Employment insurance Bill put on hold
7 August 2017 Print page
The cabinet has decided that there should be an in-depth analysis of the content of the Bill with stakeholders, says Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Dr Wee Ka Siong.
PETALING JAYA: Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Wee Ka Siong has said the Employment Insurance System (EIS) Bill has been put on hold to allow for more engagement with the stakeholders.
He said the cabinet had decided that there should be an in-depth analysis of the content of the Bill with employers and employees.
“Four ministers have been assigned to meet various organisations and listen to their views. Only then will we report back to the cabinet,” The Star quoted Wee as saying.
The four ministers are Wee, Human Resources Minister Richard Riot, Second Finance Minister Johari Abdul Ghani and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Paul Low.
Wee said they planned to meet various stakeholders such as the National Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia, SME Association, Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) and the Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF).
The EIS Bill, which was first tabled in parliament on Tuesday by Riot, will see the creation of an insurance scheme for laid-off workers while increasing their re-employability following their job loss.
Johari said the country needed the employment insurance scheme as it would benefit the workers.
He said when a company closes down suddenly and was unable to pay compensation, the scheme would ensure the workers get a portion of their insured salary to help them while they find another job.
MEF executive director Shamsuddin Bardan welcomed the cabinet’s move for further talks with stakeholders.
“There is no limitation on the period of contribution and the chances of getting any benefit is only about 0.6%,” he said, adding that a defined period of contribution must be set.
He said the Bill also had a wage support system, such as retraining, but that was already being conducted by the Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF), which collects monthly levies from employers.
Kelana Jaya MP Wong Chen welcomed the cabinet’s decision to allow consultation with stakeholders.
He commended Johari for not pushing the Bill through although it was at the final stage.
Wong said the Bill was a form of taxation and affected some 6.8 million workers.
“My calculation on the contributions and payout concludes that both the workers and employers are being made to pay much more than reasonable,” he said in a statement.
Source : http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2017/08/06/employment-insurance-bill-put-on-hold/