KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) is appealing to Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to ensure that the Workers' Minimum Standards of Housing and Amenities Act 1990 is enforced as scheduled on Monday.
Its secretary-general J. Solomon said the government's failure in doing so might be viewed as a glaring weakness on its part for pandering to the whims of unscrupulous employers.
"MTUC cannot fathom why Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan would grant employers the grace period when most of the new Covid-19 cases involved migrant workers," he said while referring to the three-month period for employers to comply with the amendments to the act.
And the cases, he said, were not limited to those detained in immigration depots but those living at construction sites.
Solomon claimed Saravanan was "totally irresponsible" to expect Malaysians to continue living with the risks of migrant workers' dormitories becoming new Covid-19 clusters because employers "need more time".
"It makes no sense to say that employers should fix housing in three months when the issue is about the need for social distancing because of the coronavirus. The virus will not wait for three months; the workers need to be safe now."
He also said the amendments were passed in parliament in July last year and endorsed by both MTUC and the Malaysian Employers' Federation (MEF) which had accorded employers ample time.
The amendments to the act are meant to put an end to foreign workers living in squalid conditions in "kongsi" at project sites, three room-terrace houses, apartments or shop lots. Often as many as 20 people are stuffed into single units and live in deplorable conditions and structures that lack basic amenities.
He alleged that Saravanan was shielding employers from being penalised for not providing their workers with decent living conditions which was clearly a risk to public safety due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Solomon also said the position contradicted Works Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof's warning yesterday that the act had stated that contractors who failed to provide proper living quarters for their workers could be suspended or even have their registrations revoked.
He further called the minister's decision "disastrous" besides endangering the entire nation and compromising frontliners' tireless battle against the pandemic.
Solomon said this was also inconsistent with the government's quick implementation of the MCO and willingness to put the economy on hold in order to save lives.
"Saravanan's statement yesterday was also made on the same day the Health Ministry said that short and long term solutions must be reached to prevent foreign workers' dwellings from becoming clusters of Covid-19 outbreaks and other virus-related diseases," he added.
Earlier, Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the cramped conditions in these lodgings made them hotbeds for an outbreak.
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.
Solomon said MTUC was pleased when Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob had announced earlier this week on the standard operating procedure (SOP) for foreign workers' accommodation to curb the spread of infection, but, was then taken aback when Saravanan failed to announce the promised SOP, and put the enforcement of the Act on hold.
"It showed albeit briefly that the government recognised the poor living conditions of foreign workers as a potential risk becoming Covid-19 clusters, as what had happened in Singapore.
"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.
He also called on Muhyiddin to intervene on the SOPs.
The NST yesterday reported stakeholders commenting that the 3-month grace period given to employers to comply with the amendments in a time of a pandemic was simply too long of a time.
This, according to them, was because cramped conditions in the migrant workers' living quarters were deplorable and resulted in the spread of diseases including Covid-19.