Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin – Bernama photo
KUCHING (May 1): The government is in the midst of reviewing the Minimum Wage Order 2020 to improve the policy and ensure its relevancy, said Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
He said the government had been paying attention to the issues arising from the minimum wage policy, and would continue its efforts to improve the order.
With this, he hoped that all parties who wished to express their views and suggestions would do so through the platform provided.
On that note, Muhyiddin, in his Labour Day message, said the government is also focusing on creating more employment opportunities amidst the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic which has impacted various sectors and individuals economically.
Towards this end, the he said the federal government had set up the National Employment Council in line with its 2021 Budget that centred on the well-being of Malaysians.
“The government is in the midst of enhancing the existing labour law such as the Employment Act 1955 to extend the maternity leave to 90 days and introduce a three-day paternity leave to the private sector.
“We also want to see a work life balance by reducing the work hours from 48 hours to 45 hours per week besides introducing flexible working arrangements,” he said.
In view of the Covid-19 pandemic, he said the government had also amended the Workers’ Minimum Standards of Housing and Amenities Act 1990 (Act 446) in conjunction with the proclamation of the Emergency to curb the spread of the virus.
He said such move was inevitable given the rising number of Covid-19 clusters involving workers’ quarters.
He added that the amendment to the Act 446 had also been extended to Sabah and Sarawak.