The state of industrial relations

The NST reported recently the following breakdown on the state of the Industrial Courts in Malaysia:

• An employee who has been unjustly dismissed has to make representation at the Industrial Relations Department (IRD) within 60 days in order to be reinstated
• After the representation, an industrial relations officer would try to reconcile the dispute
• If this fails, the minister needs to refer the case to the Industrial Court
• The minister’s referral could take up to two years, and another two years for the matter to be settled
• It could take even longer if the minister refused to send the matter to the Industrial Court
• If the minister does refuse, the employee must seek judicial review with the High Court
• A protracted court battle between employer and employee could take up to 10 years
• Industrial relations lawyers prefer to file their claims directly with the Industrial Court
• Those unhappy with the Industrial Court award can appeal to the Employment Appeals tribunal, with final redress at the Court of Appeal.

According to the NST report, lawyer S. Muhendran said the procedure of dealing with the IRD first, and giving the minister the power to refer the matter to the Industrial Court, should be abolished. He added he had filed a matter at the IRD in 2004 and the minister refused to refer it to the Industrial Court. The judicial review application is fixed for 2013.

As is the case with any legal matter, Muhendran was reported to have said that employees are disadvantaged by long delays if the employer company is wound up or witnesses cannot not be located.

In addition, Malaysian Employers Federation secretary and lawyer, T. Thavalingam, said,  ”Judicial review applications involving industrial dispute matters alone make about 20% of cases registered in the three courts.”