BEEF UP ENFORCEMENT ON FOREIGN WORKERS LEVY

PUTRAJAYA, April 2 (Bernama)- The Malaysian Trades Union Congress
(MTUC)
Thursday called on the government to beef up the enforcement unit of the
Manpower Department to ensure the successful implementation of its new
policy on
levy for foreign workers.

Its president, Syed Shahir Syed Mohamud, said the department had
only about
500 officers now and this was not enough to keep tabs on the thousands of
employers throughout the country.

"We do not expect them to visit all employers, as it would be
impossible,
but at least they should do a systematic random check so that the policy is
adhered to," he told Bernama.

Under the new policy which came into effect yesterday, employers in all
sectors will now have to pay the levy, following the revocation of the
earlier
policy which allowed them to deduct the levy from the monthly wages of
their
employees.

This means that from this month onwards employers would have to fork
out the
levy even for their existing workers, thus increasing their operational
costs.

The Malaysian Federation of Employers (MEF) had described the new
policy as
unfair because it was implemented in mid-stream with little notice from the
government.

MEF executive director Shamsuddin Bardan said it was understandable
for new
recruits, but to extend the policy to existing workers was not proper and
would upset the budget and planning of companies, particularly those with
thousands of foreign workers.

Meanwhile, Manpower Department Director-General Ismail Abdul Rahim
gave an
assurance that the department would carry out effective implementation
of the
new policy with its existing staff.

"The staff have been told to carry out thorough checks and take firm
action
against employers who refuse to accept the new directive," he said.

Those found guilty of flouting the regulations could be fined up to
RM10,000 (US$2,739.7)

He said the government had also doubled the levy for workers in the
manufacturing and services sectors from RM1,800 (US$493)to RM3,600 (US$986)
effective yesterday.
-- BERNAMA