Friday 29 Mar 2024
By
main news image

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on June 5, 2018

KUALA LUMPUR: The new minimum wage for the private sector is currently under review and the government will announce it by August, when all approvals are obtained, according to Human Resources Minister M Kulasegaran.

“We have said in Pakatan Harapan’s manifesto that the upper limit for the minimum wage is RM1,500. We will definitely achieve that figure, but for now the quantum of increase is being discussed by all [relevant] parties.

“As I said before, we will engage with stakeholders like the unions and employers, among others. We realised some adjustments need to be done, in that the quantum of adjustment must take into account factors such as productivity, whether the increase can be sustained, [the new rate] has to be a win-win for all, the employers, the government and the unions in this country,” he told reporters yesterday.

The minister said earlier the Jawatankuasa Teknikal Perundingan Gaji Negara (JTPGN) had completed the review process of the Minimum Wage Act 2016, and that the JTPGN is ready to present the new minimum wage to the Majlis Perundingan Gaji Negara (MPGN), a tripartite body whose role is to discuss and recommend the new minimum wage to the ministry.

MPGN is set to meet on June 13 to study the review of the Minimum Wage Act 2016. “Following that, my ministry will prepare a memorandum for the ministers and the government to make a decision,” said Kulasegaran. The current minimum wage is RM1,000 for Peninsular Malaysia and RM920 for Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan.

 

      Print
      Text Size
      Share