Reconsider Employers Act 1955 amendments for 2023, MEF urge

SHAH ALAM - Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) has urged the government to reschedule the implementation of the Employers Act 1955 (Amendment 2022) scheduled to come into effect this Sunday - Jan 1, 2023.

Its president Datuk Dr Syed Hussain Syed Husman said employers currently were still struggling with financial issues after being severely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, that only hit Malaysia but the world for the past two years.

The government, he said, needs to give more time for employers to their restore businesses before the amendments is enforced.

"MEF is of the view that too many changes are taking place that affect businesses in this challenging period.

“So, we appeal to the government to give employers more time to prepare themselves for the new requirements.

“Now is the time to give space to businesses that are finally breathing once more after going through various pressures due to Covid-19 and the Movement Control Order (MCO).

“Essentially, MEF supports the changes that will be implemented but now is not the right time as it will definitely cause an increase in business costs,” he said.

In other developments, Syed Hussain said the global economic situation has been predicted to be a challenging year in 2023 and Malaysia will likely experience the same pressure here.

He said by implementing the amendments of this act on Jan 1 will only be a burden for employers, especially when the eligible threshold for overtime claims has been raised to RM4,000 from the current RM2,000.

"In fact, since May 1 this year, employers nationwide have had to bear an estimated additional salary cost of RM14 billion a year when the minimum wage rate is revised from RM1,100 - RM1,200 per month to RM 1,500 per month,” he said.