INTRODUCTION
Many companies have paid out large sums of money due a lack of understanding of the law and the principles involved in industrial relations. The losses incurred are in hundreds of thousands to one individual employee. Just 2 Industrial Court awards in 2004 alone saw 2 companies pay out a total of RM 724,205.00. In one case in March 2004, the Industrial Court in Penang awarded RM 298,600.00 to a general manager of a pharmaceutical company for wrongful dismissal / termination. In August 2004, the Kuala Lumpur Industrial Court awarded RM 325,605.00 to a group financial controller for demoting him and deducting his salary. There is nothing new by way of principles or the law, but the same time tested common law principles that go into industrial relations. The time has come for employers and human resource practitioners to be fully conversant with industrial relations (I.R.) and have their knowledge updated in line with current Industrial Court decisions. The awareness of their rights among employees has increased and employers should increase their I.R. knowledge so as to avoid financial disasters like the cases quoted earlier.
