Amalan Pengurusan Pekerja Kurang Upaya dalam Sesebuah Organisasi Berdasarkan Undang-Undang di Malaysia

Abstract

ABSTRAK Hak untuk bekerja sebagai hak asasi manusia diiktiraf melalui Artikel 23(1) Deklarasi Hak Asasi Manusia Sejagat 1948. Menurut “World Health Survey 2010”, daripada 28 juta orang jumlah penduduk Malaysia, dianggarkan 10% atau seramai 2.8 juta orang adalah orang kurang upaya (OKU). Ini bermakna hampir tiga juta rakyat Malaysia adalah golongan OKU dan jumlah yang besar ini mampu mempengaruhi corak pembangunan ekonomi sesebuah negara. Atas dasar itu, artikel ini membincangkan masalah utama yang dihadapi oleh golongan OKU dalam aspek pekerjaan iaitu amalan pengurusan hak pekerja kurang upaya di sesebuah organisasi. Objektif artikel ini adalah untuk: (1) mengenal pasti hak-hak OKU dalam aspek pekerjaan berdasarkan undang-undang di Malaysia; (2) mengenal pasti amalan pengurusan sesebuah organisasi dalam melindungi hak pekerja kurang upaya; dan (3) mencadangkan langkah-langkah penambahbaikan terhadap undang-undang sedia ada bagi melindungi hak pekerja kurang upaya di Malaysia. Bagi memenuhi objektif ini, pendekatan kajian sosio perundangan yang melibatkan masalah sosial dan isu serta persoalan berhubung dengan masyarakat digunakan. Isu-isu yang dikaji meliputi amalan atau praktis sesebuah organisasi yang menggaji pekerja kurang upaya dalam memastikan hak OKU berdasarkan Akta OKU 2008. Ia meliputi tiga perkara iaitu kadar upah, peluang kenaikan pangkat dan persekitaran tempat kerja. Hasil dapatan mendapati, hanya kadar upah sahaja yang memenuhi kehendak peruntukan dalam Akta OKU 2008 sebaliknya tidak bagi dua perkara lagi. Sehubungan dengan itu, dua cadangan dikemukakan bagi memastikan golongan pekerja kurang upaya mendapat perlindungan sewajarnya di tempat kerja iaitu penambahbaikan dari sudut definisi pekerja kurang upaya dan penambahan aspek hukuman terhadap pelanggaran Akta OKU 2008. Melalui penambahbaikan ini, semua pihak khususnya majikan atau organisasi dapat memahami serta mengenali keperluan dan kehendak pekerja kurang upaya seterusnya membawa kepada penguatkuasaan akta yang lebih berkesan. Kata kunci: Hak bekerja; pekerja kurang upaya; amalan organisasi ABSTRACT The right to work has been recognized through article 23(1) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948. According to "World Health Survey 2010", 10 percent of Malaysia's population of 28 million or 2.8 million, are people with disabilities (PWDs). It indicates that nearly three million citizens of Malaysia are PWDs and this can surely influence the economic landscape of the country. This article discusses the major problem confronted by PWDs in the area of employment, particularly the practice of the organization in managing the rights of disabled employees. The purposes of this paper are: (1) to identify the rights of disabled employees according to Malaysian law; (2) to identify organization’s practices in managing the rights of the disabled employees; and (3) to recommend some improvement to the existing laws for the protection of disabled employees’ rights in Malaysia. In order to accomplish these objectives, socio-legal research was the approach used that involved social issues as well as problems relating to the community. The issues studied are the practices of the organization that employs workers with disability in ensuring their rights are in accordance with the Persons with Disabilities Act 2008 (the Act). These involved three aspects namely the requirement on wages, opportunity for promotion, and environment at work. The study revealed that the requirement on wages was fulfilled and in accordance with the Act but not in the other two aspects. On this account, two suggestions are proposed to ensure the disabled employees are getting proper protection at the work place namely the amendment to the definition of disabled employees and insertion of penalty provision in the case of violation of the Act. With this improvement, all parties especially the employers or organizations will understand and acknowledge the needs of disabled employees which accordingly would ensure an efficient enforcement of the law. Keywords: Person with disabilities; employment rights; organization practices.