Ling (left) hands a letter on the case to EPF Miri Inspector Awang Muhd Hariq, who accepted the cases on EPF’s behalf.
MIRI (May 11): Contributions to Employees Provident Fund (EPF) must be paid timely by employers and employers should be subject to court actions for any arrears, Pakatan Harapan (PH) Sarawak secretary Alan Ling said.
Ling, who is also a practising lawyer, said that he had received cases involving an employer who failed to submit their contribution and employees’ contribution in a timely manner.
On Monday, he went to EPF Miri office to submit the cases he received from affected employees, for investigation and follow-up action and to help them claim the arrears owed to them.
“I am grateful to meet a friendly and helpful Inspector Awang Muhd Hariq who accepted the cases on behalf and briefed me on the status of the cases,” he said.
He also learnt that the employer involved had already faced civil suit brought by EPF as the total arrears owed to all the affected employees amounted to more than RM50,000.
Most importantly, he added, an employer must have conscience in running a business by punctually paying the compulsory EPF contribution as this fund is meant for the benefits of employees when they retire.
“It is just unimaginable and very immoral for employers to escape such a basic duty.
“The act provides for provisions for EPF to commence legal action to help recover the arrears and I wish to advise employers to fully comply with the laws.
“Otherwise, there are severe legal implications on them including, but not limited to, bankruptcy,” warned Ling.
On the cases he submitted, he hoped that EPF will effectively carry out the recovery through court proceedings to claim back the amount the employees were supposed to get.