The Malaysian Employment Act 1955 defines a work week as 48 hours, with a maximum of eight hours per day and six working days a week. It also provides for 10 days of paid holidays.

A worker’s rest day should be respected, so if he or she is requested to work on that day, the law stipulates that the individual needs to be compensated with a wage payment at the rate of 2.5 times the normal sum.

Ten days of holiday a year (“10 Gazetted Public Holidays”) is provided for all employees. A break of 30 minutes should be provided by employers for each five hours in excess of eight hours of work.

The exception to the eight-hour day is when the specific project or work needs to progress continuously over two shifts.

*Note: Above excerpt are extracted from The Star

Thousands of foreign workers in Malaysia have died in recent years from accidents, illnesses and suicide. They work in so-called ‘3D’ conditions – dirty, dangerous and difficult.

Critics say the death rate is a result of slack safety standards, poor housing conditions and weak enforcement of laws to protect them.

Last year, more than 1,000 foreign workers died from accidents, illnesses and suicide.

Malaysia is the largest importer of labour in Asia.

Migrant workers provide cheap labour in construction, manufacturing and plantation industries.

There are more than 3 million foreign workers, of which nearly a third is undocumented.

Majority of the foreign workers in Malaysia come from Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, Indonesia and Nepal.

Desperate to repay debts from the high recruitment agency fees and under financial pressure from their families back home, migrant workers are vulnerable to exploitation.

Many suffer non-payment of wages, abuse, serious injuries and even death.

Reference:

Malaysia’s Employment Law on Working Hours and Overtime

Resetting work hours, not just wages

Typical Work Schedules in Malaysia