With more and more companies either going bankrupt or closing down, Human Resources Minister Richard Riot has been urged to tackle the issue promptly.

Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) secretary-general A Sivarajan in a press conference today acknowledged that the minister had announced that a cabinet paper on the proposed Employment Insurance Scheme was ready to be tabled.

However, Sivarajan brought up the cases of High-5 Consolidated Bhd and Paragon Converters Sdn Bhd, which saw more than 400 workers collectively lose their jobs.

And just two days ago, 300 workers from Automobile Association of Malaysia (AAM) complained that they have not received their pay for four months.

“Workers normally don't get anything after companies go into liquidation. This is despite reports to the Labour Department,” Sivarajan told reporters, after an update of the party’s campaign that a retrenchment fund for workers be set up.

And it is through this campaign that the party has come to know more of such cases.

This is the reason why PSM is demanding the Human Resources Ministry to hasten the establishment of such a fund.

“Richard said a bill will be tabled next year but so many companies are laying off their workers, so what will happen to them?

“It’s a very urgent matter that the minister must take seriously. I think the minister must pay special attention to these cases.

“These cases are happening now, the minister has to tackle the problem now. (He) cannot postpone until a bill is tabled,” said Sivarajan.

Meanwhile, explaining further about the party’s campaign, Sivarajan said the response has been good thus far.

He said they have distributed 40,000 leaflets on the issue and collected 2,000 cards consisting of signatures from the public, most of them factory workers.

“Our target is to collect more than 20,000 signatures by the end of the year.

“But we will (first) see the reaction from the government. If we feel that we need to push further then we might continue until next year,” he said.

Asked on the general response of workers they have met so far, PSM treasurer Soh Sook Hwa observed that many, in fact, do have a sense of awareness on the issue.

“Many have a sense of awareness if something were to happen to their workplace - that there is no guarantee,” she said.

The Human Resources Ministry had proposed the Employment Insurance Scheme to provide allowance for retrenched workers for up to six months.

However, the scheme has yet to take off.

It is because of this that PSM decided to come out with its campaign so that the implementation of the scheme be expedited.