Exclusion of SLO amendment bill in Parliament reflects inequality of constitutional right, says unionist

KUCHING (July 18): The exclusion of Sarawak Labour Ordinance (SLO) amendment bill in the previous Dewan Rakyat sitting is an ‘utter embarrassment’, said Labour Law Reform Coalition deputy president Andrew Lo.

Lo expressed his regrets that the SLO amendment was not tabled in the Parliament last June despite the assurance given by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and the Sarawak government.

“It appears that the state government has been raising various irrelevant queries that seem to mirror Sarawak employers’ objections to the amendments, and this has caused the delay,” he said in a statement today.

Lo, who is also Sarawak Bank Employees Union chief executive officer, noted that Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg has been proudly announcing Sarawak’s mission into becoming a high-income state with so many world-class initiatives.

Despite so, he said: “It is an embarrassment that the workers’ basic and fundamental rights are left behind, while the discrimination and exploitation of workers in Sarawak seem to continue.”

“Workers in Kelantan can enjoy better benefits and protection than workers in the high-income state of Sarawak, and now we are also behind Sabah,” he quipped.

According to Lo, some two million workers in Sabah are expected to benefit from the recent amendments.

These amendments include reducing weekly working hours from 48 to 45, introducing new provisions for a seven-day paternity leave and an extended maternity leave up to 98 days.

“This undue delay is unacceptable. Workers in Sarawak, especially the non-unionised employees are worse off than their counterparts in Peninsular Malaysia and soon, Sabah.

“This offends the constitutional right of equality under the law. Workers are now faced with no choice but to mobilise to start protest and industrial actions,” said Lo.