Socso to protect self-employed in Malaysia by year-end

The plans, supported and endorsed by the National Employment Council (NEC), will be in the form of Socso’s expansion of the coverage of social security protection provided to self-employed groups through collaborations with third parties. 

Such third parties include the Ministry of Transport or workers’ associations such as the Malaysian Fisheries Development Authority and the Malaysian Artistes Association. 

There has been an increase in the number of self-employed individuals, including gig workers, who received social protection from the organisation, Socso said at the third NEC meeting chaired by prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin. 

The current number of active self-employed individuals registered with Socso is 142,000, which is double that from 2019. 

In addition, Socso, together with the Ministry of Human Resources, has proposed to amend the Employment Insurance System Act (Act 800) to provide protection to self-employed individuals in the event of loss of employment or income due to economic shocks and natural disasters, among other circumstances. 

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A statement by Socso said, “The self-employed who lose their jobs or income will be given access to employment services through the MYFutureJobs portal, and active labour market programmes under Socso which will assist in reducing the period of unemployment, as well as enhancing their careers,” according to Bernama.