KUALA LUMPUR: Glomac Bhd has urged the government to allow more time for industry players to prepare for the proposed policy requiring foreign workers to contribute to the Employees Provident Fund (EPF).
Glomac group managing director and chief executive officer Datuk Seri FD Iskandar acknowledged the long-term benefits but said the construction industry, which pays foreign workers daily wages, will face significant short-term challenges from such policy.
"In construction, as you know, you go through certain stages. Now you might need barbenders. Next stage, you need bricklayers. Next, you need painters and so forth.
"Even though we have the minimum monthly rate, they are looking at the daily wage as well. So it will definitely in the short term affect the employers," he said at the company's 40th annual general meeting today.
FD Iskandar said the government needs to push the industrial building system (IBS) as a way to reduce reliance on foreign labour.
"Developers or contractors have to adopt this because you cannot keep on employing foreign workers.
"But by asking people to adopt IBS, I think incentives must be given, if not monetary incentives, maybe you can give certain things like higher plot ratio, faster approvals, things like that," he noted.
On Oct 18, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the government planned to make it mandatory for all foreign workers working in Malaysia to contribute to the EPF.
He said the proposed mandatory contributions from non-citizen workers will be implemented in phases.