SBEU: Failure to amend SLO means workers in K’tan have better rights than in Sarawak
KUCHING: The Sarawak Bank Employees Union (SBEU) has slammed the state government for not amending the Sarawak Labour Ordinance (SLO) although the Employment Act has been amended in 2007 and again in 2021.
SBEU chief executive officer Andrew Lo said there is no excuse not to amend the Labour Ordinance to be on par with the Employment Act in Peninsular Malaysia, since a World Bank economist had called Sarawak a high-income state.
“It is a travesty that workers in Kelantan, controlled by PAS (Parti Islam Se-Malaysia) for decades, can enjoy better benefits and protection than workers in the high-income state of Sarawak,” Lo said in a statement yesterday.
Lo, who is also Labour Law Reform Coalition deputy president, said the Sabah Cabinet had in October 2022 approved the proposed amendment to the Sabah Labour Ordinance, standardising the Ordinance with the Employment Act in Peninsular Malaysia.
“It is expected some 2.04 million workers and over 187,000 employers in Sabah would benefit from the amendments, which amongst others, reduce weekly hours of work to 45 hours, extend maternity leave to 98 days, and introduce a sevenday paternity leave,” he said.
He called the delay in amending the SLO unacceptable, claiming workers in Sarawak, especially non-unionised employees, are worse off than their counterparts in Peninsular Malaysia and, soon, Sabah.
According to him, this infringes the constitutional right of equality under the law, allowing discrimination and exploitation of workers in East Malaysia. He called on the Sarawak and federal governments to address the plight of Sarawakian workers.
“They must make sure the Sarawak Labour Ordinance is on par with the federal government’s Employment Act (Amendment) 2012 without further delay.
“We need to point out that all it takes is for the Sarawak Cabinet to agree for the federal Ministry of Human Resources to table the Bill in Parliament. Sabah has already agreed. Workers may be forced to picket,” he added.