The government will not impose a different private sector minimum wage for Sabah and Sarawak if a review conducted by the National Wage Consultation Council (NWCC) finds that the economies of the two states continue to grow, said Human Resource Minister Datuk Seri Dr S Subramaniam.

He said the national minimum wage rate for the private sector, at RM900 a month or RM4.33 an hour for Peninsular Malaysia and RM800 or RM3.85 an hour for Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan were not permanent rates and that a review would be carried out after two years depending on the current economic situation.

He said the NWCC would take into account the median wage which employers could afford to offer, Poverty Line Income (PLI), the percentage growth of productivity, Consumer Price Index and current unemployment rates, to decide on the minimum wage.

“The process of deciding minimum wage is based on firm economic details, not based on personal views or done by politicians while the implementation is flexible and will be reviewed every two years,” he said here, today.

He said this to reporters after attending a briefing on the implementation of minimum wage for the private sector to about 500 employers and workers in Sabah.

He said the different rates decided by the government recently was caused by low median wage and high PLI in Sabah and Sarawak compared to the peninsula.

“Based on the indicators, our direction after this is to reduce or get rid of the difference altogether and hope they can be achieved after a review two years later,” he said at the function which was also attended by Sabah Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Dr Yee Moh Chai.

Subramaniam said currently, the median wages in Sabah and Sarawak were RM577.40 and RM738.71 respectively, compared to RM1,134.25 in the peninsula while the PLI in the two states were RM1,048 and RM912 respectively, compared to RM763 in the peninsula. — Bernama

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak paid tribute to the nation’s workers, calling them the backbone of the country whose welfare will not be ignored.

“The reality is that without dedicated workers and their loyalty to the country, we would not have been able to achieve the prosperity and development that we have,” he said at the Human Resource Ministry’s Workers Day gathering here yesterday.

Also present were Human Resource Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam and Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan.

Najib also presented certificates of appreciation to MTUC, Cuepacs and the Malaysian Employers Federation for their cooperation and also handed out awards to outstanding workers and employers.

He said it had always been the Government’s philosophy and agenda to protect the welfare of workers, citing the recent 7% to 13% pay increase for civil servants as an example.

“Ensuring the welfare of workers is a win-win situation as both employees and employers will benefit from it,” he said, adding that it would increase productivity and revenue.

Using Sime Darby Plantation as an example, Najib said the company had achieved higher productivity after increasing the workers’ salary by RM200.

The Prime Minister also urged private sector companies to move towards high value-added activities to enhance competitiveness and help increase workers’ salaries.

“It is possible to increase salaries without jeopardising the economy. However, higher pay must come with increased productivity.”

He said the implementation of the minimum wage that had been sought for 20 years, was also very significant as it had broken the “psychological barrier”.

Najib said it was important for workers, employers and the Government to have a good relationship and stay united as the country continued with its transformation programme.

He also announced that MTUC and Cuepacs – the umbrella union bodies for the private and public sector respectively – would be given 10 Kedai Rakyat 1Malaysia to manage in honour of their contributions and help ease their members’ burden.

MTUC president Khalid Atan said he was caught off-guard by Najib’s announcement.

“I was really surprised. I did not expect it at all. But we are thankful and will make sure our members fully benefit from it,” he said.

Cuepacs president Datuk Omar Osman thanked Najib for the KR1M allocation and said it would help the union look after the welfare of its members in a better way.

MTUC and Cuepacs would be given five stores each but the locations have not been determined yet.

Source : http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/5/13/nation/11283078&sec=nation

The Cabinet Committee on Foreign Workers and Illegal Immigrants is to discuss a proposal to set up a special system based on government-to-government collaboration to facilitate smooth migration of Bangladeshi workers to Malaysia.

Human Resource Minister Datuk Seri Dr S Subramaniam said Bangladeshi Minister for Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Khandker Mosharraf Hossain had raised the idea at their discussion today.

Under the system, he said, the government would register all workers interested to work overseas and act as a facilitator in matching the employers’ needs with the workers’ qualification.

“It is an attractive suggestion. They said they have done it with other countries, where the government maintained a profile of the potential workers and, when they received a request from a certain country, they can sort the request, which will contribute to a smoother process at lower cost, with greater amount of protection for both workers and employers,” he said.

Speaking to reporters after Mosharraf called on him, Subramaniam said he was thankful to Bangladesh for introducing the “very good mechanism” to reduce the cost of sending workers overseas.

“I’ve informed the minister that we will discuss at the Cabinet Committee on Foreign Workers and Illegal Immigrants as to how we can implement this new intervention to make smoother and better the recruitment process and also reduce other issues faced before,” he said.

