Young Lawyers Fail To Pass Motion On Minimum Pay For Pupils

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Young lawyers seeking implementation of minimum remuneration above the Poverty Line Income for pupils have failed to pass their motion raised during the Malaysian Bar's 75th annual general meeting (AGM) held online yesterday.
This comes after only 182 out of 622 lawyers in attendance voted for the motion tabled and seconded by representatives from the Young Lawyers Movement.
The motion noted that since last year, the Bar Council has proposed several amendments to the Legal Profession Act so that the Bar can make rules to regulate salaries, allowances and working conditions of lawyers and staff.
“We note the proposed amendments have yet to be presented to the Attorney-General’s Chambers.
"We also take the position that such legislative amendment is unnecessary and would like to note that the Hong Kong Bar Association has implemented a minimum allowance rate for pupils," the motion reads.
When contacted, the motion's proposer Cassandra Chung said 385 lawyers or a majority of those in virtual attendance had voted against the motion, while 55 abstained.
She said the motion asked the Bar to enact a ruling by Dec 31 that pupils - undergoing their nine-month prerequisite chambering period in law firms - must be paid an allowance that is at least poverty line income from between RM1,900 to RM2,500 depending on the state, or the national minimum wage, whichever is higher.
"Basically, we suggest that Parliament be given until Dec 31 to pass the relevant Legal Profession Act 1976 amendments.
"If that doesn't happen, the Bar Council will file an originating summons in court to test if the ruling can stand without the LPA amendment," she said.
Rejected motion based on national survey
Chung told Malaysiakini their rejected motion was also based on findings from a national survey conducted by the National Young Lawyers and Pupils Committee last year among 2,492 respondents, including 746 pupils.
She said 95.35 percent of respondents had agreed that the Bar Council must fix a minimum remuneration for pupils, while some of the pupils said they were paid zero allowance throughout their chambering period.
"A lot of the opposition during the period where the floor was allowed to speak predominantly came from older lawyers who said minimum remuneration would be a bar for pupils obtaining pupillages.
"They also said we needed to wait for the LPA to be amended and that our suggestion was premature, they've never had pupils or young lawyers complaining to them about exploitation," Chung told Malaysiakini.
Meanwhile, lawyer Goh Cia Yee, who was one of the motion's seconders, pointed out that the government had recently increased the national minimum wage to RM1,500, but pupils are still denied minimum remunerations.
"To the 182 that voted yes, thank you. To those that voted no, I understand," Goh said on Twitter yesterday.
He told Malaysiakini that pupils are, however, not given voting rights in the Bar Council's AGM.
Other seconders for the motion were lawyers Eric Toh, Goh Cia Yee, Nathalie Kee, Tan Hei Zel, and Vince Tan.
Pupils seeking admission to the Bar are not classified as employees under the Employment Act, which means the minimum wage is not applicable to them. - Mkini

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