BUSINESS owners are urging the government to extend the wage subsidy programme to cover more employees as the Covid-19 pandemic rages on.

Putrajaya announced the wage subsidy programme in April as part of a economic stimulus package to protect job security and assist employers with headcount costs.

Employers may not retrench their employees while on the programme and for three months after.

The government only subsidises the wages of up to 200 workers earning RM4,000 and below in each company. Both the employer and employee must be contributing to the Social Security Organisation (Perkeso) to qualify for the subsidy.

Employers want the scheme to be amended to also subsidise the wages of workers earning above RM4,000 as the coronavirus crisis drags on with no end in sight.

Malaysian Employers Federation executive director Shamsuddin Bardan said employees with a salary above RM4,000 are also members of Perkeso and as such must be protected against job loss.

“When it comes to layoffs, employees with a salary of less than RM4,000 are actually less affected. Current data shows that 52% of retrenched employees have a salary of more than RM4,000. This is also related to the government’s failure to provide allowances.

“Salary subsidies should be extended to groups earning more than RM4,000 to cover everyone. Because regardless of whether the monthly salary is RM20,000 or RM30,000, they all contribute (to Perkeso) and they should be part of this policy.”

Subsidies for tourism

Malaysian Chinese Tourism Association president Albert Tan Sam Soon hoped the government would expand the wage scheme to assist tour operations that have almost zero income this year.

“Currently, the allowance is very limited. There is no allowance for employees over RM4,000. We hope Budget 2021 will increase the assistance to the tourism industry.

“The living standard is high, and many travel agency workers have worked for eight to 10 years and their salary is above RM4,000.

“The government subsidy that provides RM600 ringgit for each employee with a monthly salary of less than RM4,000 ringgit is not enough.”

He hoped that in the budget to be announced on November 6, the government will provide a 50% salary subsidy for employees who earn more than RM4,000, and a 70% subsidy for employees who earn less than RM4,000.

He said it is likely the tourism sector will only recover in the middle of next year.

Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia’s SMEs committee chairman Koong Lin Loong said the government must extend the wage subsidy scheme as long as a vaccine for the coronavirus remains elusive.

However, he did not think it is necessary to subsidise the workers earning a high salary.

“If your income is more than RM4,000, you will have enough reserves,” Koong said.

“The government needs to help the bottom 40 and middle 40 groups.

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin in August announced the extension of the wage subsidy scheme from September 30 to December 31. – October 24, 2020.