National Union of Workers in Hospital Support and Allied Services chairman Roziah Mohammed Hashim said the convoy will take place from Feb 5 to 8, consisting mostly of women on motorcycles riding from Penang to Putrajaya.

At a press conference, she said hospital cleaners were upset with the contract system and felt oppressed as it violated their rights.

“Our demands include abolishing the contract system and re-absorbing hospital support staff into government jobs.

“We are also asking for Covid-19 allowances for all hospital support staff, and an end to union-busting,” she said.

During the expedition, she said, the members would be visiting hospitals in different states to collect complaint letters from hospital support staff.

Roziah said the members would be riding motorcycles to reflect their low salaries, adding that it was difficult for them to obtain loans to buy cars.

The union’s executive secretary, Sarasvathy Muthu, said five memorandums had been submitted to the government since 2015, but no action had been taken.

“Hospital cleaners are the backbone of the health industry. What happens to the hospitals if they’re not there?” she asked.

“The contract system is open to abuse. Only the government can help our situation through policy changes,” she said.

She said there had been a lack of concern for hospital cleaners, who were also frontliners in the fight against Covid-19.