Regulating the changing nature of workers-employers ties

ADUN SPEAKS | I think that the Ministry of Human Resources should take a broader conceptual perspective on how to regulate the changing nature of the relationship between workers and employers.

The regulatory role is not just of mediating conflicts between the principal parties in the economic and socio-political arena, where there are constant inter-plays of external forces in determining the relationship of the twin pillars of the industry - workers and employers.

As Malaysia is moving in the direction of assuming heavy responsibility in the arena of economic production, there are concerns, both locally and externally, on how production takes place.

The concerns are focused on social conditions and whether the conditions are permissible from the viewpoint of labour rights and whether these rights are relative to the production process and not external to it.

If the United States has banned the import of rubber gloves from a particular company, then it is not about wanting to clarify Malaysia's position but it is more about the relative lack of progress in improving the position of workers.

The US ban on rubber gloves should not come as a surprise to those in the Human Resources Ministry as numerous complaints have made in the past about the presence of “sweatshops” in the rubber gloves industry.

Dialogue with US agencies might be important, but with no corresponding improvements in the welfare and well-being of the workforce, there is not going to be a major impact.

I believe that the US might even consider banning other products produced under terrible or inhumane labour conditions.

With more US companies planning to relocate to Malaysia as a result of their country’s trade war with China, the ministry should get its acts together.

Crackdown on errant employers needed

There must be a crackdown on errant employers who are resistant to improving labour standards.

The unions in the country are in a bad shape; years of battering by the state have reduced them to an ineffective role.

They couldn’t even flex their muscles in improving the minimum wage.

Improvements to labour conditions cannot be reduced to just a humanitarian measure on the part of the government and employers.

There is much more to the improvements in workers’ conditions, especially in relation to the qualitative improvements in the production process.

Changes to labour conditions are important to the production process itself, by giving workers improved rights and freedom, there will be value creation in terms of the quality of the products.

Just compare the products delivered by an educated and free workforce than those produced by an enslaved labour force.

Government laws and regulations ensure minimal freedom to workers as long as these don’t drive out the industries.

It is not that the government is a neutral party. In the final analysis, it will serve the owners of production enterprises.

However, within the ambit of neutrality and serving the interests of employers, the government can and should engender a work environment that is both humane as well providing the freedom, at least in a relative sense, for the production of quality products.

The days of ad hoc measures for the Ministry of Human Resources is over.

There is an urgent need to review the relationship between workers and employers, with the intention of moving up on the production hierarchy.

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P RAMASAMY is the state assemblyperson for Perai. He is also deputy chief minister II of Penang. - Mkini