Untouched by amended labour law

Untouched by amended labour law

2009/05/01
New Straits Times

ONE day off per month is all a youth who moved to the city for a better life gets for working in a busy restaurant.

Adam, 27, (not his real name) earns RM400 a month and, despite working here for five years, does not get annual leave and cannot return to Tambunan for Christmas or family gatherings.

Adam's story is similar to that of many workers who claim their rights are not upheld although the Sabah Labour Ordinance (SLO) was amended more than four years ago to streamline certain provisions with the federal Employment Act.

"It takes more than two hours by bus to get to Tambunan, so with just one day off, I don't go home to see my mother any more."

Adam is thankful his employer provides accommodation and food, but still hopes to land a job with a decent salary and working hours.

"I cannot save a sen working in the city," he says. It was even worse when he worked as a car park cashier for a couple of years. He started with a monthly salary of RM350 and by the time he left, he was earning only RM425.

"My rent was RM200 and I hardly had enough to eat," recalls Adam. "The collection booth was so cold, I had to keep the door open, and I suffered from fume inhalation because the car park was in a shopping centre."

The Sabah branch of the Malaysian Trades Union Congress estimates there are 100,000 workers who have yet to receive the better protection guaranteed by amended legislation, gazetted after almost two decades of negotiations between the Human Resources Ministry and the state government.

Reporters at Sabah-based dailies have also not seen improvements to their own working conditions, although they report on the plight of other workers.

Lily (not her real name) has a bachelor's degree in journalism from a public university, but has only seen her salary rise by RM150 in 11 years.

"I earn slightly more than RM1,000 and I do not get any other allowance. I was given 45 days' maternity leave, inclusive of days off, although the amended act allows for 60 days," she says.

"We don't even get overtime," she adds. Some are even subjected to the payroll system, under which they are given their monthly salary without any payslips -- which is against the new SLO.

Lily feels a union for reporters is the way forward but worries that efforts by the National Union of Journalists (NUJ), which wants to open branches in Sabah, may hit a brick wall.

Although many reporters complain they are not getting a fair deal, they need their jobs and are not willing to help form NUJ branches at their organisations, Lily says.

"Some have been 'softly' threatened that they may lose their jobs for making noise."