NIBONG TEBAL: The Human Resource Ministry (Kesuma) will be tabling a policy paper on establishing the Gig Workers Commission to the Cabinet this month.
Its minister, Steven Sim Chee Keong said a preliminary study report on the proposed commission had been tabled in a Cabinet meeting two months ago to obtain feedback from the Cabinet to improve the framework and will be presented again in one or two weeks.
"After the tabling (preliminary report) last month, we return to Kesuma to further enhance it, taking into consideration the inputs of Cabinet Ministers.
"This month, maybe in a week or two, we will present a policy paper on the improvements to provide protection to gig sector workers, especially in three main aspects, in terms of better wage compensation, security protection and complaint mechanism.
"This is only at the initial stage so it is subject to the approval of the cabinet and (if approved at the cabinet level later) it may involve amendments or drafts of existing laws," he told reporters at the Launching of Sponsorship for Northern Zone e-Hailing and p-Hailing is here, today.
Commenting further, Sim said gig workers are not included in the definition of workers in the act, therefore any complaints cannot be made to the Department of Labour (JTK) because they only take complaints from workers who are defined as workers according to the Employment Act 1955.
In that regard, he said his ministry will relook at what is the best definition to classify the group in the future.
"Based on the engagement sessions held, they do not want to be defined as conventional workers so, what is being done is that we will take the benchmarks of regional countries as well as the best practices around the world and detail the suitability for implementation in our country," he said.
Earlier, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim called for the setting up of the Gig Workers Commission to be expedited to protect the rights of gig workers who have now reached 1.12 million people, especially among young people.
Meanwhile, Steven said as of June 21, a total of 648,657 individuals had contributed under the Self-Employed Social Security Scheme (SKSPS).
Of that number, 5,787 are e-hailing and p-hailing drivers in the northern region who are active contributors under the initiative sponsored by Grab Malaysia to more than 180,000 drivers andriders.