PETALING JAYA: The Public Service Department (PSD) has extended the interim moratorium on the 45-hour work week for healthcare staff by three months.
According to the Human Resources Division of the Health Ministry, it said the PSD had agreed to grant an extension from March 1 to May 31.
The extension was granted after the ministry made a request on Feb 25 for a moratorium.
“Hence, the full implementation of the 45-hour work week for MOH under the new Public Service Remuneration System (SSPA) provision will begin on June 1, 2025,” the ministry said in a letter dated March 5.
The 45-hour work week was supposed to come into effect on March 1.
Although the PSD had agreed to extend the interim period, the ministry said healthcare facilities which had prepared to adopt the 45 working hours under the SSPA system can go ahead.
Prior to this, several nursing groups had opposed the 45-hour work week. They called for the working hours to be maintained at 42 hours.
The latest announcement led to nursing and labour groups welcoming the decision, saying that the new policy requiring a 45-hour work week should in fact be scrapped.
They said the policy will impact nurses who are already burdened, adding that the work hours should be maintained at 42 hours for healthcare professionals.
“Increasing the work hours will affect the quality of the healthcare system. The nursing workforce will experience mental fatigue, energy depletion and medical liability if they are forced to work,” they said.
The groups said the right solution would be to increase manpower in the healthcare sector and not burden the existing workforce.
“The government must allocate more funds to hire nurses and address the brain drain issue by increasing the salary of nurses as (the salary of Malaysian nurses) is the lowest in South-East Asia,” they said.
They called on the government to consider reducing the weekly work hours to 40 hours a week.
Last month, the Health Ministry said it would hold nationwide engagement sessions before making a final decision on implementing the 45-hour work week for shift-based staff including nurses, assistant medical officers and ambulance drivers.
