KUALA LUMPUR – The Social Security Organisation (Socso) says it is committed to swiftly implementing initiatives under the Malaysian Economic and Rakyat’s Protection Assistance Package (Permai).
Socso said in a statement that initiatives under the RM15 billion package that employers and workers are eligible for, includes the Wage Subsidy Programme 3.0 (PSU 3.0), SIP Prihatin, SPS Lindung, and Covid-19 screening for migrant workers.
“These are in line with the announcement of Permai by the prime minister, that all assistance and benefits from the government are to be channelled immediately to those affected by the implementation of the movement control order (MCO),” it said.
It also said that through the PSU 3.0, all sectors are eligible to receive a wage subsidy of RM600 per month for each employee earning less than RM4,000 for a period of one month, while for the tourism and retail sectors the period is extended to six months.
“With an additional allocation of RM1 billion, the government has increased the limit from 200 to 500 employees per application, with 250,000 employers employing more than 2.6 million workers expected to benefit from this initiative,” it said.
The job search allowance for those left unemployed by the pandemic, meanwhile, has been improved and extended under the SIP Prihatin programme in Budget 2021, with conditions relaxed.
Under these new conditions employees who do not meet the minimum contribution qualification, or who have not extended their service contract after renewal has been made at least three times, can now apply for assistance of a maximum of 30% of their salary for three months, it said.
Socso also called on delivery riders to immediately register under the SPS Lindung for protection in the event of a work-related accident.
“Under this programme, the government provides full contributions for them for one year through Plan 2 of the Self-Employment Social Security Scheme as protection against occupation-related injuries,” it said.
Socso also said that the registered migrant workers Covid-19 screening programme will also continue, where the cost of supplying test kits will be fully borne by Socso in targeted high-risk zones to identify clusters in the workplace.
To date, Socso said, only 18% of migrant workers registered with Socso have undergone screenings under the programme.
In this regard, Socso urged employers who have yet to send their migrant workers to undergo Covid-19 screening tests to immediately make an appointment with the clinics involved in the programme. – Bernama, January 20, 2021
