Wage deal done
Govt and employers agree on minimum salaries
We believe there is basis for this (minimum wage) but we don’t want to make a rash decision.
— TAN SRI MUHYIDDIN YASSIN
KUALA LUMPUR: The Government has decided on the national minimum wage and the details will be announced by the Prime Minister.
Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who disclosed this, said an agreement had been reached betw een various parties and the Human Resources Ministry.
“We have reached an agreement with the employers, workers’ unions and the ministry submitting their proposals.
“The Prime Minister will make the announcement at the appropriate time, which will be sometime soon,” he said after opening the World Kidney Day celebrations at Dataran Merdeka yesterday.
However, Muhyiddin did not elaborate if a fixed amount had been reached by the Government in the National wages consultative Council – the tripartite body comprising employer and employee organisations and the Government.
He said all relevant factors such as cost of living, inflation, demographic trends, the effects on employers and the economic impact were taken into account during deliberations.
“We believe there is basis for this (minimum wage) but we don’t want to make a rash decision,” he said.
On whether the implementation of a minimum wage would see a reduction in the number of public holidays, he said that had yet to be considered.
Muhyiddin said workers should enhance productivity to ensure the country remains competitive with developed nations.
It was reported that the Government was looking at a minimum wage of between RM800 and RM1,000 for some 3.2 million workers in the private sector.
Close to 33% of such workers are said to be earning less than RM700 a month – below the income poverty line of RM763 a month.
On Friday, Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam said the minimum wage policy was expected to be announced later this month.
Last month, Malaysian Employers Federation executive director Shamsuddin Bardan warned that some 200,000 small-time employers are likely to cease operations as they could not afford to pay higher salaries.
He added that the implementation of an across-the-board minimum wage would incur a production cost increase of between 30% and 40%.
In IPOH, Dr Subramaniam said the ministry was waiting for the announcement date from the Prime Minister’s Office.