KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 4 — The Social Security Organisation (Socso) has been instructed to study the feasibility of extending the Employment Insurance Scheme (EIS) to gig workers, said Human Resources Minister Steven Sim.
“Currently, the EIS does not cover gig workers, but I have instructed Socso to study the feasibility of extending this scheme, or a similar one, to them,” he said when winding up the debate on the 2026 Supply (Budget) Bill at the policy stage for the Human Resources Ministry in the Dewan Rakyat today.
EIS is a social security scheme under Socso that assists workers who have lost their jobs.
Meanwhile, Sim said that 846,907 people have contributed to Socso's Self-Employed Social Security Scheme (Lindung Kendiri), with 290,122 involved in e-hailing and p-hailing between January and October.
The scheme was established to protect self-employed individuals in accordance with the Self-Employment Social Security Act 2017.
He added that the government is committed to implementing comprehensive labour market reforms to ensure Malaysia’s workforce remains protected while receiving balanced and competitive training opportunities.
