Bersatu Youth worried RM600 incentive not enough to prevent retrenchments

CORONAVIRUS | Bersatu Youth has welcomed the government's stimulus plan as a relief for the economic downturn brought about by the Covid-19 crisis but expressed concern that measures specifically for businesses may not be enough to prevent retrenchments.

Apart from direct cash transfer and postponement of loan payments, the stimulus plan will offer RM600 wage subsidy for workers earning under RM4,000 if a company's profit has fallen by at least half since the start of this year.

The monthly subsidy for three months is on the condition a company does not force its workers to go on no-pay leave or retrench them.

Bersatu Youth chief Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman said the RM600 subsidy only makes up 15 percent for someone earning RM4,000 a month.

"Is the RM600 subsidy enough for an employer that hires 10 staff at RM4,000 each? If we compare to Singapore, it is offering 25 to 27 percent in wave subsidy based on how serious the impact from Covid-19 a business has suffered," he said in a statement...