Bill for Employment Insurance Scheme to be tabled at next meeting

A BILL for the proposed Employment Insurance Scheme (EIS) to assist retrenched workers is likely to be tabled in the next Parliamentary meeting this year.

Deputy Human Resources Minister Datuk Ismail Abdul Muttalib said the ministry hopes the scheme can be implemented after the Dewan Rakyat passes the Bill.

“The Economic Council has approved the papers for the EIS and it will be discussed in the Cabinet soon.

“The draft Bill on the EIS has been formulated and will be tabled in the next Parliamentary meeting,” he said in response to Datuk Abdullah Sani Abdul Hamid (PKR-Kuala Langat) who asked to state the steps taken to hasten the EIS.

Ismail said the scheme would help prevent unemployment, enhance working skills and provide counselling for workers.

He said the EIS was beneficial not just to employees who were laid off but also to the employers and society in general.

Meanwhile, when asked by reporters whether the stakeholders such as the Malaysian Trade Union Congress (MTUC) and Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) were consulted, Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri Richard Riot said they were.

“If the Economic Council has approved it, then the stakeholders have been consulted,” he said.

Riot, however, refused to disclose the financial allocation set aside for the scheme.

“Let’s not jump the gun and wait until the Cabinet approves it,” he added.