PETALING JAYA: The government’s plan to have a Mobile Labour Court is commendable but questions have emerged from legal and industrial relations experts about its staff requirements
“Yes, it’s a good move to have such a court as you are going to be on the ground to listen to the problems of the people but how do you deal with critical questions and resolve manpower issues when you don’t even have the necessary manpower?” asked Prof Dr Balakrishnan Parasuraman of Universiti Malaysia Kelantan (UMK).
“My worry is once you start, then you realise it doesn’t work in the grand scheme of things.”
As such, he said a feasibility study was crucial to lay out logistics and manpower issues.
“It is best to gather input from lawyers, industry experts, employees and employers on how this can be done,” said the human resources and industrial relations expert when contacted.
On Wednesday, Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri R. Ramanan said a Mobile Labour Court would begin in August to improve access to justice for workers and employers, especially those in rural and remote areas.
The RM5mil initiative would begin with three mobile units before being expanded to Sabah and Sarawak.
Legal practitioner Chia Swee Yik raised the question on whether these cases would be handled by personnel and officers who are properly and legally trained.
“We need to know if they have the necessary competence and legal knowledge to offer advice or adjudicate disputes between the parties.”
Otherwise, he said there was a risk of it not becoming a proper forum for justice.
“It could end up undermining public confidence instead of actually making justice more accessible in the long run,” he said.
To a question about cases that usually go to the Labour Court, Chia said it primarily handles individual claims related to wages, overtime, termination benefits and other contractual entitlements in line with the Employment Act.
