LIVID over employers’ opposition to the proposed increase of minimum wage, a veteran unionist berated several quarters who had accused unions of deliberately forcing employers to raise the minimum wage to burden the former.
“However, these are same groups of people who are still going around preaching about turning Malaysia into a high-income nation.
“What high-income country are you planning to create by leaving workers below the poverty threshold? The current RM1,200 minimum wage is below the official poverty threshold set by the Government,” Union Network International-Malaysia Labour Centre (UNI-MLC) president Datuk Mohamed Shafie BP Mammal said in a statement.
Earlier this month, the Government announced that it would be raising the minimum wage to RM1,500 by end of the year.
However, the announcement was met with opposition from the Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF), which stated that now is not the right time to increase the cost of doing business and the proposal would derail economic recovery.
“More efforts should be directed towards business recovery in the private sector and controlling the rising cost of products and services. We must remember that most Malaysian businesses are micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), whereby 98.9% are in this group.
“So, when we talk about wages and cost, we must think of their survival and sustainability,” its president Datuk Syed Hussain Syed Husman was reported as saying.
Due to that, Syed Hussain received brickbats from several quarters, with Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) accusing the group of perpetually in opposition of the minimum wage hike, be it during good or bad times.
It is to note that in July 2020, the Government revised its national poverty income threshold from RM980 to RM2,208. Hence, even the proposed RM1,500 minimum wage is still below the benchmark set.
Gov’t must be resolute
Touching on the matter, Shafie reminded employers that while they were making noise over a RM300 pay increase, workers have not questioned the fat pay checks enjoyed by their top management staff.
“But the moment ordinary workers demand for the minimum wage to be increased, we hear all sorts of horror stories of companies going bankrupt and all.
“Our employers don’t seem to be able to think out of the box when it comes to protecting their workers’ welfare,” he chided.
With that said, Shafie urged the Government to convey its decision on the matter in the upcoming Dewan Rakyat sitting, scheduled on Feb 28.
“I wish to remind elected representatives that they were put in the Parliament by the people and the august house is where voters depend on to ensure their wellbeing.
“No point talking about helping the B40 community, Malaysian Family and other slogans when we can’t even raise the minimum wage to RM1,500,” he remarked. – Feb 26, 2022
