Malaysian Unions in Political Crisis: Assessing the Impact of the Asian Contagion
Author: Bhopal M.
Source: Asia Pacific Business Review, Volume 8, Number 2, Winter 2001 , pp. 73-100(28)
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Abstract:
The Asian economic crisis led to the rupture of underlying pre-crisis pressures and tensions in Malaysia and gave rise to a new rupture in the heart of Malaysian politics. In the field of industrial relations the events are testing and, potentially, (re)forging the relationship between the state and labour, which has been assumed to be one based on suppression arising from the economic imperatives of the dependent state. This contribution, focusing on the Malaysian Trade Unions Congress (MTUC), outlines the historical antecedents and contemporary changes in analysing the 'choice' exercised by key actors in constraining the labour movement's response to the economic and ensuing political crisis. It is argued that while Malaysian trade unionism has been historically hampered by ethnicity, these factors are changing. Trade union divisions during the economic and political crisis, while constraining the labour movement's political involvement, hold out the possibility for future material gains.Keywords: Malaysia; Politics; industrial relations; Trade Unions; labour movement
Document Type: Research article
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