MTUC slams govt’s move to again postpone minimum wage for small firms

 

Putrajaya decided to defer the implementation of the RM1,500 minimum wage for companies hiring fewer than five employees after taking into account the views of various stakeholders. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) has slammed the government’s move to postpone the implementation of the RM1,500 minimum wage rule for companies with fewer than five employees by another six months to July 1 next year.

MTUC president Effendy Abdul Ghani told FMT the government should have gone ahead with the measure on Jan 1 as promised and open applications for minimum wage subsidies for companies struggling with higher wage bills.

“We are shocked over this announcement, which has come less than a week before the rule was to be implemented,” said Effendy, adding that MTUC was not consulted.

“The employers had eight months to prepare for this. If you ask them, they’ll always say they’re not ready.

“The government is discriminating against workers as those working for bigger companies will be paid the RM1,500 minimum wage, but the rest won’t. However, the cost of living for both these groups is the same.”

He said it was all the more important that the new rule be implemented on Jan 1 as it had already been gazetted, adding that workers would feel “betrayed” with today’s announcement.

“The government cannot play around with this. If we can’t hold on to something that has already been gazetted, then what can we hold on to?” asked Effendy.

Although Effendy said it was a good idea for companies that are unable to cope with the increased minimum wage to approach the government for help, he said it should be done on a case-by-case basis due to the alleged abuse of the wage subsidy programme during the Covid-19 pandemic.

It was previously reported that the Social Security Organisation (Socso) had found numerous employers nationwide to have abused the wage subsidy programme during the pandemic.

In July, then finance minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz said the government had disbursed RM20.89 billion to 357,895 employers through the wage subsidy programme – which had helped keep 2.96 million local workers employed.

Earlier today, human resources minister V Sivakumar said the postponement of the RM1,500 minimum wage for companies with fewer than five employees was made after taking into account the views of various stakeholders, adding that he hoped it would help give the companies involved time to better manage their finances.

While the Minimum Wage Order 2022 came into effect across all sectors on May 1 this year, an exemption until Dec 31 this year was given to employers who employed less than five workers.

Meanwhile, Parti Sosialis Malaysia deputy chairman S Arutchelvan said he was disappointed with the move to defer the implementation of the minimum wage, stating that employers had been given enough time to comply with it.

“Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s promise to help the B40 community has fallen flat. This is a massive betrayal to the many workers who have been waiting eagerly for January… only to hear this news.” - FMT