Employers Who Fail to Vaccinate Foreign Workers Will Be Jailed

The government has gazetted the Emergency Ordinance (Workers' Minimum Standards of Housing and Amenities) 2021. There will be stiffer penalties against employers or accommodation owners for failing to provide appropriate housing facilities for workers. 

The Ordinance, which was gazetted on Feb 17, will allow the usage of 446 in Sabah and Sarawak. Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan said that the Ordinance would provide authority to the Labour Department's director-general to order accommodation owners to change, replace or upgrade the facilities if they're not found to meet criteria under the Act. 

"Owners of accommodation who fail to comply can be fined up to RM200,000 or be jailed up to three years or both," he said at a press conference today. 

Under the Emergency Ordinance, there will also be enforcement of new regulations under the Act. It will be mandatory for employers to provide accommodation for all hired foreign workers, except domestic helpers. The minister also said that offences committed under Act 446 will now be compoundable.

Employers must ensure foreign workers are vaccinated.

On vaccination for foreign workers, Saravanan said that employers who fail to ensure that foreign workers or workers who stay in the staff hostels are vaccinated commit an offence under Act 446. 

The minister said this effort is necessary to curb infectivity among these workers, which had added to the number of COVID-19 clusters in Malaysia. He said the Human Resources Ministry is also planning to pass down power to six ministries' officers to ensure the enforcement is effective. 

The enforcement will focus mainly on the 75,000 employers with foreign workers in Selangor, Johor and Kuala Lumpur and three sectors with the most positive cases: manufacturing, construction, and services. 

The three sectors with the most positive cases of COVID-19 are manufacturing, construction, and services.

Cooperation with Tourism Ministry

Saravanan said that his ministry is cooperating with the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry (MOTAC) in arranging temporary accommodation for foreign workers who were transferred from their original living quarters that did not meet the standards of Act 446. The temporary accommodation covers centralised labour quarters that the Labour Department has approved, and hotels registered under MOTAC.

The temporary accommodation package includes the rental cost of RM200 and utility bills of RM20 a month for every worker. The costs will be borne by the employer and those who provided the accommodations.

According to him, the Human Resources Ministry is also coordinating with the Public Land Transport Agency to obtain a list of bus operators that can provide service to transport the workers to and from their places of work. 
 

Source: The Star

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