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PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) is urging Putrajaya to establish a RM10 billion revolving fund to help the B40 and M40 workers as part of its economic stimulus package aimed at countering the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak.
Its secretary-general, J Solomon, proposed that the fund be used to offer loans of up to RM20,000 at a special interest rate of 2.5% annually to workers, with repayments done through mandatory salary deductions to reduce the risk of defaulters.
“The money will come in handy to cover the workers’ needs and expenditure at a time when their income is reduced as a result of cost-cutting measures by employers,” he said in a statement.
Solomon said the needs of these groups of workers — who earned low wages and had to endure the high cost of living — were “largely ignored” in the previous stimulus package.
The Covid-19 outbreak, he warned, will further impact their livelihood as MTUC expects employers to take harsh measures to reduce costs, including freezing overtime and reducing bonus.
Employees, Solomon said, could also receive pay cuts and this could result in them facing difficulties servicing their monthly loans.
Solomon said the proposed soft loans will go a long way to help lessen the everyday financial burden of the B40 and M40 workers.
The government, he suggested, could source funds needed for this scheme from blue-chip government-linked companies (GLCs) and banks.
The GLCs and financial institutions, Solomon said, must step forward to complement the government’s efforts to assist lowly paid workers as they are the most vulnerable group in any economic downturn, adding that they could also be retrenched.
Solomon said MTUC will be submitting the proposal to the finance ministry and the economic affairs ministry for their consideration today.
MTUC is also urging the government to ensure the loan application process is made easy and convenient and is made available without collateral.
“They need their own stimulus package to mitigate the economic impact of the Covid-19 virus outbreak in the coming months.”
The government will announce its stimulus package on Feb 27.
Source: https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2020/02/20/mtuc-moots-revolving-fund-to-help-b40-m40-workers/
Address: Wisma MTUC,10-5, Jalan USJ 9/5T, 47620 Subang Jaya,Selangor | Tel: 03-80242953 | Fax: 03-80243225 | Email: sgmtuc@gmail.com.com