Covid-19 highlights importance of safety nets, says Socso

 

Socso’s CEO Dr Mohammed Azman Aziz says people have a better understanding now of the organisation’s role in providing social protection to workers.

KUALA LUMPUR: While Covid-19 has had a devastating impact on lives and the economy, one silver lining is that the pandemic has raised awareness of the importance of social safety nets.

Social Security Organisation (Socso) CEO Dr Mohammed Azman Aziz said people now better understood Socso’s role in providing social protection and also the benefits of employers’ and employees’ monthly contributions.

“This Covid-19 is unfortunate as quite a number of people will be out of jobs, whether through the downsizing of companies or even closures for some. But if you’re within the safety nets, you will get the assistance. This is one of the blessings, I would say, of this unprecedented event. People have noticed the importance of safety nets.

“Nobody knew that we’d be in this situation for almost a year, and no one knows how long more it will go on for. That’s why you need a system to support people in whatever unfortunate event that happens,” he said in an interview with FMT.

Dr Mohammed Azman Aziz.

Azman said the wage subsidy programme, with RM16 billion allocated, had been the most helpful for firms and also the economy by helping prevent retrenchments and allowing businesses to sustain.

Workers who recently lost their jobs but who do not fulfil the minimum contribution to be eligible for benefits under the Employment Insurance System (EIS) are eligible to receive replacement income under the EIS Plus scheme.

He also said upskilling courses were available for newly hired workers and unemployed individuals insured by Socso under the hiring incentive programme, which aims to stimulate job demand and encourage employment.

“Also, weekly interviews are held physically and virtually in addition to national job fairs such as Karnival PenjanaKerjaya to promote employment opportunities,” he said.

Another key initiative by Socso is the PenjanaGig programme, which seeks to subsidise contributions for gig workers’ social security protection, with a RM50 million allocation.

Azman said more people had started working in the gig economy during the pandemic, adding that the concern was that most of them were not covered by social protection schemes.

With no vaccine in sight and Malaysia currently fighting the third wave of cases, Socso is working with the finance and human resources ministries to enhance existing aid programmes in Budget 2021.

He said the goals of these initiatives are to reduce unemployment, improve job placements, expand social security coverage, especially to the self-employed, and improve social security benefits.

Another of Socso’s plans is to amend the Employment Insurance System Act 2017 to ensure better social protection and labour market policies that would provide a greater cushion against economic shocks.

“The country’s economic recovery is expected to be slower, considering the current situation and global economic conditions. Economists expect Malaysia’s economy to recover in the third quarter of 2021.

“If this is the case, we need to assess whether the current social safety nets for the labour market are adequate,” he said. - FMT