‘Discord between Socso hq, branches’
Taxi associations believe there is a clear discord between the Social Security Organisation (Socso) headquarters and its branches with regard to dissemination of information for Self-Employment Social Security Scheme claims.
While welcoming the scheme, Gabungan Teksi SeMalaysia (GTSM) president Kamarudin Mohd Hussain claimed that there have been cases where cabbies’ claims were rejected despite being diagnosed with work-related injuries. The claims, he said, were rejected at the branch level, but would be approved by Sosco headquarters later.
Such incidences, said Kamarudin, had led to cabbies losing confidence in Socso, which he believed could be a factor behind the low registration rate for the new scheme.
“We want better information from Socso. This could be one of the reasons why drivers are not being able to register and contribute,” he said.
Kamarudin added that the association had sent a letter to the Human Resources Minister M. Kula Segaran on Aug 7 regarding the matter. It has also encouraged taxi drivers to start contributing to Socso.
E-hailing drivers community group Penggerak Malaysia chairman Zulkefli Zainuddin said part-time e-hailing drivers were in a quandary over contributing to the scheme. He said this was because they were already contributing to Socso via their full-time jobs.
“This will add extra burden on parttimers as they are looking for extra income. They are burdened with the special vehicle licence, car insurance and other requirements. It appears illogical for them to contribute twice,” he said, urging Socso and the government to engage with the stakeholders in providing a better insight into the scheme for all self-employed workers.
Zulkefli claimed that around 50 per cent of the full-time e-hailing drivers nationwide had registered with Socso under the social security scheme.
Federation of Malaysian School Bus Operators Associations president Mohd Rafik Mohd Yusof said issuing compounds to those who failed to register was the best method to educate and encourage bus drivers to contribute to the new scheme.
He, however, said Socso needed to provide self-employed bus drivers with more information regarding the scheme.
“We have been encouraging drivers to register and contribute under the scheme, especially those who own and run school bus services individually.
“The scheme is good as it would provide protection and offer benefits to the drivers and their families if something happens,” he said, adding that most of the association members had registered as contributors.
Grab Malaysia said it had been collaborating with Socso to raise awareness on the social security scheme since it was introduced in 2017. It said there has been regular communication to their drivers and partners since 2017, encouraging them to register and contribute.
“We have worked with Socso to organise booths at our driving centres to expedite registration and organised briefings for our driver-partners at Socso offices across Malaysia to create further awareness,” a Grab Malaysia spokesman said.