Employers reject minimum wage policy

G Vinod

The Malaysian Employers Federation says wages for workers should be determined by market forces.

PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) has rejected calls by unionists and opposition MPs to introduce the decent living wage for workers.

The employers union also rejected calls for a minimum wage policy in the country.

In an email to FMT, its executive director Shamsuddin Bardan said that wages for workers should be determined by market forces as higher wages would not guarantee jobs in Malaysia.

“A minimum wage policy will not spearhead the nation to become a high income economy,” he said.

Several trade unionists from Asean countries and DAP Klang MP Charles Santiago called upon the government to introduce the decent living wage policy instead of a minimum wage policy.

A decent living wage, they said, would take into consideration of cost of living, workers’ dependence such as their immediate family members and savings in their wage consideration.

Santiago also said that the National Wages Consultative Council (NWCC), scheduled to be established at this Parliamentary sitting, should be the decision making body on workers’ wages rather than being a mere advisory council to the Human Resources Ministry.

The government, the unionists added, should stay away from NWCC.

In order to turn Malaysia into a high-income nation, Shamsuddin said, workers needed to enhance their competitive edge by increasing productivity and consistently improving their performance.

“This can be achieved when workers upgrade their skills from time to time and learn to multi-task at work,” he said.

He also said that currently, two-thirds of the Malaysian workforce was considered as unskilled, with about 100, 000 SPM school leavers joining the workforce annually without any proper skills training.

Shamdussin also disagreed that a decent living wage would help the economy to grow due to higher purchasing power by workers.

“The government can consider not taxing employees’ who receive bonuses above a certain quantum. The government will not lose revenue from this as workers’ higher spending power will boost the economy,” he said.

On the NWCC, Shamsuddin welcomed the government’s participation in the council, saying the state was an important unit when it comes to discussing workers’ wages.

“And the council itself should be advisory in nature, as the name suggests. It should also be given the flexibility to advise the government on the yearly wage review.

“For example when the country is facing an economic downturn, the NWCC should be able to advise the government to impose a wage increase moratorium or even a pay cut if the situation warrants,” he said.