KOTA KINABALU – Sabah is expected to see a crucial amendment to a federal labour law related to paternity leave after a man found his wife, who had just given birth, dead upon his return home from work.
Federal Deputy Human Resources Minister Mustapha Sakmud said the seven-day paternity leave law is currently imposed only in Peninsular Malaysia.
However, he said the Sabah government has agreed for the ministry to amend the Labour Ordinance (Sabah Cap. 67) (SLO) so that workers in Sabah would enjoy the same benefit.
“This amendment will be refined through discussions between the government and employers and employees association in Sabah, taking into account different aspects, including economically as well as the reality of development in Sabah,” he said in a statement today.
Mustapha stressed that the ministry is committed to fighting for workers’ rights in line with the international labour standards outlined by the International Labour Organisation.
This statement came in the wake of a local man’s tragic story about his wife passing away four days after she had given birth to their first child.
Last month, Exly Fridentsteward Jailon had shared on Facebook that he discovered his wife’s lifeless body at home with their baby beside her when he returned from work.
His wife was alone with the infant at the time.
Exly alleged that the company he was working for had instructed him to return to work after two days of paternity leave.
He also said that he is now traumatised by what had happened and suffers from anxiety as a result.
‘Employer helped man, gave donations’
Mustapha said while he is saddened by the incident, he said the company did not violate the SLO as the seven-day paternity leave does not apply in Sabah.
He said, according to the employer, Exly was given two days of maternity leave, and he was allowed to apply for annual leave until all related matters were settled.
Six days after Exly’s wife had given birth, he went to work that morning and informed the company’s management that his wife and infant were in healthy condition and that he could start working as usual.
But he discovered that his wife had passed away upon returning home from work that day.
Mustapha said that according to the employer, the company had given assistance and donations to Exly, including for hospital matters, and the employer was ready to assist Exly with his other needs.
He also said that the Labour Department had revealed that it is true that the company had deducted 13 days from Exly’s salary for May, as shared widely on social media.
However, the company did so because the worker did not apply for leave and did not inform the company as to when he was resuming work, Mustapha added.
The company said Exly was not entitled to annual leave to begin with because he had not worked more than 12 months for the company, and that he only started working with the company on December 2, last year.
However, upon advice from the department, the employer retracted the pay cut and had given the full salary for May to the worker even though he had only gone to work for three days in May.
Mustapha noted that the Labour Department could not get a full statement from the worker because he is still emotionally unstable, devastated and traumatised by the passing of his wife.
“The department will wait for a suitable date to meet with the worker,” Mustapha said while offering his condolences.
He asked all parties to refrain from making speculation and leave the matter to the ministry to handle in accordance with the law and humanitarian basis.
‘Labour Department must work in haste, push for relevant laws now’
Meanwhile, a non-government organisation here named Society for Equality, Respect And Trust for All (Serata) said that while it welcomes the department’s effort to make paternal leave accessible, no meaningful change has been made in this situation, as the legal amendment has yet to be imposed.
Its vice-president Robert Hii said that with a mere announcement by the ministry that the amendment of SLO might be coming, companies still do not need to follow up with providing paternity leave, and if misunderstood, might result in some form of punishment still for the employee.
The nature of paternal leave has to be about respecting the right of the parent to care for and be involved in the most critical moments of care for the beginning of a family.
“It would be more meaningful for the department to be pushing for laws to make that happen,” he said.
Following Exly’s case, Serata has also started a petition for amendments to the SLO for Sabah employees to enjoy seven days of paternity leave and longer maternity leave, just like in Peninsular Malaysia.
The petition has been signed by over 1,557 people at the time of writing.
Serata has been fighting for longer paternity leave to be included in the SLO for workers in Sabah since late last year. – The Vibes, June 2, 2023
