Socso hands out over RM3.5 mln to retrenched workers
KUCHING: The Social Security Organisation (Socso) has handed out over RM3.5 million in benefits to Malaysians under the Employment Insurance System ( EIS) so far this year.
Socso chairman Tan Sri Datuk Seri Dr Aseh Che Mat said 5,940 benefited from the EIS, with each of them getting RM600.
“In Sarawak alone, 355 employees have benefited from the new scheme. The payment for EIS is fast, usually processed within five days. If Socso is given the accurate and necessary information, the payment will be made fast,” he said when visiting Wisma Perkeso at Travillion Commercial Centre here yesterday, where he presented RM600 each to five Sarawakians, who were recently retrenched.
Aseh said Putrajaya has granted Socso some RM120 million as pay- outs for retrenched workers looking for a new job.
In Sarawak alone, 355 employees have benefited from the new scheme. The payment for EIS is fast, usually processed within five days. If Socso is given the accurate and necessary information, the payment will be made fast. Tan Sri Datuk Seri Dr Aseh Che Mat, Socso chairman
“EIS is new and not mature yet. Upon maturity next year, the payment will go up. For instance, if one’s salary is RM4,000, he or she can get RM3,200.
“For now, it is just interim payment assisted by the government. Imagine employees only pay RM5 or RM6 for a few months but some of them already got RM600,” he said.
He added that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak had announced on Labour Day that the interim payment would be increased from RM600 to RM1,000. Aseh pointed out 75 per cent of some eight million employees in the country serve in the private sector.
“They contribute to Socso and so our duty to them is vital. Only with their contributions can we continue to fund the pay- outs to eligible claimants,” he said.
State director Phillip Sangkam said Socso’s offices in the state are in Kuching, Serian, Sri Aman, Sarikei, Sibu, Mukah, Bintulu, Kapit, Miri, and Limbang.
“Serian office is the latest of all having been established in 2016. Between January and April this year, Socso Sarawak already recorded a total pay- out of more than RM7.86 million to eligible claimants.
“On top of that, there were also 51 court cases involving employers who failed to comply with the regulations,” he added.