Finally, the workers of RENESAS
Semiconductor KL Sdn Bhd (formerly known as NEC Semiconductors (Malaysia) Sdn
Bhd] have got their 'secret ballot' which will Electronic Industry Employees Union Western
Region, Peninsular Malaysia (EIEUWR)/ Kesatuan Sekerja Industri Elektronik
Wilayah Barat Semenjung Malaysia(KSIEWBSM) determine
whether their Union will be accorded recognition - something that is
needed before the Union can enter into negotiations and sign a
Collective Bargaining Agreement with their employer, RENESAS.
If
there are 100 qualified workers, then 51 or more workers must come out
and vote in favour of the Union. Workers who cannot make it to cast
their ballot will be deemed to be not in favour of the Union. Employers have been known to use many kinds of strategies that prevents workers having the time to come out and vote.
There
would have been no need for a 'secret ballot' if only RENESAS had
recognized the Union, whose membership was 70% of those then qualified
to vote. But RENESAS delayed recognition of the UNION using
technicalities and legal challenges, that went all the way to the
Federal Court. The Union President, a worker at RENESAS, was also
wrongfully terminated 26/8/2011 (his case in now pending at the
Industrial Court).
In RENESAS, the secret ballot is said to be happening today, and will continue for the next 2 days
Joint Statement- 4/4/2013
RENESAS MUST IMMEDIATELY ACCORD RECOGNITION TO THE
UNION
AND REINSTATE WAN NOORULAZHAR
We, the 87 undersigned
civil society organisations, trade unions and groups call on RENESAS
Semiconductor KL Sdn Bhd (formerly known as NEC Semiconductors (Malaysia) Sdn
Bhd] to respect the freedom of association and the right to effective
recognition of the right to collective bargaining, being one of the basic rights of workers and
one also one of the core values of International Labour Organisation (ILO)'s. RENESAS must stop obstructing or delaying, and
immediately accord recognition to Electronic Industry Employees Union Western
Region, Peninsular Malaysia (EIEUWR)/ Kesatuan Sekerja Industri Elektronik
Wilayah Barat Semenjung Malaysia(KSIEWBSM)[UNION]
so that workers at RENESAS can at last begin to enjoy the benefits of
collective bargaining agreement. It has
been more than 3 years since the UNION first applied in January 2010 for
recognition by RENESAS.
In Malaysia, after being registered, recognition by
the employer is needed before the UNION can start negotiating and enter into
any Collective Bargaining Agreement with the employer company. The UNION has to
submit a claim for recognition, and within 21 days, the company can accord
recognition or not. If not, then the Director General of Industrial Relations
(DGIR) steps in and start the process of conducting a secret ballot to ensure that more than 5o% plus one of the qualified workers is for the
union – then the union is accorded recognition, and thereafter can effectively
represent the workers.
Even though about
70% (1,300) of RENESAS’s workers eligible to be members of the union were already members of EIEUWR when the first
application was made by the UNION to the company for recognition, RENESAS did
not accord recognition and after more than 3 years and RENESAS still refuses to
recognize the UNION.
On 18/1/2010, EIEUWR submitted the 1st
application for recognition to RENESAS. The company responded that there was a
pro-tem in-house union, which was unregistered, also seeking recognition. The
Director General of Industrial Relations (DGIR) rejected this reason. Then, RENESAS
claimed that they did not receive the
claim for recognition, when the application had been hand delivered personally by
Wan Noorulazhar, the Union President, and RENESAS acknowledged receipt. The
DGIR later asked the Union to send again their claim for recognition.
The 2nd claim for recognition was
submitted on 17/8/2010, this time by acknowledged receipt registered post, and
again RENESAS claimed they did not receive it, and the UNION also did not
receive back the duly signed acknowledged receipt card from the postal services.
The 3rd claim for recognition was
submitted to RENESAS on 8/10/2010, and this time using the National Courier
Poslaju. After receipt of the UNION’s letter, RENESAS send it back to Poslaju asking that the
letter be returned to the UNION. Poslaju
provided a letter confirming this. RENESAS could not deny receipt this time,
and rightfully the DGIR should have done the needful which was to the conduct
of a ‘secret ballot’. But, there was inaction on the part of the DGIR for many
months despite repeated demands by the UNION, and finally on 12/8/2011, the UNION
had a picket in front of the Ministry of Human Resources. The DGIR then
informed the UNION that the said relevant documents had been misplaced, and the
blame was put on the Deputy DGIR responsible, who allegedly has since then been
removed from that position. The DGIR
then asked the Union to submit yet
another claim for recognition.
