by BERNAMA / pic by RAZAK GHAZALI

STERN action, including blacklisting, will be taken against companies and employers who abuse the Wage Subsidy Programme.

Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri M Saravanan (picture) said this is following the complaints received against employers who fail to pay the wage subsidy to their employees.

He said apart from blacklisting, employers found to be using fake documents to apply for the programme would also be brought to court.

“To date, we have received complaints involving 89 employers who have yet to make payments to 846 employees.

“Besides that, 1,663 companies were also detected using fake documents for their 14,800 employees involving a claim of RM31 million,” he told reporters after officiating the Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF) under the National Economic Recovery Plan (PENJANA) here today.

The Wage Subsidy Programme was introduced on April 1 to help lessen the burden of employers and employees affected by the implementation of the Movement Control Order which was enforced to curb the spread of COVID-19.

The programme is open to companies registered with the Social Security Organisation (Socso).