Here are the Proposed Amendments to the Employment Act and OSHA

The Occupational Safety and Health (Amendment) Bill 2020 aims to improve workers' safety, health, and welfare and protect them from safety and health risks while working.

Human Resource Minister Datuk Seri M Saravanan said it is also to ensure that Malaysia's labour laws were in line with the provisions in the universal instruments, specifically the Occupational Safety and Health Convention 1981 (C155).

The bill to update the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 contains 55 clauses, including adding 27 new sections, removing two sections, and amending 35 existing sections.

In amending OSHA 1994, he said that the ministry held several engagement sessions since 2011 with the relevant government agencies, industries, stakeholders, and other interested parties.

Factories and Machinery Act 1967 (Act 139)

The minister said one more act about occupational safety and health administered by the Department of Occupational Safety and Health is the Factories and Machinery Act 1967 (Act 139).

According to Saravanan, Act 139 uses the prescriptive approach, which is no longer in tune with the ever-developing technologies. The HR ministry decided to remove Act 139 and include its provisions pertaining to machinery inspection in the proposed amended Act 514.

Employment Act amendments to cover Working From Home

Apart from OSHA 1994, the Human Resources Ministry also planned to amend the Employment Act 1955.

The Employment Act 1955's amendments will cover employers' responsibility for the safety and welfare of staff working from home in a work-from-home (WFH) setting.

The minister said the existing law could be applied to WFH, which has become the global workforce norm. However, he said that employers' responsibilities were limited to work-related activities within their control and subjected to the nature of work.

Saravanan said the HR ministry had included amendments to the act on flexible work (method) planned to be tabled for the second reading in the discussion to be held between December 14 and 16.

Other proposed amendments to the Employment Act

The Bill also proposed other amendments. One of them was to amend section 99A to increase the penalty amount from RM10,000 to RM50,000 for any offences under the law.

The Bill to amend the Employment Act also proposed a new section, 60FA, on paternity leave, which read:

"(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."

Stern action against employers who fail to provide safe living environment

On another matter, Saravanan said the government would not compromise with employers do not provide a safe and conducive living space to their workers, which the minister described as modern-day slavery.

He said the Human Resources Ministry would take tough action against errant employers as it had affected Malaysia's image at the international level. According to him, the country has been downgraded to Tier 3 from Tier 2 of 2021's Trafficking in Persons report.

Datuk Dr Mohd Hatta Md Ramli and Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad had earlier highlighted the latest import ban on products by a country imposed on a Malaysian company because of abusive working and living conditions, among others.

The HR minister said the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) had conducted over 100,000 enforcement actions between January and August, with 138 cases brought to court for prosecution and RM1.56 million fines issued.

The OSH Act 1994 protects employees' health, safety and welfare at the workplace.

Amendments to Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994

Amendments to the OSHA 1994, among others, aim to extend the law to all workplaces and increase penalties for errant employers who fail to ensure their employees' safety and health and welfare at the workplace.

Among the proposed amendments is an increased fine penalty from RM50,000 to RM500,000 under Section 19 for offences including failure of employers to formulate safety and health policies.

The amendment under Section 23 of the act sees an increase in penalty from RM20,000 to RM200,000 for violations under Sections 21 and 22 relating to the manufacturer's duty on plant and materials at the workplace.

The Dewan Rakyat approved the Bill through a voice vote.

Sources: The Edge Markets, Malay Mail, NST

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