Pilot work voucher scheme targets urban poor

The urban poor earning below RM3,000 a month are eligible for daily assistance of RM35 under a pilot work voucher scheme to be launched in April by the Human Resources Ministry.

Peninsular Malaysia Labour Department Employment Services Deputy Director Yusuff Harun told Bernama when met recently that applicants have to be actively looking for part-time work and may claim the RM35 assistance daily or at the end of the month.

The scheme's target groups include the unemployed as well as vulnerable groups such as former prisoners and drug addicts, the aged, the disabled, Orang Asli and school drop-outs.

Eligible candidates will be shortlisted from the national e-kasih database of poor families, which currently lists 500,000 poor and hard-core poor people, and will be contacted directly, he said.

JobsMalaysia, the ministry's online job matching service, will negotiate with employers of those whose contract prevents them from working on two jobs, he said, adding a final decision will be made subject to the pertinent employment and labour laws.