Subramaniam said he also highlighted to the minister about the ongoing 6P programme, where some 267,000 Bangladeshi workers have been registered over the last few months under the process of legalisation.

He said the registration revealed that some 400,000 Bangladeshis were working in the country, mostly in the manufacturing sector, and some in the construction, plantation and service sectors.

He pointed out that the fact that some 267,000 Bangladeshis were working here illegally indicated problems in the recruitment process and it was good of the Bangladesh government to suggest the system to overcome them.

Meanwhile, Mosharraf said the high cost of migration had been identified as the primary cause of the problems, whereby the workers usually could not return home because they could not recover the cost, which led them to overstay.

He said the government was aware of the problem and had come up with the idea to establish a reasonable cost of migration for the workers. – Bernama

PETALING JAYA: Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam has quashed claims by a non-governmental organisation that Malaysia is not safe for foreign workers, saying his Indonesian counterpart understands the situation.

“Indonesia understands what NGOs do.

“They have NGOs too.

“They understand the role of NGOs and the media and the statement by NGO leaders.

“But they also understand what is right or wrong,” he said, adding that the Indonesian Manpower and Transmigration Minister whom he met a few days ago at an Asean ministerial meeting in Cambodia, understood the situation.

Dr Subramaniam was speaking at a press conference at a Workers Day gathering in Serdang, near here, yesterday.

He was commenting on remarks by Tenaganita executive director Irene Fernandez in an interview with The Jakarta Post that Malaysia was not a safe place for Indonesian workers as it does not have a legal framework to protect migrant workers.

He said her statement was irresponsible and, according to the laws, inaccurate.

“In Malaysia, except for one or two sectors, foreign workers are given the same treatment as Malaysian workers.

“Some foreign workers are even union members and this is allowed under the law.

“They are treated equally when negotiations are carried out.

“There is no difference,” he said.

Dr Subramaniam said local and foreign domestic maids were also treated equally, adding that the employer was bound by a contract to ensure their welfare was protected.

NO DISCRIMINATION: Minister says Indonesian workers given same treatment as Malaysian workers
SERDANG: Indonesia has accepted Malaysia’s explanation regarding Tenaganita executive director Irene Fernandez’s controversial statement on foreign workers.

Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam said he met up with his Indonesian counterpart a few days ago at the Asean Ministers Labour Meeting in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, to explain the matter.
“They understand our stand. They also understand what NGOs (non-governmental organisations) do and the role of the media as well as statements made by NGO leaders.

“But they also understand what is right or wrong,” he said during a press conference after attending the Workers Day gathering at the the Malaysia Agro Exposition Park here yesterday.

Fernandez, in a recent interview with Jakarta Post, was quoted as saying that there was no legal framework nor a particular law to protect foreign workers.
She claimed the government had discriminated against domestic maids by excluding them from the recently announced minimum wage.

Fernandez was alleged to have advised Jakarta not to send workers of any category here.

She was also summoned by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) over her remarks on the incompetence of Malaysia to vouch for the safety of immigrant workers from Indonesia.

In labelling Fernandez’s statement as “irresponsible” and “inaccurate”, Dr Subramaniam said nearly all foreign workers were given the same treatment as their local counterparts.

On domestic maids, he said if their welfare was not taken care of or their employers breached their employment contracts, the maids could seek redress from the Labour Department.

He said to say Malaysia was not safe for foreigners was akin to saying Malaysia was not safe for its citizens.

Dr Subramaniam also said the negative outlook given by Fernandez on the treatment of foreign workers had tarnished the image of the country.
He said Malaysia had 3.1 million foreign workers, of which 99.9 per cent did not encounter any problems.

“We always strive to improve the relevant processes involving foreign workers to ensure they are adequately protected.”

Dr Subramaniam called on NGOs to be more responsible when making statements as such remarks would have implications on the nation.

On the Private Sector Retirement Bill, which seeks to raise the retirement age to 60, he said the Attorney-General’s Chambers was looking into it.
He hoped the bill could be tabled at the next Parliament seating.

Read more: ‘They accept our stand’ explaination – General – New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/nation/general/they-accept-our-stand-explaination-1.83214#ixzz1urswWNmW

The government practises the principle of no wage discrimination among worker groups in the country, the Senate was told yesterday.

Minister of Human Resources, Datuk Seri Dr S Subramaniam said the government would provide a longer transition period to small industries which had less than five employees to comply with the minimum wage set.

“Apart from that, any parties can apply for an extension of the transition period to the National Wages Consultative Council (NWCC) if they face difficulties in meeting the minimum wage rate,” he said.

Dr Subramaniam was replying to a question by Senator Dr Syed Husin Ali who wished to know whether the ministry was proposing to compel the implementation of the minimum wage according to the size of an industry compared to the cost of living in a certain area.

