TRADE UNION AND COLLECTIVE ACTION IN MALAYSIA: CASE STUDY OF RUM1 Mahadirin Hj. Ahmad Industrial Relations Programme Faculty of Humanities, Art and Heritage Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS)
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ABSTRACT Trade union play a crucial role in term of protecting and enhancing the working conditions and the quality of life for they members. This is true since the beginning of industrial revolution which create a new working system and new society. Since that, workers continuously practice the ‘collective action’ to grant a significant change of terms and working conditions in the work place. This included the decision to conduct a strike which become a mechanism for trade union to confront they employer and the state. Research about strike confirm that hypothesis but differently happened in current practices in Malaysia. This are due to political economic and social factor embedded from colonial British in Malaya until the present day. Based on that premises, the objective of this paper is to construct an explanation about collective action and its relationship with trade union movement in Malaysian economic development. This research based on qualitative approach with focusing on single case studies which focusing on Railwaymen Union of Malaya (RUM), first union had been register in Malaya in 1940. Based on the data from interview, the major finding was an important of collective action for trade union survival in term of ‘workers weapon’ and ‘solidarity’. After analyzing the interview transcript, the finding of this research are similar and confirm the important of strike as a collective action for trade union in two aspect; strike as a weapon and second; strike as element for trade union solidarity. That finding based on the description on two major event (phenomenon); RUM strike on 1962 until 1963, and RUM picketing on May 2014. KEYWORDS: Collective Action, Strike, Trade Union, Malaysian Industrial Relations.
Introduction The development of Malaysian economic are important aspect to many studies including industrial and employment relations research. This include the core aspect such as trade union and institutional process of industrial conflict. Based on that, these paper are concern about some historical background of trade union in Malaya and later Malaysian related to how collective action based on ‘strike’ as main phenomena impact the development of trade union in Malaysia. 1
Paper presented on ILERA World Congress 2018, July 23th-27th , COEX South Korea.
Conclusion The importance of strike for trade union survival as discuss here confirm the thesis of Karl Marx regarding the ‘class struggle’. The development of Malaysian economic based on compulsory arbitration have a good impact to secure the industrial harmony on the workplace and granted a good conditions for investment. However, that’s create an reverse implication for trade union when the union are prevent to take industrial action especially strike. These finally contribute to the phenomena of labour quiescence which prevent the trade unions to learn about spirit of the strike as a weapon and solidarity.
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