KUALA LUMPUR:The Social Security Organisation (Socso) is committed to the swift implementation of improved assistance for employers and workers, as contained in the Malaysian Economic and Rakyat’s Protection Assistance Package (PERMAI) announced by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin on Monday.

Socso, in a statement yesterday, said that the improvements include the Wage Subsidy Programme 3.0 (PSU 3.0), SIP Prihatin, SPS Lindung, and the COVID-19 Screening Programme for Foreign Workers.

“These improvements are in line with the announcement of PERMAI by the prime minister yesterday, that all assistance and benefits from the government are to be channelled immediately to those affected by the implementation of the Movement Control Order (MCO),” it said.

It also said that, through the PSU 3.0, all sectors are eligible to receive a wage subsidy of RM600 per month for each employee earning less than RM4,000 for a period of one month, while for the tourism and retail sectors the period is extended to six months.

“With an additional allocation of RM1 billion, the government has increased the limit from 200 to 500 employees per application, with 250,000 employers employing more than 2.6 million workers expected to benefit from this initiative,” it said.

The job search allowance has been improved and extended under the SIP Prihatin programme in the Budget 2021 for those who lost their jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Conditions for applying for the job search allowance under SIP Prihatin have also been relaxed, enabling employees who do not meet the minimum contribution qualification, or who have not extended their service contract after renewal has been made at least three times, to now apply for assistance of a maximum of 30 per cent of their salary for three months, it said.

Socso also called on delivery riders, who are also at the front line during the MCO, to immediately register under the SPS Lindung for protection in the event of a work-related accident.

“Under this programme, the government provides full contributions for them for one year through Plan 2 of the Self-Employment Social Security Scheme as protection against occupation-related injuries,” it said.

Socso also said that the COVID-19 Screening Programme for Registered Foreign Workers will also continue, where the cost of supplying test kits will be fully borne by Socso in the targeted high-risk zones to identify COVID-19 clusters in the workplace.

To date, Socso said, only 18 per cent of foreign workers registered with Socso have undergone COVID-19 screening tests under the programme.

In this regard, Socso urged employers who have yet to send their foreign workers to undergo COVID-19 screening tests to immediately make an appointment with the clinics involved in the programme.

-- BERNAMA