JOHOR BARU, April 30 ― A total of 15,597 employees in Johor took salary cuts or have been laid off during the movement control order (MCO) period since it started on March 18.

Johor Health and Environment Committee chairman R. Vidyananthan said of the total figure, 11,110 employees had received salary cuts, 1,443 were terminated, while 180 had voluntarily quit their employment.

He said the latest data was obtained from the Johor Labour Department based on the application by 398 employers in the state for their employees’ dismissal or salary reduction.

"Pursuant to Section 63 of the Employment Act 1955, employers are required to submit any statement of employment either on the withdrawal or termination of employment through the PK Form,” said Vidyananthan in a statement on the daily Johor Covid-19 updates today.

The PK Form is an official government form dealing with retrenchments, temporary layoffs and salary reduction that is to be submitted by employers.

Vidyananthan said the total figure of 15,597, included 1,443 permanent retirements, voluntary layoffs (180), temporary layoffs (2,864) and salary reductions (11,110).

He added that to ensure that employers comply with the government-mandated regulations during the MCO, the Johor Labour Department established the Quick Service Squad (Skuad Khidmat Cepat) in managing complaints with the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH).

"The Johor Labour Department and DOSH will contact the employer to advise them in complying with the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 (Act 342) and if the employer still fails to comply with the directive, the special task force will contact the employer to present themselves for the purpose of complying with the enforcement order.

"If the employer continues to disobey the order, the special task force will visit the employer’s premises and may also involve the police to enforce the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 (Act 342),” said Vidyananthan, who is also the Kahang assemblyman.

Meanwhile, Vidyananthan said the authorities will monitor employers and their centralised accommodation providers that are directly involved in managing the lodging for foreign workers in the state.

"A total of 26 centralised accommodation providers in the state have been given copies of the standard operating procedures (SOP) during the MCO period to ensure there was no transmission of the Covid-19 infection among the foreign workers living in dormitories.

"Employers who provide their own accommodation are also reminded to maintain hygiene levels and to practice social distancing between workers to ensure there is no spread of the Covid-19 infections,” said Vidyananthan.