KULIM – The peninsular Labour Department has found that only 50% of employers are complying with the Workers’ Minimum Standards of Housing and Amenities (Amendment) Act 2019.
Its deputy director-general for operations, Mohd Asri Abd Wahab, said employers who had not done so need to improve their workers’ welfare in terms of health, hygiene and safety of accommodation.
“I hope they can come forward and seek advice from the Labour Department to ensure workers’ accommodation provided by them meet the requirements outlined in the act,” he told reporters after Op Walit, where eight shoplots used as migrant workers’ hostels were inspected in Taman Tiram, near here today.
“Today’s operation focused on whether employers providing these shop lots accommodation have acquired the Certificate of Fitness for Occupation (CFO) or at least applied for one.
“Today’s inspection found that the accommodations provided do not have CFOs from the Labour Department, in fact, there were not even any record of applications for a certificate as stated in the act,” he said.
He said 23 investigation papers were opened today, involving several offences under the act, such as not providing beds, mattresses, locked cupboards and toilets, which is punishable by a fine of up to RM50,000 for each offence.
For this year alone, he said the department had opened 392 investigation papers, of which 284 cases were issued compounds amounting to RM2.71 million.
Today’s Op Walit was conducted by the peninsular Labour Department in collaboration with the Kedah Occupational Safety and Health Department and the Social Security Organisation, and involved 30 enforcement officers. – October 29, 2023