According to Penang MTUC, the country's blue collar workers are struggling to cope with the living costs.
Three days ago, Selangor announced the imposition of a minimum wage ceiling of RM1,500 for all civil servants employed under the state’s various agencies and subsidiaries.
In a landmark move, the Selangor state government under the stewardship of Khalid Ibrahim as the Mentri Besar, made the move after it had revamped the state’s financial coffers.
Lauding the decision, Penang MTUC secretary K. Veeriah said since Selangor has set the tone, all other states should emulate instead of just being dependent on the federal government to initiate it.
“The minimum wage national council continues to drag its feet over the adoption of the minimum wage structure. In the meantime, low to middle income workers are struggling with the escalating rise in costs of living,” Veeriah said.
He said on an average the minimum wage ceiling should be RM1,500 to RM2,000 for workers in urbanized areas.
Veeriah said the time for action is now as the country’s blue collar workers are struggling to cope with the living costs.
It is no longer just the question of creating jobs, there is a need to generate quality jobs with wages in-tune with the costs of living, centering on home, car, food, internet and family expenses, he said.
There is also the burden of health and education to bear, he said, adding that workers are mostly grateful if they are treated fairly.
Veeriah said stakeholders such as the Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF), the government policymakers, trade unions and the civil service union-Cuepacs must come together and agree on a common framework that wages must go up in tandem with the rise in living costs.
It is also a centerpiece towards attaining a developed nation status.
Conduct comprehensive audit
Pressuring issues such as its ill effects on the economy and the affordability factor among employers, can be off-set if higher wages propels an increase in productivity and innovation among workers.
“We need to be inspired and we need to loosen the strangles of corruption, victimization and discrimination at work places by rewarding workers who do perform and to stop alleged favoritism or elements of cronyism or nepotism.”
Veeriah said workers continue to be the backbone of Malaysia’s export-orientated economy.
He also urged the stakeholders to ban an intake of foreign workers, pending a review of all job sectors.
He said, with no disrespect to the foreigners who are an asset to some employers, steps must be put in place to prevent a dependance on them, solely for employers to increase profit margins.
He also urged the Human Resources Ministry to conduct a comprehensive audit check to determine how many new workers can be sourced among single-parent households, the disabled and most importantly, among the senior citizen community.
There must also be a disclosure on how many workers remained enclosed on welfare schemes, or any type of monetary aid, he added.
There is also a need to encourage those working part-time to take up permanent jobs, Veeriah pointed-out while also reiterating that the retirement age in the private sector should also be raised.
Don’t politicize issue
Penang PKR information head Sim Tze Tzin also lauded Selangor and echoed the view of Veeriah that other state governments should try to adopt a similar policy.
Selangor can do it because it is generally, the richest state in the country but others such as Penang can find ways to similarly adopt it, perhaps with a lower ceiling of RM1,100, Sim said.
On the negative aspects of minimum wage, Sim points out that the developed economies in the world such as USA and Europe do adopt their version of a minimum wage.
The onus is now on workers to increase their productivity if they are being rewarded with a minimum wage, Sim said.
He hopes that the issue is not politicized but to reflect on it on a holistic angle, so the country and her workers can benefit.
1 comment:
Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin desires a unified school system for Malaysia. What it means is that Barisan Nasional will be willing to become one party with membership open to all races and religions in Malaysia. In return, the Malaysians must allow a unified school system in Malaysia. In Malaysia they have national schools and national type schools. Whatever Khairy wants to comment about should be confined to national schools, not the national type schools. As regards to national type schools, Khairy should hold his tongue and mind his own business.
It does not matter what Khairy Jamaluddin says or does not say. In the world of the future we will see China growing stronger socially, politically, and economically. That’s it. With every passing day both China and India are growing stronger socially, politically, and economically. Khairy Jamaluddin’s statements will not make any changes. In the world of the future it may be an asset to know Chinese language. Khairy should encourage more Malays to send their children to Mandarin medium schools.
Some how, Khairy Jamaluddin is trying to create a link between the UMNO-BN on the one hand and Chinese medium and Tamil medium schools on the other hand. Who cares about the future of UMNO-BN? Nobody. Whether UMNO-BN wins or loses the next elections, the Chinese and Tamil medium schools should and will survive. No political party should touch the Chinese and Tamil medium schools. Whatever changes that the political parties want to make in the education sector should be regarding the national schools, not national type schools.
Who cares whether Barisan Nasional is divided into numerous component parties or becomes a singular multi racial and multi-religious party? It will make no difference because with every passing day both China and India are strengthening socially, politically, and economically. This is the future. The future is not Khairy Jamalludin. Khairy is too small for China. The future is China and India; and both nations are non-Muslim nations. The Chinese in Malaysia should continue to send their children to Chinese medium schools. Penang, Sabah, and Sarawak deserve greater autonomy. Furthermore, Philippines claims Sabah. Does Sabah belong to Malaysia or Philippines? We need one nation with several systems in Malaysia. One nation with one system will not work in a multi-religious and multi-lingual nation like Malaysia.
In the 1960's and !970's, many Chinese Malaysians spoke English among themselves. In year 2011, Chinese Malaysians speak Mandarin among themselves. I would like to commend UMNO-BN government for strengthening and consolidating the Mandarin language in Malaysia. UMNO-BN should be credited for increasing Mandarin usage in Malaysia. What ever changes in the education sector that UMNO brought about is indeed on the right track because Mandarin usage has increased. Furthermore, UMNO has been visionary because she has been able to predict the rise of China in the 21st century. Increasing Mandarin usage will benefit Malaysia because China is a rising power in this world. If only UMNO continues her pro-Mandarin policy, it will augur well for Malaysia in the long run. It is time to consider making Mandarin an official and national language in Malaysia.
Yes, one nation with one system will not work in a multi-religious and multi-lingual nation like Malaysia. All the three languages, Chinese, Malay, and Tamil, are different niches in Malaysia. They all contribute to Malaysia. Please ask Khairy to hold his tongue and mind his own business as regards to Chinese medium and Tamil medium schools.
The bottom line is that, no matter who says what, the future is that with every passing day both China and India are growing socially, politically, and economically.
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