EMC move deferred to next year
> Cabinet decision on levy payment for foreign workers made after feedback from employers
PUTRAJAYA: The Cabinet has agreed to postpone to next year, the implementation of levy payment for foreign workers by employers, which will be enforced under the Employer Mandatory Commitment (EMC).
Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said the Cabinet yesterday had also agreed to look into a proper ecosystem, aimed at providing convenience to industries in hiring foreign workers and to ensure the country’s economic growth.
He said the decision was made after a presentation by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Paul Low who gave the overall picture pertaining to the EMC.
“It is not just on levy, but on the rights of the employer to have direct access to workers, rather than going through a middle man, how to cut down bureaucracy and how to employ foreign workers swiftly.
“At the meeting, we also voiced out the need to regulate employment of foreign workers and ensure it can support our economic growth, without giving rise to social issues,” he told reporters.
On Dec 31, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who is also home minister, had announced employers would be responsible for paying the levy of foreign workers which would be enforced under the EMC.
Under the scheme, the employers would be disallowed from deducting the levy from the wages of their workers.
On Tuesday, construction industry players wanted the EMC to be scrapped as it did not benefit the country.
Liow said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak had agreed to look into the matter personally and would coordinate with the Home Ministry and Human Resources Ministry to “take care of whatever hiccups” to resolve the issue.
“The Cabinet is clear that our foreign worker policy must be vibrant and able to solve the present shortage of foreign workers in the country.”