Same air, different rules: PSM calls for mandatory WFH, haze allowance to protect workers

SHAH ALAM – Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) has called for mandatory work-from-home arrangements where possible during severe haze, alongside stronger protections for outdoor and gig workers who remain exposed to polluted air.

PSM deputy secretary-general Gandipan Nantha Gopalan said workers should not be left to negotiate their own health protection when schools are closed due to hazardous air quality.

In a statement shared on Instagram, PSM questioned why children could be kept home during severe haze while workers were still expected to commute and attend workplaces, even when their jobs could be performed remotely.

“Health should come before attendance. The government has already proven it agrees for children. Time to extend that logic to everyone.

“Work-from-home arrangements should be mandatory where possible when the Air Pollutant Index (API) reaches between 150 and 200, without pay cuts or punishment,” the statement read.

The party also called for earlier protective measures for pregnant workers, persons with disabilities and those with respiratory conditions.

However, PSM said workers whose jobs require them to be outdoors, including delivery riders, faced particular risks because they could spend hours working in polluted air without adequate protection.

It called on delivery platforms to provide free N95 masks and a haze allowance during severe haze, arguing that workers should not have to pay out of their own pockets to protect themselves while carrying out their duties.

“Schools shut. Kids stay home. Good. The delivery rider who spent six hours in that same air today? Still riding. Still no mask from the platform. Still no haze allowance. Still no legal protection,” Gandipan wrote in a separate social media caption.

He also highlighted the difficulties faced by workers who are pregnant, have disabilities or suffer from asthma, saying some still had to travel to their workplaces despite the health risks.

PSM argued that existing workplace haze guidance from the Health Ministry and safety duties under the Gig Workers Act 2025 showed that the risks were already recognised, but said stronger enforcement was needed.

“The guidance exists. What does not exist is an automatic, enforceable response when the air becomes dangerous,” the party said in its statement.

It urged the government to move beyond voluntary arrangements and put in place automatic, enforceable protections that triggered when air quality crossed dangerous thresholds, so that workers did not have to negotiate their own safety or seek individual approval while the air around them worsened.

PSM said no worker should have to choose between protecting their health and keeping their job, particularly when prolonged exposure to polluted air carried consequences that no haze allowance could fully undo.