GEORGE TOWN: The Malaysian Trades Union Congress wants the government to encourage Malaysian workers to undergo screening for Covid-19 to build confidence in dealing with the health crisis.
Its Penang secretary K. Veeriah noted that currently, only migrant workers are compelled to undergo such tests.
He said while records show the infection rate among Malaysians has declined significantly, public confidence continues to waver because of the new clusters among foreigners.
“Apart from reducing the number of infections, we also need to put to rest concerns about our ability to deal with the crisis,” Veeriah told theSun yesterday.
As such, he said equal importance should be placed on efforts to screen locals as has been done for foreigners.
He said employers should foot the bill for such screening but the government could help by subsidising the cost.
“There should not be any double standards,” he said.
The number of infections in Malaysia is edging towards the 8,000 mark but the number of foreigners who tested positive has far exceeded that of Malaysians.
Veeriah is concerned that funds from the Social Security Organisation and Employees Provident Fund have been used to supplement the salaries of workers who have lost their jobs when such funds should have been saved for their retirement.
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