NGOs want Sabah labour law amended, seek better deal for workers

 

Civil society groups in Sabah want eligible employees to be given seven-day paternity leave, and maternity leave to be increased from 60 days to 98 days. (File pic)

PETALING JAYA: Several Sabah-based civil society groups have called for the Sabah Labour Ordinance to be amended to better protect workers in the state.

Among the groups that have pushed for the amendments are Sabah Human Rights Centre, Society for Equality, Respect and Trust for All Sabah (Serata), Undi Sabah, and Borneo Komrad.

They said the recent announcement by deputy human resources minister Mustapha Yunus Sakmud on the amendments that would enable workers in Sabah to receive the same benefits as per the Employment Act 1955, is not new since discussions on the amendments have been going on for years.

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“It is still unclear why the amendments to the Sabah Labour Ordinance is taking such a long time for it to be on par with the Employment Act,” the groups said in a joint statement.

“The first and the last time it was amended was in 2005, whereas the Employment Act has been amended at least once every decade since 1955, and the most recent amendment took effect on Jan 1, 2023.”

The groups also made several recommendations for the Sabah Labour Ordinance’s amendment, such as including seven-day paternity leave and increasing maternity leave from 60 days to 98 days, which would be applicable to all working women regardless of salary level.

They also called for some sections of the Employment Act that compels employers to probe workplace sexual harassment complaints and provide more protection against unfair dismissal of pregnant employees, to be adopted into the Sabah Labour Ordinance.

Other recommendations include:

• abolishing wage threshold for coverage of the Sabah Labour Ordinance so that all employees and apprentices are covered by it, regardless of their earnings;
• flexible working arrangements;
• increase sick leave benefits;
• expanding the scope of complaints that cover all forms of employment-related discrimination issues, including discrimination of their resident status; and
• adding a new section on addressing forced labour issues in Sabah. - FMT