INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS

ADS465
TRADE UNIONS: PART 2

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 IndustrialRelations
Industrial Relations

Theperspective
The perspective
industrial
industrial Participants
Participants
relations
relations

Tradeunions
Trade unionsand
and Government
Approaches management
Government
Approaches management

Context
Context Laws: :
Laws
Industrial
Industrial
Concept
Concept Process
Process RelationsAct
Relations Act
TradeUnion
Trade UnionAct
Act
TheEmployment
The Employment
Employee involvement
Employee involvement Collective Industrial action
Industrial action Act
Act
and participation
Collective conciliation/arbitration
and participation bargaining
bargaining conciliation/arbitration

ArbitrationMechanism
Arbitration Mechanism

LaborCourt
Labor Court&&
IndustrialCourt
Industrial Court
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TRADE UNIONS

Learning outcomes
Student should be able to:
• Identify the composition of trade unions
• Explain formation, registration and deregistration
of trade union
• Discuss immunity, liability and rights of trade
union

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COMPOSITION OF TRADE UNIONS
• Workers in Malaysia have the right to form and join trade
unions. (Sec 5 of IRA)
• Who can join a union?
– Any worker over 16 years of age. However, union
members under 18 years of age are restricted in their
union activities. And union under age of 21 years are
not eligible to be elected as officers of the union
– Students cannot join union unless they are bona fide
workers and over the age of 18
COMPOSITION OF TRADE UNIONS
• Rules of membership of TU in the public sectors:
– Staff in civil service can only join union which
represent workers in the same occupation,
department or ministry
– Police, prison service and the Armed Forces and
those in the confidential and security work- are not
allowed to join union
– Employees in the professional and managerial group
also cannot join union unless they are exempted by
the Chief Secretary to the Government
FORMATION AND REGISTRATION OF
TRADE UNION

• Conditions to be fulfilled [TUA 10(1)(2)]

1. Applications made to the DGTU in prescribed
form and prescribed fees.
2. It must be signed by at least seven members.
3. The application must be accompanied with a
printed copy of the rules or constitution of
union
continue...

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4. Application must include :
i. - name of the union and its address;
ii. - name, address and occupations of members
making the application
iii. - titles, names, ages, addresses and occupation of
union's officer and any other information regarding
the officers DGTU may require
 REGISTRATION & MANAGEMENT OF TRADE UNION

TUA 12(1)(2)
• DG can register or refuse to register a TU.

TUA 13
DG shall issue a certificate of registration.

TUA 14
• DG can call for further particulars

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 WHY DGTU REFUSE TO REGISTER TRADE
UNION?
TUA 12 (2) &(3)

1. Duplication - Trade union covering a particular group of

workers are in existence
2. Other reasons – opinion of DG
a. Trade union is likely to be used for unlawful
purposes – inconsistent with objects and rules
b. Objects of the trade unions is unlawful
c. DG is not satisfied that trade union has complied
with the Act and regulation
WHY DGTU REFUSE TO REGISTER TRADE UNION?

d. ANY objectives, rules and constitution of the trade

union conflict with any of the provision of the Act or
of any regulations
e. Name of trade union to be registered:

1) Identical to an existing trade union or nearly

resembles the name – likely to deceive public or
members of either trade union
2) Undesirable – need to change to one acceptable
to the DG

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WHAT MADE DGTU CANCEL / WITHDRAW THE
CERTIFICATE OF REGISTRATION?
• TUA – Section 15
a) Union cease to exist
b) If DG is satisfied:
i. Registration was obtained by fraud or issued by
mistake
ii. Any of the objectives or rules of the union is unlawful
iii. The constitution of the union executive is unlawful
iv. The union has been or is being or is likely to be used
for any unlawful purposes contrary to its objects or
rules
v. The union has contravened any provision of the Acts
or its regulations
WHAT MADE DGTU CANCEL / WITHDRAW THE
CERTIFICATE OF REGISTRATION?

vi. A union has contravened any of its rules

vii. Allowed any rule contravening any provisions of the
act to continue
viii. where there two unions in the same establishment,
trade, occupation or industry, to cancel the
registration of the union with a smaller number of
members and also remove the names of its
members from its register

