The three per cent reduction in Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) contributions by employees will not help them financially and is counter-productive in the long run, said the Malaysian Trade Union Congress (MTUC).
In a Sinar Online report, MTUC secretary-general N Gopal Krishnam said the reduction would not benefit families much or ease their burdens as the amount was too little compared to the cost of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) which they had to bear.
“As many as 65 per cent of families in this country earn less than RM3,500 every month. Three per cent of this is equivalent to less than RM105, it is still not enough,” he said.
He added that the impact of the three per cent reduction could only be seen in the long run.
Gopal explained that the EPF was a retirement plan for workers and that even without reduced contributions, a majority of people did not have enough to retire on.
Yesterday, Prime Minister Najib Razak announced a three per cent reduction in EPF contributions during the recalibration of Budget 2016.
However, employees did have the option of maintaining their 11 per cent contribution by filling up a form to submit to their employers, who would then submit it to the nearest EPF branch office.
source:::http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com
MTUC secretary-general also says the amount slashed will not go a long way in easing employees’ financial burdens.
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