Malaysia proposes amending Employment Act
- Charles Chau
Among others, the amendments proposed by Datuk Seri M Saravanan would have a new section 60FA on ‘paternity leave’:
(1) “A married male employee shall be entitled to a paid paternity leave at his ordinary rate of pay for a period of three consecutive days in respect of each confinement.
(2) The paternity leave under subsection (1) shall be restricted to five confinements irrespective of the number of spouses.”
The proposed amendments seek to comply with standards and practices as required by the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, the Malaysia-United States Labour Consistency Plan and the International Labour Organisation.
The new amendments will also provide for protection against discrimination and forced labour, as well as to include provisions for maternity benefits.
In addition, the amendments include changing section 99A of the Employment Act to increase the amount of penalty from RM10,000 (US$2,407) to RM50,000 (US$12,037) for offences under the law, according to Malay Mail.
READ: Rise in minimum wage could derail Malaysia’s economic recovery: MEF
Effective January 1, 2021, working women in the private sector are entitled to 90 consecutive days of paid maternity leave for each child up to five children, bringing the number of days they receive to be on par with that of public-sector employees.
