HR ministry denies news report on foreign workers

The Human Resources Ministry has spoken up on Friday (14 June) to deny a news report on the management of foreign workers, saying in a statement, "no such decision has been made so far," Bernama reported.

This was said in relation to an article stating that the Cabinet has disagreed with the report by the Independent Committee on the Management of Foreign Workers and its suggestion to make it public.

Last Thursday, a news portal reported that the committee was not ready to disclose its findings to the public.

Additionally, Human Resources Minister M. Kulasegaran had been reported as saying that foreign workers’ wage policy and the right to justice were among the seven suggested clusters in the report. Other clusters included national policy, policies on deportation and recruitment, policy on illegal workers, stateless residents and refugees.

Women's Aid Organisation calls for seven-day paternity leave in private sector

While the decision on the management of foreign workers is pending, the Women's Aid Organisation (WAO) has also called for the introduction of paternity leave in the private sector, Bernama reported.

While the proposed amendments to the Employment Act includes three days of paid paternity leave, the WAO hopes to see at least seven days of paternity leave in the private sector.

Sumitra Visvanathan, WAO's executive director,  said in a statement: "The Ministry of Human Resources should introduce at least seven days of paternity leave in the private sector, similar to the current paternity leave in the public sector."

She noted that currently fathers in the private sector were not legally entitled to any paternity leave while fathers in the public sector were enjoying seven days of paid paternity leave.

Citing benefits of paternity leave such as enabling fathers to play an active role during childbirth, adjusting to life changesthat come with being a father, and promoting shared responsibility among couple which benefits the whole family, Sumitra said the WAO had launched a petition calling for at least seven days of paternity leave.

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