Govt to introduce novel Employees’ Insurance Scheme in Parliament

KUALA LUMPUR, March 9 — Putrajaya is hoping to legislate a novel insurance scheme to help workers who have lost their jobs.

Deputy Human Resources Minister Datuk Ismail Abd Muttalib told the Dewan Rakyat today that the Economic Planning Unit (EPU) has approved the planning papers for the Employment Insurance System (EIS), adding that it will be presented to the Cabinet soon.

“The draft Bill on the EIS has been formulated and will be tabled in the next parliamentary sitting and will hopefully be implemented in 2018,” the Maran MP said, adding that the Bill would benefit both employers and workers.

“The Human Resources Ministry is finalising suggestions on the implementation of this scheme, for it to be approved by the government soon. This is our main focus and the Bill on the EIS is expected to be tabled in this year’s parliamentary session,” Ismail said.

He was responding to a question by PKR’s Kuala Langat MP Abdullah Sani Abdul Hamid, who had asked the government to update on the status on the measures taken to hasten the EIS Bill.

The current Dewan Rakyat meeting which convened on Monday will last till April 6. The lower House will meet again in July.

Last May, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said the proposed EIS is aimed to extend the social safety net for workers and will provide them with job counselling, among other measures.

Najib said that the insurance scheme will increase workers’ skill levels through training and retraining, adding that this will also benefit employers as they will be able to hire those with suitable skill sets.

Original source: themalaymail