ABSTRACT

This chapter analyses employers' associations in Malaysia as natural counterparts of trade unions in a capitalist economy. It explores the history of Malaysian employers' associations and reviews contemporary developments: structure, strategies and objectives of business organizations in Malaysia, and their role in conducting industrial relations. Discussion on employers' associations begins from April 1946, when unions, both workers and employers, were requested to register in accordance with Malayan Trade Unions Ordinance. The Malaysian Employers' Federation (MEF), as the central organization of private sector employers in Malaysia, lives up to its role to protect and safeguard the rights and interests of employers. The MEF, as the national employers' federation, offers its members a range of services. It provides employers with advice, guidance and assistance in all aspects of labour laws and industrial relations matters such as conditions of work, disciplinary problems, retrenchment, hours of work and overtime, union recognition and union claims on terms and conditions of employment.