Malaysian hotel workers win back their rights

In a struggle that spanned 13 years, hundreds of workers won back their collective agreement and restored collective bargaining rights. The dispute began in 2004 when the owner, Shangri-La Hotels, closed its Rasa Sayang Resort in Penang for renovations for almost two years. Once the new hotel opened, the employers told the workers that the wages and benefits that they had under the existing collective agreement no longer applied in this new hotel. The workers were represented by their union, the National Union of Hotel, Bar and Restaurant Workers Peninsular Malaysia (NUHBRW), which is currently involved in another dispute with the Shangri-La Hotels group.

In a struggle that spanned 13 years, hundreds of workers won back their collective agreement and restored collective bargaining rights. The dispute began in 2004 when the owner, Shangri-La Hotels, closed its Rasa Sayang Resort in Penang for renovations for almost two years. Once the new hotel opened, the employers told the workers that the wages and benefits that they had under the existing collective agreement no longer applied in this new hotel. The workers were represented by their union, the National Union of Hotel, Bar and Restaurant Workers Peninsular Malaysia (NUHBRW), which is currently involved in another dispute with the Shangri-La Hotels group.