Malaysia: Women, labour activism and unions

Abstract

Women’s union activism in Malaysia has received very little attention. Women have engaged in strikes and other organized forms of labour protest, reported workplace injustices and participated in a variety of labour movement activities such as Labour Day celebrations and public meetings on labour policy. However, these protests and events are rarely reported. Despite their record of public action, women’s activism has been overshadowed by the focus on male workers issues and by the paucity of women in leadership roles. This chapter examines the role of women in Malaysian unions since the 1970s. It concentrates on the Malaysian Trade Union Congress (MTUC) and its private sector union affiliates and on non-government organizations (NGOs) that have played an active part in organizing women workers. It is based on data collected in interviews with leaders of the MTUC and the MTUC Women’s Committee and with union leaders of the National Union of Plantation Workers, the Nurses Union and the Textile and Garment Workers Union in Johor, Penang and Selangor. The interviews, conducted in 2005 and 2006, build on earlier interviews with the same or former leaders of these unions and Persatuan Sahabat Wanita Selangor (Friends of Women Selangor), a women’s NGO, working in several industrial zones on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur.

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