Construction sector: Provide comfortable accommodations to attract locals

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 6): Employers, especially in the construction sector, must provide comfortable accommodations to become attractions to locals to work in the sector, said Human Resources deputy minister Datuk Mahfuz Omar.

He said planned accommodations could boost further the number of local workers in the sector, seeing currently the country is still dependent on foreign manpower especially in those sectors locals are not keen to work in.

‘’We want employers to have a Malaysian soul. They should only allow foreign workers to be recruited to work in a certain sector when no local wants to work there. As such, employers must think of how to lure local workers to apply for a certain job.

‘’If one notices, there are still employers who neglect the rights and welfare of workers by housing them in non-condusive accommodations. One of the reasons in the past why local workers were not keen (to work in the construction sector) was because workers had to put up with wooden ‘kongsi’ houses which were not comfortable and safety was not assured,’’ he said.

He said this to reporters after launching the Serdang Workers’ Quarters to house Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) workers for the Sungai Buloh-Serdang-Putrajaya (SSP) route in Serdang, today.

Mahfuz said every employer must also abide by the Workers’ Minimum Standards of Housing and Amenities (Amendment) Act 2019 (Act 446) which was passed in Parliament in July last year to ensure workers in all sectors enjoyed a better housing system and more comfortable basic facilities which did not negatively impact on the harmony of the residents.

Conceding that there were still errant employers in providing workers’ accommodation without procedure, Mahfuz, who is also Pokok Sena Member of Parliament, said the ministry always took steps to advise, which, if not complied with, enforcement actions would be carried out.

Meanwhile, MRT Corp Sdn Bhd CEO Abdul Yazid Kassim said the workers’ quarters on the MRT SSP route, with a maximum capacity of 4,200 occupants, could house workers working in the southern tiered package for the SSP route in seven quarters.

‘’Overall, 11 workers quarters were built under the SSP route with a capacity of 7,350 occupants, whereby, seven are in Serdang, three in Sungai Buloh and one in Cochrane, Kuala Lumpur.

‘’The launching of the Serdang Workers’ Quarters today is proof of the undivided commitment of MRT Corp in ensuring the accommodations and welfare of workers complied with the stipulated standards,’’ he added.

Source: EdgeProp