KUALA LUMPUR: A new act which will be known as the Self-Employment Act which will be used to manage Socso scheme for taxi drivers will be in place next year.
Human Resource Minister Datuk Seri Richard Riot Jaem said the bill on it would be tabled in the Dewan Rakyat in March.
“It is quite a straight forward bill and should just take a month or two to be passed,” he told a press conference after officiating at the rebranding of Socso here yesterday.
Riot said that once the legislation was passed, self-employed taxi drivers and their families would receive the same social safety net protection as other Socso contributors.
When tabling the 2017 Budget on Friday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razakannounced Socso protection for self-employed taxi drivers earning up to RM3,000 a month and a launching grant of RM60 million for the facility.
Najib, who is also Finance Minister, said under the scheme, taxi drivers would have to make contributions at a rate of RM157 to RM443 a year, which is just RM13.08 at the lower end. — Bernama