Pay your workers’ socso or get fine & jail

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TAIPING: The Social Security Organisation (Socso) will be going after employers who have yet to register their workers under the organisation starting Aug 1.

Human Resources Minister M. Kulasegaran said until December last year, a total of 6.8 million active workers of 435,801 employers nationwide have registered with Sosco but an estimated 10 per cent or more have yet to register their workers.

“If prosecuted, an employer could risk getting fined up to RM10,000 or two years’ imprisonment or both but I have been telling the department that we are not taking these employers to the court.

“What for? Punish them and keep them in a prison? We want engagement and to create a business-friendly environment. One of the reasons why they refuse to register their workers due to poor business performance.

“We know that some businesses are not doing well but we want to help them. That is not an excuse if your business is not doing good. Under the law, whether it is good or not, you need to register them for the sake of their welfare. We can’t compromise on this,” he said.

He said, Op Kesan, the operation to seek out stubborn employers conducted every year, found that 1,464 employers failed to register their workers in 2015, 1,608 in 2016 and 1,544 in 2017.

Kulasegaran was speaking to reporters after handing over Socso dependent’s benefit payment to Rozaini Ibrahim, 43, whose husband was killed in a road accident in Pagoh, Johor on Sunday, at her home in Kampung Kurnia Jaya, here.

Present was Socso chief executive officer Datuk Dr Mohammed Azman Aziz Mohammed.

Kulasegaran said Rozaini’s husband, Shuaib K.K. Mohamed Unny had served as a bus driver for 20 years and as a wife, Rozaini deserved to get the dependent’s benefit payment.

“The family will also receive a monthly pension of RM1,450 which covers 90 per cent of her husband’s salary. They deserve to get this as the husband was killed while on duty and this is one example to remind employers of the need to register their workers,” he added.

Meanwhile, Rozaini said she was grateful to receive such assistance in such a short period of time as the payment would be used for her three children aged between 16 and 22.

“The money will be used for them since they are still studying and I would like to say thank you to Socso for the prompt assistance,” said the factory worker.

It was reported on Sunday that Shuaib and two of his passengers were killed, and 25 others injured in a collision involving three heavy vehicles near the Pagoh exit of the North-South Expressway.

Source: https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2018/06/378004/socso-chase-stubborn-employers-beginning-aug-1