EPF Scheme Compromised

The Malaysian Trade Unions Congress (MTUC) today urged the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) to give it a bigger voice in investment decisions, saying the interest of workers were being compromised under current practice.

“EPF money has been invested and is still being invested to bail out ailing companies” and “investments are made in companies which are anti-union and violate workers’, trade union and human rights,” said MTUC Vice President J Solomon.

He noted that EPF is essentially run by the Ministry of Finance and complained that other stakeholders, including workers’ representatives, had “nominal involvement” in its decisions.

He called on the EPF Investment Committee to be more transparent with the contributors to the fund. “The MTUC should be a part of any decision making where it concerns investment,” he said. “It must be stressed here that what is being invested is the workers’ money.”

He said the current biggest beneficiaries of the EPF are employers, particularly companies linked to the government. He added: “Political patronage is a big reason for EPF investments. By way of such investments, the interests of workers are compromised on.