Nice to meet you: Sim (second from right) having a chat with participants of the Legislation Reform and Industrial Court Management Colloquium here yesterday. Standing next to Sim is Kulasegaran (right). — Bernama
PUTRAJAYA: The majority of 1,822 cases received by the Industrial Courts last year were over job termination, says Human Resources Minister Steven Sim.
He said there were 1,474 cases concerning the case type, while non-compliance of award and collective agreements came in second with 295 cases.
There were 33 cases involving industrial disputes which the Industrial Courts received last year.
In 2023, the Industrial Courts managed 5,463 cases and resolved 2,376 cases, Sim said after launching the Legislation Reform and Industrial Court Management Colloquium here yesterday.
“The conference will bring together industrial relation stakeholders and law practitioners to discuss improvements that can be made to the Industrial Courts in Malaysia.
“Reform is a continuous process and we will continue to implement improvements on various aspects which include the processes and infrastructure of the Industrial Courts.
“Last week, we announced the improvement on the appointment of the courts chairmen by extending their tenure from two to four years,” Sim said, adding that by doing this, it would help expedite case management in the Industrial Courts.
Sim said there are three main focus of the Industrial Courts reforms – shortening case processing period, reducing case backlogs and upgrading facilities.
He also said the Industrial Courts are also in the process of digitising its system, which includes the auto-tagging process and increasing the number of court interpreters.
“We are also working with the Institute for Labour Market Information and Analysis (ILMIA) to start a study on court case management.
“Today’s event was the first time ever where we have experts and industrial law practitioners to advise on what is next for the courts,” he added.
Last Friday, Sim announced that the tenure of the Industrial Courts chairmen would be extended to give security of tenure and ensure smooth court processes.
Also present at the launch ceremony were Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) M. Kulasegaran, Human Resources secretary-general Datuk Seri Khairul Dzaimee Daud and Industrial Courts president Datuk Wan Jeffry Kassim.
Earlier, Sim said his ministry would table two amendment bills this year to raise the Socso insured salary ceiling for workers from RM5,000 to RM6,000.
He said the proposed amendments would involve the Employees’ Social Security Act and the Employment Insurance System Act.
“At present, there are approximately 1.45 million workers with salaries exceeding RM5,000, while there are about 8.38 million workers with salaries below RM5,000.
“This increase (in salary ceiling) can enhance Socso’s social security protection by improving benefits under both Acts,” he told Bernama.
Sim said the proposed amendments are in line with the ministry’s 3K focus, which is to enhance welfare (kebajikan), skills (kemahiran) and productivity (keberhasilan) among workers in the country.
