Bill does not make housing for workers compulsory, ministry says

The Workers’ Minimum Standards of Housing and Amenities (Amendment) Act 2019 bill tabled yesterday does not make it compulsory for all employers to provide housing to their employees, the Human Resources Ministry said today.

However, the ministry said in a statement that if employers choose to provide such benefits, the act sets the minimum standards for them to comply with.

With regards to the provision of centralised accommodation, the ministry said it was among the accommodation options, other than any type of building for the purpose of habitation that was available to the employers to accommodate their employees.

"This law does not make it compulsory for the employers to accommodate their employees at any centralised accommodation," it said in a statement in response to several news reports.

The ministry added that at present, the Workers’ Minimum Standards of Housing and Amenities Act 1990 only applies to the plantation and mining sectors.

"This new bill aims to expand the coverage of the current act to all sectors," it said

Several reports had said that employers in industrial sectors would be required to provide centralised accommodation for their employees under the bill.

- Bernama