Employers are to file claims for their employees to benefit from the Wage Subsidy Programme, provided under the people-centric economic stimulus package (PRIHATIN) 2020.

Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan said under the programme, set to benefit some 3.3 million employees, employers are not allowed to lay off their workers, deduct their salaries or force them to take unpaid leave for three months after the programme is implemented.

"This programme is an improvement and expansion of the Employment Retention Programme-ERP introduced under the first economic package, announced on March 16," he said in a statement today.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin in announcing PRIHATIN said the Wage Subsidy Programme would see RM600 be paid to private-sector employees with monthly earnings of RM4,000 and below, and whose employers experienced a 50 per cent drop in income since Jan 1.

Saravanan said the programme would take effect on April 1 with an allocation of RM5.9 billion.

Any enquiries can be directed to Social Security Organisation (Socso) via email at [email protected] or facebook.com/perkeso.official.

-- BERNAMA