HR Ministry to enforce minimum housing standards in workers’ dorms tomorrow

 

The Human Resources Ministry will enforce minimum housing standards for migrant workers’ dormitories beginning tomorrow, amid the surge in cases involving such dwellings.

Senior Minister (Defence Cluster) Ismail Sabri Yaakob said employers who fail to provide proper housing can be imposed stiff penalties of up to RM50,000 per worker under the Workers' Minimum Standards of Housing and Amenities Act 1990.

“There is one factory in our country that has received fairly poor comments from international bodies for placing workers in crowded conditions.

“So, this act will provide for more comfortable conditions for the workers […]

“The Human Resources Ministry has informed the (National Security Council) meeting earlier today that the enforcement will begin tomorrow to ensure it is followed every employer in every industry,” he told a press conference today.

Ismail did not name the factory nor the international body concerned.

The announcement comes as outbreaks at Top Glove’s workers’ dormitories and a construction site in Kuala Lumpur fuel spikes in Covid-19 cases in the Klang Valley.

The law, also known as Act 446, was originally drafted to specify minimum standards for workers’ accommodation in plantations and mines covering more than 20 acres but an amendment was introduced last year to extend this to all industries.

The law was originally slated to come into force on June 1 this year but was postponed to Aug 31 despite concerns that poor living conditions were fuelling the spread of Covid-19 among migrant workers.

“This is to give employers the space to make the necessary preparations,” said Human Resources Minister M Saravanan, despite a series of Covid-19 outbreaks involving construction sites in the Klang Valley at the time when the postponement was announced in May.

On July 22, his ministry said the amendment would come into effect on Sept 1.

For the record, the amendment has already been gazetted into law effective June 1.

Meanwhile, to a question, Ismail Sabri said the government would consider screening all migrant workers in areas under conditional movement control orders every two weeks.

For now, the priority is to get the first round of screening of all migrant workers in the country underway, starting with 800,342 workers in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Labuan, Penang, and Negeri Sembilan.

The Social Security Organisation will subsidise up to RM60 for each of the rapid antigen tests (RTK-Ag) while the Human Resources Ministry will draft a schedule for the testing to take place.

The first phase of the test involving the five states and federal territories is expected to take four to six weeks, said the minister. - Mkini