Malaysia - Union busting tactics in the electronics sector (2013)

On 1-2 October 2014, workers in Malaysia voted for union representation by the Electronic Industry Employees Union (EIEU) at electronics manufacturer Infineon Technologies, despite strong pressure and union busting union busting Attempts by an employer to prevent the establishment of a trade union or remove an existing union, e.g. by firing union members, challenging unions in court, or by forming a yellow union. tactics by management. Workers at the Kulim-based plant in northwest Malaysia initially asked the company management for recognition recognition The designation by a government agency of a union as the bargaining agent for workers in a given bargaining unit, or acceptance by an employer that its employees can be collectively represented by a union. of their union in April 2014. However, Infineon rejected the union’s demands and refused to enter a constructive dialogue with workers. EIEU was subsequently forced to pursue a long bureaucratic recognition recognition The designation by a government agency of a union as the bargaining agent for workers in a given bargaining unit, or acceptance by an employer that its employees can be collectively represented by a union. procedure, while the company tried to destroy the workers’ efforts at organising organising The process of forming or joining a trade union, or inducing other workers to form or join one. . In a bid to prevent union presence, the company tried to claim the factory was not producing electronic components. Eventually, Infineon agreed to a secret ballot of the entire workforce. In the run-up to the vote, the company regularly provided negative briefings against EIEU and threatened workers. Nonetheless, more than half of the workers voted in favour of having the union at the plant.