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KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 99,696 workers were laid off between January and November 27 this year due to the spread of Covid-19, said Deputy Human Resources Minister Awang Hashim.
He said they include highly skilled workers that comprise managers (13,109 people); professionals (26,079 people); technicians and associated professionals (19,095 people).
“Everyone who earned RM4,000 or more (per month) is not included in the Wage Subsidy Program (PSU) system that we provide to help those who have lost their jobs,” he said during the question and answer session. at the Dewan Rakyat session today.
I was answering a question from M. Kula Segaran (DAP-Ipoh Barat) who wanted to know why the Ministry of Human Resources did not include workers in the management category as beneficiaries of subsidies when statistics show that highly skilled workers they constituted a total 59 percent of the unemployment rate in the country.
Awang said that although the government had implemented various initiatives and economic stimulus packages as part of efforts to mitigate the impact of the pandemic, layoffs were inevitable in certain sectors due to factors that were beyond the control of employers.
He said factors include business closings; staff reduction Voluntary Separation Plan (VSS); Mutual Agreement Separation Plan (MSS); critical financial problems; partial closure; acquisition of companies and relocation.
“Among the sectors involved are manufacturing, hospitality, food and beverage, wholesale and retail, as well as construction and transportation,” he said.
Awang said that 75 percent of the total number of workers who lost their jobs were estimated to be from the B40 group earning RM4,000 or less.
Therefore, he said, the PSU was introduced to help the worst affected workers in the B40 group.
However, those in the managerial category who have had their services terminated are still covered by the EIS (Employment Insurance System) Law (Law 800) subject to a maximum payment of RM4,000, he added.
“This means that workers, including those at the managerial level who earned more than RM4,000, will get benefits such as job search allowance,” Awang said. – Called
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