WHAT is good for the employees must be good, too, for the employers. Apparently not, judging from employers' reaction to the recent amendments to the Employment Act (EA) 1955. Employees want the Employment (Amendment) Act 2022 (EAA) to come into effect in January, but employers would like the government to rethink its implementation date. Employers vs employees? We thought they were on the same side. The word used by the Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) is "reschedule".
To when? When the employers are ready, able and, perhaps, willing. Certainly not in the near future.
Why the tug of war? Two reasons appear to be bothering the employers: money and timing. Start with money. There are quite a few provisions in the EAA that may "eat" into employers' profits. Under the EA, employees earning above RM2,000 could not have recourse to the act. The EAA casts the net wider, bringing in all employees under the act, no matter the quantum of their salaries (though there are some conditions covering employees earning above RM4,000).
Extension of overtime payment to employees earning up to RM4,000 is one distress for employers. But why make them work overtime, especially when employers are not willing to remunerate them?
Increased maternity leave from the current 60 days to 98 days and the introduction of a seven-day paternity leave are cause for consternation as well.
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