KUCHING: The Trade Union (Amendment) Bill 2022 which will be tabled in the Senate (Dewan Negara) next November is expected to be passed by two-thirds of the Senators.
Director general of the Department of Trade Union Affairs Kamal Pardi said that the bill should have been tabled last year, but was not presented due to the dissolution of parliament.
With the bill passed this week, he said, it would make it easier for workers to join unions as they wish.
“This trade union bill will raise the level of trade unions in the country on par with the international level and comply with the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
“We expect more people to become trade union members in the future and expect this bill to be passed in the Senate this November,” he said when speaking at the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme at Rumah Seri Kenangan Kuching, Mile 12, Jalan Kuching-Serian, here today.
The Trade Union (Amendment) Bill 2022 was approved by the House of Representatives (Dewan Rakyat) through a voice vote on October 10, 2022.
The amendment to this bill will encourage the establishment and membership of trade unions and is expected to increase the coverage of collective agreements among private sector workers in Malaysia.
Commenting on the CSR programme, Kamal said that it is being implemented in all states in Malaysia to show that trade unions in the country are active.
He said that the trade unions in the country currently have 765 unions with only 960,000 workers and that number is small compared to the 10 million workers who are eligible to join trade unions.
Therefore, he said, organised CSR programmes could attract workers to join trade unions.
Also present were deputy secretary-general II Reostam Dahar and director of Rumah Seri Kenangan Kuching Sharifah Ranimah Wan Hashmi.
