KUALA LUMPUR: The National Association of Skilled Workers has joined growing calls for the government to allow Employees Provident Fund (EPF) contributors to withdraw savings from their Account 1.
Its secretary-general Mohammad Rizan Hassan said the proposal will help lessen the burden faced by skilled workers from the manufacturing sectors who are among the numerous groups affected by the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
"Although the government has strong and valid reasons not to allow such withdrawals, the association would like to highlight that skilled workers in the manufacturing sector are severely affected by the present situation due to the drop in overtime work, which has been their supplementary source of income.
"Compounding the situation is the fact that many among the semi-skilled workforce became unemployed after the pandemic forced factories to wind up or downsize operations.
"There are also factories in the recovery phase from the Movement Control Order that have switched their operations to full dependence on automation (machinery) which poses a risk of unemployment for the present workforce," he said in a statement today.
The association, he said, acknowledges the efforts rolled out by the government to cushion the adverse economic impact brought about by the pandemic, including the implementation of several economic stimulus packages such as the Economic Recovery Plan (Penjana).
"The outcome of such efforts, however, will not be seen in the immediate future since such efforts are more of a social support for affected groups to venture into a new career field or even upgrade existing skills.
"Hence, allowing EPF contributors to withdraw from Account 1 could at least lessen the burden, apart from motivating contributors to embark on a plan to sustain their life," he said.
The National Council of Professors (MPN), in a separate statement, said the government should scrutinise the proposal to allow contributors to withdraw savings from Account 1.
The move, the MPN said, will help to alleviate the financial burden faced by the people, especially retrenched workers.
"During these testing times, the country needs people with high purchasing power to maintain the economic sector so that it can continue to grow and prevent further layoff of workers."
The MPN said although EPF savings are meant for old age, considering the current situation, accessing it could help ease their burden.
"Once everything is back to normal in the future, contributors can increase their contributions to recover the amount."