BBHI4103 Industrial Relations Assignment Sample (OUM)
For information and reference only – not to be submitted as your own work.
This extract shows how a strong BBHI4103 industrial relations assignment (the report) can be structured for the September 2026 semester at Open University Malaysia (OUM). It answers the report tasks in the live BBHI4103 assignment question, and the reasoning behind each choice is explained in our BBHI4103 report guide. More OUM briefs sit in the OUM questions hub. If you want to see how employment law is handled in a related course, compare the BBUI3103 employment and industrial law sample.
Important: the organisation below, Meridian Precision Manufacturing Sdn Bhd, is hypothetical. Every headcount, percentage, date and scheme detail about it is illustrative only. In your own report you must use an organisation you actually know and real figures from it.
BBHI4103 industrial relations assignment, Part 1 (a): the organisation (extract)
Meridian Precision Manufacturing Sdn Bhd (hypothetical) makes machined components for the electrical and electronics sector from a single plant in Selangor. It employs about 620 people: roughly 480 production and maintenance workers, 90 engineers and technicians, and 50 managers and administrators. A separate group of about 40 platform-based riders delivers finished parts to nearby customers under service agreements with a third-party delivery platform, so they are not employees of Meridian.
Employee representation takes three forms. An in-house union, recognised for the production and maintenance grades, negotiates a collective agreement every three years. A Joint Consultative Committee (JCC) with equal management and employee seats meets quarterly. Executives and managers have no union and rely on line managers and an annual engagement survey. The riders have no formal channel at all, which becomes important later in the analysis.
Part 1 (b): Four roles of the stakeholders (extract)
Industrial relations in Malaysia rests on three actors: employees, their representative bodies and the government (Dundon et al., 2004; Industrial Relations Act 1967). The table links each role to Meridian and to the recent legal changes. Note that two of the changes are statutory facts, while the Meridian examples are illustrative.
| Role | Actor | How it shapes IR at Meridian (hypothetical) | Effect of recent legal change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Supplying labour and giving feedback | Employees | Operators report machine-safety issues and shift-pattern problems through supervisors and the JCC; high turnover among new operators signals unmet expectations. | Employees can now consider joining a union other than the incumbent, which raises the cost of ignoring individual grievances. |
| 2. Collective bargaining and representation | In-house union | Negotiates pay, shift allowances and grievance procedures, and represents members in disciplinary hearings. | The Trade Unions (Amendment) Act 2024 (Act A1700), in operation from 15 September 2024, removed the tie between a union and a single establishment, trade or industry, so a rival union could organise the same plant. |
| 3. Setting and enforcing the legal framework | Government (Ministry of Human Resources, Industrial Relations Department) | Sets minimum standards under the Employment Act 1955, conciliates trade disputes and handles recognition claims. | Amended Industrial Relations Act 1967 provisions on sole bargaining rights (ss. 12A and 12B) let recognised unions agree who bargains, or let the Director General decide if they cannot (Skrine, 2024). |
| 4. Managing the employment relationship | Management (as employer) | Decides how much information is shared, how quickly grievances are closed and whether consultation is real. | The Gig Workers Act 2025 (Act 872), in force since 31 March 2026, adds transparency and dispute rules for platform workers, which Meridian’s delivery arrangements now touch. |
The Gig Workers Act matters even though the riders are not Meridian’s staff. The Act, which the Human Resources Minister said benefits about 1.64 million gig workers, requires clearer service agreements and routes disputes to Industrial Relations Department conciliation and then the Gig Workers Tribunal (Bernama, 2026; Human Resources Online, 2026). Meridian cannot assume that its contractor’s riders will stay silent, and a rider grievance can disrupt production deliveries.
Part 1 (c): Evaluation of four employee involvement and participation practices (extract)
Employee involvement and participation (EIP) practices differ in how much influence they give workers. Dundon et al. (2004) distinguish voice as a tool for management, as a way of expressing dissatisfaction, as a way of building worker rights and as a route to mutual advantage. The evaluation below uses that lens. Ratings are judgements on the hypothetical evidence given.
| EIP practice | Evidence (illustrative) | Effectiveness | Link to role in (b) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collective bargaining with the union | Three-year agreement; 88% of production staff covered; two grievances went to conciliation in five years. | High for pay and conditions, weaker for day-to-day issues. | Supports role 2; depends on role 3 for enforcement. |
| Joint Consultative Committee | Meets quarterly; minutes circulated late; only 4 of 10 employee suggestions acted on last year. | Medium. Structure is sound but follow-through is thin. | Gives role 1 a channel; tests role 4 sincerity. |
| Annual engagement survey | 71% response rate; results shared with managers but not with operators. | Low to medium. Management-led, one-way and infrequent. | Mainly serves role 4; limited value for role 1. |
| Open-door policy with supervisors | Staff say they use it for small matters but avoid raising pay or safety concerns with the same people who rate them. | Low for sensitive issues. | Informal; weak link to roles 1 and 2. |
Overall, Meridian’s arrangements are strongest where law and bargaining power sit behind them (collective bargaining) and weakest where they depend on manager goodwill (open door, survey). Malaysian research on employee voice similarly reports reluctance to voice dissent upward where formal mechanisms and legal protection are thin (Lee et al., 2018). The riders fall outside every practice listed, which is the clearest gap.
