PUTRAJAYA needs to immediately conduct a nationwide check on workplaces and dormitories of foreign workers to mitigate fresh Covid-19 clusters, said the Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) today.

Its secretary-general J. Solomon said inspections by the Labour Department are crucial to eliminate the many hygiene and safety issues that affect migrant workers over the last decade.

“The issue of a decent and safe housing for migrant workers has come to the fore with the emergence of a fresh cluster of 44 Covid-19 cases at a construction site in Kuala Lumpur, as revealed by the Health Ministry yesterday.

“This shows that the inspection of workplaces and foreign workers dormitories must be expedited,” he said in a statement today.

Health Director-General Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah yesterday said there was a big possibility that the workers had lived in confined and small spaces.

Previously, a cluster was detected at a construction site in Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur.

Another cluster was also found at a Setia Alam construction site in Shah Alam earlier this month.

Malaysia yesterday saw a spike of 172 new cases. Of this, 156 were foreign nationals and 112 were in detention at either Bukit Jalil, Semenyih or Sepang immigration centres.

Almost all the cases were in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor.

Solomon said it is clear that government agencies such as the Human Resources Ministry, Immigration Department, Fire and Rescue Department and local councils have shirked their responsibilities to ensure migrant workers are given proper accommodation by the employers as stipulated by the Workers’ Minimum Standards of Housing and Amenities Act 1990.

“They have not only failed miserably in their enforcement but also let down the local and migrant workers who are housed by employers in overcrowded premises.”

He said MTUC had many times urged the Labour Department to carry out collaborative inspections but the response from the agency has been very poor.

Solomon added that the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) yesterday joined the MTUC in urging the authorities to do more than just have foreign workers undergo Covid-19 screenings, as it may give workers and employers a false sense of security.

“Like MTUC, the MMA has also observed that the majority of foreign workers in the country stay in overcrowded, cramped dormitories, construction site cabins, or hostels in shop lot rooms, terrace houses or apartments, where physical distancing may be almost impossible to observe.”

This being the case, Solomon said employers must immediately work with the Human Resources Ministry and the Health Ministry to draw up guidelines and procedures at workers’ quarters to check against the spread of the virus.

“We regret that our calls have been ignored so far and that there has been little or no monitoring in ensuring employers have enforced the guidelines and at workplaces.

“Worse still, there has hardly been any move to compel employers to provide suitable accommodation for foreign workers to minimise the risk of infections.” – May 26, 2020.