Provide whatever assistance needed, employers told

The Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) takes proposals by government to provide emergency leave and other key benefit to employees affected by floods positively.

Its president Datuk Dr Syed Hussain Syed Husman said about 77 per cent of employers in the private sector practice granting calamity paid leave to employees whose houses were affected by the disaster.

This, he said, was outlined in the MEF Collective Agreement (CA) Analysis 2020.

Syed Hussain said 77.7 per cent (143) of the 184 CAs provided paid calamity leave in the event of natural disasters affecting employee’s residence or property.

The minimum number of paid calamity leave was minimum one day and maximum seven days.

He said majority of employers also provide cash payments to employees affected.

He stated that about 95 per cent of employers with the CA provides calamity benefits for cash assistance ranging from RM150 to RM3,000.

“MEF and the private sector employers are sympathetic to the public especially the private sector employees affected by the recent floods.

“We urge MEF members and all employers to provide whatever assistance that can be given to their employees.

“The floods over the weekend that impacted the nation caused a lot of disruptions to businesses.

“We hope that we all can recover quickly and continue recovery efforts from the long term impact of Covid-19,” he told Sinar Daily.

Syed Hussain also said many big corporations also allocate funds to the National Disaster Relief Fund and encourage their employees to volunteer and assist with the recovery process.