The Nufam secretariat said the Social Security Organisation (Socso) must account for employees who have been dismissed from their jobs due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“This issue must be given attention because these employees have lost their source of income.

“Do not let it be a double standard policy, because as long as the employee contributes (to the scheme) and loses their job, they should be given fair protection,” it said in a statement.

Nufam said many employees had also complained about not meeting the requirements to apply for the scheme, including those whose contracts have ended, those who used to earn over RM4,000, and those who were sacked due to misconduct.

The union said it had brought the issue up with the human resources ministry and Socso in hopes of improving the policy.

Nufam also urged the government to focus more on the various criteria under the scheme, adding that there were currently more weaknesses than benefits in the country’s employee protection system.

Earlier today, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin told the Dewan Rakyat that 101,385 applications were received for the EIS this year, compared with 40,000 in 2019 and 24,000 in 2018.

Muhyiddin said the government will continue with eKasih, the national poverty data bank, to offer RM2.2 billion in social help next year compared with RM1.2 billion in 2020..