KUCHING, March 23 — Malaysian Trade Union Congress (MTUC) Sarawak says the state should follow peninsular Malaysia in increasing paternity leave from three to seven days.
Its secretary Andrew Lo said the new law does not apply to Sarawak but suggested it should follow the move to increase paternity leave.
“No, the law does not apply to Sarawak, but yes, we should follow suit.”
He even lamented that the previous improvement to the Employment Act 2008 had yet to be incorporated into the Sarawak Labour Ordinance (SLO).
“We have no sexual harassment prevention and part time workers provision. If we want to lead in economic development, we must lead in labour standards,” Lo said yesterday.
Amendments to the Employment Act 1955 (Act 265), which among others, proposed for paternity leave to be increased to seven days from three days currently, was approved in Parliament on Monday with a majority voice vote.
Deputy Minister of Human Resources Datuk Awang Hashim, when tabling the Employment (Amendment) Bill 2021 for second reading, said the increase in paternity leave was meant to allow more space for male workers to manage family affairs after welcoming their new born.
Eligibility will be limited to only five births, regardless of the number of wives, with the paternity leave to take effect on the day of the birth.
One must be employed for at least 12 months with the same employer to be eligible.
Amendment to the bill also involved an increase in maternity leave from 60 to 98 days in line with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention. — Borneo Post Online
