KUCHING, July 6 —- The governments of Sabah and Sarawak are advised to amend their respective state Labour Ordinance to be consistent with the amendments to the Employment Act 1955 (EA 1955), said Deputy Human Resources Minister Mustapha Sakmud.
He said the amendment, which can only be made through the approval of the State Legislatures in Sabah and Sarawak, will allow Malaysian workers in both regions to enjoy the same rights and benefits as people in other states under the Federation of Malaysia.
“As for the situation in Sabah, they have agreed (to amend) but it has not been implemented. In Sarawak, we have asked the Sarawak Government to discuss and amend,” he told media after attending the closing ceremony of the 2023 Labour Law Enforcement Convention here today.
According to him, he paid a courtesy visit to the Deputy Minister in Sarawak Premier’s Department (Labour, Immigration and Project Monitoring), Datuk Gerawat Gala to discuss and obtain the state government’s views on the matter.
He said Sarawak gave positive feedback to examine the need to amend its Labor Ordinance so that workers in the state enjoy the same benefits as in Peninsular Malaysia.
The Employment Act (Amendment) 2022 only came into force on January 1 this year (instead of enforcement in September 1, 2022), which among other things provides that working time will be shortened from 48 hours to 45 hours, paternity leave to be increased to seven days and maternity leave amended from 60 days to 98 days.
The convention themed ‘Empowering Enforcement Officers, Embracing Aspirations of Malaysia Madani’ lasted two days to cover labour and enforcement issues in domestic laws as well as international labour standards. — Bernama
