Section 59

is, or proposes to become, an officer or member of a trade union or of an association that has applied to be registered as a trade union;

is entitled to the benefit of a collective agreement or an award;

has appeared or proposes to appear as a witness, or has given or proposes to give any evidence in any proceeding under this Act;

being a member of a trade union which is seeking to improve working conditions, is dissatisfied with such working conditions;

is a member of a trade union which has served an invitation under section 13 or which is a party to negotiations under this Act or to a trade dispute which has been reported to the Director General in accordance with Part V or Part VII;

has absented himself from work without leave for the purpose of carrying out his duties or exercising his rights as an officer of a trade union where he applied for leave in accordance with section 6 before he absented himself and leave was unreasonably deferred or withheld; or

being a member of a panel appointed under section 21 has absented himself from work for the purpose of performing

Industrial Relations 69

his functions and duties as a member of the Court and has notified the employer before he absented himself.

An employer who contravenes any of the provisions of subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable, on conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or to a fine not exceeding two thousand ringgit or to both.

Where an employer has been convicted of an offence punishable under subsection (2), the court by which the employer is convicted may order the employer to pay the workman the amount of any wages lost by him and also, where appropriate, direct the employer to reinstate the workman in his former position or a similar position.

Where an amount ordered to be paid under subsection (3) is not paid in accordance with the order, the amount or so much thereof as remains unpaid shall be recoverable as if it were a fine, notwithstanding that the said amount may be in excess of the ordinary jurisdiction of the court, and the amount so recovered shall be paid to the workman entitled under the order.

Any employer who fails to comply with a direction given under subsection (3) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable, on conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to a fine not exceeding five thousand ringgit or to both.

General penalties