JASIN – A furniture manufacturing factory in Air Tawar, Merlimau here was found to have committed various offences involving safety, hygiene, and maintenance under the Workers’ Minimum Standards of Housing and Amenities Act 1990 (Act 446).
The Labour Department’s legal and enforcement division director Zaini Yaacob said that the offences included a lack of accommodation certification, suitable accommodation for employees, and first-aid boxes and rubbish bins.
He said that the results of the inspection in the raid, conducted for more than two hours from 11am, found that about 150 workers of Nepal, Bangladesh, and Myanmar nationality were housed in longhouses and containers converted into workers’ dormitories with dirty beds and toilets.
“For example, four containers were converted into workers’ dormitories to house 45 Bangladeshi workers in a crowded situation and did not comply with the set specifications.
“There are only three toilets in the four containers to be shared by 45 employees, and by rights one toilet should only be shared by five employees,” he told reporters after an integrated operation to check on compliance with Act 446 here today.
The operation involved more than 20 personnel from the state Labour Department, including its director Rosli Jantan, the Royal Malaysian Police, state Fire and Rescue Department, and the Jasin Municipal Council.
Zaini said that the longhouse workers' accommodation in the factory, which has been operating for more than 20 years, also did not comply with the set specifications as each room unit was shared between 11 and 16 Nepalese and Myanmar workers.
He said that the workers also had to share beds and pillows, and the employer was also found to not have been conducting Covid-19 screening for workers.
“We will open an investigation paper. Action will be taken against the employer in the near future.
“For accommodation offences of not getting certification from the director-general, a fine of up to RM50,000 can be imposed on employers, while centralised accommodation offences can incur a fine of up to RM50,000 or imprisonment not exceeding one year or both, if convicted,” he said. – Bernama, January 7, 2021
