Workers should be allowed to continue contributing 11 percent of their monthly wages to the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) without any hassle or additional red tape, said Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) today.

Its secretary-general G Rajasekaran said the procedures to contribute in excess should be made simple and easy.

"The procedures should be simplified to reduce clerical work on the employers' part. We suggest that all workers stick to the 11 percent contribution and only those who wish to switch to the new rate will have to fill up the form," he said.

The Sun reported today that the EPF headquarters has received some 30,000 '17A' option forms from employees to top up their contribution to 11 percent since the end of last month. The forms were said to be left unattended as EPF was "not prepared for the deluge".

The same report said the Prime Minister's Office made clear that the option of contributing 11 percent or at the new rate would be left for workers to decide.

Last month, Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad had announced that the two percent EPF cut was compulsory.

Rajasekaran said the unions represented by MTUC had rallied their members who wished to opt out of the new rate to submit option forms to the EPF since last month, to exert their rights as provided under Section 42(3) of the Employees Provident Fund Act 1991.

The option to contribute in excess to the EPF was part of an employee's rights and not one given by the government, he added.

"The employees are always free to contribute in excess to a maximum of 19 percent of their salaries. This option is clearly stated in the law, and now the government is merely recognising it," he said.

No turning back

Meanwhile, he reiterated the decision to picket next month will not be withdrawn even though the government had stated the two percent EPF cut is optional, adding that this was "a small issue" among the six raised by MTUC.

"There is no turning back. Some other issues such as the reduced annual dividend and EPF's refusal to make the Investment Panel accountable to the board needs to be addressed," he said.

He said the picket will not be called off unless EPF assured its members that any investment in the future will be in their best interests and not another bailout of companies linked to the government leaders.

Rajasekaran also said the MTUC meeting scheduled for April 20 is to further discuss the actions to be taken during the picket.

"The meeting is to prepare our members for the picket; it is not seeking approval from them because we have already agreed on that," he said.

Staggering backlog

DAP national chairperson Lim Kit Siang in his statement today also called for the EPF to come up with a convenient method for EPF contributors who do not want to reduce their contribution.

"The EPF should maintain the rate at 11 percent. If the workers do not express their wish to reduce their contribution, that should serve as an adequate notice of their option," he said.

He said the deluge of applications by EPF members to contribute in excess will only slow down the processing of other applications under various EPF schemes.

"Last month, the EPF chairman Abdul Halim Ali said his staff were working overtime to clear the staggering backlog of applications from employees under various schemes. But before they could clear those old applications, there are more new ones coming in.

"Would the entire EPF grind to a halt, if say 50 percent of the 9.7 million workers continue to make an 11 percent contribution, with an avalanche of some five million new applications jamming its operations in this country?" he questioned.