Members of the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) Board may have been barred by the Official Secrets Act 1972 (OSA) from divulging investment and operational details of the country's largest pension fund, claimed a trade union leader.

Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) president Syed Shahir Syed Mohamud said he learnt about this from several board members.

"I was told that there are certain restrictions under the OSA, so board members cannot speak (about it) outside (the meetings) although they may know a lot more than what they reveal," he told malaysiakini during a recent exclusive interview.

He said this when asked if the five workers' representatives sitting on the EPF Board - four from the MTUC and one from Cuepacs - knew or understood how the fund was managed.

The EPF has not announced the new board members yet, he said, but the MTUC has submitted its nominations of the president and deputy representing Peninsular Malaysia, and one each from Sabah and Sarawak.

"We want to broaden this by having more workers' representatives. It should not be limited to five but a minimum of 10 representatives," he said, reiterating the MTUC's call to have more representatives.

"We have proposed for this but received no response so far. We're supposed to have a dialogue with the EPF once a few other issues are settled."

Disappointing calls

Expressing dissatisfaction over the EPF's investment calls in recent years, he noted the slight increase in dividends announced last December but urged for more transparency in the decision-making process.

Asked if MTUC's input was sought by Bank Negara and the Finance Ministry in formulating fiscal policies which impacted workers, Syed Shahir said he knew of none.

"Not since I've been (president). But the MTUC sits in the National Economic Action Council and I attended a briefing by the PM (Abdullah Ahmad Badawi) a couple of months ago on the economic situation.

"We strongly believe that at least one representative should be involved in the formulation of national policies, not just by the central bank but any institution or ministry which in the final analysis will affect the livelihood of a worker."

Speaking on other matters, Syed Shahir said minimum wage was a major long-standing goal the MTUC has been trying to achieve.

"We are thinking of a roundtable discussion. We wanted to do it earlier but postponed it indefinitely due to many other matters that needed to be sorted out first.

"There is a need to revisit several declarations - Langkawi, Genting, Cameron - spanning the years."

The MTUC adopted the Cameron Highlands declaration in 1978 followed by Genting in 1989 and Langkawi eight years later.

All three symposiums discussed the aspirations of the labour movement which were subsequently outlined in the declarations.

"Our plan of action for the next six months or one year is to look at what we have achieved, how far we have gone and what more needs to be done," added Syed Shahir.

To complement a review of the overall aspirations of the country's workforce, the MTUC also has plans for a roundtable on the national retrenchment scheme.

Don't control unions

On the proposed amendments to the Trade Unions Act 1959, he said the MTUC will oppose any law that "restricts and curbs the movement of the trade unions".
"We will definitely oppose it. In fact, we've written a letter to the ministry stating our position on that.

"I think the practice on freedom of association has neither improved nor deteriorated because we can still move around. It's more of government control, but then there shouldn't be any."

He believes the present situation does not warrant such restrictions as it was imposed during the time of the colonial government.

"About 54 years ago, these may have been valid but they no longer are. The government just wants to continue with the control. It's a question of government perception towards the unions," he said.

"How many strikes have we experienced so far? It is negligible. In fact, we don't have strikes. The reported strikes are possibly wildcat," he added.

Syed Shahir believes that the government is merely using the excuse of law enforcement to continue controlling the unions.

Q&A: MTUC - dealing with thorny issues