The government has revealed that over 2,000 complaints regarding employment had been lodged at the Job Center established by the government, up until Thursday.
This was revealed by the Minister of Economic Development Fayyaz Ismail during the routinely press briefing of the National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC) on Thursday afternoon.
As such, a total of 2,291 individuals registered complaints at the job center by Thursday. This includes 571 terminations, 639 no-pay leaves, 385 wage cut complaints, 162 suspensions and 280 complaints from employees at private companies.
Minister Fayyaz revealed that the biggest hindrances being faced in resolving these issues are the difficulties during the verification process. As such, there are some issues in verifying online documents when taking action in these cases.
Some of these complaints are lodged without their termination letters and the authorities are required to verify it, which causes delays, said the minister.
A call center has also been established to make it easier to file these complaints. As such, individuals who have employment issues may reach out through 1475.
The government has been appealing on employers to refrain from making any terminations or taking such actions against employees due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Those who face any such action have been asked to lodge complaints at the job center.
This comes at a time the government has decided to offer an allowance for those who lose their jobs. As such, starting April, allowances will be offered to those who lose their jobs, for a period of three months under the stimulus package.
However, businesses that dismissed employees and forced them into no-pay leaves will not be eligible for the government's economic relief package.
The main purpose of introducing the stimulus package is to extend assistance to those who are facing the burden and challenges due to the pandemic. It aims to mitigate the economic downturn caused by the pandemic.
Over 11,000 employees in the hospitality and tourism industry have been sacked or put on leave without pay, at a time the tourism industry is on a downward spiral.
