KUALA LUMPUR: The Dewan Rakyat has approved the Employment Insurance System Bill 2017, which seeks to provide workers who lose their jobs with temporary financial assistance.
The bill was passed with amendments after being debated by 14 Members of Parliament, yesterday.
Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri Richard Riot when winding up the debate on the Bill said that through the insurance system, workers who lost their jobs would be given job training to return to work.
“This includes those who are between the ages of 40 and 50, and can be provided with appropriate training,” he said.
Earlier, when tabling the Bill for a second reading, Riot said the insurance system would see a 0.4 per cent contribution from the insured pay, namely 0.2 per cent each from employers and employees.
He said it was important to support workers who lost their jobs especially during economic downturns or recessions.
He said Malaysia as a trading nation which was increasingly tied with global economic chain, the risk of exposure with the impact of the economic downturn was inevitable.
“In 2015, more than 44,000 people lost their jobs, among others, due to automation measures in the financial sector, corporate restructuring and falling crude oil prices in world markets. In 2016, more than 38,000 people lost their jobs, with the majority being in retail, manufacturing and quarrying,” he said.
For employers, Riot said the implementation of the insurance system would increase the productivity of the company through employees who had undergone skills and re-training programmes, as well as reduce the pressure on them if there was a need to reduce costs, downsize operations or in case of bankruptcy.
The sitting resumes today.