The Industrial Relations Act 1967 (Act 177), which was amended in December last year, has came into force on Jan 1,2021 to improve the protection of workers’ rights.
Major amendments are:-
1. Employer or employee may be represented by any person of their choice, except lawyers, during the conciliation process at the Industrial Relations Department –> NO more lawyers during the negotiation ya!
2. Cases that are not resolved through conciliation at the Industrial Relations Department will now be referred directly to the Industrial Court without filtering mechanism of the Minister – save time! Usually we have to wait for more than 12 months!
3. Representation on reinstatement (Section 20) may be extended to employees of statutory bodies;
4. Punishment of imprisonment for illegal picketing and strikes have been abolished in line with international labour standards;
5. Industrial Court may continue to conduct proceedings notwithstanding the death of the employee who made the representation and order the payment of back wages or compensation in lieu of reinstatement or both to the next-of-kin of the deceased employee;
6. Parties who are dissatisfied with the Industrial Court award can submit an appeal directly to the High Court within 14 days after the award is received – NO more Judicial Review! SAVE more time but need to act FAST lawyers. It’s like an appeal from Sessions Court to High Court;
7. The Industrial Court can now impose interest at the rate of 8% per annum or lesser as the Court may direct;
Copy of the Bill can be found at this link -> https://www.cljlaw.com/files/bills/pdf/2019/MY_FS_BIL_2019_31.pdf