The 4th claim for recognition was made
on 8/9/2011. RENESAS’s now challenged the validity of
the registration of EIEUWR(the UNION) itself,
and the qualification of the UNION’s General Secretary, one Bruno Gentil
Pereira. When the Minister rejected this objection on 9/4/2012, RENESAS
proceeded to filed a High Court case to challenge the Minister’s decision on
8/5/2012, whereby on 28/6/2012, the High Court dismissed the RENESAS’s application. RENESAS then appealed to the
Court of Appeal who also unanimously dismissed the case on 5/12/2012.
After the High Court dismissed RENESAS application
on 28/6/2012, there was no court order stopping the DGIR from proceeding with
the secret ballot but the DGIR did not do anything.
After much protestation by the Union, the DGIR
finally started the process by writing to RENESAS to submit Form B, as required
by law, on about 14/12/2012. RENESAS did not comply and a second letter was sent by the DGIR on 14/1/2013. RENESAS again did not comply,
and now it is believed that a third
letter has been sent by the DGIR.
When, and if the day finally comes for the ‘secret
ballot’, the workers entitled to vote would be the workers as of the date the
claim was submitted, being 8/9/2011 but with the existence of short-term
contracts, many of the pro-union workers may
no more be employees of RENESAS, and this will prejudice the UNION, who
still will have to show that it has the support of at least 50% plus one of the number of qualified employees
as per the list of qualified employees on 8/9/2011. The tactic of delaying the
secret ballot works in favour of the employer, and prejudices the UNION.
 |
| Wan Noorulazhar |
Wan Noorulazhar bin Mohd Hanafiah, an employee of RENESAS
who is the President of the UNION was dismissed on 26/8/2011 by RENESAS whereby
the alleged misconduct, was that his actions were ‘contrary to explicit company
policies’. He allegedly made statements about treatment of workers in a closed
Facebook Group, whose members were fellow workers. The alleged misconduct It
had nothing to do with his work performance. The wrongful dismissal case is now
before the Industrial court.
The current trend at the Industrial Courts when it
makes a finding the worker has been wrongfully dismissed by the employer is not
to order reinstatement, but to rather order compensation. If not reinstated, workers of RENESAS would be
deprived of a leader. RENESAS can at any time reinstate Wan Noorulazhar bin Mohd Hanafiah without
loss of benefits.
On 14/3/2013, EIUWR and the workers of RENESAS
again had a protest picket at Putrajaya.
We call on RENESAS Semiconductor KL Sdn
Bhd to immediately accord recognition to Electronic Industry Employees
Union Western Region (EIEUWR), and immediately reinstate Wan Noorulazhar bin Mohd
Hanafiah and all other worker leaders terminated.
