Kathmandu: Nepal and Malaysia have signed a memorandum of understanding to involve Nepali workers working in Malaysia in social security programs.
Rajan Prasad Shrestha, Executive Director of the Foreign Employment Board on behalf of Nepal and Dr. Dato, Chief Executive Officer of the Social Security Institution on behalf of Malaysia. Signed by Mohamed Ajman bin Dato Aziz Mohamed. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed in Kathmandu on April 19 and in Malaysia on April 29 in view of the global outbreak of the Corona epidemic.
The final draft of the MoU was prepared after discussions at various stages with the active participation of the Nepali Embassy in Malaysia.
The MoU is an organization formed under the Social Security Act of Malaysia, 1969. From January 1, 2019, employers are required to register with this social security organization when hiring foreign workers.
So far, about 300,000 Nepali workers have joined it, according to the Nepali embassy in Malaysia. In order to join the organization, the Malaysian employer has to pay 1.25 percent of the monthly salary to the worker on a monthly basis.
Foreign workers affiliated with Malaysia’s social security organization can participate in a scheme called ‘Employment Injury Scheme for Foreign Workers’. Under this scheme, the workers will get the prescribed compensation in case of any accident in the workplace or any disease due to the workplace.
For workplace accidents, employers must fill out an accident report form with a copy of punch cards or attendance records, medical certificates and identity cards and submit them to the Social Security Office. If the accident happened on the way to or from work, in addition to these documents, a police report and a road map used for transportation are also required.
Free treatment is available for workers suffering from workplace accidents or on-the-go accidents or from workplace-related diseases at panel clinics, government clinics and government hospitals affiliated to the organization.
Workers who are completely incapacitated or have lost 100% of their income potential in the future or need continuous care are also entitled to continuous attendance allowance based on the recommendation of the designated medical board.
Similarly, the employer of the deceased workers will be provided the funeral expenses as prescribed during the cremation in Malaysia or in the country of the worker. Temporary disability benefits, permanent disability benefits and dependent benefits are benefits available to the worker himself or his family.
The agreement stipulates that if any worker is unable to earn a permanent income due to an accident, such worker will be eligible for permanent disability benefit at the rate of 90 percent of his / her daily salary. Those who are temporarily unable to work, on the other hand, can earn up to 80 percent of their salary, subject to certain conditions.
Under the dependent benefit, in case of death of a worker due to prescribed work, his / her spouse can receive the amount at the rate of 60 percent of the daily salary of the deceased worker for life.
There is a provision that the child of a deceased worker can get 40 percent of the daily salary if the mother or father is alive till the age of 21 years or 60 percent of the daily salary if the mother or father dies. If there is no husband or wife or children, the parents or siblings can also get the amount at the rate of 30 to 40 percent of the daily salary.