By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, June 4: Sarawak Bank Employees’ Union (SBEU) chief executive officer and Labour Law Reform Coalition (LLRC) deputy president Andrew Lo has stressed that the Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) must first resolve its internal leadership crisis before concerning itself with attending overseas conferences.
“It is imperative that MTUC get its own internal issues in order so that we can play our proper role to represent the interest of workers in Malaysia.
“These should be the priority instead of harping about attending a foreign conference,” Lo said in a statement on Tuesday (June 3), in response to recent developments regarding MTUC’s participation in the International Labour Conference (ILC) 2025 in Geneva, Switzerland.
Lo pointed out that on Feb 21 this year, a High Court order—issued with the consent of all disputing parties—mandated the formation of a Joint Special Committee for MTUC.
The committee was given a clear and limited role: to conduct a Special Delegate Conference to elect new office bearers within 90 days, by May 22, 2025.
“Unfortunately, the Joint Special Committee failed to organise the conference within the stipulated time. As a result, MTUC remains without duly elected office bearers capable of executing its official functions,” he explained.
Lo further criticised the Joint Special Committee for allegedly misusing its platform by issuing a protest statement claiming the government refused to grant credentials to an MTUC delegate to attend the ILC.
“We are very concerned about such a statement because it is not within the committee’s mandate to nominate any individual as an official delegate,” he stressed.
According to Lo, without proper nomination by a legitimate MTUC leadership, the government is legally unable to issue credentials on behalf of the union for international representation.
“The consent order clearly limits the Joint Special Committee’s role to administrative tasks and organising the Special Delegate Conference. It does not empower them to act as representatives or to nominate anyone on behalf of MTUC,” he said.
Lo warned that any action beyond this scope could be viewed as contempt of court, potentially exposing MTUC to legal sanctions.
He urged all parties involved to focus on restoring democratic leadership within MTUC to allow the union to fulfil its core mission—defending and advancing workers’ rights in Malaysia.
Yesterday, MTUC Joint Special Committee chairman J Solomon criticised the Human Resources Minister Steven Sim Chee Keong’s decision to exclude MTUC from Malaysia’s official ILC delegation.
“This is an extreme embarrassment to Malaysia and the Ministry officials, especially when the country currently chairs Asean. It is an action that equates to backward countries like Myanmar,” he said in a statement.
Solomon revealed that while the Ministry registered 40 government officials and eight employer representatives for the ILC, not a single representative from MTUC was included.
He argued that this violated the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Constitution, which requires full tripartite representation from governments, employers, and workers.
“Malaysia has been a member of the ILO since 1957, and this is the first time MTUC has been excluded from the official delegation. Malaysia, as a middle-income country, now stands out negatively among Asean countries that have failed to follow the ILO Constitution,” Solomon said, adding that MTUC has filed a formal complaint with the ILO Credentials Committee over what it sees as a serious breach. — DayakDaily
