The group believes that higher minimum wage would also facilitates a high income and high productivity workforce. File Photo
KUCHING: Three groups related to workers’ rights have urged employers to stop spreading unfounded fears about the impact of a minimum wage hike following the federal government’s decision to raise the amount to RM1,200 in selected towns next year.
Malaysian Trade Union Congress (MTUC) Sarawak, UNI Malaysia Labour Centre and Labour Law Reform Coalition, in a joint statement today, said employers have been “fear mongering” since the minimum wage was introduced in 2001.
“They even made the now debunked claim that 300,000 businesses will go bankrupt if minimum wage is implemented. Employers should be much smarter and be proactive and visionary,” they said.
The statement, issued by MTUC Sarawak secretary Andrew Lo, Uni Malaysia president Datuk Mohamed Shafie BP Mammal, and coalition co chair Gopala Krishnan, pointed out that minimum wage increase was not the cause of outward remittances and low exchange rates.
“It is employers’ addiction to foreign workers which they can control, manipulate and exploit. It is laughable for employers’ group to talk about illegal foreign workers,” they said, taking the Malaysian Employers’ Federation (MEF) to task.
The group believes that higher minimum wage would also facilitates a high income and high productivity workforce.
They opined that employers would have to invest in innovation and smarter human resources management and manpower planning instead of relying on low skilled foreign workers, as this would increase their competitiveness in a global economy
“It is hypocritical for MEF to now criticise the government’s decision to raise the minimum wage only for the major urban areas as it is the employers group who has been fighting for sectoral and geographical minimum wage.
“If they are worried about discrimination, than implement RM1,200. We believe that the minimum wage of RM1,200 is too low and should be at least RM1,500 with effect immediately nationwide,” they said.
On Wednesday, the Human Resources Ministry announced that the federal government had approved to raise the minimum monthly wage to RM1,200 in 57 cities and municipalities, while the wage level for the rest of the country would remain at RM1,100.
In Sarawak, areas that are covered under the latest revised minimum wage regulation are North and South Kuching, Padawan, Kota Samarahan, Sibu, Miri and Bintulu.
MEF executive director Datuk Shamsuddin Bardan had yesterday slammed the government for the latest wage hike, pointing out that it had been raised three times since 2018 and all cost increases were completely borne by employers.
He said the Pakatan Harapan government had promised in its manifesto to share the burden from the hike equally with employers but had not done so.
He added that any increase in the minimum wage would mostly benefit foreign workers who would repatriate their pay to their home countries and weaken the ringgit further.