Putrajaya is considering a scheme to assist retrenched workers after its National Economic Council (NEC) approved it this month.
According to The Edge Markets, the government is bullish about implementing the Employment Insurance Scheme (EIS) by January 1, 2018, three years after it was introduced in Budget 2015.
Despite scarce details, the EIS is expected to be tabled in Parliament in June or July this year, and according to Human Resources Minister Richard Riot Jaem, employers are dubbing the scheme as “burdensome”.
According to a ministry source, several local industry players who were met with showed discontent over the scheme due to the uncertainty over the quantum employers might be required to pay.
In Budget 2015, the scheme was introduced to assist retrenched workers by providing temporary financial assistance, and opportunities for reskilling and upskilling.
Economists have mooted the setting up of a scheme that helps the unemployed, amid an upward trend month-on-month.
According to the Department of Statistics Malaysia, the number of unemployed people, made up mostly of graduates, climbed 8.3% to 510,700 in November 2016, compared with 471,500 the corresponding period a year ago.
