Useful Reads

Brief History Of Labour Court

1. As far as can be ascertained from reference to old legislation, the special provisions of the law giving labourers the right to go to a 'Labour Court' first appeared in Malaya in the Perak Enactment No. 24 of 1899. It is believed that there is reference to a 'Labour Court' in an older Enactment, but no copy of this can now be traced. These 'Labour Courts' in Malaya were originally created for the purpose of inquiring into complaints made by Chinese labourers, particularly those employed on tin mines. These special provisions were repeated in the F.M.S. Labour Enactments of 1904, 1910 and 1923 and continued, in a practically unchanged form, to give only Chinese labourers this special right. However, in 1925 an amendment gave non- Chinese the right to join Chinese labourers in their complaints against their employers in the 'Labour Court', provided that these non-Chinese were employed on the same place of employment on which not less than 20 Chinese labourers were employed. The position then remained unchanged until 1949 when the section was made equally applicable to labourers of all races. [more]

Constructive Dismissal

"The common law has always recognised the right of an employee to terminate his contract of service and therefore to consider himself as discharged from further obligations if the employer is guilty of such breach as effects the foundation of the contract or if the employer has evinced or shown an intention not to be bound by it any longer. It was an attempt to enlarge the right of the employee of unilateral termination of his contract beyond the perimeter of the common law by an unreasonable conduct of his employer that the expression 'constructive dismissal' was used." [more]

The Collective Bargaining Process

(a) Once a Trade Union is accorded recognition under Section 9 of I.R. Act the Union has the right to invite the employer to commence collective bargaining on behalf of all the employees (except those in the managerial, executive, confidential, personnel and security capacity). The Union has to submit its proposal for a Collective Agreement. The proposals will contain terms and conditions of employment and other benefits which the Union asks for, on behalf of the employees. [more]