Socso: Govt has disbursed RM15.67 bln for wage subsidy programme

KUALA LUMPUR: The government has disbursed RM15.67 billion under the Wage Subsidy Programme (PSU), which has benefited 2.74 million employees and 333,533 employers in the country.

Social Security Organisation (Socso) chief executive officer Datuk Seri Mohammed Azman Aziz Mohammed said all sectors have benefited from the programme, starting from PSU 1.0 to PSU 3.0.

Following the announcement of PSU 4.0, the total allocation for the programme is expected to grow to RM15.82 billion, he said in a press conference on Tuesday.

Applications for PSU 4.0 will be opened from Aug 1-Oct 30, 2021 with disbursements to be within seven to 14 days from the date of the approval.

“Employers can apply for the subsidy of RM600 per month for all local workers with no salary limit, limited to 500 employees per enterprise.

“Under PSU 4.0, employers are also required to include subsidy information in employees’ pay slips,” he said.

Mohammed Azman said for the first two months starting Aug 1, 2021, PSU 4.0 will be open to employers in all sectors of the economy whose incomes are affected by at least 30 per cent after the implementation of the Movement Control Order.

For the subsequent two months, subsidies will be given specifically to sectors categorised in the negative list issued by the National Security Council.

In total, the government has allocated RM3.8 billion for PSU 4.0 under the National People’s Well-Being and Economic Recovery Package (Pemulih) initiative that is expected to benefit 2.5 million employees and 242,000 employers nationwide.