KUALA LUMPUR – More women are needed in the leadership roles of workers’ unions, a former Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) leader said.
Noorlaila Aslah, who is formerly MTUC women’s committee chairperson, said it is an ongoing struggle to ensure a 30% representation of women in decision-making roles within unions.
She said this pursuit is not just about achieving the numerical target, but is about recognising the sacrifices women often make to ascend to leadership positions.
“The struggle to achieve 30% representation of women as decision-makers in unions continues to be our main agenda because as women, we have to make many sacrifices to become successful leaders,” said Noorlaila in a preview of the next episode of the Suara Prihatin Pekerja podcast to be released later today.
The podcast, which airs on the Voices that Care channel on YouTube and TikTok, is hosted by Noorlaila and MTUC vice-president A. Balasubramaniam, two veteran union leaders who want to educate Malaysian workers about their rights.
The upcoming episode will focus on gender equality and topics affecting Malaysian women in the workforce.
Noorlaila said non-governmental organisations advocating for women’s rights have championed many issues, such as the alignment of maternity leave benefits between the public and private sectors.
Women’s groups had pushed for an increase in maternity leave from 60 days to 120 days, and their efforts have resulted in 90 days of paid maternity leave in the public sector.
“However, in the private sector, not many companies provide this leave,” said Noorlaila in the podcast.
Today’s episode will also delve into the importance of women-friendly work environments.
This includes advocating for paternity leave, which allows fathers to support their partners during childbirth and the establishment of affordable childcare centres to assist working mothers.
The Suara Prihatin Pekerja podcast airs every two weeks and will touch on workers’ rights issues, provide advice on addressing workplace challenges, stress the importance of workers’ solidarity and the struggle of unions to get recognition from employers. – June 8, 2024