Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) wants the monthly contribution rate to the Employment Insurance System (EIS) to be decreased to just 50 cents a month.

"PSM is of the opinion that this (the contribution rate) should be standardised at a lower rate for now. Although the Human Resource Ministry has proposed a 0.5 percent rate, this will prove to be too high, especially for low-income employees," the party said in a statement.

PSM workers’ bureau chief M Sivaranjani told Malaysiakini that a memorandum was handed over to Human Resource Minister Richard Riot Jaem today with a list of the party’s demands.

The party wants several changes made to the Employment Insurance System Bill 2017, which is expected to be debated in Parliament in October. The bill was initially scheduled for the previous parliamentary session, but was eventually postponed.

The EIS is a conditional unemployment benefit scheme which aims to provide compensation to workers for three to six months, funded through monthly contributions from both employees and employers.

PSM requested in their memorandum, however, that this compensation period be extended from six months to a year.

They also demanded that all eligibility requirements for EIS be removed – which will allow employees to make claims so long as they have made contributions to the fund – and that all contract- and project-based employees be considered eligible for the scheme.

They also requested that the bill include a special clause to allow migrant workers to be covered by the scheme.

Last month, PSM urged to Putrajaya to proceed with the passage of the EIS bill, as further delays would affect as many as 50,000 employees in Malaysia.