I refer to the letter Siva's nomination done by the book .
The nomination of the former secretary-general of National Union of the Teaching Profession, Siva Subramaniam, who was also Cuepacs president, for the recent Malaysian Trade Union Congress elections raised the eyebrows of workers and the ordinary man in the street especially when his statements and conduct conflicted with one another.
It is important to note that Siva has previously publicly announced that he would not continue in the NUTP as an employee or in any capacity whatsoever. This statement was published in The Star on Sept 20, 2004, on page 12.
Quote: 'He said that he had no intention of coming back as the executive secretary-general as he had served the union long enough and wanted a break from it all. Siva said that the NUTP never had and would never have an executive secretary-general. He said that it was only fair that he made way for others to take over once his time was up.' Unquote.
This statement was becoming of a trade union leader who wanted to give way to other leaders in the NUTP to play an effective and meaningful role in the leadership and the continuity of the NUTP.
It is therefore intriguing that he has continued to stay on the NUTP as an employee of the union with the designation of executive secretary. This conduct of his clearly contradicts his statement and is most unbecoming of a trade union leader besides being unethical for a teacher who should demonstrate by conduct that he stands by his statements.
It is interesting to note that with the continuity of his employment in NUTP - in contradiction of his own statement - he has also become a human rights commissioner, a post which demands the highest standards of ethics, moral principles and governance.
It is equally interesting to note that the president of NUTP's denial of any knowledge of Siva's MTUC nomination.
Quote: 'NUTP President Ustaz Ismail Nihat said to his knowledge, his union had only nominated one candidate, Lim Cheng Ho, to contest in the MTUC elections. Ismail added that Siva Subramaniam's nomination was also not discussed at the recent NUTP Exco meeting' Unquote. ( The Star , Dec 17, 2004.)
It is indeed intriguing that the president who chairs the exco's meetings did not know of the facts and later contradicted himself in support of Siva's nomination. In the same statement he emphasised that 'Datuk Siva cannot be nominated by the NUTP but it is alright for him to be nominated by the employees union'.
In practice and tradition, nominations for positions are only made after nominations are called for. Thus it is difficult to comprehend as to how NUTP could have nominated in October 2003 for elections in December 2004. The intent and actions are highly questionable.
A reference was made by Ismail with regards to Section 30 of the Trade Union Act. Section 30 of the Trade Union Act is the power of the minister to grant an exemption to employees to act as officers of the Union. This is not an issue with regards to Siva's MTUC nomination.
It is important to know that the MTUC is not a trade union. It is a society of trade unions registered under the Societies Act. The trade unions which are affiliated to the MTUC are governed by the Trade Union Act.
Affairs in the MTUC will therefore have to be considered in the context of the rules and constitution of the MTUC registered under the Societies Act and the rules and constitution of the affiliated unions registered under the Trade Union Act.
In NUTP, the laws and the rules have always been implemented with the principles of good governance viz namely democracy, transparency and accountability based on principles of good ethics and trusteeship.
The current leadership should strive to uphold the credibility and integrity which NUTP had stood for. NUTP was never built to serve or made to serve the interest of any individual or selected group. It is there to serve the interests and welfare of its members, the teaching fraternity and to serve the needs of education and the nation.
The writer is the former secretary-general of the NUTP.
