Tackling forced labor in Malaysia: trade union perspectives and solutions

The Malaysian government has adopted the National Action Plan on Forced Labour (NAPFL) with the goal of eliminating this type of exploitation in the country by the year 2030. Its implementation is facilitated through a whole of nation approach that requires contribution from all sectors including trade unions. This study seeks to explore the issue of forced labor through the perspective of trade unions in Malaysia. To achieve this purpose, a set of semi-structured interviews was conducted with ten respondents from twenty separate trade union s. The positions of the interviewees significantly varied, starting with a rank of a trade union member to a senior leadership level. The interview results provide a clear picture of the challenges in preventing forced labour faced by the trade union and it also provide strategies that trade union members adopted in managing the issue of forced labour. The results show that decisions making power, financial resources, good communication, and members engagement are important in fighting forced labor issue. By effectively working in these fields, the unions may develop more sophisticated and well-though-out advocacy or awareness program and become more successful in addressing issues with forced labor, thus adding to the NAPFL’s cause