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ETP ANNUAL REPORT 2011
The implementation targets for the proposed amendments are
presented in Exhibit 13.15.
Exhibit 13.15
232
Targets for 2011
To be tabled in October 2011 in
Parliament for Second Reading:
• Employment Act 1955 Phase 1
- 28 amendments to the
current provisions
- 17 new provisions
- 2 provisions repealed
Target achieved as amendments passed
in Parliament in December 2011
Targets for 2012
To be endorsed by Cabinet:
• Minimum Wage
To be tabled in Parliament:
• Minimum Retirement Age
• Industrial Relations Act
• Private Employment
Agencies Act
These amendments serve to provide clarity, ensure the appropriate
level of enforcement in order to provide fair treatment of workers
without protecting obsolete jobs whilst reducing the cost of
labour management in business. The Government has had a
series of syndications with relevant parties across the spectrum
and believe that alignment is critical for us to move forward.
Besides the amendments covered in the labs, minimum wage is
a key reform initiative which is currently being addressed by the
Ministry of Human Resource (MOHR), with an announcement
expected to be made in the first half of 2012.
Achievements
Employment Act 1955
The 1st phase of amendments to the Employment Act 1955 had
been passed in the Parliament (Lower House) in December 2011.
The amendments, among others include:
1. Section 2 (Amendments to definition of contractor for labour)
2. Section 19 (Time of payment of wages)
3. Section 22 (Advancement of wages)
4. Section 25 (Payment of wages through bank account)
5. Section 37 (Entitlement of maternity leave and maternity
allowance)
6. Section 60D (Malaysia Day as a mandatory gazetted public
holiday)
7. Section 60K (Duty to inform Department of Labour on the
termination of service of foreign employees)
New provisions include:
1. Section 2 (Definition of foreign domestic servant)
2. Section 33A (Registration of contractor for labour with the
Department of Labour)
3. Section 44A (Maternity leave)
4. Section 57A and 57B (Registration of domestic servant with the
Department of Labour)
5. Part XVA (Sexual Harassment)
Minimum Wage
Minimum wage was not directly covered in the SRI labs but as a
key reform initiative, the MOHR has started work on minimum
wage since 2010. The National Wage Consultative Council (NWCC)
was set up in September 2011 pursuant to the National Wage
Consultative Council Bill which was passed in Parliament in July
2011. The NWCC is tasked to recommend the minimum wage
taking into account various sectors, regions and jobs. The council
consists of economists, academicians and industry experts and will
present its recommendations on the definition of minimum wage
to the Cabinet in first half of 2012, followed by an announcement
to the public. A comprehensive minimum wage is important to
ensure workers’ rights to a fair wage system are protected whilst
also minimising cost of doing business for employers.
Minimum Retirement Age
To increase productivity and retain knowledge workers in Malaysia,
it has been proposed that a minimum retirement age is set for the
private sector at 60 years, in line with a similar move in the public
sector. Hence, the Minimum Retirement Age Bill will be tabled in
Parliament in 2012.
Focus on Upskilling and Upgrading
the Workforce
In order to make a transformative impact on an entire NKEA sector,
skills and competitiveness of the critical mass of the workforce
needs to be addressed. Therefore, the interventions that will be
proposed for implementation will address the workforce who are
working post SPM, technical and vocational schools, tertiary and
continuing life-long education.
Five NKEA sectors have been identified as Quick Wins i.e. some
of these are initiatives were implemented in 2011 with the rest
expected to be implemented in 2012. These sectors are Oil, Gas
and Energy, Tourism, Electronics and Electrical, Communications
Content and Infrastructure and Business Services–Outsourcing
and Data Centres. To ensure sustainability in implementation,
the labs also addressed short-medium term and long term
interventions. The short-medium term interventions require
collaboration of various industry players, educational institutions
and government to address the 12 National Key Economic Areas
(NKEAs). Longer term interventions aim to develop sustainable
sector-led approach to address NKEA skills needs. These measures
are taken to ensure Malaysia will be equipped with a more skilled
workforce to meet the target of a high-income economy in 2020.