Dismissed From a Job in Sarawak
An oil and gas contract ending in Miri and a Kuching office dismissal count from the same date.
Sarawak’s economy leans on oil and gas around Miri and Bintulu, timber further inland, and services centred on Kuching. A dismissal from any of these runs through the same Section 20 process.
That process is heard at the Industrial Court’s own branch in Kuching.
Oil and gas contracts and the retrenchment question
Contract workers on oil and gas projects around Miri and Bintulu are often told their role ended through non-renewal, not dismissal. The practical effect can still be the same.
If a genuine retrenchment took place, the usual practice still applies.2 The most recently hired staff in a category go first.
A hire date list from your project is worth keeping. Compare it against who was let go if the order looks wrong.
Kuching’s own waterfront services sector, around the Sarawak River and the Astana, runs on a smaller scale than Miri’s oil and gas cluster. Terminations there more often come from a single restructuring decision.
Sarawak’s Labour Ordinance and the Industrial Relations Act
Sarawak applies its own Labour Ordinance for entitlements such as leave. This sits apart from the Employment Act used elsewhere.
The Section 20 unfair dismissal route sits outside that ordinance. It applies across Sarawak the same way it applies nationally.
Timber sector workers further inland face a similar question, since seasonal logging cycles are sometimes used to explain a dismissal that was really about something else.
Filing from Miri, Bintulu or Kuching
Sarawak has its own Industrial Court branch in Kuching.1 A claim from anywhere in the state, including Miri and Bintulu, is heard there.
Conciliation runs first through the JPPM office for Sarawak, based in Kuching, before any referral.
The deadline calculator works out your filing date once you know your last working day. Your evidence should include your contract and project correspondence.
A short message about your project and role helps us point you the right way.
Whether your work was on an oil and gas site in Miri or Bintulu, or in a Kuching office, tell us your dates and we can talk through the process.
Common questions
My oil and gas contract in Miri was not renewed, but I was told it was a retrenchment. Does the distance from Kuching matter?
The hearing happens in Kuching regardless of whether you worked in Miri, Bintulu or the city itself, since that is where Sarawak's Industrial Court branch sits. Distance does not change your rights, only where you need to be for a hearing.
Sarawak has its own Labour Ordinance. Does that replace the unfair dismissal process?
No. The Labour Ordinance for Sarawak covers entitlements like leave and hours, while the Section 20 unfair dismissal route under the Industrial Relations Act still applies here the same way it does across the country.
Several of us were let go from the same Bintulu project at once. Should we compare notes?
Yes, carefully. If your employer picked who to release without following the usual practice of letting newer hires go first, comparing hire dates and roles among affected colleagues can support each person's individual case.
Sources
- The Industrial Court sits at its Kuala Lumpur headquarters with branches including Penang, Ipoh, Johor Bahru, Kota Kinabalu and Kuching. Malaysian Counsel
- In a retrenchment the conventional selection principle is Last In First Out within the affected category, an employer may depart from it only with justification, and the redundancy itself must be genuine. Richard Wee Chambers
Keep reading
Whether your work was on an oil and gas site in Miri or Bintulu, or in a Kuching office, tell us your dates and we can talk through the process.