Daily Express Subscriber
Sign in to your account.

Kota Kinabalu: The neutering of trade unions under the Barisan Nasional government since the leadership of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed to industrialise Malaysia without offering high wages has led to a situation today whereby only some 6 per cent of workers in Malaysia are trade union members.

The high dependency of Malaysia on cheap foreign labour for its industries, and the absence of trade unions to protect many Malaysian workers as well as foreign workers has given rise to forced labour issues, resulting in products from some Malaysian companies barred from the US market.