KUALA LUMPUR: The Human Resources Ministry has withdrawn the Employment Insurance System (EIS) Bill 2017 to pave the way for the tabling of a new Bill of a similar name in the Dewan Rakyat tomorrow.
The ministry, in statement today, said the second reading of the bill will be tabled on Oct 25 and 26, adding that the government is committed to implement the EIS in January 2018.
The implementation of the EIS will cover all employers and employees in the private sector, which currently numbers about 430,000 employers and 6.6 milion workers, the statement read.
"The scope of loss of employment include retrenchment, voluntary/mutual separation scheme (VSS/MISS), force majeure, employers who abscond, bankruptcy, closure of company, business restructuring, redundancy, automation and other factors.
"Workers who have lost their employment and have been contributing to the EIS for a certain period are eligible to apply for financial assistance and job services which include career counseling, job search and job matching, job placement be training if necessary," the statement read.
The EIS, which aims to protect those who have lost their source of income, was tabled in Parliament for its first reading on Aug 1 by Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri Richard Riot.
According to the statement, the EIS will provide services for re-employment programme and five types of benefits in the form of cash assistance.
This includes:
1. Job Search Allowance (JSA) on descending percentage of insured wage;
2. Early Re-employment Allowance (ERA) for those who secure a new job before their JSA is used up at a rate of 25 per cent of the JSA balance;
3. Reduced Income Allowance (RIA) for workers who work for more than one employer at the same rate as JSA;
4. Training Allowance (TA) based on the needs of each worker at a minimum rate of RM10 and maximum rate of RM20 per day; and
5. Training Fee (TF) with a maximum of RM4,000 paid to training providers.
On May 1, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced that the government had allocated RM70 million for interest payment under the EIS for private sector employees who would get better protection under the existing Employees' Social Security Act 1969.
It was mooted in 2014 to protect employees facing retrenchment and is expected to be enforced on Jan 1 next year.
* Additional reporting by FERNANDO FONG