Association says construction sector likely to face worker shortage

The construction sector is expected to face a shortage of workers as industries reopen after over a month of ceased operations during the movement control order period, according to the Master Builders Association of Malaysia.

MBAM deputy president Foo Chek Lee estimated that the construction industry employed some one million workers, of which only 450,000 were "registered legal workers".

The number of legal workers, registered with the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB), comprised both foreign and local workers.

"No one knows the exact figure," said Foo when quizzed on a figure for the remaining "irregular" workers, many who were reportedly paid a daily wage or employed with no formal contract.

He told Malaysiakini that travel restrictions imposed as part of Covid-19 prevention efforts had contributed to the situation affecting local developers.

"Due to restrictions in travelling from source countries, new foreign workers can't come in, including to replace workers that had gone back," Foo said when contacted today.

"Some workers who are paid daily or paid based on productivity output, they might also not be around anymore.

"Without any income during the MCO, they might have already opted for other jobs," he said.

The MCO was first enforced on March 18 and there were reports of a surge in migrant workers - particularly from Indonesia - who left the country through ferry terminals in Johor after being let go of their jobs here.

For those who remained, many were forced to seek assistance from migrant rights groups and other voluntary initiatives just to continue with their daily lives.

The foreign worker population in Malaysia has been identified as part of the Health Ministry's targeted Covid-19 screening after a recent outbreak of 27 cases at a construction site along Jalan Ampang in Kuala Lumpur.

Amid resistance from employers, Senior Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob yesterday said the decision was made to avoid Malaysia being caught in a similar situation as Singapore where an outbreak within foreign worker dormitories on the island state caused a sharp spike in cases.

Foo, however, echoed Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) president Shamsuddin Bardan's reported concern that employers will incur a high cost to screen all their workers not covered by the Social Security Organisation (Socso).

"Those who contributed to Socso i.e. the legal workers, they will be paid by Socso," he conceded.

Overall, Foo noted that it would take around two or three months for all estimated one million workers to be tested, further adding to the labour shortage problem.

It was reported earlier today that several groups representing medical practitioners said their member clinics have yet to receive rapid serology or antibody tests to be used for Socso Covid-19 screenings.

It was also reported that the antibody tests must be done twice within a week, which means that the earliest date for a worker to be certified as fit to work would be on May 13 if a test was carried out today.  - Mkini