PSM deputy chairperson S Arutchelvan has taken issue with Human Resources Minister V Sivakumar for expressing pride that more than a million trade union membership has been recorded as of Oct 30, well ahead of the original target of 2025.
"This is pathetic and completely nothing to be proud of. One million workers out of a 16 million workforce make the percentage of unionised workers at only around 6.25 percent.
"And most of these unionised workers are from the public sector unlike most other countries," said Arutchelvan.
He cited sobering data from the Department of Trade Union Affairs which reported that there were 767 trade unions in 2022, representing only 5.8 percent of the Malaysian workforce, with a paltry number of less than two percent of all workers covered by collective agreements.
He added that one of Sivakumar's predecessors, M Kulasegaran, had said that his target was to increase trade union membership to 30 percent, which would amount to about five million union members.
"Therefore, how can the current minister be proud of his one million union membership and say that they have achieved their 2025 target unless the 2025 target is extremely low?" asked the PSM man.
Yesterday, Sivakumar (above, left) told a a press conference after attending the 2023 National Trade Union assembly the achievement is something to be proud of, especially for the ministry which expects more workers to join trade unions.
An encouraging ratio
He added that the number needs to be increased to ensure that the union membership ratio is half of the total number of workers in the country.
“We have 16 million workers. If it reaches a ratio of half of the total (workers), it will be quite an encouraging ratio,” he said.
Arutchelvan (above) was not swayed by Sivakumar's optimism, saying it was time the latter got his facts right.
"The minister should give more details on how he plans to achieve his 50 percent target which is unachievable in most parts of the world. In 2019, only five nations had membership beyond 50 percent.
"He should also give statistics and reasons why less than two percent of workers are covered by collective agreements," said Arutchelvan.
He blamed the poor worker representation on the policies of former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
"Malaysia’s highest union membership was in 1947 (pre-independence) when 67 percent of workers were unionised under the General Labour Union-Pan Malayan Federation of Trade Unions.
"But the Mahathir-era in the 1980s and 1990s saw systematic laws to discourage union membership while union busting was rampant," he claimed.
He lamented the state of the Malaysian workforce, saying that laws do not protect workers' unions.
"Unions are also reluctant to increase their membership among migrant workers, making union and workers' demands weak in our country," said Arutchelvan. - Mkini
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