Feature image credit: PERKESO
Human resources minister M Saravanan told the Dewan Rakyat during the tabling of the Housewives’ Social Security Bill that husbands who fail to make Socso contributions for their wives may be fined up to RM10,000 or imprisoned for a maximum of two years.
One day later, SOCSO clarified that it is not compulsory for husbands to contribute for their wives, and neither are housewives compelled to participate in the Housewives’ Social Security Scheme (SKSSR). Only if the couple opts in would the husband be obliged to make contributions and risk the fine or imprisonment.
This move protects the housewives, who would receive up to RM30,000 in disability benefits in case the unfortunate happens. As of now, many women are left vulnerable without protection and resources should things go south, so the policy is excellent. (I hope the bill will include househusbands soon too.)
BUT … I’m about to go off on a tangent here, so bear with me.
Why not, on top of policies that protect housewives, also introduce policies that empower women, so that they don’t have to depend on a husband to pay Sosco for them?
The step forward is to implement policies that support working parents. According to findings by makchic’s What Working Parents Want 2020 Report, 72% of the parents surveyed felt that they were overloaded with responsibilities at home and at work.
Malaysia’s workplace culture is generally not conducive for working parents. Often, having a kid means one of the parents has to quit, and it’s usually the woman. Now, if things were to change, if wives don’t have to quit their jobs to care for their kids, they can continue to contribute to SOCSO on their own. What a win, right?
Here are initiatives the government can take to accommodate working parents (especially mothers) so that both parents can continue to juggle their careers and their responsibilities at home.
1) Incentivise companies to give their employees flexible working hours or the option to work remotely
In the same makchic report mentioned above, 66% of the parents picked the freedom to choose their working hours as their priority; 9% said that working away from the office was most important to them.
Caring for kids is a big commitment. Allowing employees to manage their own time or WFH makes it easier for both parents to keep working.
2) Introduce parental leave
Parents should be able to take leave to spend time with their kids, on top of their annual leave entitlement. With allocated parental leave, parents have the chance to be more involved in their child’s life.
3) Make affordable and quality childcare accessible
I have a friend who quit her job simply because childcare cost nearly as much as her salary. Need I say more? makchic also discovered that 43% of parents wanted in-house daycare services and 34% valued subsidies and benefits which made childcare affordable.
Preferably, both parents can continue working and can continue contributing to SOCSO without burdening their partner. Yay!
Chow Ping Lee is a content writer under Headliner by Newswav, a programme where content creators get to tell their unique stories through articles and at the same time monetize their content within the Newswav app.
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