KUCHING: The State Cabinet has agreed to amend the Labour Ordinance, to incorporate amendments to the Employment Act 1955 (EA 1955) as well as the rules for employees’ minimum housing standards.
Deputy Minister in Premier’s Department (Labour, Immigration and Project Monitoring), Datuk Gerawat Gala said several rounds of meetings had been conducted with relevant stakeholders, to get their input and consensus to the amendments.
“We have discussed it with various parties, including the employees and employers representatives, industry organisations, relevant ministries and agencies to get their input and consensus to the amendments.
“In fact the draft amendment of the Sarawak Labour Ordinance has been agreed to by the State Cabinet. However, there are a few provisions (in the draft amendment) which need further discussion with the federal Human Resources Ministry and Federal Attorney General,” he told New Sarawak Tribune when contacted Saturday (July 8).
“We aim to reach resolution on these few provisions by early August then submit the draft amendment to the Human Resources Ministry who will in turn get the Federal Attorney General to prepare the Amendment Bill for tabling in Parliament,” he explained.
Gerawat was responding to Deputy Human Resources Minister Mustapha Sakmud’s recent statement, advising the governments of Sabah and Sarawak to amend their respective Labour Ordinance to be consistent with the amendments to the EA 1955.
Mustapha 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.
The Employment Act (Amendment) 2022 only came into force on Jan 1 this year, 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.
However, Sarawak Bank Employees’ Union Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Andrew Lo said the Sarawak Labour Ordinance 1959 (SLO), a federal law, can actually be amended in Parliament once the State Cabinet agrees to it.
“We need to point out that all it takes is for the Sarawak State Cabinet to agree for the Federal Ministry of Human Resources to table the bill in Parliament.
“It need not be tabled at the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) and in accordance with the Malaysia Agreement; SLO is a federal law under the Federal list,” he said.
According to Lo, recently, 50 officials from 21 unions, NGOs, and civil society organisations in Sarawak, after extensive consultations with stakeholders, including employers and government agencies, had renewed the call to amend the SLO without any further delay.
