Implement stricter health policies in workplaces, govt told

 

The Labour Law Reform Coalition said the government must guarantee the social protection of workers when workplaces are forced to close.

PETALING JAYA: The government should implement stricter health policies in workplaces, especially export industries, if a Covid-19 case is detected, said the Labour Law Reform Coalition (LLRC).

LLRC co-chairmen N Gopal Kishnam and Irene Xavier said that if Covid-19 cases are detected in a workplace, it must be closed and every worker tested.

“Once the workplace is closed, employers and the government must guarantee that employees receive their salaries as usual,” they said in a statement.

The two said they were shocked to hear that an electronics factory was still operating normally after 19 workers died of Covid-19.

“The lives of those workers could have been saved if authorities had taken swift action to detect the virus in the factory,” they said.

Both of them added that in the past two months, statistics from the health ministry have proven that most of the new Covid-19 clusters were from workplaces.

However, they pointed out that international trade and industry (Miti) minister Azmin Ali still allowed workplaces with large numbers of workers to continue operating.

They claimed that Miti’s letter of permission to operate did not get the support of some ministers as some non-essential factory owners used the “backdoor” to operate.

“We condemn industrial and health policies that do not prioritise the lives of workers and instead give priority to exploiting the workforce, especially in export industries during the pandemic.

“The government must guarantee the social protection of workers when workplaces are forced to cease operations. This is because their family members including the elderly and children are entitled to food and a satisfactory standard of living,” they said. - FMT