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 RESPONSIBILITIES OF TRADE UNION
• To comply with all laws, particularly the provision
of Trade Union Act
• To deter any of its members from carrying out
any illegal acts, e.g. strikes, go-slow, boycotting
of overtime
• To administer the funds of the union in proper
manner as in union rules
• Not to commence, promote or organize any strike
or any other forms of industrial actions without
first obtaining the consent by secret ballot of at
least two thirds of its members who are entitle to
vote

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 IMMUNITY, RIGHT AND LIABILITIES
OF TRADE UNIONS (PART IV S20
-25A)
• TU shall not enjoyed any rights, immunities or privileges
of registered trade union if it is not registered. (Sec 20
TUA)
 IMMUNITY OF TRADE UNION
(PART IV, TUA – S21)

1) IMMUNITY IN CIVIL SUIT IN CERTAIN CASES

• According to Trade Unions Act, 1959 section 21- No
suit or other legal proceeding shall be maintainable in
any civil court against any registered trade union or
any officer or member thereof in respect of any act
done in contemplation or in furtherance of a trade
dispute – unless such act:
• induces some other person to break a contract of
employment, or
• that it is an interference with the trade, business or
employment of some other person or
• with the right of some other person to dispose of his
capital or of his labour as he wills.
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2) IMMUNITY FROM LIABILITY
(PART IV, TUA – S22)
• A) Liability in tort
– Suit against trade union and its members against
tortious act shall not be entertained by any court.

• A tort is the basic common law cause of action where

one individual has unlawfully harmed another.
• Sec 22 (2) – A union, its trustees and officials is not liable
for torts done involving specific property or rights of a
trade union or its usage; if it is in the contemplation or
furtherance of trade dispute.

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• The TU Act 1959 gave protection to trade unions against
any suit filed in court, even if, the union representative
had defamed the other party (the employer).

• Example:
– Maybank filed the suit on April 22, 2011, claiming that Solomon,
acting on his own behalf and Nube, had in February or March
this year published articles containing defamatory statements of
the company on the Nube website. The court was satisfied that
there was in fact a “trade dispute” between Maybank and NUBE
in reference to the insufficient bonuses provided for the lower
level of staff of the bank. Under Trade Union Act of 1959 Section
21 and 22 (1) it was clear that such actions against a trade union
in relation to a trade dispute “is not maintainable in any civil court
or be entertained by any court”.(Borneo Post, Nov 25, 2011)
LIABILITY OF TRADE UNION (PART IV, TUA –
S23)

B) Liability in contract
• Sec 23 of TU Act 1959 -Trade union shall be liable
on any contract it entered and not liable on
contract which is void or unforceable at law
 STATUTORY RIGHTS OF A REGISTERED
TRADE UNION
1) Right to take legal action
• Section 25 (1) of TUA, a union may sue and be sued
under its registered names
• Section 25 (2) of the same Act specified that an
unregistered union can be charged under the name it
used or the name it is referred to.

2) Right to execute the money in civil proceedings

• Section 25 (4) of TUA, the execution for any money
recovered from a trade union in civil proceedings may
issue against any property belonging to or held in trust
for the trade union other than the benevolent fund of a
registered trade union.
STATUTORY RIGHTS OF TRADE UNION

3) Right to impose the fine

• Section 25(5) of the Trade Unions Act provides that any
fines imposed and be born by the union, can be derived
from the sales of its movable properties or any monetary
held under its trust fund in accordance with the related
criminal procedure.  

4) Right to be represented in court proceeding

• Section 25(6) of the Trade Unions Act, clarifies a trade
union must appear in any civil or criminal proceeding
which to be represented by its executive, solicitor or
advocate.
STATUTORY RIGHTS OF TRADE UNION

5) Right to perform industrial actions

• As stipulated in the Trade Unions Act, 1959 (Section

25A), both trade union of employee and employer alike
can take actions to stop a trade by launching legal strike
and lock out.
THANK YOU