Unionists set to be released at 6pm after court denies remand

The five unionists who were arrested during a protest outside the Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital in Ipoh yesterday are set to be released this evening after a Magistrate's Court denied a request for a four-day remand.

They were part of a protest by the National Union of Workers in Hospital Support and Allied Services (NUWHSAS) which represents cleaners in government hospitals in the northern states.

They were held after protesting against what they claimed were union-busting tactics by their employer Edgenta UEMS.

"This morning, police failed to obtain a remand order for the five unionists detained.

"The police requested a four-day remand, but lawyers representing the detainees informed the magistrate that there is no need for further remand as all statements have been taken.

"Thus the magistrate refused the remand request and ordered the police to release them as soon as fingerprints and other records are settled. The magistrate has ordered them to be released by 6pm today," PSM secretary-general A Sivarajan told Malaysiakini.

He said PSM is still concerned that the five unionists, including NUWHSAS executive secretary M Saraswathy, could still be charged tomorrow or in the future.

"We demand the police to not charge them, as they complied with all movement control order SOP’s during their picket unlike the cramped lock-up conditions they were subjected to last night," he added.

Sivarajan thanked concerned citizens and organisations who had voiced their opposition to what he called "blatant union-busting tactics affecting frontline hospital cleaning workers at a time when their services are needed most."

The five are being investigated under Section 186 of the Penal Code for obstructing a public servant in discharge of his public functions as well as Section 269 of the Penal Code which covers unlawfully or negligently committing an act that is likely to spread the infection of any disease dangerous to life.

They are also being investigated under Regulation 7(1) of the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases (Measures within the Infected Local Areas) Regulations 2020, which prohibits gatherings for various purposes.

Their protest was to express concerns over what they claimed to be poor treatment received by hospital cleaners from Edgenta UEMS including not being given enough essential protective equipment, denying the union their rights, and forcing workers to change working hours and shifts.

[More to follow] - Mkini