Keep to law, reduce working hours to 45 hours a week, bosses told

 

Human resources minister V Sivakumar said action can be taken against employers flouting the Employment Act 1955.

IPOH: The government has urged all employers to comply with the Employment Act 1955, especially with regard to the reduction of working hours from 48 hours to 45 hours a week.

Human resources minister V Sivakumar said this was because the amendment had been approved in Parliament last year and employers were given until Jan 1 this year to implement it.

“So I don’t want any excuse from employers who say that they don’t know about the law that has been passed,” he said when met by reporters during a press conference at the Perak Human Capital Development Centre today.

On Feb 23, Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) secretary-general Kamarul Baharin Mansor had urged the ministry to take strict action against employers who flouted regulations under the Act.

MTUC said there were still reports of employers who did not adhere to the amendment, including with regard to working hours.

In another development, Sivakumar said his ministry remained committed to ensuring the continued empowerment of the technical and vocational education and training (TVET) initiative through collaborations with various parties.

He said the main focus of the government at present was to ensure that every TVET graduate obtained a job matching the skills acquired.

“We want to ensure that those trained under the TVET programme have a high market value because the issue of mismatch is often raised.”

He said if the graduates produced are not needed by the industries concerned, it will be a waste of money, time and energy.

Meanwhile, commenting on a survey conducted by the local media on the first 100 days of the unity government, Sivakumar said the administration led by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim was on the right track to prove its ability to implement various policies to move the country forward.

However, he said some of these policies required more time to bear fruit.

“If we wish to see a sudden change, that is not an easy thing. A longer period of time is required for the government to implement the planned policies,” he said.

According to the survey, about 36% of respondents felt that the relationship among the parties in the government was not working well, while 34% felt it was going smoothly. The rest were still unsure. - FMT