KUCHING: Employers in Sarawak have been reminded not to employ women in the night shift or face serious consequences.
Sarawak deputy director of Labour Sulaiman Ismail gave this warning following a statewide special operation which found two errant employers from the 67 premises checked, failing to comply with night-work restrictions under Section 76 of the Labour Ordinance (Sarawak Chapter 76).
Under Section 76, no employer may require any female worker to work in an enterprise, agricultural or forestry activity between 10 pm and 5 am, except with the exception of the nighttime restriction permit.
Terms abused include female workers working in night shifts not given the opportunity to work in day shifts, while other violations were that employers paid no particular attention to the welfare and safety of women workers working at night shifts.
Employers are reminded to take corrective action or the permit issued to them can be withdrawn for failure to comply, he said in a statement on Friday.
According to Section 103G, any employer who violates the provisions shall upon conviction be liable to a fine not exceeding RM10,000.
The four-day statewide special operations began Friday afternoon led by Sulaiman also recorded 106 violations of other laws.
The violations involved the breach of the Labour Ordinance (Sarawak Chapter 76) and the National Salary Consultative Council Act, including the failure of the employer to keep a personal register, employer’s failure to keep a list of terms and conditions of employment, employer’s failure to pay wages to employees, the failure of an employer to keep a payroll and allowance.
Other offenses include the failure of the employer to give notice under Section 60A of the Ordinance, employer’s failure to pay a minimum wage, employer’s failure to pay worker’s wages on holidays and employer’s failure to pay overtime.
Thirty-four notifications of violations have been issued to employers to take corrective action or face legal action.
The Sarawak Labour Department will extend the special operations to employment places in other sectors to ensure full compliance with labour laws and to ensure that the rights of workers are protected.
