The council’s industrial and employment law committee said the state’s sole Industrial Court had been setting trial dates as late as the end of 2027.

“There have been considerable delays in fixing trial dates and delivering awards at the Johor Industrial Court,” the committee’s representatives told a recent consultative committee meeting with stakeholders.

The committee said that in view of the huge backlog, Johor should establish another Industrial Court, as it had before the number was reduced to one.

According to a Bar Council circular sighted by FMT, the meeting was between Industrial Court of Malaysia (ICM) president Jeffry Kassim and Bar Council representatives, court chairmen, the Malaysian Trades Union Congress and other stakeholders.

In its response, the ICM said the delays were due to priority being given to older cases, adding that it welcomed the proposal to increase the number of Industrial Courts in Johor.

“ICM is taking steps to prepare a proposal paper to the human resources ministry to increase the number of courts not just in Johor, but in other suitable locations as well,” it saidd.

On another matter, the ICM rejected a request by MTUC and other parties to remove the names of parties in dispute from its website following allegations that such information had resulted in employees who filed unfair dismissal claims being unable to secure new jobs.

“ICM cannot arbitrarily remove names from its website as the information is part of the public domain,” it said.