MTUC berates Putrajaya for delaying enforcement of amended law for improved worker housing
Thursday, 28 May 2020 10:30 AM MYTSolomon accused Saravanan of shielding employers from being penalised for not providing their workers with decent living conditions. — Picture by Shafwan Zaidon
Parliament’s Lower House passed the amendment to the Minimum Standards of Housing and Amenities Act 1990 in July last year, which was endorsed by the Senate in September.“We simply cannot fathom why Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan would grant employers the grace period, especially when many Covid-19 cases currently reported involve migrant workers, not just those at immigration detention centres, but also the ones living at construction sites.
Solomon then suggested Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin immediately intervene and ensure the enforcement of the Act on June 1 as scheduled, stating that failure to do so will be seen as a glaring weakness on the government’s part to contain Covid-19 and a mere ploy to pander to the whims of unscrupulous employers.
“This is exploitation of the highest order as migrants build some of the world’s finest apartment buildings in Malaysia, yet they themselves live in the most horrible conditions, often right next to the construction sites. The MTUC previously called on relevant authorities to investigate workplaces and foreign workers’ dormitories nationwide after receiving reports of cramped living conditions which did not meet the standard housing accommodation permissible under the law.
“However, much to our dismay, Saravanan not only failed to announce the promised SOP, but he also put on hold the enforcement of laws to directly improve the living conditions of foreign workers in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. This is clearly not right,” he said.
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