The Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) has urged the government to ensure that the Employment Insurance System (SIP) is implemented on Jan 1 next year, to protect the interests of private sector workers in the country.

MTUC president Abdul Halim Mansor said the federation had also advised the government to ignore requests by certain parties to have a dialogue and discussions on the matter which he said was only intended to delay the implementation of the system.

“SIP is not some form of benefit but an insurance coverage for employees, so if we delay the implementation, indirectly we are denying the employees protection.

"The bill on the system will be tabled in Parliament this month and Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak had said that it will take effect on Jan 1 next year, so there is no more time for a dialogue," he told a press conference in Kuala Lumpur today.

Recently, Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) executive director Shamsuddin Bardan reportedly said the human resource ministry should hold discussions with stakeholders to discuss several matters which have not been agreed upon on the system.

In March, the prime minister had said the government had agreed to implement the system which is expected to be enforced on Jan  1 next year to protect the interests of about 6.5 million private sector workers.

- Bernama