KUALA LUMPUR: The Human Resources Ministry will assist workers affected by the Covid-19 outbreak to find new job opportunities.
Its deputy minister Datuk Mahfuz Omar said those affected would be assisted by the Social Security Organisation (Socso) and Human Resources Department.
He said the sectors affected were mostly those related to tourism, such as the transportation and hotel industries.
“Yesterday, tour bus driver association representatives who mainly handle Chinese tourists came to see me, asking for assistance as they are badly hit by the outbreak.
“Although their employers did not lay them off, they are not being paid due to the slow business,” he told reporters after attending the Chinese New Year celebration hosted by the Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF) here today.
Mahfuz said that Socso and the Human Resources Department would meet with the employers to find out what was included in the employment agreement before assisting them.
“We will help them to land a job that is outside the tourism industry to make sure they are able to sustain themselves. This is among the assistance we are providing,” he said.
Meanwhile, asked on Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) executive director Datuk Shamsuddin Bardan's statement yesterday that the retrenchment figure could reach as high as 100,000 if the outbreak persists until year-end, Mahfuz said at the moment, that was merely prediction.
“It is possible, but at the moment just a forecast, I believe the current outbreak will not persist and hope the affected remain patient.
“The Finance Ministry has also said that an economic stimulus package will be soon announced to cushion the impact.
“The total number of affected workers will only be known after the Human Resources Department and Sosco’s Employment Insurance System (EIS) compile the information,” he said.
MEF predicted that the number of those retrenched due to the economic impact from the virus could be well over double the 40,000 people who lost their jobs last year.