KUCHING: Employers in general are not in favour of the proposal to increase employer contributions to the Employees Provident Fund (EPF), says Datuk Jonathan Chai.
The Sarawak Business Federation (SBF) secretary-general opined that the current statutory prescription of the rates of deduction and contribution towards the retirement savings for EPF members was sufficient in meeting their future needs if there were no relaxation of control imposed on the withdrawal of such savings during the Covid-19 pandemic by the previous administration.
“Any proposal to mandate employers to provide a higher contribution rate of EPF for their employees would derail the recovery of our economy as our businesses are still reeling from the economic shock brought by Covid-19 and current geopolitical crisis such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
“Don’t get me wrong, most employers would be more willing to provide better welfare for their employees if they were in the position to do so,” he told New Sarawak Tribune on Wednesday (May 3).
Over the past couple of years, Chai said various government policies were implemented, such as revision of minimum wage, extension of maternity leave and paternity leave, and reduction of weekly work hours seemed to have far-reaching effects on the cost of doing business in the country.
“We must be realistic about the piling-up of the cost of operating for business without dealing with the issues of productivity of our employees and the competitiveness of our businesses.
“It is easy for the government to come up with the popularist policies without due and sufficient consideration of the burdens of the employers, especially the SMEs.
“If the business could not be sustained because of the rising cost of doing business, the end result would be the closure of business and the loss of employment opportunity.”
He said the government should realise that any move to increase the cost of doing business would be detrimental to the economy as a whole.
He also said objectively speaking, the government should step in to provide financial support to the workers and B40 without hurting the business sector.
“In addition, any proposal or policy change that would have a direct impact on the cost of doing business must be done with full consultation of all stakeholders prior to the formulation and implementation of any policy,” Chai added.
