Transparency in the legislative process is to be expected

We refer to the article MTUC warns of 'sour grapes' out to jeopardise labour law reforms.

The Decent Work Working Group is puzzled at claims made by MTUC Secretary J Solomon alleging that our request to make the Employment Act Bill public was of “malicious intention” and might derail efforts to reform the Employment Act 1955.

Our demand for better transparency in the legislative process and a request for consultation with relevant stakeholders is in line with the standard expectations of a democratic society.

Human Resource Minister M Kulasegaran has assured that the ministry will consult all stakeholders in relation to any amendments to labour laws. Our membership – comprising NGOs, migrant worker organisations and trade unions – are the relevant stakeholders that should not be ignored by the government.

It should be noted that the Ministry previously uploaded a draft of proposed amendments on its website intended to gather feedback from stakeholders. 

Having submitted our proposed feedback to the minister, we would like to see how effective the channels of stakeholder engagement have now become. For MTUC to object to that seems to defy the principles of democracy.

Pakatan Harapan promised the advancement of principles of good governance, transparency and integrity in public institutions, with Kulasegaran’s party stressing the value of “competency, accountability and transparency” since 2008. 

An opaque legislative process clearly contravenes the very principles advocated by Harapan and their component parties.

An open and transparent decision-making process is well within the expectations of a democratic nation and consistent engagement with stakeholders can reduce unnecessary friction and arrive at a common consensus. It is impossible that calling for transparency will disrupt the law reform process.

Our work on proposing labour law reforms is in line with the objectives of MTUC to improve the economic and social conditions of workers. Our voice adds value to their existing advocacy.

The MTUC affiliates and union members that participated in the DWWG consultation meetings would certainly agree that the combined advocacy of DWWG and MTUC will strengthen workers’ rights and make workers’ voice heard. There is no other agenda.

We also wish to remind that MTUC is not the only expert organisation in workers’ issues. The ILO has been engaging various stakeholders including migrant worker organisations and NGOs on workers’ issues. But why is the government reluctant to engage other groups?

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The writer, Aegile Fernandez is spokesperson for the Decent Work Working Group (DWWG), a grouping of labour rights advocates. - Mkini