Exclude provisions of the amended labour law at your own risk - this is the message from the Sarawak branch of the Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) to the state government, which is being lobbied by employers to leave out certain benefits for workers.

MTUC Sarawak secretary Andrew Lo said the branch would instruct all workers not to work overtime as part of state-wide industrial action if the Sarawak Labour Ordinance (SLO) is changed by ministerial order.

"This will be targeted at all employers who are affiliates of the Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF), either directly or indirectly, through the Sarawak Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Sarawak Manufacturers Association, including all banks."

The protest will involve or affect tens of thousands of workers in the timber and oil palm plantation sectors, which are major contributors to the state economy, he added.

Employers in the state had asked the government to exclude certain provisions relating to overtime, maternity benefits, sick leave, annual leave and retrenchment benefits for non-manual workers earning up to RM2,500.

They claimed that according such benefits to this category of workers would make Sarawak less competitive in the eyes of investors.

The MTUC has rejected this argument, saying that workers in Sarawak have waited 45 years to be accorded the same benefits as their counterparts in Peninsular Malaysia, and that there is no justification for employers in Sarawak to reject these.

The Sarawak branch is seeking appointments to meet Human Resources Minister Fong Chan Onn and Sarawak Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud.

This is to alert them that, if any of the provisions are excluded by ministerial order, the MTUC would consider the directive to be null and void.

Request for audit

Lo, who sits on the Employees Provident Fund board, said he is aware of "certain facts" which he will raise at its next meeting.

"I will also write to the Inland Revenue Department to conduct a full audit of Sarawak companies, particularly those involved in logging," he said.

He also said that, since state elections are due soon, the amendments could be made a political issue.

The MTUC further plans to organise a statewide road show to explain the situation to workers.

Parliament approved amendments to the SLO last December to bring Sarawak workers' benefits on par with those of their counterparts in Peninsular Malaysia, who are covered by the Employment Act.

The amendments were gazetted in February and received Royal assent the following month, and will take effect from Oct 1.

In May, MTUC Sarawak chairperson Mohd Ibrahim Hamid had said the MEF position is clearly against the will of Parliament.

"We will not tolerate any attempts to please the employers. Some of these employers do not even pay wages of their illegal foreign workers," he had claimed in his Labour Day message.