Human resources minister V Sivakumar said the implementation of the amendments was necessary since they have already been passed in Parliament.
“And a big part of these amendments are based on the International Labour Organization (ILO) convention,” he told a press conference here.
The amendments to the Act are aimed at safeguarding the welfare of workers and to bring local regulations in line with the ILO convention. It was meant to be implemented on Sept 1 but was later postponed to Jan 1.
Sivakumar pointed out that the amendments meant the intake of foreign workers would need to be approved by the director-general of the Peninsular Malaysia labour department (JTKSM), under Section 60K(4) of the Act.
This was for all categories of migrant workers, he added.
“(This section) will serve as an effective early screening measure to ensure employers applying to hire foreign workers have a clean record in terms of compliance with labour standards.”
He said the nation’s image had been tarnished by allegations of forced labour in local firms, citing the United States Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) ban on selected products coming from Malaysia, among others.
Yesterday, five retailer groups urged Sivakumar to further postpone the implementation of amendments to the Employment Act, pending a dialogue on the matter.
They particularly expressed concern over provisions on the RM4,000 salary ceiling for employees’ overtime payment entitlements, 45-hour work week, 98 days maternity leave and flexible working arrangements.
Human trafficking victims rescued
Sivakumar also said the police and JTKSM rescued 12 Indonesian women from a private employment agency in Klang after they were suspected of being trafficked into the country.
He said there were indications of forced labour and human trafficking involving the 12 women, such as restricted movement and no access to communications with people outside.
He also said the government had approved 700,000 applications for migrant workers so far, in view of labour shortages in certain sectors. He added that he was working closely with the home ministry to tackle the worker shortage as soon as possible.