The Right to Collective Bargaining in Malaysia in the Context of ILO Standards

It is significant to remember that in Malaysia trade unions are fairly weak principally because of the legislative policies on their establishment, structure and membership. But even without these legal peculiarities, trade unions in developing countries are generally known to be relatively weak when compared with their counterparts in the West.3 Yet only strong and independent trade unions can be able to effectively exercise the right to bargain collectively. In fact, one of the arguments against the suitability of collective bargaining for developing countries is that trade unions are, in these countries, “too weak to bargain effectively and therefore it is socially undesirable to leave the standards of employment to be established by all-powerful, and by implication, ruthless employers.”

Reference: Rabiu Sani Shatsari & Kamal Halili Hassan. 2016. The Right to Collective Bargaining in Malaysia in the Context of ILO Standards. Asian Journal of Comparative Law, 2006, Vol. 1: 1-20.