The government has decided to establish legislation specifically to regulate gig workers in the country.

The Human Resources Ministry said in view of the difficulty in ensuring the "contract of service" element for jobs in the gig economy, the current provisions under the Employment Act 1955 were not appropriate to regulate the sector.

"The government also has no plan to amend the Employment Act 1955 to adapt it to jobs in the gig economy," the ministry said in a written reply to Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad (PKR-Setiawangsa) during the Dewan Rakyat sitting today.

He said the government had decided to protect those involved in the gig economy sector accordingly.

"The government is studying several options to regulate workers in the gig economy in terms of work and social security. Among the matters being studied is the applicability of existing labour laws such as the Employment Act 1955 to regulate these workers," it said.

However, the ministry is also prioritising the group's "nature of work" which differs from the usual workers in the formal sector. It said the enforcement of labour laws must not affect the flexibility for workers and companies in the gig economy.

From the social security aspect, he said the group was protected under the Self-Employment Social Security Act 2017 (Act 789).

-- BERNAMA