KUCHING: Premier of Sarawak and federal Minister of Human Resources are urged not to delay the amendments to the Sarawak Labour Ordinance (SLO).
Secretary of Malaysian Trades Union Congress Sarawak Andrew Lo emphasised that given the Employment Act Amendments had been passed in the federal parliament back in March 2022, workers of peninsular Malaysia will soon enjoy better terms and conditions of work.
“The SLO must be updated immediately so Sarawakian workers are not discriminated against just because we are living in different geographical areas in Malaysia,” he said.
He also added that while the maximum weekly hour of work in the peninsula has been reduced to 45 hours, SLO still remains with 48 hours.
“When the maternity leave in peninsular Malaysia has been increased to 98 days, SLO sticks to 60 days. When they enjoy seven days paternity leave and protected from forced labour, discrimination in employment and sexual harassment, workers of Sarawak are once again left out,” he revealed
He also said that Sarawak is lagging behind the Labour Law reform.
“We call on both the federal and state governments to negotiate and accelerate the amendments to SLO and that the bill should be tabled in Parliament during its July 18 sitting.
“This is an urgent matter that the government must pay attention to,” he added.
Meanwhile, chairperson of Labour Law Reform Coalition N. Gopal Kishnam shared that workers around Malaysia must stand in solidarity with workers of Sarawak and Sabah who are left in terms of benefit from recent Employment Act amendments.
“We are on the view that in the future all three laws (EA and two SLOs) must be tabled in Parliament as a ‘bundle’ to eliminate discriminatory practices,” he explained.
Forty participants from more than 20 Sarawak Trade Unions and NGOs across the state actively participated in the discussions.
The participants also urged the government to act swiftly to protect domestic workers from sexual harassment.
