A LABOUR lawyer asked whether Putrajaya is able to nab employers who have taken the wage-subsidy package but flout the condition not to retrench workers.

Under the wage-subsidy scheme, which is part of the economic stimulus package against Covid-19, employers are subsidised provided they do not retrench workers for six months.

But lawyer Arun Kumar said the government “may be helpless” in dealing with employers who ignored the six-month caveat on retrenchment.

“This wage-subsidy scheme was not drawn up from any laws or legislation passed by Parliament, unlike some other countries which enacted specific Covid-19 laws before disbursing the aid packages with specified (and legally binding) conditions.

“As things stand, there may be impediments for the Malaysian government to act against the employers if they lay off workers after receiving the aid. Under the existing labour laws, employers only need to notify the Labour Department if they want to retrench workers,” he said at a webinar on the impact of Covid-19 on workers organised by the Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC).

Arun said the Labour Department must investigate and verify cases of firms requesting to lay off workers.

“The onus is on the firms to prove their losses. For this, the (government) officers must be given more powers so that the laws can have more bite,” he said.

Another panellist, Malay Economic Action Council (MTEM) senior fellow Azlan Awang said only 16%, or RM2.22 billion of the RM13.8 billion under Socso’s Employment Insurance Scheme (EIS) for the wage-subsidy package has been disbursed.

Two million employees are the beneficiaries.

However, Azlan said the total package is supposed to benefit nine million workers

“There could be a variety of reasons for this low figure. Among them, are that some employers may be in the process of applying, others may not possess the necessary documents. 

“But there could also be employers who aren’t keen as one of the conditions is that they cannot retrench workers for six months.” – May 24, 2020.