Equal Employment Opportunity

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (HRM730)
EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY: CAN IT BE PRACTICED IN MALAYSIA?

Prepared For: AP DR HJ AZMAN BIN CHE OMAR
Prepared By: YUZLYANA BT MOHAMAD NOORDIN (2011263226)
28 NOVEMBER 2011
MARA University of Technology
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
In the name of Allah, the most Gracious and Peace be upon His Messenger, the holy Prophet Muhammad SAW
Alhamdulillah, finally this individual assignment is completed on the required deadline. I am very grateful to Allah S.W.T for giving me the strength and opportunity to complete this assignment. It has been the most precious experience to be able to do this assignment.
I would like to express my special thanks to my HRM730 lecturer, AP Dr. Hj. Azman Bin Che Omar for his guidance, comments and invaluable advice during the presentation of this work and in our HRM tutorial class.
Not forgotten, to all my colleagues for the ideas, support and help. Without them, our class will not be cheerful. Also, lots of thank to my family who are very understanding and highly supported me in completion of this study.
THANK YOU
Individual Assignment: EEO: Can It Be Practiced in Malaysia?
TABLE OF CONTENT
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
1.
INTRODUCTION 1.1. 1.2. The Definition of Equal Employment Opportunity Legislation in Malaysia
4 4 5
2.
THE EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION IN MALAYSIA 2.1. 2.2. 2.3. 2.4. Sex or Gender Issues in Malaysia Division of Labor: Race Issues in Malaysia Religious Diversity in Malaysia Other EEO Issues
7 7 11 12 14
3.
THE REMEDIAL ACTION AND PRACTICAL ADVICE ON REDUCING EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION PROBLEMS IN MALAYSIA
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4.
CONCLUSION
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5.
LIST OF REFERENCES
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1.0.
INTRODUCTION
Equal employment opportunity (EEO) is a broad concept holding that individuals should have equal treatment in all employment-related actions. Individuals who are covered under equal employment laws are protected from illegal discrimination in term of race, ethnic origin, gender, age, individuals with disabilities (physical or mental), religion and marital status.
To promote investments and economic growth, the Malaysian government encourages a cordial relationship between employers and employees. Generally, Malaysia has had no occurrence of crippling worker strikes, lock-outs and demonstrations over the past ten to fifteen years. Problems are usually resolved in an atmosphere of goodwill and negotiation between parties, including trade unions.
1.1.
THE DEFINITION OF EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY (EEO)
EEO is a positive way of describing the absence of unlawful discrimination within the workplace. EEO aims to ensure people are not discriminated against on the basis of certain characteristics such as race, color, sex, religion, political opinion, national extraction or social origin, medical record, irrelevant criminal record, impairment, marital status, pregnancy, age, sexuality, transgender status, family or membership of any lawful organizations.
1.2.
LEGISLATION IN MALAYSIA
The major pieces of employment-related legislation currently applicable in Malaysia can be listed as follows: a) Employment Act 1955 b) Wages Councils Act 1947 c) Sabah Labour Ordinance d) Sarawak Labour Ordinance e) Children and Young Persons (Employment) Act 1966 f) Workers Minimum Standards of Housing and Amenities Act 1990 g) Weekly Holidays Act 1950 h) Pensions Act 1980 i) Trade Unions Act 1959 j) Industrial Relations Act 1967 k) Public Services Tribunal Act 1977 l) Employees Provident Fund Act 1991 m) Employees Social Security Act 1969 n) Workmens Compensation Act 1952 o) Factories and Machinery Act 1967 p) Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 q) Employment (Restriction) Act 1968 r) Pembangunan Sumber Manusia Bhd Act 2001
The major employment laws in the country that directly impact the employment relationship are the Employment Act 1955 (EA) and the Industrial Relations Act 1967 (IRA).The EA governs matters relating to employment in Malaysia and applies to most employees whose wages do not exceed RM1,500 or who are engaged in specified work (i.e., manual labor or supervising manual labor, or operation or maintenance of a motor vehicle, irrespective of salary amount [EA employee]). The employment terms and conditions of employees above this wage level or those who are otherwise outside the ambit of the EA, are governed by common law and by their employment contracts.
