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Published: Tuesday February 8, 2011 MYT 8:28:00 PM
Updated: Tuesday February 8, 2011 MYT 8:29:09 PM

EPF submits names of 248 errant employers to Immigration Dept

KUALA LUMPUR: The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) has submitted a list of 248 names of company directors to the Immigration Department, to prevent them from leaving the country before paying up arrears on their employees' monthly contribution to the fund.

EPF public relations general manager Nik Affendi Jaafar said employers were obliged to pay their employees' contribution to the EPF and this obligation could not be taken lightly.

"We will not hesitate to press charges against the employers who do not contribute to the retirement savings of their employees," he said in a statement Tuesday.

Nik Affendi said to safeguard the interests of the employees, the EPF had also filed 232 civil cases and 358 criminal cases against errant employers in the fourth quarter of last year.

Of the total, 112 employers were found guilty and fined a total of RM134,570. One of the employers was fined RM7,500, the highest amount.

Nik Affendi said errant employers were usually given a chance to pay the arrears by installments, which would be closely monitored by the EPF.

"They (employers) should not regard paying the contribution as merely complying with the law but as their responsibility to ensure that their employees will have a comfortable retirement," he added. - Bernama