PUTRAJAYA: The power of the minister in terms of reference and screening before a case is brought to the Industrial Court will be cancelled, to enable the settlement of the case between the employer and the employee to be accelerated. Minister of Human Resources M. Kulasegaran said so far there were about 1,300 outstanding cases requiring referrals and ministerial decisions to be brought to the Industrial Court.
“What makes it complicated… for example, a worker is dismissed and he refers this to the Industrial Relations Department where the employer will be called for a settlement. If there is no settlement, the case will be referred to the minister and the minister will decide whether it is to be brought to the Industrial Court or not.
“I (the minister) become a filtering process. I do not think that’s necessary. If anyone wants to refer to the Industrial Court he must go straight (to court) not to refer to the minister,” he told Bernama in an exclusive interview here. – Bernama