The main areas covered by the EA are terms relating to employment contracts, including the termination of contracts, maternity protection, days and hours of work, annual leave, public holidays, termination and lay-off benefits and methods of dealing with complaints and enquiries.
The IRA deals with relations between employers and trade unions, and the prevention and settlement of differences or trade disputes through conciliation or by the Industrial Court. In practice it protects the rights of workers and employers to form or join a trade union and to participate in its lawful activities, and prohibits employers from discriminating against workers on the ground of union membership. The IRA further provides for procedures for collective bargaining.
2.0.
THE EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION IN MALAYSIA
Malaysian government has introduced and passed various employment-related laws to ensure all employees can enjoy equal access to employment and related opportunities and benefits, and also to protect employees from greedy employers. Until recently, Malaysia had no legislation governing employment discrimination, although the Federal Constitution does state that there shall be no discrimination against citizens on the ground of religion, race, descent or place of birth.
On September 28, 2001, Article 8(2) of the Federal Constitution was amended to prohibit gender discrimination through the Constitution (Amendment) (N2) Act 2001. This, however, has yet to be encapsulated in any specific legislation. The question is, is it all employees are treated fairly, equitably and with respect and enjoying a work environment that free from unlawful harassment, discrimination or bullying?
2.1.
SEX OR GENDER ISSUES IN MALAYSIA
Whether we realized it or not, the discrimination against women in Malaysia is unintentionally occurred due to our culture and practice. This dilemma can be seen as follows:
a) It is culturally unacceptable for our women to work in traditionally male dominated sectors, such as mining and construction. This creates in an invisible barrier for women who wish to work in these sectors. Thats why these sectors have been dominated by male workers.
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b) There is lack of working women at senior level in both the public and private sectors. This can create a stereotypes that women are either not competent, or do not have enough experience to undertake responsible as a senior roles. For instance, the opportunity of female worker to get the professional position at Kelantan State Government organizations is quite limited, since the State gives the higher priority to male worker to hold the position. Below is the proportion of female senior officer grade N48 compared to male officer at MPKB-BRI in 2010: Senior Officer Female Grade N48 No. 1 Percentage (%) 11.11 Source: MPKB-BRIs 2010 Annual Report
Male 8 88.89
Also, the proportions of women to men in the local councils in five states of West Malaysia are extremely low. At the Kuala Lumpur City Hall, the ratio of women to men was 1:12 between year 1985 - 1988 and 1:13 between year 1989 1991 (Aminah, 1998). In 2011, female participation in the labor market is 44.4% compared to 79.2% for men (Human Development Report 2011).
c) At the national level, womens representation is still relatively low. Women's participation in decision making positions in government ministries is similar. In year 1994 - 1995, the female-male ratio in the cabinet was 1:12.5, and nothing has happened to increase women's representation (Aminah, 1998). In
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2011, only 14% of parliamentary seats are held by women (Human Development Report 2011).
According to Azizah (2002), if the number of elected women is an indicator, there has been a slow improvement in the status and position of women in Malaysias decision making process. She added there are at least five common factors which form obstacles to Malaysian womens active participation in politics. She classifies the factors as, social discrimination against womens roles in the public domain, time constraints due to career and domestic demands, cultural and religious arguments that a womans place is in the home, structural constraints within each political party that do not allow women to advance beyond a certain level, and lack of adequate resources in terms of organizational support, personal influence and finance.
d) Indirect discrimination also occurs when a companys policies and practices make it difficult for women to fulfill job requirements, or make it very cumbersome for women to continue working. For examples, lots of companies in private sector do not provide flexible working conditions for a mother, making it difficult to her to work full-time or part-time. This can be seen in term of working hours where sometimes women must work in night-shift or the absence or the limited of maternity leave provisions that may caused she will quit from the job.
