KUALA LUMPUR: There are plans to improve the Bina Kerjaya initiative to attract more participation from Malaysians working in the gig economy, says V.Sivakumar.
The Human Resource Minister said there is a lack of interest in the Bina Kerjaya initiative which targets those working in the gig sector to obtain formal employment through training with allowances of RM300 per month for a maximum of three months.
“Even though there are initiatives by the government under the Kerjaya Madani, the participation from the gig workers is still low because they do not want to lose out on their daily earnings.
“When they are told to attend the training, they have to lose out on their daily earnings and it is hard to do so - we are thinking of ways to improve the methods or mechanism of this programme under the Kerjaya Madani incentive,” he said.
He told reporters this at a press conference after launching the International Public Employment Forum (IPEF) 2023 organised by Social Security Organisation (Socso) at Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre here on Wednesday (Oct 11).
Sivakumar said the lack of interest to join the programme needed to be addressed as the number of workers involved in the gig sector are increasing.
“Right now, we have about 1.1 million gig workers. We need to pay serious attention to the gig economy and ensure that they too receive protection such as being given the opportunity to move into the formal sector,” he said.
Sivakumar said the government has allocated RM42mil to Socso to provide training opportunities to those involved in the gig economy.
Earlier at the event, Sivakumar witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Socso and Statistical Economic and Social Research and Training for Islamic Countries (SESRIC).
The MoU between the two parties aimed to enhance the social protection in Islamic countries through a strategic partnership of sharing statistics, research and training.
IPEF, which is a three-day event, also saw the participation of 1,000 people from various countries to attend programmes with 28 panelists discussing best practices and innovative solutions in the employment sector.
