Unvaccinated should not lie or hide status, strictly follow SOP at workplace - MTUC

SHAH ALAM - Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) says employees who choose not get vaccinated must follow the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) as set by the government or organisation.

Its acting president Mohd Effendy Abdul Ghani said workers needs to be honest about their vaccination status to employers and colleagues and not use fake certificates to hide it.

He said since the Covid-19 vaccination has yet to be made mandatory, employees in Malaysia still had the rights to refuse it.

However, he said they needed to practice the SOPs rigidly to avoid the spread of the Covid-19 virus.

“Even if employees decided not to get vaccinated, the government has declared SOP for workplaces such as swab tests and social distancing for those coming to the office,” he told Sinar Daily.

Commenting on the “no-jab, no-job” policy, Mohd Effendy said it was unsuitable to implant it as it denies the employees personal rights.

He, who is also MTUC deputy president, said the government needed to find ways to educate and raise awareness about the Covid-19 vaccination.

“Instead of firing the employees who refused to be vaccinated, the government should be committed to investigating the cause of their refusal to be vaccinated and work with the Health Ministry to provide awareness,” he said.

On Friday, Sinar Daily reported that the Malaysian Employers Federation supported the “no-jab, no-job” policy, as implemented by Citigroup Inc in the United States.

Its president Datuk Dr Syed Hussain Syed Husman had said that only employees that has been checked by a certified company doctor could excuse themselves from getting the two doses and recommended booster shot given by the government.

Syed Hussain had said employers were allowed under the law to enforce such conditions like the “no-jab, no-job” policy before allowing their employees to enter their workplaces.

He was quoted saying Sections 15 and 17 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 (OSHA) were among the legal provisions that impose a duty on employers to ensure the safety, health, and welfare of employees.

He added that Section 24 of the same act states that workers are under a similar responsibility to ensure their well-being and that of their co-workers.

“Based on these provisions, it would be reasonable for employers to request employees to be vaccinated,” he said.