Government initiatives help retrenched workers back on their feet

GEORGE TOWN: Getting retrenched from work is one of the worst fears a person could have, but it could also signal a new beginning.
Muhammad Idzham Idris, 29, who was one of the employees laid off from Seagate, an American data storage company back in 2016, said at first he thought it would be the end for him.
"It felt dark. But as I have a family to take care of, I tried to be positive," he said.
In 2016, a total of 37,699 workers were terminated nationwide and according to the Human Resource Ministry, 86.3% (32,552) of terminations reported to the Labour Department involved local workers while the remaining 13.7% (5,147) were foreign workers.
According to the ministry, the hardest hit sectors were the manufacturing sector (45.9%), followed by the wholesale and retail sectors (20.7%) finance and insurance (12.1%), and mining and quarrying (6.6%).
Following the high number of retrenchment since 2015, the government took the initiative to set up 1Malaysia Outplacement Centre (1MOC).
"I am thankful that 1MOC was there to guide us back, and now thanks to this programme, I am in a better position," said Idzham who is now working with Axiata Group.
1MOC was set up to enhance the employability of Malaysian retrenched workers, by equipping them with additional industrial skills or qualifications to enable them to be re-employed.
This is in line with one of the measures stated in the 11th Malaysia Plan (11MP) 2016-2020 to empower human capital through a quality workforce and to improve the employability of workers.
On the other hand, former assistant chief photographer of The Star, Wan Mohizan Wan Hussein, 52, who had served the media group for more than 20 years was one of the staff who took the mutual separation scheme (MSS) early this year.
"It was a difficult decision to make at first but I managed to rebuild a new life later," he said.
Wan Mohizan added that the new form of insurance for workers, the Employee Insurance Scheme (EIS) provides a form of security for retrenched workers.
"Jobs are changing from time to time and with automation and technology advancement, EIS provides a safety net for workers," he said.
EIS is a job-loss coverage scheme designed to help workers who have lost their jobs by providing them with temporary financial assistance.
The government has also announced an allocation of RM136 million in the form of cash allowance of RM600 per month for a maximum of three months as interim benefit this year.
Meanwhile, starting next year Social Security Organisation (Socso) will provide unemployed workers with job searching allowance of up to six months based on a scaled amount. — Bernama