Posted in Labour on Dec 19th, 2007 2 Comments »
My congratulations to Syed Shahir and Rajasekaran who were elected in last Tuesday’s MTUC election.
Both leaders were elected with narrow margins. While this may be seen as a sign of division within the labour movement, for me it means the rank-and-file value the contributions of both individuals and want the two to stay in the […]
Posted in Friends & Family, Labour on Nov 5th, 2007 1 Comment »
“AJ Patrick passed away this morning”, I could not believe my hear the first time I heard it.
John Angules broke the news to me at the NUBE picket last Saturday (3 Nov).
Anthony Joseph Patrick was a veteran unionist. I first knew him from 1997 when he represented the MTUC in the steering committee of Asia […]
Posted in Activities, Labour on Nov 4th, 2007 2 Comments »
NUBE Picket
NUBE staged a mass mobilization in Kuala Lumpur today.
This afternoon picket started at 11:00hr and was attended by at least 5 thousands bank workers.
NUBE is one of best organized unions in the country. It has a strong and determined leadership that is not bribable. The secretary general Soloman had been under tremendous challenge prior […]
Posted in Friends & Family, Labour on Oct 12th, 2007 No Comments »
Dr Wan Azizah and Syed Shahir’s daughter
Syed Shahir and Dr Azizah
Anwar and Syed Shahir
Syed Hamid riciting prayer for Salbiah
Accompanied President Dr Wan Azizah to visit Syed Shahir this morning (Oct 12). When we arrived at about 11:20hr, Salbiah’s body was being transported to Al Hidayat Mosque in Section 18 Shah Alam.
Most of the guests had […]
Posted in Friends & Family, Labour on Oct 12th, 2007 3 Comments »
Syed Shahir called at about 23.30hr tonight (Oct 11). He told me that Salbiah, his wife just passed away about an hour ago. He was still in University Hospital.
It was a sad news, and came as a short. Life can end so suddenly.
Salbiah was a warm, kind and also very creative woman. I remember she […]
Posted in Activities, Labour on Oct 10th, 2007 3 Comments »
National Union of Bank Employees (NUBE) started a series of pickets about two weeks ago.
Today 9 Oct picket at Maybank Pudu Raya was the biggest so far. Earlier picket had been held in Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Ipoh, and other location.
The cause of the picket was the breaking down of negotiations between the union and the […]
Posted in Human Rights, Labour, Migrant workers on Sep 12th, 2007 2 Comments »
I bumped into a few taxi company staff who recognized me when I was hanging around KLIA before boarding to Langkawi (11 Sept). As usual, they complained about the sluggishness of the economy. As persons involved in tourism industry, they spoke from direct experience that Visit Malaysia Year has been a total washout.
Todate, tourist volume […]
Posted in Activities, Labour on Sep 11th, 2007 1 Comment »
MTUC is fighting a new battle against the assault on their rights and livelihood.
In the last three years, workers have been under heavy inflationary pressure. MTUC was part of the coalition against petrol hike and toll hike.
In June, MTUC launched its campaign for the implementation of RM900 monthly minimum wage and RM300 cost of living […]
Posted in Labour, Announcement on Sep 7th, 2007 No Comments »
MTUC will hold a public gathering on Saturday 8 September afternoon 14:30hr.
The gathering is to protest the amendments to Industrial Relations Act in the Parliament. The amendment was done in a rush and without consultation with the MTUC as well as the employers associations.
Among other things, the amendment limits the award given to workers who […]
Posted in Labour on Jul 1st, 2007 3 Comments »
I was invited to the launch of the National Bank Employees Union (NUBE) new office on Saturday 30 June. NUBE’s new building is located at no.12, Jalan Tun Sambathan 3, Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur.
It is just down the road from our new Labour Resource Center office. In fact LRC moved to the new office 2 months […]