CIDB found 86.1 pct of construction sites inspected yet to resume operations

CORONAVIRUS | Over 85 percent of construction sites inspected by the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) since the conditional movement control order (MCO) was enforced on May 12 have yet to resume operations, according to Defence Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

Speaking at the daily Covid-19 update press conference in Putrajaya, Ismail said CIDB found 3,603 or 86.1 percent of sites idle from 4,183 inspected so far.

Of the 580 sites found to have resumed operations, Ismail said 425 have complied with the new standard operating procedures (SOPs), 150 were given warnings for non-compliance while five were ordered to close.

"I am mentioning about these inspections on construction sites because previously we found positive Covid-19 cases there.

"We have ordered the sites to shut down and made it mandatory for foreign workers in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor red zones to undergo swab tests," he said in reference to Covid-19 infection clusters discovered among foreign workers at construction sites in Bukit Bintang and Setia Alam.

"So I am mentioning this because many people are of the view that the situation at construction sites are still dangerous," he said.

Aside from mandatory Covid-19 testings for foreign workers, other conditions imposed on the construction sector include introducing social distancing protocols including at workers residents and transport.

Master Builders Association Malaysia president Foo Chek Lee had previously attributed delays in the resumed operations to a long wait list to perform Covid-19 testings for foreign workers, particularly at clinics registered under the Social Security Organisation (Socso) scheme.

Foo had also predicted that the construction sector will face a labour shortage, with an initial estimate of one million workers hired at sites nationwide, but only 450,000 were "legal foreign and local workers" registered with CIDB.

The remaining figure represented an estimate for "irregular workers" who were reportedly paid a daily wage or employed with no formal contract.

Nearly two months of the MCO period have reportedly seen a large number of irregular migrant workers losing their jobs, on top of Putrajaya's recent series of large scale raids in areas placed under strict lockdown. - Mkini