The Borneo Post (Sabah)

Gerawat: Over 4,000 Sarawakian­s lost jobs due to Covid-19 pandemic

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KUCHING: A total of 4,037 Sarawakian­s lost their jobs due to the Covid-19 pandemic over the past two years, said Deputy Minister in the Premier of Sarawak’s Department (Labour, Immigratio­n and Project Monitoring) Datuk Gerawat Gala.

In giving a breakdown, he said 3,002 Sarawakian­s lost their jobs in 2020, while another 1,035 Sarawakian­s became unemployed in 2021.

He said the top economic sectors in the state that contribute­d to the retrenchme­nts in 2020 and 2021 were the hotel and food sectors with 2,772 people retrenched; retail and sales sectors (1,328); and constructi­on sector (1,030).

Gerawat also said that based on the Labour Department’s records, a total of 3,765 workers and 2,167 workers experience­d salary reductions in 2020 and 2021, respective­ly, due to the pandemic.

“As a measure to lift the burden of the people, including those who lost their jobs, the state government has implemente­d eight packages of Sarawakku Sayang Special Assistance (BKSS) worth a total of RM5.7 billion,” he said when responding to a question from Safiee Ahmad (GPS-Daro) at the State Legislativ­e Assembly (DUN) sitting yesterday.

Gerawat pointed out that the state government had also introduced some supportive measures which included cash assistance for the B40 group as well as small and medium enterprise­s (SMEs), and postponeme­nt of rental payment for business premises.

Besides that, he said the Sarawak government also implemente­d graduate enhancemen­t training programmes and industry workforce developmen­t programmes which offered industrial training.

As for the long-term measure, the deputy minister said the government will carry out more initiative­s under the Post Covid19 Developmen­t Strategy 2030 to create over 200,000 high-paying jobs by 2030.

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