He ruled out Syed Husin’s proposal on implementing the minimum wage according to industry size as it was very complex and difficult to implement and it could be subjected to manipulation by certain irresponsible parties.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak had announced on April 30 that the minimum wage was set at RM900 for Peninsular Malaysia and RM800 for Sabah, Sarawak and the federal terrritory of Labuan.

“The proposal to set the minimum wage according to the regions was made based on the minimum necessities for a worker to support himself and his family, the ability of employer to pay, productivity increase, consumer price index changes and the current labour market,” he

Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/2012/05/04/no-pay-discrimination-among-worker-groups/#ixzz1v4MqeP1n

KUANTAN: THE minimum wage for the private sector was decided based on recommendations made by a technical committee consisting of experts to the National Wage Consultative Council.

The input did not involve politicians, said Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam.

He said apart from local economists, the technical committee consisted of representatives from the World Bank. They conducted an in-depth study before proposing the recommendations to the council.

The council consists of representatives from both workers and employers.
Dr Subramaniam said the minimum wage was decided by the technical committee according to five economic indicators namely cost of living, poverty line index, median range, productivity and unemployment rate.

“The National Wage Consultative Council comprises a chairman, employee and employer representatives, who are free from any political influence.

“The government has ensured that the council is not politically-driven as we do not want people to claim it was merely a political tool. The council is actually an economic tool for the country,” he said after attending the National-level civil servants Workers Day celebration here yesterday.

Dr Subramaniam said he was not ruling out the possibility that some irresponsible parties might attempt to politicise the minimum wage issue and blow things out of proportion.

“If they claim RM1,500 should be the minimum wage, I challenge them to implement the scheme in their respective areas. I am sure they will be forced to close down the factories operating there as such statements are only suitable for gaining political mileage.

“While employers want a low wage, employees demand higher minimum salaries with some choosing wages between RM1,200 and RM1,300. However, we have to be realistic. If we set the minimum wage above RM1,000 then it will cause an adverse impact on the country’s economy and result in unemployment.”

He said although both, employers and employees, had different views on the minimum wage scheme, after taking into consideration various issues raised during the discussions, they came to an agreement.

Speaking on the minimum wage difference between the peninsula and Sabah, Labuan and Sarawak, Dr Subramaniam said the five economic indicators were taken into consideration before deciding on the minimum amount.

“The study conducted by the National Wage Consultative Council revealed that the average minimum wage paid by employers in Sabah and Sarawak currently stands at RM577.

“In fact, the employer representatives from Sabah and Sarawak had requested for a lower minimum wage. However, since the national poverty income line is RM763, we decided to set the minimum wage at RM800.”

Present were Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob, Deputy Human Resources Minister Datuk Maznah Mazlan and Cuepacs president Datuk Omar Osman.

On Monday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced the minimum wage for the private sector had been set at RM900, or RM4.33 an hour, for the peninsula while RM800, or RM3.85 an hour, for Sabah, Labuan and Sarawak.

Read more: ‘No politics involved in process’ – General – New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/nation/general/no-politics-involved-in-process-1.79754#ixzz1tk8nNtXT

KUANTAN, May 1 (Bernama) — The private sector minimum wage must be accepted and not politicised as it was arrived at by economic experts, said Human Resource Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam.

“The minimum wage was not set by politicians but was based on input from the Technical Committee of the National Wage Advisory Council (MPGN) and the World Bank which studied the matter in depth before the rate was accepted by the councils representing employers and workers,” he told reporters after the 2012 National Public Sector Workers Day celebrations here today.

He was commenting on the RM900 and RM800 minimum wage set for Peninsular Malaysia, and Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan respectively, which was announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Tun Razak in Putrajaya yesterday in conjunction with Workers Day.

“Of course, employers want a lower rate while workers want a higher one. There’re parties who say it should be more than RM1,200 or RM1,300 but according to the study, if it’s more than RM1,000 it would have an adverse implication on our economy and other negative effects such as higher unemployment,” he remarked.

Subramaniam said the MPGN technical committee took two main factors into consideration, which were the poverty index and median salary.

He added that the study also looked at the Consumer Price Index, productivity and unemployment rate.

The rates in Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan would be streamlined with Peninsular Malaysia once their economy catches up, he said.

Meanwhile, Bernama spoke to several sources in Kuala Lumpur to obtain their comments on the new minimum wage.

Economist, Prof Dr Barjoyai Bardai of Universiti Tun Abdul Razak said the rate could be a catalyst to increase productivity and boost business for the private sector.

“In Korea for example, the minimum wage is seen as a method to ensure the private sector develops faster than what has been targeted,” he said.

“More than 30 percent of Malaysians are earning less than RM300 monthly at the moment and with the new minimum wage their income is raised immediately,’ he added.

