Now may not be the best time.
According to Deputy Human Resources Minister Awang Hashim, a total of 99,696 people were laid off due to COVID-19 between January and 27 November this year alone.
He said that those laid off include managers (13,109), professionals (26,079) and technicians and associate professionals (19,095).
The minister was replying to a question by M. Kulasegaran (DAP-Ipoh Barat) on why the ministry did not include workers in the management category as subsidy recipients.
Kulasegaran said that according to statistics, highly skilled workers made up a total of 59% of the total number of unemployed people in the country.
“All of them who earned RM4,000 and above are not listed in the Wage Subsidy Programme (PSU) system that we provide to help those who have lost their jobs,” he said at the Dewan Rakyat as reported by Malay Mail.
Meant to help those worst affected
He said that about 75% of those who lost their jobs were from the B40 group earning below RM4,000 and the PSU was meant to help the worst-affected in the group.
"Those in the managerial level who had been retrenched are still covered under the EIS (Employment Insurance System) Act, subject to a maximum pay of RM4,000."
“This means that workers including those at the managerial level who earned more than RM4,000 will get benefits such as the Job Search Allowance,” he explained.
It's so sad to see so many people out of jobs right now.
We hope things change for the better soon.