SUNGAI PETANI: Four premises used as accommodations for labourers in Bukit Selambau and Kulim were found unfit.
Kedah Labour Department director Arzanil Bahadon said that the premises also lacked worker accommodation certifications from the department.
He said that a total of 22 investigation papers will be initiated against the employers involved for their offences under the Minimum Standards of Housing Accommodations and Amenities Act 1990.
"During the two-day raid starting yesterday, we conducted inspections involving six premises, three in Kulim and three in Bukit Selambau... and four of these premises were found to have failed to comply with the prescribed regulations.
"All six inspected work premises involved nearly 303 local workers and approximately 871 foreign workers," he said at a press conference after conducting Ops Mega Gegar in the Bukit Selambau industrial area here today.
He said that the operation is one of the strategies implemented by the department to ensure the welfare of workers is upheld.
"Based on observations during today's operation, the conditions are indeed not conducive. Basic facilities are insufficient, such as beds without mattresses, and environmental cleanliness is poor. No maintenance is carried out on the premises.
"The room temperatures are also uncomfortably high, and the crowded bed layouts restrict movement. In the event of emergencies, we are concerned that they might struggle to evacuate the premises promptly," he said.
He added that the operation involved 22 officers and staff from the Labour Department, the Social Security Organisation (Socso), the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (Dosh), the Immigration Department, and local authorities.
"Most of the workers living in these premises are foreign nationals from Myanmar, Nepal, and Bangladesh.
"One of the premises raided in today's operation was actually raided about two years ago, but it continues to commit the same violations," he added.