e) Many women experience sexual abuse and harassment in the workplace by colleagues and employers compared to male worker. For instance, an analysis was carried out in year 2005 to determine the gender of the harasser. The results are as follows: Immediate supervisor 61.5% 38.5% Coworker 55.3% 44.7%
Gender Male Female
Management 63.5% 36.5%
Subordinate 55.9% 44.1%
Client 60.0% 40.0%
The results indicate that most of the harassers were males who hold the management and supervisory position as well as male clients. In relation to the sexual harassment encounters with co-worker and subordinate, there wasnt much difference between genders of the harasser (Laxman, Md Som, Mohamed Saat, Heng, 2005).
f) Women are also discriminated against for their reproductive status. For example, mostly in private sector, woman having less opportunity to move to senior positions due to the fact they require some time off to have a child.
g) There is no stipulation in the Employment Act 1955 with regard to pay equality; where employers paying lower wages to their women employees, as compared to male workers, for doing the same amount of work. Women in the private sector are subject to wage discrimination as compared to their male counterparts. In the public sector, women are better placed as the norm of equal pay for equal work prevails.
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2.2.
DIVISION OF LABOR: RACE ISSUES IN MALAYSIA
Affirmative action is intended as an attempt to promote equal opportunity. The implementation of affirmative action in Malaysia is to protect the Malay privilege against other races. The Malaysian New Economic Policy or NEP serves as a form of affirmative action. Malaysia provides affirmative action because in general, the Malays have lower income than the Chinese who have traditionally been involved in businesses and industries. However, this approach has created on racial inequality because it does not treat all races equally. This dilemma can be seen as follows:
a) Malaysia is a multi-ethnic country, with Malays making up the majority of close to 52% of the population. About 30% of the populations are Chinese descent, while Indian descent comprises about 8% of the population. Therefore, government policy provides preferential placement for ethnic Malays, and 95% of all new intakes for the army, hospital nurses, police, and other government institutions are Malays. As of 2004, only 7% of all government servants are ethnic Chinese, a drop from 30% in 1960 (Wikipedia: Affirmative Action, 2010).
b) All eight of the directors of the national petroleum company, Petronas, are Malays, and only 3% of Petronas employees are Chinese. Additionally, 95% of all government contracts are awarded to ethnic Malays (Wikipedia: Affirmative Action, 2010).
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c) Companies listed on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (Bursa Saham Kuala Lumpur) must have 30% bumiputera ownership of equity to satisfy listing requirements. Foreign companies that operate in Malaysia also must adhere to this requirement. Many Chinese-owned companies have avoided expansion of activities in order to avoid the 30% Malay ownership quota. [Wikipedia: Bumiputera (Malaysia), 2009].
d) Many government-tendered projects require that companies submitting tenders be bumiputera owned. This requirement has led to non-bumiputeras teaming up with bumiputera companies to obtain projects, in a practice known as Ali Baba. Ali, the bumiputera, is included solely to satisfy this requirement, and Baba (the non-bumiputera) pays Ali a certain sum in exchange [Wikipedia: Bumiputera (Malaysia), 2009].
e) Projects were earmarked for bumiputera contractors to enable them to gain expertise in various fields [Wikipedia: Bumiputera (Malaysia), 2009].
2.3.
