Photo: Bernama
KOTA KINABALU: Sabah will also increase salaries of state civil servants once the Federal Government makes an official announcement in the coming Budget 2025, says Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.
The Chief Minister said that the increase in salaries for civil servants was also something they were waiting for.
“This is something that we are also waiting for. The Prime Minister has already proposed the increase of federal government salaries which is expected to be announced in the Budget,” he said at the state-level Labour Day Tripartite Celebration 2024 here on Tuesday (May 7).
“We will also increase the salaries of state civil servants, don’t worry,” Hajiji said when asked whether the state would also consider raising the pay for state civil servants.
Asked how much of an increase could be expected for Sabah, he said the details will only be known after the federal Budget has been approved.
“We wait for the announcement from the federal side,” he stressed.
Earlier, Hajiji expressed his hope for the proposed amendment to the Sabah Labour Ordinance to be sped up for implementation for the sake of employers and employees.
He said this amendment was purely for the benefit of employees in the state and to update with changing times, not because there is any problem with the existing one.
He said Sabah had also approved the amendments through the state Cabinet and now, it all depends on the federal government to see it through.
He said the Sabah Labour Ordinance was enforced in 1950 and the first amendment was made 40 years later in 2005.
“From then till now, 19 years later, is a long period of time and a law has to be reviewed for betterment, especially laws involving the welfare of both employers and employees,” Hajiji said.
He said updated laws and regulations that fit current needs and requirements would attract and convince more foreign investors to build their businesses here in Sabah.
He said the amendments to this ordinance was timely as the state needed a law that is relevant to current labour situations and needs.
Hajiji said the welfare of workers and how employers operate their business or organisations needed to be updated to adapt to latest industrialisation revolution needs such as "Internet of Things", "Big Data", "Artificial Intelligence" and "Cloud Computing".
Among the changes to the Ordinance includes inclusion for all workers regardless of salary cap, work nature, extension of maternity leave, mandatory seven-day paternity leave (only for the first five children of a legal wife(s), and reduction in working hours from 45 to 48 hours a week.
“The amendment this time involves 12 main amendments. Therefore, state leaders and myself are putting high hopes with the Human Resource Ministry so that this proposed amendment can be tabled in the next Parliament sitting, so that it can be implemented immediately,” he said.
This amendment will benefit all workers and employers, while improving Sabah’s image in terms of human rights and labour rights, said Hajiji.
He said it would also assist Malaysia, specifically Sabah, to explore and break through a bigger market through the "Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership" (CPTPP) that involves 11 partner nations.
This partnership would attract more foreign investors and create better job opportunities for locals, he said.
Hajiji said the state also fully supports the setting up of a Sabah Labour Advisory Council (SLAC) to better protect the rights and interests of both workers and employers.
