PUTRAJAYA, Aug 26 — The Ministry of Health (MOH) facility management is reminded to comply with the Public Service Department (PSD) Circular which allows pregnant female civil servants to leave work an hour earlier than their normal working hours when their pregnancy reaches 22 weeks.
Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad emphasised that heads of departments and supervisors cannot take actions that contradict the established standard operating procedures (SOPs), even in the face of any constraints.
“I know that MOH’s healthcare facilities are indeed facing problems and constraints, but that is not a reason for us to violate this rule.
“I want the issues regarding pregnant nurses and MySTEP (Malaysia Short-Term Employment Programme) officers to be addressed, and for all of this to be provided (and for department heads and supervisors) to comply with the regulations we have set,” he told reporters.
He said this after witnessing the signing ceremony of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the MOH and Roche (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd for the Cancer Care Closer to Community (CCC) initiative here yesterday.
Dzulkefly was commenting on online media reports claiming that some health clinics and district health offices in Selangor did not comply with this regulation with regard to their pregnant healthcare workers.
The report also claimed that the allowance was only given to healthcare workers whose pregnancy reached 36 weeks or nine months.
Service Circular No. 11/2017 stipulates that pregnant female civil servants are eligible to leave one hour earlier if their pregnancy is five months or more, or 22 weeks or more, effective January 1, 2018. — Bernama
