[ad_1]
PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal accepted an appeal from Malaysia Airline System Bhd (MAS) over the dismissal of a union leader for misconduct after it issued a press release highlighting the plight of workers and demanding the resignation of the CEO .
A three-member bench, chaired by Hanipah Farikullah, said the High Court was wrong to set aside the Industrial Court award.
She said Ismail Nasaruddin, who was the president of the Malaysian National Union of Flight Attendants (Nufam), may have sought other legal means before issuing the statement.
“The Superior Court was wrong to annul the award. The award of the Industrial Tribunal is hereby confirmed, ”he said.
Following this ruling, the compensation, instead of reinstatement, of RM 210,000 in back wages awarded to Ismail was annulled.
The court, which included Judges Lee Heng Cheong and M Gunalan, also ordered Ismail to pay RM 5,000 in costs to MAS.
Lawyer N Sivabalah, representing the airline, stated that the provisions of the Labor Relations Act and the Trade Union Act did not grant immunity to union members or office holders in the event of serious misconduct.
“The High Court was also wrong in stating that Section 22 of the Trade Union Law conferred immunity on those who were members of a union in support of a trade dispute,” said Sivabalah, who was assisted by Jamie Goh.
Ismail, represented by Lim Wei Jiet, said that any action against officials for misconduct would amount to interference in union activities.
Lim said he would receive instructions from his client on whether to file an appeal in Federal Court.
On September 4 last year, Judge Nordin Hassan ruled that it was illegal for the MAS to fire Ismail for granting the interview in the course of union activities.
The judge also overturned the earlier Labor Court award and ordered Ismail to be compensated for unlawful dismissal.
Following Nordin’s ruling, the matter was returned to the Industrial Court, where MAS was ordered to pay Ismail 210,000 RM.
In 2013, Ismail gave an interview to The Sun Daily to highlight worker concerns regarding claims of excessive and poorly paid work, and health and safety concerns due to MAS’s fleet realignment exercise and exercise of weightloss.
MAS found that this violated Ismail’s duties at the company and fired him.
Ismail then went to the Industrial Court to get his job back, but early last year, the court upheld the MAS’s decision to fire the employee.
