KUALA LUMPUR: The number of employers registering their workers with the Social Security Organisation (Socso) has surged by nearly 50 per cent, thanks to an extension of the "Amnesty Month" deadline from May 31 to June 30.
Human Resources Minister Steven Sim said hoped more employers would take advantage of this extension to register their workers and ensure their contributions to Socso are made.
"The law is not intended to punish. We want to encourage more employers to fulfil their responsibilities by providing social security protection for their employees. This is the reason for extending the deadline to June 30."
"Within a week since the announcement of the extension, we can see an increase of almost 50 per cent. I think it is a good sign.
"We hope many more employers will come forward to register their employers and pay their contributions," he told reporters after the launch of the Self-Employment Social Security Scheme (SKSPS) Contribution Sponsorship and the memorandum of understanding exchange between the ministry and the Socso with Grab Malaysia today.
Previously, it was announced that Socso had granted employers a two-week amnesty, from May 15 to 31, to register their workers with the organisation before the implementation of Ops Kesan.
On May 31, Sim announced an extension of the Amnesty Month to June 30.
He said the extension was prompted by the encouraging number of registrations received from employers.