Proposal for action against bosses who defy WFH order to be brought to NSC

A proposal to give the Manpower Department (JTK) the authority to take action against employers who violate the work from home (WFH) rule will be brought to the meeting of the National Security Council (NSC) today.

Human Resources Minister M Saravanan said under Act 342, only the health ministry has the power to act against employers who violate the SOPs.

“We have received several complaints about private sector employers still forcing their employees to come into office to work, but when such complaints are brought to us, we cannot take action.

“The proposal to have the health ministry delegate the power to JTK has been approved at the technical committee level and will be brought to the NSC committee this evening. Once approved by the NSC, JTK will immediately take action against employers who disregard the WFH SOP,” he told reporters today.

Saravanan added that for breaching the work safety rules, the fine imposed would be RM50,000 for companies and RM10,000 for individuals.

To limit movement during the movement control order (MCO), the government had decided that 80% of government staff and 40% of private sector employees would work from home.

With this directive, about eight million people from both the private and public sectors would not have to come out to work during the MCO period.

In the meantime, Saravanan said enforcement of Act 446 had never been revoked but had always been implemented to ensure a high level of compliance by employers, especially now when Covid-19 transmission is at an alarming rate.

He said the ministry would discuss with the science, technology and innovation ministry about the best approach to vaccinate workers, including foreign workers, in the manufacturing sector as workplace clusters had led to a surge in Covid-19 transmission.

“We are concerned over the huge number of undocumented workers and we call on employers or those with information to report to us immediately, so that action can be taken,” he said.