Sosco: Extension of wage subsidy a positive move

In a statement, the agency under the Human Resources Ministry said this initiative would reduce unemployment or income loss for employees affected by the closure of businesses during the latest MCO.

KUALA LUMPUR: The government’s decision to extend the wage subsidy programme for another one month is a positive move for all economic sectors affected by the implementation of the latest movement control order (MCO), said the Social Security Organisation (Sosco).

In a statement, the agency under the Human Resources Ministry said this initiative would reduce unemployment or income loss for employees affected by the closure of businesses during the latest MCO.

“The initiative announced is also a testament that the government understands the challenges and difficulties faced by employers and businesses, ” it added.

The one-month wage subsidy programme is worth RM1.5bil and would benefit 2.5 million eligible employees and more than 220,000 employers nationwide. The wage subsidy programme is limited to 500 employees for each application.

Meanwhile, Socso noted that the one-month wage subsidy would be automatically extended to employers who have applied under the wage subsidy programme (WSP) 3.0.

It said that the employers would only need to update the list of employees before the 15th of the month. Employers who had previously applied for the wage subsidy programme 1.0 or 2.0 but not WSP 3.0 will have to submit a new application for WSP 3.0.

As such, Sosco has extended the deadline for the application of WSP 3.0 to July 31 from June 30,2021 previously.

The wage subsidy programme is a financial assistance paid to the employer for each local employee earning RM4,000 and below.

As of May 30, Sosco has approved a total of 330,586 applications of employers, benefitting a total of 2.72 million workers with a total payment of RM15.04bil.

Since the wage subsidy programme was introduced on April 1,2020, it has assisted employers that have been affected by business closure or the weak economy or due to movement restrictions.

Further information can be found at www.perkeso.gov.my or through Socso’s careline 1-300-22-8000.