2022 Post Covid Malaysia Narrative:role Of Trade Unions A Necessary Fulcrum Of Rule Of Law

By Author: Premkumar Nadarajan
Total Articles: 26
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In the realm of decision making of a state albeit in smaller way , trade unions foster and encourage as well as stand as a precedent for such decision making by being an entrenched and well accepted norm or fabric of an associational network of civil society. The decisions that unions make in respect to the interest of the workers in tandem with the needs and the welfare of the state contribute and make clear its role on self determination; which is an essential pillar of statehood. Even the small decisions of such unions help shape the more distant determinations of state and economy. This role is necessarily enhanced in today’s more networked, seemingly borderless and prima facie egalitarian society , bound and evolving in the melting pot of globalization.
The problem it seems, in simple words, is the unavoidable clash between the market or market forces/success/relations and/or economic competition policies against the communitarian stand of workers rights. Market imperialism, at its worst could be seen to be a nightmare for workers, albeit a fantasy fulfillment of the capitalist whereby the single mindedness of such ...
... imperialism necessarily confronts and compromises fundamentally, the notion of the democratic state ( and industrial democracy ) ; being advocates of privatization and laissez-faire. The ideal of the capitalist here is that of a society where all goods and services are provided by entrepreneurs to consumers. In the idea of just rewards of market success, inequality is a necessary price to pay by the consumers ( and in this case workers) ; such market forces in a capitalist ideal necessitates disorganization of workers, and where workers are not united to voice their concern, they would find themselves as helpless in the marketplace, to the great glee of the proponents of a purist market forces success. The more successful the imperialism, the greater the inequality. What such proponent perhaps fails to understand is that in Malaysia, being a pluralistic society, fundamentally dictates the necessity of the union being a legitimate member of the associational network of civil society in Malaysia. This makes it necessary and even sustainably wise to consult such a network member; the market again being embedded and entangled in a network of associations, where the forms of ownership are pluralized, ( note the Malaysian society is pluralistic in nature often termed "masyarakat majmuk" ), in order to legitimize a sustainable set of market relations, which would be a win-win outcome for both sides ; or in the case of a smart partnership, 3 parties namely the worker , employer and the ruling government ) .

lecturer at a private learning institution ( UTAR).