IPOH: The technical committee meeting on the amendment to the labour law with the Ministry of Human Resources will be held on Nov 11.
Its minister, M Kula Segaran said the meeting should have been held on Nov 4 but had to be postponed due to several factors.
“It will be held together with all stakeholders including the Malaysian Trade Union Congress (MTUC), Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) and National Labour Advisory Council (NLAC).
“This was following the agreement to set up the technical committee to scrutinise all proposals on the amendment,” he said.
He said this at a media conference after launching the Labour Enrichment and Professionalism (Leap) seminar organised by the Trade Union Affairs Department (JHEKS) with the co-operation of Pembangunan Sumber Manusia Berhad (PSMB) here yesterday. Also present was JHEKS director-general Mustafa Ali.
Kula Segaran said JHEKS was also in the process of amending the Trade Unions Act 1959 (Act 262) to ensure the provisions of the law complied with the ‘International Labour Standard’ and ‘International Labour Practice’ and in line with current developments.
“Several engagement sessions were held with stakeholders to obtain suggestions and views on the amendment to the act,” he said.
He said the draft proposal on the amendment of Act 262 which focused on the adherence to the principle of freedom of association had also been uploaded onto the website of the Ministry of Human Resources to get public feedback.
He said the draft proposal and all feedback received would be discussed in the meeting which would comprise the government, workers and employers.
The draft had been submitted to the Attorney-General’s Chambers before being tabled in Parliament to obtain approval, he said.
In the meantime, he said the percentage of workers joining trade unions was seen decreasing in number.
“At one stage, 10 per cent of the manpower in Malaysia were members of trade unions but currently, it is only about six to seven per cent, which indicates that the membership is going down. So, we want to activate the trade unions,” he added. − Bernama
