He said employers were fined and issued compounds totalling over RM3.4 million following inspections on 106,824 units of workers’ accommodation and 19,149 employers nationwide by the labour department.

“From the 745 investigation papers, 125 cases were taken to the sessions court, with the prosecution of 55 cases resulting in fines amounting to RM361,000.

“In addition, 291 cases were compounded involving compound offers totalling more than RM3 million against employers who committed offences under the Act,” he said after heading an operation on Act 446 and SOP compliance at a factory here today.

Meanwhile, Awang said 2,657 complaints linked to labour issues had been received through the “Working For Workers” application since it was launched on May 3.

He said the complaints included workers’ dissatisfaction over salary cuts, termination of work without notice, and being forced to work during the movement control order (MCO).

“Workers can lodge complaints, we give our assurance that their identities will be kept confidential. The complaints received will be acted upon quickly and monitored by the highest management level in the ministry,” he said.

On the operation at the factory, Awang said the employer was found to have committed offences under Act 446, namely failing to get accommodation certification from the labour department and approval from the local authority.

He said the employer also failed to ensure that workers scanned the MySejahtera QR code, which is an offence liable to a RM10,000 compound under Act 342.

“The ministry would like to remind all employers, centralised accommodation providers and industry players in general to always comply with the law to avoid legal action,” he added.