KULIM, Oct 29 — The Peninsular Labour Department has found that only 50 per cent of employers are complying with the Workers’ Minimum Standards of Housing and Amenities (Amendment) Act 2019 (Act 446).

Its Deputy Director-General (Operation) 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 shop lots used as foreign workers’ hostel were inspected in Taman Tiram, near here today.

"Today’s Op 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 Act 446,” he said.

He said 23 investigation papers were opened today involving several offences under Act 446, 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, which 284 cases were issued compounds amounting to RM2.71 million,” he said.

Today’s Op Walit was conducted by the Peninsular Labour Department in collaboration with the Kedah Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH), and Social Security Organisation (Socso) and involved 30 enforcement officers. — Bernama