SHAH ALAM, Jan 17 — The Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) is expected to debate a no-confidence motion tomorrow against its president and secretary-general for failing to affect a withdrawal of the controversial Employment Act, Sinar Harian reported today.

The Malay daily, however, said the controversy had forced the body to split into three factions, with each camp taking differing views on the motion.

But KTM Berhad Workers’ Union president Abdul Razak Md Hassan, who leads the faction in support of the motion, expressed confidence that it would gain enough votes to be passed.

MTUC is holding its general council meeting at its headquarters in Subang Jaya tomorrow morning.

“We will moot a no-confidence motion against the president and secretary-general as both have not played their roles effectively; as was entrusted to them. As a result of their disregard of the unions’ interests, we were defeated in the Employment Act issue.

“The MTUC leadership did not work hard enough,” Abdul Razak was quoted as saying in Sinar Harian.

MTUC president Khalid Atan and secretary-general Abdul Halim Mansor are facing flak from a number of union bodies for failing to convince the government to retract the Employment Act, which was passed in the Dewan Rakyat on October 6 last year and subsequently in the Dewan Negara on December 12.

The umbrella body of 390 labour unions representing 802,323 members has picketed several times against the labour law changes, including a nationwide protest on November 3 that the body said saw some 2,000 people taking part in 18 locations across the country.

It first protested against the amendments on October 3, drawing hundreds of workers to the gates of Parliament.