Activists charged for peaceful picket

Cleaners in Malaysian government hospitals are contract workers, hired by private companies who have been sub-contracted by concessionaires that were awarded government contracts for hospital support services. As contract workers, cleaners are often paid only the minimum monthly wage of RM1,200 (USD 280), and are not entitled to receive benefits such as annual pay rises, more than 11 days of paid public holidays, bonuses, and compensation in the event of retrenchment. Furthermore, the constant change of contracts often leaves cleaners in a position of instability, as new contractors can revise and reduce benefits, and working seniority may not be recognised. 

In 2016, the National Union of Workers in Hospital Support and Allied Services (NUWHSAS) was revived by a group of hospital cleaners in the northern region to negotiate a collective agreement of 43 demands including increased starting wages and a yearly increment. NUWHSAS report that they negotiated a new collective agreement of 38 demands in October 2019 setting out the terms and conditions of the contract cleaners’ employment. Before the agreement was supposed to take effect in January 2020, however, the sub-contract was sold off to a different company – a subsidiary of a public listed and government-linked company owned by the Malaysian government’s sovereign wealth fund. According to media reports, the company now refuses to recognise the union, and the collective agreement was consequently considered null and void. The company has neither confirmed nor denied that it refuses to recognise the union but said the claim of union busting is the subject of a pending trade dispute case under the Industrial Relations Act Section 18. Court proceedings have been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

According to NUWHSAS, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, cleaners did not have access to adequate personal protective equipment when they cleaned COVID-19 wards and facilities, and Edgenta UEMS had provided them with an inadequate supply of masks and gloves. The union has also accused Edgenta UEMS of particularly targeting cleaners active in the union by: 

•    Changing the working hours and shifts of workers active in the union; 

•    Arbitrarily transferring union members to hospitals far from their residence;

•    Forbidding union-related discussion between union worksite committees and workers, even during break times;

•    Disallowing union members from working overtime to increase their earnings;

•    Intimidating and threatening union members with disciplinary action. 

On 3 June 2020, the company released a statement denying the allegations put forth by the union, including the deliberate changing of hours and shifts, arbitrary transfer to hospitals, forbidding union activities, verbal harassment, the denial of PPE, and the lack of increment in wages and paid holidays. However, legal representatives of the union stand by their original allegations.

In a letter to Amnesty International Malaysia on June 19, UEM Edgenta once again denied the allegations. They also stated that they had taken multiple actions since the protest. These include forming an internal taskforce to review the allegations by the union; a roadshow at selected hospitals in Northern Peninsular Malaysia that included an audit of PPE and engagement sessions with healthcare support services employees; and the development of PrihatinLine, an online channel for hospital support service employees to share feedback and concerns with top management and the new taskforce. The union has reported that since the launch of the campaign, representatives from the company have met individually with cleaners, but refuse to meet with the union. 

During the most recent court appearance on August 28 2020, the court stated that it will decide whether the charges are dropped or pursued on 18 September 2020. 

Prior to this incident, on 26 March 2020, the union stated that workers at Teluk Intan Hospital were barred by the same company from being screened for COVID-19—despite 39 health staff at the hospital having tested positive. The union claimed that the company’s reasoning for refusing testing was that there would be no replacements for the cleaners if they were asked to go on leave following the screening3. On 27 March, the Ministry of Health ordered all workers at the hospital to undergo COVID-19 tests.