IPOH, July 7 — Seeking to reach the affected target group, the Human Resources Ministry opened today a public service centre at Pasar Awam Kg Tawas here dedicated to help the bottom 40 per cent of workers facing employment issues.
Its minister M. Kulasegaran said the service centre aims to provide the masses, especially low-wage earners, the convenience of seeking expert advice and help.
The different key agencies — the Social Security Organisation, Department of Labour, and the Occupational Safety and Health Department — are all housed under one roof.
He said the facility and the location were chosen to improve his ministry’s outreach programme to better serve workers.
“The booths will be open for one or two hours depending on the response we receive. We targeted to have these booths near markets as that is where we can find the crowds,” he said at its launch.
Kulasegaran said among the commonest complaints his ministry has received from workers concerns their employee contributions and their eligibility to claim from the fund.
“There are many cases where people don’t have time to reach out to these agencies and did not know how to get help. We want to assist this group of people.
He noted that not all are tech savvy, especially those in the bottom income bracket. Some problems faced by workers needed a human touch, he added.
“We listen to their problems and follow up with it. The problems can’t be settled in one day, but will take necessary action,” said the lawyer who grew up in a rubber estate and knows first-hand the challenges faced by blue-collar workers.
The Ipoh Barat MP said the public service centre will run for a few days in several areas within his constituency.
“This is a pilot project and if it shows a positive result, we will organise it at all the 222 parliamentary constituencies in the country,” he added.
