THE proposal to give the Manpower Department the authority to take action against employers who violate work-from-home (WFH) rules will be brought to the National Security Council (MKN) meeting today.

Human Resource Minister M. Saravanan said under Act 342, only the Health Ministry has the power to act against employers who violate the standard operating procedure (SOP).

We have received several complaints on private sector employers still forcing their employees to come into office to work, but when such complaints are brought to us, we cannot take action.

“The proposal to have MOH delegate the power to JTK has been approved at the technical committee level and will be brought to the NSC committee this evening. Once approved by the NSC, JTK will immediately take action against employers who disregard the WFH SOP.”

He said this to reporters after leading an operation to check on compliance with the Employees’ Minimum Standards of Housing, Accommodations and Amenities Act 1990 and Movement Control Order (MCO) 3.0 in Seri Kembangan today.

Saravanan added that for breaching the work safety rules, the fine imposed would be RM50,000 for companies and RM10,000 for individuals.

Earlier, to limit movement during MCO 3.0, the government had decided that 80% of government staff and 40% percent of private sector employees will work from home.

With this directive, about 8 million people from both the private and public sectors will not have to come out to work during the MCO 3.0 period.

In the meantime, Saravanan said Act 446 enforcement had never been revoked but had always been implemented to ensure a high level of compliance by employers, especially now when Covid-19 transmission is at an alarming rate.

He said the ministry would discuss with the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation on the best approach to vaccinate workers, including foreign workers, in the manufacturing sector, as workplace clusters had led to a surge in Covid-19 transmission.

“We are concerned over the huge number of undocumented workers and we call on employers or those with information to report to us immediately, so that action can be taken,” he said. – Bernama, May 28, 2021.