Construction industry wants Govt to allow one-year grace period to comply with Act 446 theedgemarkets.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from theedgemarkets.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
One at a time: A foreign worker taking
a swab test in Taman Megah, Petaling Jaya, as others wait for their turn. ART CHEN/The Star
PETALING JAYA: Acknowledging that fortnightly testing of foreign construction workers is a good idea, the industry wants the government to help defray costs estimated at over RM500mil.
The Master Builders Association Malaysia (MBAM) said routine mass testing will involve substantial costs which would be “too much to bear”.
“At the moment, contractors are absorbing all additional SOP (standard operating procedure) compliance costs that were not factored in earlier.
“With such a substantial amount to pay, the industry really hopes the government will look into providing a full subsidy to ease the construction industry’s burden, ” it said, adding that it supports fortnightly testing if subsidised.
KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 27): Master Builders Association Malaysia (MBAM) has urged the Government to look into giving full subsidy on the cost of quarantining, Covid-19 screening and medically treating foreign workers.
This is to ease the burden of the construction industry and encourage mass screening using affordable test kits, the association said.
“It is not fair to pass on the foreign workers quarantine, Covid-19 screening and medical treatment costs wholly to contractors as employers in the construction industry are also facing an increase in financial burden.
“At this time, as far as we know, clients are unwilling to share such costs as all these are costs that were not predicted, thus creating cash flow issues for contractors,” it said in a statement today.