RELIGIOUS DIVERSITY IN MALAYSIA
Nearly all the world religions, including Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Christianity are present in Malaysia. Religion correlates strongly with ethnicity, with most Muslims are Malay, most Hindus are Indian, and most Buddhists are Chinese. The presence of such diversity heightens the importance of religious identity, and most Malaysians have a strong sense of how their religious practice differs from that of others. The different religious beliefs and practitioners in
12
Malaysian ethnic also create inequality among the employees and it can be seen as follows:
a) In term of employment opportunity, Malaysian government policy provides preferential placement for ethnic Malays that mostly are Muslim in government sectors. While, the majority of non-Muslim are dominating in corporate sectors such as in the banking sectors.
b) The government also most concerned with the practices of the Muslim majority, since Islam is the official religion (60% of the population is Muslim). For example, Muslim employees in government sectors are allowed to perform solat Jumaat during Friday noon at the mosque.
c) In term of public religious holidays, Malaysian government has allowed a longer day off for Muslim compared to other religious practitioners. For instance, normally Muslim are given 2 3 day off to celebrate Hari Raya, while Hindus and Christians only given 1 day off to celebrate Deepavali and Christmas.
d) During fasting month (Ramadhan), several government institutions mostly in state level, has allowed its employees to turn back early than normal working hour. For example, MPKB-BRIs working hour during Ramadhan is start from 8.00 am to 4.00 am, an hour early compared to other government public sectors in Kota Bharu.
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e) Non-Muslim religious buildings, practices, and holidays have a smaller public life in Malaysia. Part of this is due to fewer believers in the country, and part is due to public policy which limits the building of churches and temples along with the broadcasting of non-Muslim religious services.
2.4.
OTHER EEO ISSUES
2.4.1. LAWS ON SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN MALAYSIA
At present, there are no laws against sexual harassment at the workplace. Women who wish to pursue the matter have to make a police report and rely on the police to prosecute the aggressor under criminal law. It is very difficult to prosecute harassers in the courts and at the workplace. The situation is complicated as the womens jobs may be at risk if they file a complaint against the aggressor(s). However, in 1999, the Code of Practice on the Prevention and Eradication of Sexual Harassment in the Workplace was promulgated (Sexual Harassment Code). The Sexual Harassment Code is not legally binding, but companies are expected to adopt its recommendations.
2.4.2. INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES IN MALAYSIA
In 2001, the Labor Department of the Malaysian Ministry of Human Resources issued the Code of Practice for the Employment of the Disabled in the Private Sector (Disability Code). Though the Disability Code sets
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out the certain responsibilities of both the employer and the disabled employee, like other similar Codes relating to employment, there are no legal sanctions for non-compliance.
The Malaysian Government recently passed the Persons with Disabilities Act 2008 (PDA). It will be the first specific anti-discrimination law in Malaysia that applies in the workplace. Under the PDA, employers are now legally required to ensure that employees with disabilities are accorded just and favorable work conditions and equal remuneration to those without disabilities. However, it is not expressly clear whether the PDA will cover both employees as well as job applicants. At present, the protections under the PDA only extend to current employees.
The Department of Occupational Safety and Health of the Malaysian Ministry of Human Resources has also issued a Code of Practice on Prevention and Management of HIV/ AIDS at the Workplace (HIV/ AIDS Code) on September 2001 to reduce the spread of the disease and guide employers and employees in managing HIV/ AIDS issues at the workplace. The objectives of this HIV/ AIDS Code are to provide guidelines to employers and employees on appropriate and effective ways of preventing and managing HIV/ AIDS at the workplace.
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3.0.
THE REMEDIAL ACTION AND PRACTICAL ADVICE ON REDUCING EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION PROBLEMS IN MALAYSIA
3.1.
Certain forms of support within the society are important for the development of womens role in employment. Malaysia, like any other country, needs to have balanced male/ female representation in the public sphere, so that women can participate in high-level decision-making. Having women at the highest levels of decision making not only means the articulation of issues generally perceived to be womens issues, but ensures that the interests and needs of women, who are half of the population, are given due weight and consideration. Therefore, womens perspectives will be easier to hear and more highly valued in national discussions, in the direction of creating a more just, open, fair and equitable society.
3.2.
Beside that, it is important to provide support for skills development for retrenched women workers, skills improvement for low level women workers, entrepreneurship development and access to labor market information. To maintain Malaysia's competitive edge, there is a need to promote gender equity policies in order to: a) Assist re-entry of women who have taken time off for childcare (e.g., skills upgrading or retraining programs, access to child care, and flexible work hours); b) Ensure equal pay for equal work;
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c) Encourage young women to select studies leading to higher-skilled and betterwaged jobs through vocational counseling; and provide management training for women at supervisory levels.
