LETTER | Govt must implement labour law reforms by Q1 of 2021

LETTER | The Labour Law Reform Coalition calls on the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government not to delay the labour law reform exercise anymore. The enactments and implementation of the Industrial Relations Act 2020 (gazetted in February), Trade Union Act 1959 and Employment Act 1955 should be concluded by the first quarter of 2021.

Since September 2018, the Ministry of Human Resources has published its labour law proposals on its website several times. But until today, the government has only passed the Industrial Relations Act with no implementation while the Trade Union Act and Employment Act amendments have yet to be included in the parliamentary schedule.

As the Covid-19 pandemic continues to hit the economy and 737,500 workers became unemployed in September, many are living in dire situations with no bargaining power with employers. Realising workers’ right to organise through labour law reforms will protect workers from unfair treatment and to attain decent work.

We wish to remind the government that labour law reform is the key strategy to increase labour share of income from 35.7 percent in 2018 to the 48 percent target aimed by the government’s Shared Prosperity Vision 2030. Delaying labour law reforms may seriously hamper the PN government’s roadmap to achieve the ambitious target in accordance with the timeline.

Bank Negara also supports labour law reforms to remove institutional obstacles that suppress wages of workers and inhibit collective bargaining. Its study shows that Malaysian workers’ productivity is on par with some advanced economies but our workers received only 20 percent of the fruit of their productivity. It argues that steps must be taken to strengthen workers’ bargaining rights.

For now, we give our full support to the ministry's proposals on labour law amendments, but we urge the government to pass and implement all these proposals before the next general election. 

LLRC will commit to continuously engage with the government and push for incremental changes until the attainment of international labour standards in various aspects.

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