Almost 35,000 Malaysians lost their jobs in 2017, says ministry

KUALA LUMPUR: Almost 35,000 Malaysians lost their jobs last year while another 1,065 were laid off in January this year, according to the human resources ministry.

The manufacturing sector saw the most retrenchment in 2017 of 25,370 workers, followed by services (1,476), retail (1,275) and finance (1,210), it said in a written reply to V Sivakumar Naidu (DAP-Batu Gajah) in the Dewan Rakyat today.

Sivakumar asked for the number of workers who lost their jobs last year, the sectors they came from and what measures were taken to reduce unemployment.

The ministry said it set up operation centres nationwide to monitor the situation and ensure the workers’ rights were not neglected.

These centres are operated jointly with the Malaysian Industrial Development Authority (MIDA), Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) and Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC).

The ministry said it also worked with the finance ministry and JobFair@UTC to help find jobs for those retrenched.

Employers were also reminded to contribute to the Employment Insurance Scheme (EIS) introduced in February as a social security net to enable workers who have lost their jobs to obtain temporary financial aid.

The ministry said the contribution should be made before or by the 15th of each month to avoid a fine for late payment imposed on employers.

All workers aged 18 to 60 years are required to contribute 0.2% of their monthly salary with a matching contribution from their employers, it added. - FMT