MTUC urges gov't to step up monitoring of companies, factories for MCO violations

The Malaysian Trade Union Congress (MTUC) has urged the government to step up monitoring of companies and factories allowed to operate under the third phase of the movement control order (MCO).

Its president Abdul Halim Mansor (above) said that since the MCO was enforced on March 18, MTUC had received over 500 reports of alleged non-compliance by employers in various sectors.

Abdul Halim said the reports included those against companies that allegedly operated round-the-clock to make up for lost production time with workers being "forced" to accept such working conditions despite MCO regulations.

"They had to come to work and on the way home they were arrested (for breaking the MCO) but the employers refused to be held responsible," he claimed.

"What happened inside the companies? There's a guideline on breaks for small groups at a time but what we see is that (all the) workers were forced to follow regular hours," he said when contacted today.

The concerns came amid close scrutiny on companies in the manufacturing sector allowed to operate under MCO, particularly to meet global demands for rubber gloves amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

This comes amidst reported pressure, including from the European Union, for local manufacturers to boost output through introducing a "24/7 production".

It is understood that migrant workers make up the majority of the production line in glove factories and sources told Malaysiakini there have been increasing complaints since enforcement of the movement control order on March 18.

Several photographs and videos sighted by Malaysiakini showed a large number of workers at what is believed to be the main production floor of a local glove factory based in a northern state.

While workers are seen to be wearing rubber gloves, face masks and head coverings as part of their personal protection equipment, sources revealed their concerns lie primarily with purported non-compliance with the Health Ministry's social distancing guidelines for companies allowed to operate under the MCO.

At another facility, sources highlighted alleged discrimination in "RM1 meals" provided by companies with only those who work ordinary hours being entitled to it while others on night duty had to pay the regular price.

Sources also claimed workers on the night shift were not subjected to screenings conducted during the day.

Malaysiakini has contacted Malaysian Rubber Glove Manufacturers Association (Margma) president Denis Low for comments on the allegations made against several of his association's members and the glovemaking sector as a whole.

Meanwhile, Abdul Halim said while the Health Ministry has come up with its guidelines, what remains lacking is on the ground was monitoring to ensure compliance.

"The question now lies whether compliance with these conditions are being monitored through visits to the premises allowed to operate.

"From what we understand, in the beginning of the MCO from March 18 to March 30, there was nothing done by the government to monitor the level of compliance," he claimed, adding that it was only in the third phase of the MCO that International Trade and Industry Minister Mohamed Azmin Ali had announced stricter monitoring of workers for additional sectors allowed to operate.

Abdul Halim further cited conditions set by Miti - in charge of approving applications to operate under the MCO - including for companies to submit a name list of all workers involved; to provide a thermal scanner at the workplace; to record their daily temperatures and to keep the records as reference for at least three months.

On Thursday, Azmin reportedly revealed that Miti had revoked the approvals given to four companies to operate during the MCO period after they were found to have violated the prescribed conditions.

He further said investigations were also being conducted by the Labour Department in Peninsular Malaysia and the police against 35 companies reported to have violated conditions set by his ministry.

In the initial phase of MCO, glove factories were listed as part of essential services allowed to operate at 50 percent capacity.

Margma reported warning of a global shortage as a result of reduced supply from Malaysia and this prompted Miti to allow glove factories to return to full production as of April 1.

Commenting further, Abdul Halim said MTUC's concerns surrounding compliance with occupational safety guidelines extended beyond the workplace to workers accommodations, particularly for foreign labourers.

"We can see, for example, what was recently reported in Sepang, a group of glove factory workers were arrested for holding a Songkran party

"This could be another potential cluster, where workers are living without any social distancing measures," he said, noting that similar cramped conditions were found in Selangor Mansion and Malayan Mansion after the areas were placed under enhanced MCO.

With 601 cases of Covid-19 among foreigners in the country, Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah yesterday said companies employing foreign workers must take the necessary precautions to prevent new clusters.

At the same time, Abdul Halim stressed that the same standards to protect workers safety are applicable before, during and after the MCO.

Last week, MTUC had in a joint statement with 25 other labour rights organisations and trade unions - both from Malaysia and abroad - called on the government and Human Resources Minister M Saravanan to enforce specific regulations for the prevention of Covid-19 in the workplace.

"The Human Resources Ministry should also send Department of Occupational Safety and Health officers regularly to specific workplaces to ensure compliance and also to develop any legally enforceable regulations that may be workplace specific," said the group.

Malaysiakini has contacted the minister for response.

Earlier this year, Margma estimated Malaysia’s rubber glove exports to surge nearly 20 percent to 230 billion pieces this year, up from 192 billion pieces last year, backed by growing global demand for the item used as part of frontliners' personal protective equipment.

The anticipated growth also represents an expected increase from an earlier forecast of RM20.68 billion export value. - Mkini