HUMAN Resources Minister Steven Sim Chee Keong has championed mediation as a cost-effective and harmonious solution to resolving workplace disputes, revealing that the mechanism helped save employers and employees over RM60 million in 2024 alone.
Speaking at the inaugural Industrial Mediation Symposium 2025, Sim underlined the value of early and effective intervention in labour conflicts, noting that “mediation not only saves costs and time, but ultimately preserves our industrial harmony”.
“If each case proceeding to the Industrial Court costs both employers and employees around RM20,000, we are looking at a cost saving of more than RM60 million last year alone,” he said.
Sim reported that 65 per cent of cases referred to the Director General of the Department of Industrial Relations in 2024 were successfully settled through mediation—translating to over 3,000 disputes resolved outside of court.
Only 35 per cent required judicial adjudication, demonstrating the growing effectiveness of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) under the ministry’s framework.
He also noted that 122 Industrial Relations Officers (IROs) currently act as conciliators across the country, receiving professional training through strategic collaborations with the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Turin, the Kuala Lumpur Mediation Centre, and the Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF).
The symposium was co-hosted by the Society of JP Community Mediators Penang (SJPCMP), the JP Mediation Bureau Penang, and the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM).
SJPCMP chairman and symposium organiser Peter Chung highlighted the Society’s efforts in pre-litigation mediation since 2019, particularly in Penang.
“Our Society’s tagline is ‘Bridging Divides’. Our trained mediators help communities transition from conflict to resolution, enabling win-win outcomes and building a more harmonious society,” Chung said.
He called on all stakeholders, from both public and private sectors, to make mediation a central pillar of future industrial relations in Malaysia. - June 29, 2025
