[By Charles Hector] Many of the leaders of the labour movement were arrested, charged, convicted and sentenced. SA Ganapathy, for example, who was the first president of the 300,000-strong PMFTU, was hanged by the British in May 1949. … Read More >How the British suppressed the Malayan labour movement (Part 3)
[By Charles Hector] The origins of organised labour in the form of worker unions in Malaysia date back to the 1920s. Workers then, who were primarily of Chinese and Indian origins in the private sector and Malay workers in the civil service, formed what was known as General Labour Unions (GLUs). … Read More >The origins of the labour movement in M’sia (Part 2)
The wave of strikes continued into 1947. In March that year, dockers and tin smelters struck in Penang and thereby paralyzed the works. In subsequent months, strikes in Singapore continued unabated, while on the mainland, railway and estate workers also came out. … Read More >Pan Malayan General Labour Unions
