Measures to better protect workers making Socso claims

The Star - Sunday, 19 April 2009

MALACCA: The Human Resources Ministry is pushing for changes to better protect workers claiming disability pension under the Social Security Organisation (Socso).

Minister Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam said aspects of the Employees Social Security Act would be looked into, particularly to make the disability pension scheme clearer so that applicants know exactly what it was about and how their problem could be managed.

Among the issues to be sorted out, he said, was lowering the percentage of permanent disability for a worker to be eligible for the scheme from 60% to 40%.

Dr Subramaniam was speaking to reporters after opening the National Update Medical Seminar for Estate Hospitals Assistants here yesterday.

On a separate issue, he said, the ministry was working closely with the Health Ministry and the Malaysian Agricultural Producers Association to set up government clinics in rubber plantations.

He noted that over 350,000 workers in some 3,500 rubber plantations in the country relied on 426 clinics set up by the estate management. He said the clinics were manned by 321 full-time and 91 part-time hospital assistants.

“This has been the situation since pre-independence where the responsibility for health services in plantations was borne by the management.

“What we want to do now is to ensure that the Government provides health amenities in plantations,” he said, adding that the matter had been brought to the Cabinet’s attention.

This would encourage more locals to work in plantations, resulting in lower dependence on foreign labour, he added.

At present, 55% of the 350,000 workers are locals who are employed in the upper management and the rest foreigners.