PETALING JAYA: Stay-at-home parents have welcomed the government’s initiative to provide a social security net for them under the Social Security Organisation’s (Socso) proposed Housewife Social Safety Scheme (SKSSR) which covers disability and invalidity protection for homemakers.

       Housewife N. Mariammah, 37, said the scheme would ensure protection for full-time, non-working and part-time housewives as well as non-working full-time stay-at-home fathers, should they face accidents at home or sudden disability.

       “I also welcome the announcement that the government will be covering the Socso contribution for housewives who are from households below the poverty line.

       “I hope that everyone who qualifies will take this opportunity to apply,” she said.

       Mariammah said the RM10 contribution for SKSSR, which can be made in advance or pre-paid for a period of 12 consecutive months, was a reasonable sum.

       The protection and benefits offered by SKSSR include permanent disability and medical benefits, invalidity pension, survivor’s pension and constant-attendance allowance.

       Also provided are facilities for physical or vocational rehabilitation and funeral benefits.

       Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan said that Socso will implement the scheme from next January.

       Housewife Nur Faizah Mohd Zubir, 29, said while the SKSSR is a good initiative, the government should consider extending it to homemakers who were above 55, which is the maximum age to qualify for the programme.

       “I think it would be good to cover the older group as they are more vulnerable to health problems which could lead to untoward accidents at home,” said the mother of three.

       Nur Faizah, who has a part-time home bakery business, welcomed the news that housewives who work part-time or are self-employed can also voluntarily participate in the scheme.

       “It is good because I can either pay the monthly contribution myself or ask my husband to do so,” she said.

       Househusband Safwan Mohd, 32, said the scheme was inclusive as non-working stay-at-home fathers were also considered qualified participants for the programme.

       Safwan, who quit his job as a medical worker to care for his disabled son a few years ago, said it was apt for homemakers to be protected by Socso as “domestic work requires endless labour”.

       Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO) advocacy officer Kiran Kaur said the scheme was great as housewives were not categorised as workers but were still exposed to accident risks when doing household chores and caring for children.

       Implementing the scheme also affirms that undertaking such work was recognised as having social and economic value, she added.

       Kiran said women were among the hardest hit during the pandemic and that the global health crisis forced more of them out of the workforce due to the increasing burden of unpaid care work.

       According to data obtained from the Khazanah Research Institute, women take on more than double the amount of indirect care work such as cooking, cleaning and household chores as compared to men, she said.

       She said this was also evident as research undertaken by the Institute of Strategic and International Studies Malaysia showed that the number of employed women during the pandemic, specifically in the second quarter of 2020 in Malaysia, fell by 2.5%, while the number of employed men fell by 0.5%.