Part 1 (d): Four measures to prevent and resolve trade disputes (extract)
Each measure answers a weakness found in (b) or (c). Under the Industrial Relations Act 1967, an unresolved trade dispute can be reported to the Director General of Industrial Relations for conciliation, and the Minister may refer it to the Industrial Court if settlement is unlikely. Good workplace practice aims to keep disputes from ever reaching that stage.
| Weakness found | Recommended measure | Owner | Timeline |
|---|---|---|---|
| JCC suggestions are not tracked | Introduce a public action log with a 30-day response rule and a named manager per item. | HR manager with JCC chair | Start within 2 months |
| Possible rivalry between unions after the 2024 amendments | Agree a written recognition and facilities protocol with the incumbent union, and set out in advance how a second union’s claim would be handled lawfully and neutrally. | HR director with legal adviser | Within 4 months |
| Grievances stall at supervisor level | Adopt a three-step grievance procedure with time limits and a right to union accompaniment, plus supervisor training in handling complaints. | Head of operations and HR | Within 3 months, review annually |
| Riders have no voice and no link to the company | Require the platform contractor, in the supply contract, to follow Gig Workers Act obligations and nominate a contact for delivery-related complaints. | Procurement and HR | At next contract renewal |
The fourth measure is deliberately modest. Meridian does not employ the riders, so its leverage is contractual rather than managerial, and the report should say so rather than overstate what the company controls.
Stuck in This Assignment? Deadlines Are Near?
Part 1 (e): Conclusion (extract)
This report has shown that Meridian’s industrial relations rest on a stable bargaining relationship but are held back by weak follow-through in consultative channels and by exclusion of platform riders. The legal changes since September 2024 and the Gig Workers Act 2025 make that complacency risky, because more actors can now claim a voice.
The weakness that poses the greatest risk of a trade dispute is the stalled grievance process at supervisor level. Unlike the survey or the JCC, which affect morale slowly, unresolved individual grievances turn quickly into collective issues, especially when a rival union could offer to take them up. Justification: it is the point where employees first test whether voice is real, it is entirely within management control, and the cost of fixing it is low compared with the cost of conciliation or Industrial Court proceedings. Dispute prevention therefore starts with the supervisor’s desk, not the negotiating table.
Part II: Forum discussion points (outline)
On flexibility versus second-class status, a balanced post can acknowledge that gig work offers freedom over hours while the Act still treats platform workers as a separate category with their own tribunal and a contribution scheme rather than the full Employment Act package. On whether unions remain the most effective voice, argue from evidence: unions bring bargaining power and legal standing, while JCCs, surveys and open-door policies are cheaper but depend on management willingness. A short, reasoned post that uses one source and answers a classmate directly usually scores better than a long one.
Need a complete report built on your own organisation? Our report writing help and management assignment help teams can support you.
About the expert
This extract reflects the approach of Atheer Walsh, who holds a Master’s in human resource management from Sunway University. Expertise includes risk management, training and development, talent management and strategic management, with strengths in producing reports and dissertations. Atheer has nine years of experience in the profession and has been with malaysiaassignmenthelp.com for the past seven years.
References
Bernama. (2026, March 31). Act 872 provides greater protection to 1.64 million gig workers. https://bernama.com/en/news.php?id=2539439
Dundon, T., Wilkinson, A., Marchington, M., & Ackers, P. (2004). The meanings and purpose of employee voice. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 15(6), 1149–1170.
Government of Malaysia. (2021). Industrial Relations Act 1967 (Act 177) (Reprint as at 1 November 2021). Department of Industrial Relations Malaysia. https://jpp.mohr.gov.my/files/pdf/acts/010721_Act%20177_final.pdf
Government of Malaysia. (2024). Trade Unions (Amendment) Act 2024 (Act A1700). https://zulrafique.com.my/ckfinder/userfiles/files/legislation%20update/ActA1700-TradeUnion_Amendment_Act2024.pdf
Human Resources Online. (2026, April 2). Gig Workers Act 2025 now in force: What Malaysia’s new rules mean for organisations in the gig economy. https://www.humanresourcesonline.net/gig-workers-act-2025-now-in-force-what-malaysia-s-new-rules-mean-for-organisations-in-the-gig-economy
Lee, S. Y., Sandaran, S. C., & Siti Suraya Abd Razak. (2018). Employee voice and the communication of dissent in an organisational setting in Malaysia: A case study. LSP International Journal, 5(1). https://doi.org/10.11113/lspi.v5n1.62
Skrine. (2024, September). Recent amendments to trade union and industrial relations laws. https://www.skrine.com/insights/alerts/september-2024/recent-amendments-to-trade-union-and-industrial-re
