398 employers in Johor to lay off workers, slash wages during MCO

A total of 398 employers in the state have applied to carry out retrenchment and wage cut exercises which involved 15,597 workers during the enforcement of the movement control order (MCO) to date.

State Health and Environment Committee chairman R Vidyananthan said the exercises saw 1,443 workers had been laid off, while another 180 had voluntarily quit their employment, 2,864 were temporarily laid off and 11,110 workers accepted pay cuts.

As provided for under section 63 of the Employment Act 1955, employers are required to notify relevant authorities about new recruitment or retrenchment by filling in provided forms, he said in a statement today.

He also said that during MCO, the Johor Labour Department had established ‘Skuad Khidmat Cepat’ (rapid service squad) to manage complaints with the Department of Occupational Safety and Health.

After a complaint was received, the team would contact the employer to advise them in complying with the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 (Act 342).

“If the employer still fails to adhere to the directive, the special task force will summon them to the Labour Department’s office to ensure that they comply with the order. 

"If the employer continues to disobey, the special task force is required to visit the employer’s premises and may also involve the police to enforce Act 342,” he said. - Bernama