KANGAR — The Gig Workers Bill to be tabled in Parliament in December will align the e-hailing and p-hailing sector in Malaysia with other countries, Human Resources Minister Steven Sim said.
“These workers are not protected under existing acts because they are not defined as employees.
“Therefore, we are introducing a new legislation that is aligned with countries like Singapore, the United States and Australia, to safeguard their welfare.
“This is a step towards good governance, to grant rights to our workers. That is what we have been working on over the past eight to 10 months, to give dignity and humanity to our workforce,” Bernama reported Sim as saying at an event here in Perlis today.
The bill, which was expected for tabling in earlier Parliament sessions this year, will finally debut in the current and final sitting for the year which ends on December 12 for the Dewan Rakyat.
It will extend to part-time and gig workers the necessary financial and fiduciary protections enjoyed by full-time employees as enshrined in the Employment Act.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who also chairs a special committee on establishment of a gig economy commission, said last month that the bill is expected to include 24-hour social security coverage.
Sources have also told Scoop the bill is expected to cover agreed rates and method of payment for gig workers, in addition to affirming that all tips and gratuities belong to them.
It will also spell out the rights of a gig worker to contract with multiple parties, and provide them with an avenue for complaints and settlement of disputes. As ‘contractors’ presently, gig workers do not have recourse in the industrial tribunal.
Sim was today on a working visit to the northern state where he launched the Veteran MyWIRA Programme as well as the state-level Talent Development Programme at the Industrial Training Institute (ILP) in state capital Kangar.
Veteran MyWIRA is a career continuation programme launched earlier this year involving the ministry, Defence Ministry, and agencies TalentCorp, Ex-Servicemen Affairs Corporation (PERHEBAT) and HRD Corp.
Touching on the ministry’s work to date, Sim said it had enforced eight labour laws, including laws related to the Social Security Organisation (Socso), and fully implemented the Occupational Safety and Health (Amendment) Act 2022 on June 1.
The Socso-related laws have enabled 1.5 million workers in the country to receive an additional 20% in benefits, while about 100 improvements under the Occupational Safety and Health Act have been introduced to create a safer workplace environment. – November 3, 2024