3.3.
In term of racial inequality, 71% of Malaysians agree that race-based affirmative action policy is obsolete and must be replaced with a merit-based policy1. Therefore, our Prime Minister, Dato Seri Najib Tun Abdul Razak has reform New Economic Model program to modify these ethnic preferences. This program aims to shift affirmative action from being ethnically-based to being need-based hence becoming more competitive, market and investor friendly.
3.4.
To successfully combat sexual harassment in the workplace, there are several ways to reduce sexual harassment as follows: a) A policy statement from management prohibiting sexual harassment in the organization; b) Setting-up a special complaint/ grievance procedure; c) Clear stipulation of the disciplinary rules and penalties that will be imposed against a harasser; and d) Promotional and educational programs to explain the companys policy on sexual harassment and to raise awareness of sexual harassment among all employees.
The survey poll was conducted by the independent Merdeka Centre between 18 June 2008 and 29 July 2008, the result showed that up to 65% of Malays who were asked the question agreed that race-based affirmative action should be done away, compared with 83% of Chinese and 89% of Indian respondents.
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3.5.
In term of individual with disabilities in the workforce, employers should set up and implement in-house mechanisms as outlined in the Disability Code, the PDA and the HIV/ AIDS Code. Such measures should be implemented despite the codes not having the force of law, so as to promote positive employee relations and to ensure equal and non-discriminatory workplace practices and attitude.
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4.0.
CONCLUSION
The Malaysian government has provided a systematic working environment to develop a competitive workforce, to protect the welfare of workers and to promote good employeremployee relationships through a stable and peaceful industrial relations system.
However, to practice fully and equally employment opportunity treatment to the Malaysian workforce is quite hard and may be impossible due to some important reason that cannot be considerate, such as the obligation and protection to our religion, the need to compliance with our principles of constitution, and also the result of our culture and practice.
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5.0
LIST OF REFERENCES
Abdullah, F.H. (1997), Affirmative Action Policy in Malaysia: To Restructure Society, to Eradicate Poverty in Ethnic Studies Report. XV (2), July.
ADAPS-6-EEO, Equal Employment Opportunity, Discrimination & Workplace Behavior Policy.
Aminah,A. (1998), Women in Malaysia, Programs Department and Social Development Division, Asian Development Bank.
Azizah,W. (2002), Women in Politics: Reflections from Malaysia, Stockholm: International IDEA 2002, pp. 191-202.
Human Development Report (2011), Sustainability and Equity: A Better Future for All, 2011 HDR composite indices, Malaysia.
Laxman,L., Md Som,H., Mohamed Saat,M. and Heng,L.H. (2005), A Study on Sexual Harassment in Small and Medium Enterprises of Malaysia, University Teknologi Malaysia, Malaysia, Vot 71875.
Maimunah,A. (2008), Human Resource Management: Principles and Practices, Oxford University Press, Malaysia.
Maimunah,A. (2011), Malaysian Industrial Relations Employment Law, 7th Edition, McGraw Hill Education, Malaysia.
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Mathis,R.L. and Jackson,J.H. (2003), Human Resource Management, 10 th Edition, South Western, Thomson Learning.
MPKB-BRI 2010 Annual Report (2010), Bahagian Perhubungan Awam, Majlis Perbandaran Kota Bharu Bandar Raya Islam.
The FW de Klerk Foundation. (2004), Affirmative Action in Malaysia, South Africa.
Web Sources
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affirmative_action en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bumiputera_(Malaysia) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaysian_New_Economic_Policy en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Economic_Model hdrstats.undp.org/images/explanations/MYS.pdf www.everyculture.com/Ja-Ma/Malaysia.html www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2777.htm
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HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (HRM730)