KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia’s ratification of the International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Convention is aimed at ensuring the prioritisation of human dignity alongside economic prosperity, said Human Resources Minister Steven Sim.
The minister pointed out that Malaysia’s move to ratify the convention, also known as C155, coincides with the recent enforcement of amendments to the OSH Act 1994, which came into effect on June 1.
Besides emphasising employers’ responsibility in ensuring workplace safety, the amendments provide legislative coverage to all economic sectors from the previous ten sectors and introduce provisions for workers’ right to isolate them from high-risk workplaces.
“Our aspiration is that every worker, after a workday, will be able to return home safely to their families and loved ones,” Sim said during his plenary debate at the 112th International Labour Conference in Geneva today.
The Union Network International – Malaysian Liaison Council (UNI-MLC) had previously lauded the government’s decision to ratify the C155, with its president, Datuk Mohamed Shafie B.P. Mammal, labelling the move as a historic step in safeguarding workers’ welfare.
Meanwhile, Sim also pointed to the government’s decision to extend the full spectrum of social security protection under our Employees Social Security Act – previously enjoyed only by Malaysian workers – to all workers, including migrant workers.
“In other words, now migrant workers, like their Malaysian counterparts, will also be covered for invalidity, a 24-hour social security protection scheme.”
Referencing the 21st century’s ever-evolving job landscape, Sim said accessible training skills must be made available to support career advancements and transitions.
“In less than two weeks from now, Malaysia will be hosting a National Training Week where more than 25,000 skills courses will be provided for free to over 200,000 people.
“We hope the ILO will continue to prioritise lifelong learning and skills training as part of its efforts to improve the lives of workers everywhere,” he added.
Besides that, Sim urged for a new and “more humane” governance framework that empowers workers of various backgrounds and abilities.
“The current growth model nationalises gains in the hands of the few superpowers, while imposing the burden of regulations, responsibilities, costs, and even lopsided morality upon the rest of the world.
“This is the systematic disenfranchisement which the world has to dismantle if we want to renew our social contract.” – June 12, 2024