No additional deduction for husbands in EPF contribution for housewives: Wan Azizah

HULU SELANGOR: There will be no extra deduction made to a husband's salary in order to accommodate the 2% Employees Provident Fund (EPF) contribution for housewives, said Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.
The Deputy Prime Minister said the deduction would instead be taken from the spouses' current 11% monthly statutory contribution.
Her statement all but dismissed previous speculation that husbands would have to contribute an additional amount from their salary for their wives' EPF savings, which has not gone down well with certain quarters.
"They are not listening. We are not taking away additional 2% from their (husbands) salaries, but this figure will be deducted from their current 11% contribution. So there won't be extra deduction.
"We are just asking, give due recognition to all wives. What's wrong with that?" she told a press conference after a visit to the Rumah Ehsan Kuala Kubu Bharu social welfare centre.
Wan Azizah was responding to the Malaysian Trades Union Congress' (MTUC) statement previously that the government has no rights to cut the husband's salary for their wife's EPF.
Its secretary-general, J. Solomon said the government should review the justification of the policy to ensure it does not burden husbands, especially those in the lower income groups.
The newly-formed Pakatan Harapan (PH) government had in its election manifesto pledged to introduce EPF contributions to housewives within the first 100 days of taking power.
Wan Azizah had previously said husbands would contribute 2% of their pay for their wives's EPF savings, while the government would contribute a further RM50.
Wan Azizah, who is also the Women, Family and Community Development Minister, said she would be meeting EPF chief executive officer Datuk Shahril Ridza Ridzuan to discuss the finer details of the proposal.
When asked on how the contribution mechanism would work for husbands with more than one wife, she said: "We are in the midst of discussion. We have not detailed it out yet, but we'll discuss."
Meanwhile, Wan Azizah acknowledged that there was a severe shortage of caregivers at welfare homes nationwide, with only a 10 to one ratio of patients to caretakers presently.
"We should supposedly have one caregiver to every four patients. So this caregiver ratio is what needs to be improved. There surely is a shortage," she said.