KUALA LUMPUR, February 24 – To encourage women to return to the workforce, SOSCO (Social Security Organisation) will amend its Act to enable the provision of grants equivalent to 80 per cent of the insured value of an employee’s salary, said Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim during the tabling of Budget 2023.
“It is estimated that more than 130,000 women returning to work after giving birth will benefit from this grant, which involves a total cost of RM290 million per year,” he said.
Anwar, who is also the finance minister, called on employers to provide child care centres in the workplace.
“The government will continue to simplify guidelines for setting up child care centres in the office, including allowing the establishment of child care centres at higher office levels,” he said.
Existing tax incentives will also be extended for child care allowance, as well as the cost of establishing child care centres at work, he announced.
If the response from employers is less than encouraging, the government will examine the need for making it compulsory to have child care centres in the office to support working mothers, according to Anwar.