KUALA LUMPUR: The Social Security Organisation (Socso) will relax several conditions involving the Wage Subsidy Programme.
The programme was extended under the the National Economic Recovery Plan (Penjana) as announced by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin on Friday.
The agency, in a statement, said among the conditions relaxed includes allowing flexibility of reducing existing working hours or salary with the consent of workers as well as involving an agreement between employers and employees.
Socso chief executive officer Datuk Seri Dr Mohammed Azman Aziz Mohamad said the organisation was also extending the coverage and re-prioritising the Employment Retention Programme (ERP) for workers on unpaid leave, specifically for businesses that were prohibited from operating during the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) period, as well as tourism-related sectors such as airlines and hoteliers.
"With a RM5 billion allocation, the programme would be extended for an additional three months with subsidies worth RM600 per worker to cover about 2.7 million workers."
Socso, he said, would also assist the government in addressing the country's unemployment and would encourage job creation via the implementation of the Hiring Incentive Programme or Penjana Kerjaya, which involves a RM1.5 billion allocation.
"The hiring incentive will be provided to employers ranging between RM600 and RM1,000 should they hire apprentices, unemployed individuals, including under-represented groups such as persons with disabilities and an older workforce.
"This programme includes providing reskilling or upskilling opportunities for jobseekers, including non-Socso contributors, in collaboration with the Human Resource Development Fund (HRDF).
"Under this programme, jobseekers having to relocate interstate to accept job offers will be provided a mobility allowance," he said, adding that the initiatives outlined in Penjana would help revitalise the nation's labour market.
On the matching grant programme for gig economy workers, Azman said the government would allocate RM50 million, which would cover at least 30,000 gig economy workers.
"The matching grant will be disbursed at a 70:30 ratio or approximately RM162.96 per gig worker for employment injury coverage for one year under the Socso Self-Employment Social Security Scheme."
Socso, Azman said, would also like to reassure both employers and employees that the agency would continue to protect workers involved in work-related accidents or deaths while working at home under the Employment Injury Scheme.
"The protection aims to support and encourage labour activity as well as flexible working arrangements, including working from home (WFH) among employees amid the Covid-19 pandemic," he said.
To support jobseekers and job-matching, the agency will leverage on its National Employment Services, MyFutureJobs that is intertwined with case management functionalities which enables Socso Career counsellors to provide individual support for vulnerable jobseekers.
"Socso's MyFutureJobs Portal is free for all jobseekers and employers, which is designed based on Public Employment Services framework as defined by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development."
All initiatives, Azman said, would be implemented effective June 15 and updates on the hiring incentives will be made available at www.penjanakerjaya.perkeso.gov.my.
Muhyiddin, on Friday, unveiled 40 initiatives under the RM35 billion Penjana Economic Recovery Plan.
On Sunday, he announced that Malaysia would be moving towards the Covid-19 recovery phase with the implementation of Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO) replacing the CMCO, which ends today.