WITH the Government delaying the increase in minimum wage to RM1,500, a union leader urged the Human Resources Ministry (MOHR) to be honest to the public on why it cannot be implemented this year.
“This is why I keep stressing on the need for the Government to engage all stakeholders before making any decisions.
“Can they explain to us why the minimum wage hike cannot happen this year? If you don’t explain the matter properly, it would only lead to more speculation,” Union Network International-Malaysia Labour Centre (UNI-MLC) president Datuk Mohamed Shafie BP Mammal told FocusM.
Yesterday, Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri M Saravanan while the Government was committed to raise the minimum wage, it cannot happen by end of the year as promised.
“Based on the projections in Budget 2022, economic performance is expected to grow at a rate of 5.5% to 6.5% this year.
“In regard to this matter, the Government proposes to implement the new minimum wage as soon as possible and not at the end of this year, seeing as the current economic situation in the country is seen to have improved and many businesses are expanding and showing a recovery trend,” Malaysiakini reported him as saying at the Dewan Rakyat.
Touching on the matter, Shafie said that both the Government and employers’ group kept giving confusing statements to the public when it came to the country’s economic situation, which was only making people livid and confused.
“On one hand, they are saying the economy recovering but when it comes to minimum wage talk, suddenly the economy is not doing well.
“This why engagement with all stakeholders, employers’ group and unions alike, are important. Honesty is the key word here,” he mentioned.
Shafie also said that workers’ unions in Malaysia are very reasonable, given that they did not pressure employers to even provide an increment when COVID-19 ravaged the economy.
Misleading the Parliament?
“The Government keeps talking about high-income country, high-skilled and productivity which we support but why is it that when it comes to raising the minimum wage, everyone seems to be half-hearted?
“Here’s the deal. If you keep suppressing wages, locals will refuse to work and we will have more low-skill migrant workers coming in to fill the void. Do we want that?” he queried.
With that said, Shafie reminded Putrajaya that while they are dragging their feet on the matter, cost of living has spiked by nearly 40%, affecting people across the country.
“And our employers should stop making threats saying they will shift to another country if minimum wage is raised. Come sit down and discuss things with us.
“As of now, all we hear are excuses…never a proper decision,” he quipped.
On MOHR’s proposal to raise the minimum wage to RM1,500 in stages, Shafie stressed that it should be implemented across the board and not according to sectors as was done in the past.
“That’s why I laud Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s call for the private sector to raise the minimum wage to RM1,500 on their own accord. There should not be any discrimination among our workers.”
On related matter, Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman called upon Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Azhar Azizan Harun to take disciplinary action against Saravanan under Standing Order 36 (12) for misleading the august house on the minimum wage issue.
(Last time, Saravanan promised to raise the minimum age to RM1,500. Now the elites have objected to it, he made a U-turn. Is the lobby by the elites more important than workers’ rights? The Parliament must respond to this. When I was in the Cabinet, the minimum wage was raised yearly). – March 15, 2022
Main photo credit: Berita Harian
