E-wages will ensure salaries are paid, minister says after worker’s suicide

 

M Saravanan said the labour department would launch an investigation into the death of a worker who was reportedly not paid for five months, with action to be taken against the employers if the claims are true.

PETALING JAYA: The government’s upcoming e-wages system will allow workers to be paid in “real time”, says M Saravanan after the case of a foreign worker who took his own life after allegedly being denied his salary for five months.

The human resources minister said this would ensure all employees were paid before the seventh day of each month, in accordance with the Employment Act 1955.

He added that it would also prevent employers from manipulating their workers’ salaries, encouraging transparency.

“The image and credibility of the country will also be preserved, especially when it comes to employing foreign workers. The implementation of this system will also indirectly ensure the rights and welfare of workers are protected,” he said in a statement.

Saravanan noted that currently, no such mechanism existed within the Malaysian job market.

He also said the labour department would launch an investigation into the worker’s death, adding that appropriate action should be taken against the employers if the allegations were found to be true.

“Things like this should not happen within the labour market, especially when the country is facing an economic and health crisis due to the Covid-19 pandemic.”

Recently, it was reported that a 30-year-old foreign worker had taken his own life because he was frustrated that the company he worked for had not paid him for five months. - FMT