IPOH: A glove manufacturer in Perak is set to face 10 charges in court for failing to provide its workers with appropriate housing. It had allegedly cramped some 20 to 30 people into a house that could accommodate a maximum of 12.
Perak Labour Department director Muhamad Fauzi Abd Ghani said 10 investigation papers into the case had been completed and will be handed over to the Attorney-General’s Chambers for charges as outlined under the Workers’ Minimum Standards of Housing and Amenities Act 1990 (Act 446).
In November last year, the department found that the workers’ housing, owned by a well-known glove factory, was breaching regulations under Act 446.
During a joint operation with the state Health Department, the authorities found that the housing provided had far exceeded its maximum capacity of 12 people, with the living room converted into bedrooms while bathrooms were insufficient.
“If we’re talking about spreading Covid-19, this is what will happen when 20 to 30 people are squeezed into one home when it should only house 10 to 12 people,” said the department’s labour standards director Mohd Asri Abdul Wahab.
He told reporters this after an operation by the department at another workers’ dormitory at a factory near Chemor, which was also found to have failed to comply with Act 446 and without an accommodation certification.
“If found guilty, the employer can be fined up to RM50,000 if they fail to acquire an accommodation certification.
“The state of the dormitory was dreadful. According to the law, employers must prepare toilets, cooking areas and others. But the factory just now is too dirty for any such facilities to be provided for the workers.
“This could lead to the spread of Covid-19 and cause the virus to spread among other workers,” he said.
