The Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) has decided to allow only a maximum of 10 per cent of managerial and supervisory staff in areas under the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) to work from the office starting tomorrow.
Senior minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali, who is MITI’s minister, said these employees are those involved in, among other, accounting, finance, administration, legislation, planning, and information and communications technology.
However, they are only permitted to work in the office for four hours, from 10 am to 2 pm, for three days a week, he said in a statement today.
Mohamed Azmin said based on the MITI Covid-19 Intelligent Management System (CIMS) database, employees registered in the manufacturing, services and construction sectors in Sabah, Labuan, Kuala Lumpur, Selangor and Putrajaya total 3.1 million people.
According to the feedback received from the industry, a total of 776,135 employees or 25 per cent are in the fields of management and supervision.
“This group is required to work from home (WFH) starting 22 October 2020, in line with the National Security Council’s (NSC) decision.”
Mohamed Azmin said companies do not need to submit applications for the purpose of working in the office and employers only need to issue a travel release letter for each employee who is allowed to work during the CMCO period.
“Employers need to set appropriate WFH guidelines according to the needs of their respective companies.”
Mohamed Azmin said the decision to introduce the WFH policy for managerial and supervisory staff, especially to reduce the risk of Covid-19 transmission in areas under the CMCO, was taken following a special session by the NSC chaired by the prime minister yesterday to discuss the latest feedback and situation on the Covid-19 pandemic.
“MITI takes seriously the Ministry of Health Malaysia’s (MOH) advice for the public to stay at home so that we can flatten the curve in the near future.”
As a pre-emptive measure to curb the spread of Covid-19, MOH is of the view that there is an urgent need to tighten the standard operating procedures (SOPs) during the CMCO by limiting the movement of people, especially in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur which have dense populations and are among the country’s main industrial hubs.
“As a caring and responsible government, it is important to achieve a balance between public health protection and the continuation of economic activities.”
The government, he said, will continue to work with the private sector and industry in an effort to enhance the implementation of WFH as a new norm in line with the sophistication of the latest technology and online applications.
“MITI will continue to monitor and implement strict enforcement to ensure the implementation and compliance of SOPs among the industry.”
Source: BERNAMA
