Don't celebrate PM's Labour Day gift yet, Sabah employees told

KOTA KINABALU: Don't celebrate Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's Labour Day gift yet, the state's Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) tells Sabah employees.

Stressing that nothing was concrete until the Sabah Labour Ordinance was aligned with provisions of the Employment Act 1955, Sabah MTUC vice-chairman Margaret Chin said that the proposed amendments were expected to be tabled in the next Parliament sitting scheduled for June 24 to July 18.

She said employees in Sabah and Sarawak had been disappointed many times before, rejoicing over some announcement only to be told that it did not apply to the two states.

"So for now, it is better to wait for the amendments to be implemented before calling for a celebration.

"The Sabah and Sarawak employees have been waiting patiently to enjoy such good news, so when that time actually comes, we will indeed be very happy and grateful," she said.

Chin said that Sabah and Sarawak’s rich resources have contributed a lot to the nation’s economy, and yet employees from the states remained discriminated against and did not enjoy equal treatment as their counterparts in peninsula Malaysia.

"The absence of a dedicated labour minister in Sabah leaves us without a vital channel for addressing urgent employee concerns through dialogues or obtaining assistance," she said.

"So we hope the Prime Minister and the Human Resources Minister Steven Sim Chee Keong would look into our plight seriously," she said.

Anwar, in his Labour Day speech on Wednesday (May 1), announced that employees in Sabah and Sarawak could look forward to longer maternity and paternity leave, as well as be protected against discrimination and sexual harassment at work, after the labour ordinances of both Sabah and Sarawak are streamlined with the Employment Act 1955 provisions.

The streamlining would allow maternity leave for working mothers in Sabah and Sarawak to be increased from 60 to 98 days, while working fathers would enjoy seven days of paternity leave.

He said Sabah and Sarawak had agreed to amend the Sabah Labour Ordinance 1949 and the Sarawak Labour Ordinance 1952 respectively, which would be tabled in the next Parliament meeting.