KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) is asking the government to be sensitive to the plight of employers and help them by increasing allocations for the Employment Retention Programme (ERP) and Wage Subsidy Programme (WSP).
Its executive director, Datuk Shamsuddin Bardan, said the best way to save jobs was by helping company owners who must ensure the survival of their firms and employees.
"Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, about a million Malaysians are expected to lose their jobs and this is bad for many households and also the economy.
"This is why the government must help employers by increasing the WSP and ERP aid, so they would not feel that the only solution is to retrench workers."
Shamsuddin said this when asked what should be included in the Economic Recovery Plan, which would be announced by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin this month.
Shamsuddin urged the government to increase the cash flow of companies by reducing the cost of business, such as employers' contribution to the Employees Provident Fund (EPF).
"We suggest the government allow a reduction in employers' EPF contributions to five per cent, not forever, but till the country recovers, perhaps till next year.
"We must understand that the effect of Covid-19 is long-term."
He said the government should review the amendment of Act 446 of the Workers' Minimum Standards of Housing and Amenities Act 1990, as implementing the law right now would only increase business operation costs.
Recently, Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan said the government would give employers three months to comply with the amendments to the act.
However, Shamsuddin said the decision to force employers to comply with this was "insensitive", especially at a time when they were struggling to keep their companies afloat.
"The government needs to assist employers and employees.
"They must understand it is important to maintain good hygiene but at the same time, it is also unfair to compel employers on the verge of bankruptcy to comply with the act soon."
He said the government needed to address issues related to employees who were working from home.
"If an employee gets into an accident while at work, he or she will be compensated. But we are living in a different time, the new normal.
"People are now working from home. What will happen to employees who get into an accident while working at home?
"At the moment, they will not receive a single sen of compensation and laws related to this must be reviewed immediately," he said.