Miti: Employers not allowed to pass vaccination costs to staff

 

(Editor's note: Paragraph four has been corrected to state that employers eligible for Pikas will pay for vaccine administration costs, not for Covid-19 vaccines.)

Eligible employers who pay to get staff vaccinated under Phase 4 of the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (NIP) are not allowed to pass down the costs to their employees.

The International Trade and Industry Ministry (Miti) announced so in a statement today.

Phase 4 is officially called Program Imunisasi Industri Covid-19 Kerjasama Awam-Swasta (Pikas) and involves on-site vaccinations for companies in “critical” economic sectors.

Unlike the first three NIP phases which do not involve any payment, Pikas allows eligible employers to pay to vaccinate their employees.

Employees can volunteer for vaccines and must get them for free.

“Employers shall not deduct administration fees paid to the private medical general practitioners and for the usage of private-run vaccine administration centres from their employee’s salary.

“Including in cases where the employee is no longer employed by the company before full immunisation of the employee,” Miti said.

Employees must also be registered for the NIP with MySejahtera, among other terms and conditions.

Pikas incurs payment because the government is working with the private sector. Health Ministry government-linked company (GLC) ProtectHealth Sdn Bhd is also involved. It begins next Wednesday (Jun 16).

Manufacturing sector eligible

Miti is one of the ministries empowered to decide which sectors are eligible for Pikas.

It said today that the manufacturing sector is eligible, including the following “critical sub-sectors”: electrical and electronics; food processing; iron and steel; medical devices; personal protective equipment; oil and gas; and rubber products (including medical glove manufacturing).

“These sectors are critical in supporting the supply chain of essential products and services as well as the construction, maintenance, and smooth functioning of critical infrastructures including utilities and (the) public health system,” the ministry said.

Miti said that priority will be based on several factors including if a company is located in a Covid-19 red zone.

Pikas has already received applications from “approximately 500 companies” with a total of 106,591 employees. Applications remain open.

The ministry will next hold discussions with associations and chambers of commerce about the Pikas implementation process.

Aside from manufacturing, Pikas is also open to the export, logistics and transport, energy, and utilities sectors, said Science, Technology, and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin previously. - Mkini