KUALA LUMPUR – The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) wants the Human Resources Ministry to give input on adequate remuneration for the extra hours of work imposed on housemen.
MMA president Dr Muruga Raj Rajathurai said housemen were being “exploited” and work an additional six to seven hours daily that are unaccounted for.
He told the Consider This show on Astro Awani that he would be writing to the human resources minister about the matter, and discuss it with the Public Services Department (PSD).
“I want PSD to sit together with the Human Resources Ministry and sort this out because housemen are working and they are exploited.
“The Human Resources Ministry looks at every other sector and says you can only work so many hours, there must be OT (overtime pay), if you work Sundays, you get extra.
“For housemen, there is a RM600 allowance a month, but many hours are unaccounted for,” Dr Muruga said in the show on brain drain in the healthcare sector last night.
He was asked if best practices from other employment sectors could also be implemented in public healthcare.
Dr Muruga said housemen whose working hours are officially from 7am to 5pm can be called in to work as early as 5am, and they only leave at 8pm or 9pm.
He also cited the situation in Ireland, where housemen are paid for working at night, and for the Sundays they work. – The Vibes, January 6, 2023
