WOMEN and the physically challenged are still being subjected to discrimination at workforce and the Government should address the situation.
“Therefore, it is important for the Government to include protection for jobseekers and employees from discrimination in the proposed amendment to the Employment Act,” said Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO) and Engender Consultancy, in a joint statement.
In 2018, the Human Resources Ministry was in the midst of improving the Employment Act to bar discrimination on the basis of gender, religion, race, disability, marital status, pregnancy and language.
However, the ministry excluded job seekers from the anti-discrimination provisions, leaving those seeking employment at risk. It also excluded those with disability from the proposed changes.
The NGOs said that based on a study conducted by WAO and Vase.ai, many women were said to have been asked irrelevant questions during job interviews such as:
- 47% of survey respondents were asked about their marital status during a job interview
- 22% were asked about their ability to perform certain tasks as a woman
- 15% were asked about their plans to have children
- 13% were asked if they would require a long maternity leave if they got pregnant
- 22% had experienced racial or religious discrimination during the recruitment process
- 20% of women with a permanent disability were told by their interviewer/recruiter that they should consider freelancing instead as their disability was an issue
The survey was conducted by consulting 1,027 women seeking employment.
“If we extend anti-discrimination protections to job seekers, it would help create a more equal and robust workforce – ensuring qualified candidates are not excluded from job opportunities,” said the NGOs.
They also dismissed claims by the Government saying there were legal hurdles to include jobseekers in the protection under the Employment Act.
“Organisations such as Suhakam, the Bar Council and trade unions have rejected the argument. In fact, former Bar Council president K Ragunath even supported the proposal to be legislated.
“Many developed nations such as the United States, Canada, South Korea and Japan have barred discrimination, both during recruitment process and while under employment.”
As for protecting the disabled right to job, the NGOs said that it was nonsensical the former was still being discriminated despite Malaysia passing the Persons with Disabilities Act in 2008.
One of the problem, they added, was the legislation lacked remedies for those discriminated from seeking legal redress.
“And remember in 2010, Malaysia acceded to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). CRPD requires countries to prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability in employment, including during recruitment and the course of employment,” they said. – Nov 3, 2020
