Barisan to introduce paid holiday on worker’s birthday

KUALA LUMPUR: Workers can look forward to a paid holiday on their birthdays if Barisan Nasional wins GE15.

According to the bloc, it will introduce paid holidays on employee’s birthdays as a way of appreciating their contribution to the economy

Other work-related elements in the manifesto include issues of youth unemployment, unfair welfare practices and low wages impacting the working class.

Barisan wants to expand the Employment Insurance Scheme’s (EIS) coverage by raising the monthly salary ceiling limit from RM5,000 to RM8,000 to help more workers cope with retrenchment and job loss.

The EIS currently covers private sector employees.

There are also plans to encourage employers to implement reskilling programmes for employees by providing a tax deduction of up to RM5,000 annually to bosses for training their workers.

Credit vouchers of a maximum of RM10,000 annually will be provided to employers in the small and medium-sized enterprises category for training activities.

Barisan also wants to establish an Employment Retention Fund that is jointly contributed to by the government, employees and employers to safeguard against immediate layoffs during economic crises and national emergencies.

An industry-led national apprenticeship programme for trainees, which consist of 70% industry training and 30% classroom/theory training, will be introduced. To eliminate exploitation, Barisan will mandate a minimum allowance payment to those who undergo practical training or paid internships.

In an immediate response to Barisan’s proposal to have paid holidays for workers’ birthdays, Seremban voter Mohamad Sallehin Abdullah, 35, said it is a good and creative strategy to protect the welfare of workers.

“It’s a good suggestion and I think the workers will appreciate this. This is one way to give back to workers,” Mohamad said.

Lim Kee Ven, 41, from Shah Alam said that he does not see any reason to introduce such a holiday.

“It will not have any bearing on my performance when working,” Lim said.