THE Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) has slammed Putrajaya’s decision to allow 10% of those in management and supervisory posts to work on site, calling the move as discriminatory.

Its Selangor and Federal Territory chapter secretary, Mohd Faisal Husin, said the new policy has many glaring weaknesses and the government had failed to consult stakeholders such as employers’ groups and workers’ representatives.

“While we can understand the rationale for the work from home (WFH) rule under the circumstances, what is unacceptable is the discrimination practised by the government.

“The net effect of this policy appears to be that the health and lives of managers and supervisors are more important than that of other staff. If it is aimed at reducing the chances of Covid-19 spreading, there should not be this form of discrimination in the first place.

“Putrajaya did not even consult relevant stakeholders before coming up with the regulation,” said Faisal in a statement today.

Yesterday, International Trade and Industry Minister Mohamed Azmin Ali said employers are allowed to have 10% of their management and supervisory staff work for four hours a day, three days a week under the government’s compulsory WFH measures to fight the Covid-19 pandemic in high-risk areas.

Azmin said this applies to employees in accounting, finance, administration, legal, planning and information communication technology.

The WFH directive was decided by the National Security Council and announced by Defence Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob yesterday.

Faisal said the WFH policy should be left to the owners and operators of businesses to decide which worker is best suited to work in the office or from home.

He added that the WFH directive in conditional movement-control order zones lacks clarity and is causing confusion among workers.

“If the intended aim is to reduce the number of people at workplaces, leave it to businesses to decide which of their staff needs to work in the office or work from home, whether they are managers or not.

“Instructions that managerial and supervisory staff must work from home and later amended to only 10% of them need to do so is both vague and difficult to follow.

“Managements also seem to be confused on how to implement the government order. The recent directives from the National Security Council have been constantly changing so much so that many are not clear as to the actual intentions of the government,” he said.

Government must come up with FAQ

Meanwhile, Faisal also said that the National Task Force must come out with a FAQ on all relevant matters before imposing all types of restrictions.

Faisal’s suggestion came after the government apparently announced that office workers in red zones need to get tested for Covid-19 first.

Ismail Sabri on Wednesday said the cost of the swab test can be covered by Socso if their employer is a fund contributor.

However, following his announcement, Twitter has been awash with complaints about the lack of clarity, such as when on-site workers are expected to take their Covid-19 test and get the results in time before the directive is enforced tomorrow.

The minister later clarified that the swab test is not required but highly recommended.

“The swab test requirements are also an example of ambiguity. Does it apply to workplaces in red zones or just to employees in red zones, or both? Also as workers are directly affected, a red zone must be clearly defined as it will require a great deal of mobilisation and enforcement to ensure the workers undergo swab tests.

“All these questions must be answered by Ismail Sabri and Azmin. The NSC must come out with a FAQ on all relevant matters before imposing all types of restrictions, some of which may not be practical,” he said. – October 22, 2020.