The Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) said today it is withholding its nationwide picket deferred three months ago to tomorrow as it is still looking into the government's implementation of its demands.

"There are no plans to carry on with the nationwide picket yet. However, we are still not satisfied because we have not seen anything positive and certain matters are still not resolved,"said MTUC secretary-general G Rajasekaran.

MTUC had protested, among others, the introduction of an annuity plan by the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and the government's decision to automatically reduce employee contribution from 11 percent to nine percent.

It was also unhappy with the six percent EPF dividend for the year 2000, the lowest in 26 years.

Accordingly, on April 27 it handed over a memorandum to the EPF to state its objections and later threatened to stage a nationwide picket at EPF offices nationwide, demanding that the EPF address all these issues.

However, the picket was deferred at the eleventh hour when Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad announced in a letter dated May 8 that the government would be looking into the grouses, suspending the annuity scheme at the same time.

He also added that as the scheme was suspended, there was "no harm done".

While that may be so and, according to Rajasekaran, the MTUC members are prepared to await the decision, "but the EPF should be open about their talks with the (annuity scheme) consultants".

The scheme is a retirement package where workers, upon agreement ,would hand over their EPF contributions to be managed by private insurance firms which would be returned on a monthly basis to the workers when they reach the age of 55. MTUC, however, thinks that the monies should be managed by the EPF and not private companies.

A group of consultants have been assembled to discuss the issue with EPF since the letter of reply from Mahathir.

Members pressure

According to Rajasekaran, there remain a few matters that the EPF, which is responsible to over nine million subscribers, are still mum on.

He also revealed that MTUC, which has more than a hundred over affiliates, is under pressure from its members to take pro-active measures to see through its demands.

"The members have called for a general council meeting to view these problems and there would be one at the end of the month. We have also organised a working committee to look into these matters in depth," he said.