Malaysian groups reject sexual harassment convention due to 'LGBT'

Last week in Geneva, Switzerland, the International Labour Organisation voted for the adoption of a ground-breaking global treaty to improve protection for workers facing violence and harassment.

The vote on June 21 saw ILO member governments, employers' federations and workers' representatives deliver a strong vote to adopt the ILO Convention on Violence and Harassment.

The vote was overwhelming with 439 delegates voting for the convention's adoption and only seven voting against, with 30 abstentions.

However, news has now filtered out that the Malaysian Trade Union Congress (MTUC) and the Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) were among the seven who voted against the resolution.

Of the seven votes against the resolution, MTUC's was the only one representing a trade union umbrella body.

Furthermore, other Malaysian delegates abstained from voting.

MTUC president Abdul Halim Mansor (cover photo), who cast one of the dissenting votes, told Malaysiakini that "the MTUC and MEF voted against (the convention) because they introduced and included LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) in the Group on the Introduction Subject mention."

"MTUC's stand is consistent with the Malaysian government rejecting and not recognising LGBT," he said.

MEF vice-president A Ramadass cast the other dissenting vote. Malaysiakini has yet to get a response from the MEF on the reasons for the vote.

MTUC, MEF, Human Resources Ministry and ILO signing a memorandum of understanding for the Decent Work Country Programme on June 19, 2019 in Geneva, Switzerland.

Documentation by the ILO indicates that while the LGBT community was initially listed as a “vulnerable group” in the convention draft in March 2018, that reference was eventually removed.

A source in the women's workers movement claimed that the removal of the LGBT reference “allowed Indonesia and some Arab nations to change their votes but Malaysia did not follow suit.”

'Deficit of trust and confidence'

A spokesperson for the All Women's Action Society (Awam) said her group was disappointed over the vote.

"Awam is extremely disappointed with the decision of MTUC and the government, who did not vote for this treaty on the basis that it includes a minority group that is not formally recognised by the Malaysian government.

"The ILO treaty addressing sexual harassment in the workplace is a step towards making workplaces more accessible, especially for women.

"It incorporates the Cedaw (Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women) principles into a set of instruments that can be adopted to ensure a harassment-free workplace," the spokesperson told Malaysiakini.

Former MTUC secretary-general Gopal Kisham (below) said that MTUC leaders had created a deficit of trust and confidence through their move.

He also pointed out the MTUC had failed to vote in favour of the ILO Convention 87 on the right to freedom of association and protection to the right to organise.

He claimed that the latter vote was in direct defiance of the MTUC's last Triennial Delegates Conference held in November 2016, which had categorically resolved to seek the Malaysian government's agreement to ratify ILO Convention 87.

Former Suhakam commissioner and long time Women's Aid Organisation leader Ivy Josiah (below) was another who was upset by the decision.

“I am disappointed in MTUC and they should explain their decision to the civil society, especially to the women since at one point in the early years, the MTUC women’s section was part of the Joint Action Group against Violence against Women,” she told Malaysiakini.

“I am quite shocked since the MTUC has a long history of defending women’s rights,” she added.

Josiah, who is now is the secretary-general of the Society for the Promotion of Human Rights (Proham), called on the government to better educate the public on such issues.

"The government should have done their homework, talked to women’s groups and gotten a buy-in.

"Yes, it is understandable that the government has become cautious with how the right-wing manipulated Icerd (International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination) and the Rome Statute.

"But this is a no-brainer - a convention against violence and harassment against people in the workplace. And that includes vulnerable groups which are not only LGBTIQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, and Queer) but other minorities. Who would oppose it?” she said. - Mkini