THE cause of the second pandemic wave in Singapore in mid-2020 has been attributed to contagion among foreign workers living in crammed housing conditions. Failing to improve working and living conditions is widely believed to have contributed to contagion in Malaysia.

These work and housing clusters have burdened the public healthcare system by increasing severe infections, and adversely affected the economy due to “stay in shelter lockdowns” imposed on Malaysian workers. 

Poor living conditions for foreign workers put everyone at risk of further Covid-19 clusters. Improving conditions for foreign workers will better protect Malaysian workers. There are three things that can be done to improve conditions: use Industrialised Building Systems (IBS) or modular methods to accelerate development of decent workers’ quarters; repurpose vacant private sector residential and commercial properties for foreign worker accommodation; and uphold protections under labour laws. Here is why they will work.

Modern construction methods for decent shelter

The Covid-19 pandemic has exposed the vulnerability of foreign workers living in overcrowded and unhygienic living conditions. Many share bedrooms, sometimes even beds, limited bathrooms and toilets, with poor ventilation and access to water. 

Unable to strictly practice physical distancing, their poor living conditions have contributed to major Covid-19 clusters in Malaysia, notoriously the Teratai and Pedas clusters. 

To date, workplace clusters continue to grow. More than half (60%) of the 146 clusters reported between June 27 and July 3, 2021, were attributed to workplace clusters, followed by 49 community clusters. 

IBS methods could provide more decent and hygienic living conditions with shorter construction periods and lower costs without compromising building standards and quality. These methods allow redeveloping existing quarters between one to six months depending on the project scale. Projects using IBS methods can cut construction time by 30% compared to traditional methods. 

Some recent affordable housing projects, for example, Rumah Selangorku Jade Hills, have adopted digital IBS technology. Foreign workers’ accommodation can incorporate a simple, but more optimal and functional design, equipped with basic amenities that will enable foreign workers to pursue their normal daily routines. 

Decent shelter is a basic human right regardless of citizenship, employment and income status. Everyone should have access to safe, clean and decent living conditions. However, this is not the case for most foreign workers in many countries, and Malaysia is no exception. 

Vacant properties

Vacant private sector residential and commercial properties can be repurposed for foreign worker accommodation. The National Property Information Centre reported that over a quarter (26.1%) of office building space, comprising 824 buildings, were vacant and 29,565 overhang residential units recorded in 2020. 

Singapore and India have also implemented similar initiatives using public housing. Singapore successfully tackled its Covid-19 outbreak among foreign workers by temporarily isolating them in vacant Housing Board units among others. 

Singapore has piloted new standards in their Quick Build Dormitories to address overcrowding and is planning to build more permanent dormitories for foreign workers.

The Indian government has also converted vacant government housing into affordable rental housing complexes to try to bring back millions of workers who had fled to their villages during their first lockdown in March 2020.

Close monitoring efforts must follow implementation to ensure decent living standards for foreign workers. 

Protecting for foreign workers protects Malaysians

Like Malaysian workers, foreign workers must be protected by labour law. They represent anywhere between 14% to 35% of the workforce in Malaysia. They predominately work in 3D jobs – dirty, dangerous and difficult. Subject to discrimination in working conditions and benefits, these workers also have to live with social discrimination by Malaysians. Many struggle to get access to reside in or close to residential areas, forcing them to live in foreign worker ghettos. 
 
Almost three quarters (74%) of 14,385 employers nationwide were found to have not adhered to the 2019 amendments to the Workers’ Minimum Standards of Housing and Amenities Act 1990 (Act 446) during Labour Department inspections early this year. The inspections, involving 572,528 foreign workers and 43,698 Malaysians, found that most of these workers were still deprived of accommodation meeting minimum standards. 

Some employers highlighted several difficulties in complying with the Act, including higher labour costs due to the new accommodation standards, difficulties in sourcing additional accommodation, lengthy approval processes to obtain the Certificate of Completion and Compliance (CCC) from local authorities and lack of standard guidelines for approving buildings or spaces which could be used for dwelling, among others. 

Responding to employers’ requests for more time, the government agreed to postpone the enforcement of amended Act 446 until December 2021. However, no further extension should have been given beyond the grace period and penalties should be imposed on employers failing to meet the new requirements. 

Local authorities should conduct regular monitoring to ensure that workers are properly sheltered. More comprehensive guidelines and stricter enforcement would ensure provision of accommodation to minimum standards. This, coupled with detailed reporting on workplace clusters linking to worker accommodation or other residential clusters, could have minimized initial Covid-19 transmission among foreign workers. – July 9, 2021.

* Theebalakshmi Kunasekaran is a Research Associate at Khazanah Research Institute.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.