[Malaysia] MTUC demands payment of contract workers’ wage arrears

The Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) says contract workers in the country - including cleaners and guards at government facilities - are owed about RM3,600 each in wage adjustments following the minimum wage which came into effect last May, FMT reports.

According to reporting from Bernama, MTUC secretary-general Kamarul Baharin Mansor said the failure to pay the minimum wage was tantamount to the workers becoming victims of forced labour.

He added that the government should also provide data on errant contractors so that payment of salary arrears and minimum wage adjustments could be made directly to the workers.

The secretary-general reportedly said MTUC had suggested that the contractor’s bond be withheld if they fail to pay the minimum wage adjustments to their workers.

He also urged the human resources ministry to use its power to ensure the rights of all government contract workers are protected.

The monthly minimum wage was increased to RM1,500 in May 2022.

“The workers cannot be made victims of the government-enforced system,” he said. “Failure to pay the minimum wage must be seen as a weakness of the contract system.”

The secretary-general called for “a mechanism to ensure that minimum wage adjustments are paid every time a new minimum wage order is announced”.

He reportedly suggested two reasons for the failure of the contractors who employed the workers to pay the minimum wage, “either the delay from the government’s side to pay the adjustments, or the contractor’s own financial problems”.

Source: FMT

(Quotes via original reporting)

The Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) says contract workers in the country - including cleaners and guards at government facilities - are owed about RM3,600 each in wage adjustments following the minimum wage which came into effect last May, FMT reports.

According to reporting from Bernama, MTUC secretary-general Kamarul Baharin Mansor said the failure to pay the minimum wage was tantamount to the workers becoming victims of forced labour.

He added that the government should also provide data on errant contractors so that payment of salary arrears and minimum wage adjustments could be made directly to the workers.

The secretary-general reportedly said MTUC had suggested that the contractor’s bond be withheld if they fail to pay the minimum wage adjustments to their workers.

He also urged the human resources ministry to use its power to ensure the rights of all government contract workers are protected.

The monthly minimum wage was increased to RM1,500 in May 2022.

“The workers cannot be made victims of the government-enforced system,” he said. “Failure to pay the minimum wage must be seen as a weakness of the contract system.”

The secretary-general called for “a mechanism to ensure that minimum wage adjustments are paid every time a new minimum wage order is announced”.

He reportedly suggested two reasons for the failure of the contractors who employed the workers to pay the minimum wage, “either the delay from the government’s side to pay the adjustments, or the contractor’s own financial problems”.

Source: FMT

(Quotes via original reporting)