RM70 million provision for SIP 2018 - PM Najib

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak today announced that the government agreed with a provision of RM70 million to the Social Security Organisation (Socso) for the payment of financial benefits relating to the Employment Insurance System (SIP) for next year (2018).

When touching on the Workers Transformation Leap, aimed at expanding the social security protection in his speech at the 2017 National Labour Day here today, he also announced that the government proposed to expand the coverage of the Self Employed Social Security Scheme in stages to informal employment categories such as fishermen, farmers, smallholders, hawkers and arts practitioners.

For a start, he said the scheme, which was announced in the Budget 2017, would provide protection to about 100,000 people, comprising taxi drivers who are self employed and individuals performing services such as Uber and Grab Car effective June 1 this year (2017).

Najib said to ensure that about 6.5 million local private sector workers currently under the Employees Social Workers Security Act 1969 are always being taken care of and protected, the government had agreed to launch the SIP.

"Through this SIP, employees will get temporary financial assistance to support themselves and their family for a certain period of time while looking for a new job," he said.

He said workers, who lost their jobs would also be given employment service support that included job search assistance, job matching, career counselling and career training for new jobs.