KUALA LUMPUR, June 4 — Action will be taken against hospital support services companies if services are disrupted in public hospitals, Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said today.
The Health director-general was commenting on a demonstration at Hospital Raja Permaisuri Bainun (HRPB) in Ipoh, Perak, by hospital cleaners who protested against their employer, Edgenta UEMS, on June 2.
The workers reportedly claimed that Edgenta UEMS, a government-linked company, denied them proper personal protective equipment when they cleaned Covid-19 wards and facilities, exposing them to the risk of infection.
However, the Health DG stated that demonstrations are prohibited during the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) and insisted that this was not an issue pertaining to the Ministry of Health (MOH).
“We are still in the period of CMCO. So demonstration is actually prohibited. But more importantly, it is not involving the Ministry of Health. It is involving our concessionaire. It is a company. So they should be engaging with the company, rather than the Ministry of Health,” he said
At the same time, he also stated that MOH is monitoring the issue and told the company involved to take drastic action to solve the issue quickly.
“So this is their internal issue, not an issue of MOH, but at the end of the day, is looking into the services provided by the company. If there is disruption then actions will be taken in terms of the contractual agreement between MOH and the company,” he said.
Malay Mail reported that five activists from the National Union of Workers in Hospital Support and Allied Services (NUWHSAS) were charged in Ipoh today with violating the CMCO by gathering at HRPB.
They were prosecuted under Rule 7(1) of the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases (Measures within Infected Local Areas) Regulations 2020 that carries a maximum fine of RM1,000, or imprisonment of up to six months, or both.
