Don: Ensure strict enforcement of current rate instead of raising minimum wage

KUCHING (May 20): The government should strictly monitor the enforcement of the existing minimum wage order in the country rather than consider raising the minimum wage rate, said Dr Muzaffar Syah Mallow.

The Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia’s Faculty of Syariah and Laws associate professor said some workers had complained that their employers failed to make the necessary adjustments to the new minimum wage rates.

“These workers complained that their employers have taken away some of their employment benefits in order to meet the new minimum wage increase,” he said in a statement today.

The statement was issued in response to a United Nations Children’s Fund’s (Unicef) proposal to the government to increase the minimum wage rate in Malaysia to RM2,102 from the current RM1,500.

In a report “The Living on the Edge Key Findings” on May 8, Unicef revealed that the country’s minimum wage rate should be set at RM2,102, considering key factors such as the cost of living, poverty line income and productivity.

Muzaffar noted that the Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) had, during the Labour Day celebration, urged the government to be more aggressive in identifying employers, who persistently evaded minimum wage order compliance.

“All complaints and arising issues need to be addressed and investigated in order to avoid confusion and add additional problems to workers, who are facing financial burden as a result of rising costs of living,” he said.

According to Section 2 of the National Wages Consultative Council Act 2011, he said minimum wages are basic wages excluding any allowances or other payments.

He said Section 43 of the same Act said an employer who fails to pay the basic wages as specified in the minimum wages order to his employees commits an offence and shall, upon conviction, be liable to a fine of not exceeding RM10,000 for each employee.

“Any workers who feel that their employers have ignored their basic right to receive the minimum wages should immediately seek help and lodge a complaint with the Department of Labour or National Wages Consultative Council Secretariat at the Ministry of Human Resources,” added Muzaffar.