Sabah’s labour law to be amended

THE Sabah Labour Ordinance Amendment Bill will be tabled in the Dewan Rakyat session in 2024 to allow more time for labour-related matters to be scrutinised, says Deputy Human Resources Minister Datuk Mustapha Sakmud.

He said the draft of the Bill had been completed and was being reviewed by the Attorney General’s Chambers.

Once this was done, it would be presented to the Cabinet, he added.

“As the amendments involve major changes, ample time must be given to ensure the proposal is complete and comprehensive,” he told reporters yesterday.

In October last year, the Sabah Cabinet had approved the proposed amendment to standardise the Sabah Labour Ordinance with the Employment Act 1955.

Mustapha said some 2.04 million workers and over 187,000 employers in the state would benefit from the amendments.

There are 16 proposed amendments, which include matters relating to sexual harassment, prohibition of discrimination, forced labour, improving provisions on children and young persons, and maternity and paternity leave, among others.

“Since 1965, the Ordinance was only amended once in 2005 as opposed to Employment Act 1955 that has been amended 12 times,” he said.

He said provisions under the Ordinance needed to be aligned with provisions under the Employment Act so that workers in Sabah could enjoy the same protection as workers in the peninsula.