SIBU, Oct 1: Some 1,045 employees throughout Sarawak who were infected with Covid-19 at their workplaces had received a total compensation of RM772,761 from the State Social Security Organisation (Socso) this year.
Speaking at a press conference at the Sibu level 50-year Golden Jubilee for Socso celebration today, state Socso director, Philip Sangka said the amount of compensation given out between January and September this year had outstripped last year’s amount, which was RM34,000 for the whole year.
Nangka assemblyman Dr Annuar Rapaee officiated at the event by giving a speech in a live video stream.
“When we receive the application (for compensation), we will investigate and process it. This year for the first nine months we received a total of 1,713 applications, but only 1,045 of them were approved for the compensation,” he said.
Last year, the organisation received 31 applications and approved half of it, with a total payout of RM34,000.
Touching on the Wage Subsidy Programme 4.0 (PSU 4.0), the director said a total of RM4.3 million was approved and distributed to 701 employers from January to August this year.
As a result of this subsidy amounting to RM600 per worker, a total of 5,177 workers managed to keep their jobs.
“We advise employers to register their workers with the organisation if they have not done so since it is compulsory. As for PSU 4.0, they need to register before the Oct 31 deadline. We know that there are companies affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. If they register with us, we can provide aid of RM600 per worker,” he said.
“It might not be compulsory, but we would like to encourage the self-employed to register with us to enjoy wider social security coverage. They only need to contribute just RM13.10 each per month,” he added. — DayakDaily
