Electronics Union Objects To Members Being Interviewed At Molex

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The Electronics Industry Employees’ Union, Northern Region (EIEUNR) has objected to the Industrial Relations Department (IRD) carrying out interviews of its members at Molex (M) Sdn Bhd, for fear of undue stress stemming from backlash from the employer.
EIEUNR general secretary David Arulappen said the union received an email from IRD Penang informing him that the department intended to carry out interviews with workers in the plant that is based in the Perai Industrial Area, as part of their investigation into the union’s complaint.
In late February this year, the union filed a complaint to the IRD against the global electronic components manufacturer, under Section 8(1) of the Industrial Relations Act (IRA) 1967 citing the company’s union-busting campaign and workers' trade union rights violations.
As a result, the complaint had negated the terms in the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the trade union and the employer to hold a secret ballot on Feb 22, the results to which would have been used to serve a claim for the recognition of EIEUNR by the company.
To protect its members from undue stress, EIEUNR, in an email response, urged the IRD to refer their complaint with the existing audio evidence directly to their director general (DG) for further action.
Interviews can cause undue stress
Arulappen said the union had provided very strong audio evidence of the human resources (HR) director speaking down to workers, making threats of cuts to benefits in a very intimidating tone and language.
“The union had also received a second recording of similar threats, by post. This time it was a recording of a meeting held for managerial and supervisory staff where the HR director had urged them to convince the operators not to vote for the union.
“This means even the supervisors or managers support the union and what it could do to help the operators and lowest ranking workers in this plant,” he explained.
Arulappen explained that the audio recording that was posted to the union office along with the accompanying typed note that read “plant manager KL Lai dengan HR director Mohd Faisal February 10” was photographed as proof of receipt and sent to the IRD officer.
He said the second audio recording too had been submitted to the IRD.
Describing the speech by the HR director in the second audio recording, Arulappen said the same threats of benefit cuts were made and that business would drop if the company had to recognise the union through the secret ballot process.
Arulappen explained that in an environment where the company was openly campaigning against the union and has refused automatic recognition of the union, interviewing union members would cause undue stress.
“This was unfair on union members and the union.
“Their membership with the trade union was a private matter and questioning them could lead to the backlash from supervisors.
“I am not sure why the IRD wants to carry out interviews when they have audio evidence of the brazen harassment of workers by the HR director,” he reasoned.
Coercion on workers
Sec 8 (1) of the IRA empowers the trade union to raise any of the violations set out in Sections four, five and seven of the Act with the DG of the IRD.
According to Section 4 of the Act, these would include such violations as interference, placing restrain on or even coercing workers from exercising their rights to form, assist in forming, or joining a trade union.
Similar restrain on workers from participating in lawful trade union activities are also deemed unlawful by law. - Mkini

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