Human Resources Minister V. Sivakumar announced that the Employment Act 1955 (Amendment) 2022, which had been postponed earlier will now come into force on January 1, 2023.

Speaking to the media members Sivakumar stated that:

"I think we should proceed with this matter because the Employment (Amendment) Act 2022 was previously passed in Parliament sitting in March and most of the revisions are based on the International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention.”

Let’s take a look at the key of amendments:
He asserts that the provisions of Section 60K (4) will serve as an effective initial screening to make sure that Malaysian firms that hire foreign workers have a solid track record of abiding by labor laws. Previously applications were rejected due to the employers' failure to comply with the labour law.

He also stated that the ministry had so far approved 700,000 applications for the recruitment of foreign employees across several industries. Whereas, during the cabinet meeting on December 21, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim brought up this matter and advised hastening the hiring of foreign employees.

"To make sure we have adequate foreign employees, the Human Resources Ministry will work with the Home Ministry. We have so far accepted 700,000 applications for hiring foreign labor across several industries. We'll check to determine if other industries also require foreign labor as well.

The Human Resources and Home Ministries have been urged to accelerate the entry approvals of foreign employees, especially in the agriculture, service, and construction sectors. The premier claimed that these three industries require special attention since a labor shortage there could affect the production.

Image Credit / Source: Malay Mail & Bernama