KJ to meet hospital concessionaires over cleaners’ welfare

KUALA LUMPUR – Health Ministry officials are set to meet with hospital cleaning service concessionaires to gain more insight into the demands raised by the National Union of Workers in Hospital Support and Allied Services (NUWHSAS), said its minister Khairy Jamaluddin.

The health minister said the ministry will look into the matter comprehensively to address several issues raised by the union.

He said this after holding a meeting with NUWHSAS, where he met its chairwoman Roziah Mohammed Hashim and her comrades.

“Although they (union workers) are under concessionaire companies, those companies receive concessions from the Health Ministry,” he told a press conference.

“Therefore, their welfare is also our responsibility at the Health Ministry.”

Khairy said he will be giving his commitment to Roziah that he will make efforts to uphold the welfare of the workers, who are considered frontliners and who have helped the country.

The minister said this outside the Health Ministry complex in Putrajaya this afternoon when the union submitted a memorandum on its demands. The union currently boasts some 30,000 members nationwide.

Demands of the movement include payment of Covid-19 allowances to government hospital cleaners and for hospital management to stop the intimidation of those involved in workers’ unions.

The union also cried foul over the reduced number of leave days which are set at 10 days annually, as opposed to the 14 granted previously.

Roziah and other union members arrived at the federal administrative capital from Penang today, after holding a motorcycle convoy expedition. 

In late January, Roziah said that the riders’ part of the expedition, consisting mostly of female workers, would be visiting hospitals in states along the way to collect complaint letters prepared by support staff workers unable to physically attend the trip.

Khairy said hospital support staff had helped in the country’s battle against Covid-19, and therefore their struggles should not be taken lightly.

“That is why I am in attendance today after they travelled 500km to meet me.

“I do not want to disappoint them, that is why I welcomed their arrival at the ministry,” he said.

Meanwhile, Roziah told The Vibes that the union has not set any timeline for its demands.

“We understand that this is a time of Covid-19 spreading so we do not want to rush the minister as he is busy,” she said.

“We will wait for the ministry to make a review and allow them time to respond to us.” – The Vibes, February 8, 2022