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24 April, 2001Workers will show their dissatisfaction with a number of policies of the Employees Provident Fund.
MALAYSIA: The Malaysian Trades Union Congress is organising a nationwide picket of offices of the Employees Provident Fund on May 12, 2001. All 230 affiliates of the MTUC, representing 550,000 members, have been invited to participate in the picket, to protest against, among others, the investment policies of the EPF and the decreasing amount of its annual dividends.
In a statement issued by the MTUC general secretary, G. Rajasekaran, who is also general secretary of the IMF Malaysia Council, he says that since August of last year, the MTUC has repeatedly highlighted workers' dissatisfaction with a number of issues concerning decisions of the EPF. Last November, the 230-member MTUC General Council unanimously rejected the EPF annuity scheme and the drastic reduction of the long-established death and incapacitation benefits. The EPF has still not restored these benefits. Workers were then shocked when the EPF announced the 6 per cent dividend rate for the year 2000, the lowest in 26 years. Following this, the EPF also made a huge loss overnight when it invested heavily, with 78.7 million shares, in a Time dotCom initial public offer, even though it had knowledge of the company's poor showing.
The EPF has 9.7 million members. The MTUC representatives on its board are in the minority, with five representatives, compared to 18 employer representatives.
In a statement issued by the MTUC general secretary, G. Rajasekaran, who is also general secretary of the IMF Malaysia Council, he says that since August of last year, the MTUC has repeatedly highlighted workers' dissatisfaction with a number of issues concerning decisions of the EPF. Last November, the 230-member MTUC General Council unanimously rejected the EPF annuity scheme and the drastic reduction of the long-established death and incapacitation benefits. The EPF has still not restored these benefits. Workers were then shocked when the EPF announced the 6 per cent dividend rate for the year 2000, the lowest in 26 years. Following this, the EPF also made a huge loss overnight when it invested heavily, with 78.7 million shares, in a Time dotCom initial public offer, even though it had knowledge of the company's poor showing.
The EPF has 9.7 million members. The MTUC representatives on its board are in the minority, with five representatives, compared to 18 employer representatives.