union formations, requiring a simple majority vote by union members before it can go on a strike, and barring dismissed or suspended workers from joining a strike.