Subscribe in a reader | Subscribe by Email After the recent forced laborer case in his own constituency, Dr S.Subramaniam says that effective August 1, contractors and companies supplying workers to plantations must register with the Manpower Department. He said failure to do so will lead to legal action.
Dr Subramaniam said a study by the Manpower Department of 1,408 plantations recently revealed that 15,201 workers were contractored by 1,066 contractors and nine companies supplying workers.
Houses
– 49,565 workers’ houses of which 41,207 were built according to the Workers Minimum Standards of Housing and Amenities Act 1990 while the rest were “sub-standard” and needed improvement.
– ministry was also actively promoting a scheme whereby workers could eventually buy the houses they lived in.
Utilities
– On electricty and water suppply, 33,500 workers’ houses were supplied by public enterprises while the rest were supplied by sources maintained by their employers.
– large portion of plantations supplied electricity at commercial rates and that was not fair to the workers. To overcome the problem the Manpower Department met with TNB and the plantations and that TNB agreed to provide electricity to the houses via individual meters.
– the department was asked to talk to the relevant agencies to ensure water supplied was clean.