The Congress of Unions in Government-Linked Companies president Mohamad Shafie Mammal wanted the government to ensure that the rate would be complied by all employers.

“We don’t want some employers to take advantage of the situation and retrench workers to ‘cut costs’,” he said.

The move was welcomed by the Tanjung Malim Proton Workers Union which described it as a motivation for workers to continue increasing their productivity.

The union’s president Zainudin Dollah hoped however that the rate would be increased to match the rising cost of living.

The minimum wage would ensure that the basic needs of workers and their families is fulfilled said 1Malaysia Foundation trustee Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye.

“With the resolution of this long overdue matter, workers should be more productive and contribute to the nation’s economy,” he added.

Speaking for the Malaysian Employers Federation, its executive director Shamsuddin Bardan said the new minimum wage would be a challenge to employers as operations cost may increase.

“It is a big difference, about 30 percent increase and even 100 percent increase for those earning below RM800 or RM900 now,” he said.

Source : http://www.mysinchew.com/node/73100

PUTRAJAYA, April 30 (Bernama) — Workers in this country need to equip themselves to keep up with the changing world economic situation, which requires workers that are highly skilled, innovative and creative, said Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam.

He said only innovative workers would be able to adapt to the fast-moving world economic spectrum.

“Hence, workers must take advantage of the opportunities available to improve themselves so that they will not lag behind in technological development and global development,” he said in his Workers Day 2012 message, here, Monday.

He said “Innovative Workers the Catalysts for Transformation” had been chosen as the official theme for the 2012 Workers Day celebration in line with the government’s earnest efforts in transforming Malaysia towards becoming a high-income nation by 2020.

“This theme was chosen because the changing world economy towards the third industrial revolution requires highly-skilled, innovative and creative workers.”

– BERNAMA

Source : http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v6/newsindex.php?id=662926

PUTRAJAYA: The minimum monthly wage for private sector employees in the Peninsular has been set at RM900 and RM800 for those in Sarawak, Sabah and Labuan, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak on Monday.

It covers employees in all economic sectors except those in the domestic service sector, such as maids and gardeners.

It works out to RM4.33 per hour for those in the Peninsular while employees in Sarawak, Sabah and Federal Territory of Labuan are to be paid a minimum of RM3.85 per hour.

Ultimately, there would be only one minimum wage for the country, he said, adding that the minimum wage would be reviewed from time to time in tandem with the country’s affordability, productivity and competitiveness.

The much anticipated minimum wage was announced by Najib at a special gathering with several thousands of private sector employees at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre here Monday night.

“This is a special present from the Federal Government to the entire employees of the beloved country,” he said to thunderous applause from the audience who had gathered at the convention centre some three hours before the Prime Minister began his speech.

The rates will take effect six months from the date the Minimum Wage Order (Perintah Gaji Minimum) is gazetted.

However, the effective date for small-time employers or micro enterprises is extended by another six months in order to give them the space and opportunity to make preparation so that their businesses would not be affected, he said.

Najib said the 12-month grace period did not cover professional firms such as dental and medical clinics, legal, architecture and consultants.

He said even if they had five employees or less, they were required to implement the minimum wage within six months after the Order was gazetted.

He added that the grace period was sufficient for employers to re-structure salaries and their business operations.

“The Government is providing a flexible implementation mechanism so those who are really unable to implement the minimum wage can appeal for an extension.

“We have also prepared a mechanism where some allowances or fixed cash payments are allowed to be absorbed in the calculation for minimum wage.

“This is to ensure that its implementation does not burden the employers while the employees will not lose,” he said.

Najib said while the Government was aware that employees had demanded a minimum wage of between RM1,200 and RM1,500, it could not be implemented.

Upon the recommendation of the National Wage Consultative Council and based on the World Bank study, the minimum wage could not be set too high.

“If it is set beyond the RM900 (basic salary) level, it would affect the economy, labour market and the entry foreign workers.

“Should this happen, industries could not operate accordingly and many would lose their jobs and the Government cannot afford to allow this to happen as it would affect employees welfare and national interest,” he said.

After a series of discussions, a consensus’ was reached by the Council that the minimum wage be set based on the basic needs of an employee’s family, the employer’s ability to pay the salary, productivity, the increase in the cost of living and the nation’s labour market situation.

The Council forwarded its recommendation and the Government agreed with a minor adjustment, he said.

Najib also explained that the different rate of minimum wage between the Peninsula and Sarawak, Sabah and Labuan was due the variation in wage structures and the noticeable cost of living in those places.

However, the Government hoped that within the next two to three years, the minimum wage for Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan can be streamlined with the one in the Peninsular.

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/4/30/nation/20120430211402&sec=nation