The Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) has urged the Social Security Organisation (Socso) to provide 24-hour insurance coverage to its contributors as a large number of the country’s workforce cannot afford the high premiums.
Penang MTUC chairman S. Ravindran said yesterday many of its members’ families were left in the lurch when their sole breadwinners died without having any insurance coverage.
“The government should review the Socso Act to provide better benefits to its contributors,” he said during the Workers’ Memorial Day event held beside the Penang Bridge toll plaza in Prai yesterday.
The event was officiated by Deputy Chief Minister II Dr P. Ramasamy, Senator Syed Shahir Syed Mahmud, former state executive council member Datuk Dr Toh Kin Woon and representatives from MTUC affiliation unions.
Ravindran said the MTUC had many cases where Socso had refused to pay claims to the next of kin of its contributors.
He urged employers not to be afraid of their in-house trade unions but advised them to talk to the representatives to provide a better working environment and benefits for the workers.
Penang MTUC secretary K. Veeriah said the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax from April next year would further burden workers as they were already hard-hit by the rising cost of living.
He also proposed that the government increase the monthly minimum wage from RM900 to RM1,500, build more affordable homes and provide free education from primary to tertiary level.
Veeriah said MTUC would be calling for tolls to be abolished and the need to provide better public transport, while the state branch had planned a gathering on Labour Day to protest against the rising prices of food items.
The gathering will be held at the open space at the Jalan Siram-Jalan Telaga Air traffic light junction in Butterworth at 10am on Thursday.
Its safety and health committee chairman, N. Balakrishnan, said the division had for the past 20 years celebrated Workers’ Memorial Day at the monument dedicated to South Korean workers killed during the construction of the Penang Bridge.
source:::sss
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