Malaysian Trades Union Congress today blasted national shipping agency Malaysian International Shipping Corporation (MISC) for allegedly "embarking in a series of anti-union activities."

According to its secretary general S Rajasekaran, MISC management sacked and suspended leaders as part of measures "to kill" the in-house union for MISC executives.

One week after the union was registered on Sept 22 this year, MISC management dismissed the union's president Abdul Majid, after failing to transfer him from the company's Kuala Lumpur headquarters to Terengganu, he said.

Last week, a union exco was asked to go into early retirement with full wages, while on Monday, the union secretary was suspended without reason, he said.

MISC considers the union as an "illegal organisation" as basis for rejecting its claims for recognition, said Rajasekaran. However, the union is already registered under the Trades Union Act.

Directive

The dispute, when referred to the ministry, received instructions from industrial relations' director general Ismail Abdul Rahim that both sides solve the issue amicably.

But according to Rajasekaran, "MISC management had openly ignored and defied the industrial relations director general's instructions to find an amicable solution - such disrespectful behaviour by a government-owned corporation sets a bad precedent."

"We are dismayed that MISC, a major corporation, is engaging in such illegal action. They fail to realise that their conduct will reflect on Petronas as the owners of MISC."

MTUC said it is currently considering "immediate and drastic measures" to stop MISC's attempts to intimidate and threaten the continued existence of the two-month-old union.

A memo had already been sent to Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi for intervention, said the congress of trades union.

National oil company Petronas owns 62 per cent of the public listed MISC. The shipping company owns a fleet of 127 vessels.