Senator
Syed Shahir bin Syed Mohamud
Charles
Hector
Mohd
Roszeli bin Majid
Pranom
Somwong
Badrulzaman
bin Mohd Ghazali
For and on behalf the 87
organisations listed below
ALIRAN
Andhra Pradesh State
Domestic Workers' Union, India
Asia Monitor Resource
Centre(AMRC)
Asia Pacific
Forum on Women , Law and Development ( APWLD)
Asia Floor Wage Alliance-
SEA Office
Building and Wood Workers
International Asia Pacific Regional Office (BWI APRO)
Center for Migrant
Advocacy ,Philippines
Centre for Human Rights
and Development (CHRD) Sri Lanka
Center for Orang Asli Concerns (COAC)
CIMS- Centre for Indian
Migrant Studies
Clean Clothes Campaign
Committee for Asian Women,
Bangkok
Community Action Network
(CAN), Malaysia
Confederation of Free
Trade Unions of India
Dignity International
GoodElectronics
GoodElectronics Thailand
(GET)
Hope Workers' Center,
Taiwan
Hsinchu Catholic Diocese
Migrants and Immigrants Service Center (HMISC), Taiwan
Human Rights Ambassador
for Salem-News.com
IDWN( International Domestic Workers’ Network)
IMA Research Foundation,
Bangladesh
International Campaign for
Responsible Technology, US
International League of
Peoples' Struggle – Canada
Legal Support for Children
and Women (LSCW), Cambodia
LIPS (Lembaga Informasi
Perburuhan Sedane/Sedane Labour Resource Centre) Indonesia
MADPET (Malaysians Against
Death Penalty and Torture)
Malaysian Physicians for
Social Responsibility
MAP Foundation, Thailand
Maquiladora Health &
Safety Support Network, Berkeley, CA USA
Migrant Care
Migrant Forum in Asia
(MFA)
Migrant Forum India (MF
India)
Migrant Forum Lanka (MFL)
Migrants Rights Council
India
Myanmar Ethnic Rohingya
Human Rights Organization Malaysia (MERHROM)
NAMM (Network of Action
for Migrants in Malaysia)
NDWM - National Domestic Workers' Movement, India
NLD-LA (National League
for Democracy-Liberated Areas), Malaysia
Pakistan Rural Workers
Social Welfare Organization (PRWSWO)
Parti Rakyat Malaysia(PRM)
People & Planet, UK
Persatuan Masyarakat
Selangor & Wilayah Persekutuan (PERMAS)
PINAY Quebec
Progressive Labor Union of
Domestic Workers- Hong Kong
PSWS (Persatuan Sahabat
Wanita Selangor)
Pusat KOMAS (KOMAS)
Refugee and Migratory
Movements Research Unit (RMMRU), Bangladesh
SALT (School of Acting
Justly Loving Tenderly and Walking Humbly)
SBMI (Serikat Buruh Migran
Indonesia)
Solidarity of Cavite
Workers (SCW), Philippines
State Enterprises Workers'
Relations Confederation (SERC), Thailand
State Railway Workers'
Union of Thailand (SRU), Thailand
SUARAM (Suara Rakyat
Malaysia)
Tenaganita, Malaysia
The Alliance of
Progressive Labor - Hong Kong
Tourism Employees
Association of Maldives
Women's Rehabilitation
Center (WOREC) Nepal
Workers Assistance Center,
Inc, Philippines
Workers Hub For Change
(WH4C)
Women Workers Lead
Writer Alliance for Media
Independence (WAMI)
Youth For Peace/Peace
Institute of Cambodia (YFP/PIC)
Malaysian
Unions
Kesatuan Sekerja Industri
Elektronik Wilayah Timur Semenanjung Malaysia (KSIEWTSM)
Kesatuan Sekerja Industri
Elektronik Wilayah Selatan Semenanjung Malaysia
Kesatuan Sekerja Pekerja
Industri Elektronik Wilayah Utara
Kesatuan Pekerja-Pekerja
MHS Aviation Berhad
Kesatuan Pekerja-Pekerja
Polyplastics Asia Pacific
Paper & Paper Products
Manufacturing Employees' Union Of Malaysia (PPPMEU)
TNBJOU (TNB Junior
Officers Union), Malaysia
Malayan Technical Services
Union (MTSU)
NUBE (National Union of
Banking Employees), Malaysia
Association of Maybank
Executive
Kesatuan Kebangsaan
Pekerja Pekerja Perusahaan Alat Alat Pengangkutan Dan Sekutu(NUTEAIW)
Kesatuan Pekerja-Pekerja
Dalam Perkhidmatan Perubatan Dan Kesihatan Swasta-[Union Of Employees In
Private Medical And Health Services]
Kesatuan Eksekutif Canon
Opto (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd
Kesatuan Pekerja-Pekerja
Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional Sdn.Bhd.
Electrical Industry
Workers' Union (EIWU)
Kesatuan Pekerja Pekerja
Fujikura Federal Cables Sdn Bhd
Kesatuan Pekerja Pekerja
Kelab Semenanjung Malaysia
Kesatuan Eksekutif Airod
(KEA)
UNI Global Union-Malaysia
MTUC Pahang
MTUC Penang Division
MTUC Bahagian Melaka
Kongres Kesatuan Sekerja
Cawangan Pulau Pinang
MTUC Selangor &
Wilayah Persekutuan
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