PUTRAJAYA should come down hard on employers who fail to provide adequate accommodation for workers as provided under the law, said the Malaysian Employers’ Federation (MEF).

Its executive director, Shamsuddin Bardan, told The Malaysian Insight employers must adhere to rules concerning workers’ health and living conditions under the Workers’ Minimum Standards of Housing and Amenities Act (Act 466).

He, however, said the problem did not largely concern employers with legal migrant workers but those who hire illegal workers.

“I think the government has been missing the point here. It is not so much legal foreign workers that it should be concerned with because employers are always responsible for them.

“The government should be targeting illegal workers. Nobody monitors them and they don’t follow any standard of living procedures as they are left on their own,” Shamsuddin said.

On Tuesday, director-general of health Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said employers should educate their migrant workers on hygiene and preventive measures against Covid-19 to prevent its spread.

This advice comes at a time when virus infections have hit illegal migrants detained at immigration centres and construction sites, increasing the number of infections to three-digit levels in recent days.

Noor Hisham said migrant workers are vulnerable because of their cramped and confined living spaces, as well as poor personal and environmental hygiene, which allow the disease to spread easily.

Shamsuddin said poor living conditions among illegal migrants working in the construction sector are also common.

However, he said subcontractors – not main contractors – are the ones who usually hired illegal workers.

Therefore, main contractors should play a bigger role ensuring that their workers, as well as those hired by their subcontractors, are here legally, Shamsuddin said.

“To be fair to the big players in the construction industry, they usually subcontract certain projects to other operators (sub-cons), and these sub-cons tend to cut corners by hiring illegal foreign workers.

“The main employers should reject them. It always slips their attention but now, with all these (Covid-19) issues in mind, they should be strict about it.

“They should step up and ensure there are no illegal migrants working on their site and that workers are properly documented.”

More time

Shamsuddin also said employers should comply with Act 446 so that accommodation provided to workers adheres to the minimum standard.

He said the act details a specific amount of space be given to each worker.

“For permanent dwelling, it should be around 24 sq m for five people, meaning about 4.8 sq m per person, and for temporary dwelling, it should be 3 sq m per person.

“It is going to be expensive and the government should enforce the law but not immediately, as it will cost a lot of money. The norm should be practised in the long run,” he said.

Yesterday, Human Resource Minister M. Saravanan said the government will give employers a three-month grace period to fulfil amendments made to Act 466 last year.

The amendment, which includes minimum living room standards, basic facilities for home and workers, as well as safety and hygiene elements to be emphasised by employers, was initially supposed to come into force on June 1 this year.

It will now be implemented effective August 31 to give employers time to prepare.

“It is hoped that enforcement of Act 446 (Amendment) 2019, including new regulations governing housing and workforce standards, will prevent the spread of the Covid-19 virus in accordance with recommendations of the International Labour Organisation,” Saravanan said.

As of Tuesday, three clusters of infections with a total of 88 positive cases were detected at construction sites.

They were detected following the screening of construction workers in red zones in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur, as required by the National Security Council.

The three clusters are the Kuala Lumpur construction site cluster, Setia Alam construction site and Kuala Lumpur construction cluster 2.

About 28,000 construction workers have since been screened for Covid-19. – May 28, 2020.