On 27 January, workers, a majority of them women, at ST Microelectronics in Muar, Johor, voted to join the newly formed Electronics Industry Workers’ Union (Southern Region). The struggle for union representation started in August 2010, when the union filed for recognition. ST Microelectronics is an Italian-French electronics and semiconductor manufacturer headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.
In July, the Paper & Paper Products Manufacturing Employees’ Union (PPPMEU), International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers’ Unions (ICEM), gained ground-breaking collective bargaining agreement language on contract and agency labour (CAL) with Kimberly Clark at the company’s Kluang, Johor, pulp and hygiene products mill. Kimberly Clark is a global paper products company. The new language provides that CAL workers are now covered by the provisions of the collective bargaining agreement.