MTUC: Don't stop at Indonesian maids, enforce RM1,500 minimum wage for all sectors

PETALING JAYA: The minimum wage of RM1,500 set for Indonesian domestic workers is welcome but must be enforced across all sectors, says the Malaysian Trade Union Congress (MTUC).

Its secretary-general Kamarul Baharin Mansor said it was surprising that the government had agreed to set this minimum despite an exemption for domestic workers under the Employment Act 1955.

"This agreement is strange as there were no discussions held in Malaysia.

"However, we welcome the (decision) because we have been pushing for zero exemptions to employers on enforcement of minimum wage, including for domestic workers," he said in a statement on Friday (April 8).

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob had announced last month that the RM1,500 minimum wage policy would be implemented on May 1.

Kamarul added that with less than a month to the implementation date, the government should monitor enforcement of the new minimum wage across all sectors.

He also expressed concern that the government might not have time to hold discussions with relevant stakeholders.

"MTUC does not want to see a repeat of 2013 when many employers failed to pay the minimum wage," he said, adding that some workers had to take their cases all the way to the High Court to claim outstanding wages.

"The government must release the guidelines for the implementation of the new minimum wage by gazetting a Minimum Wage Order," he said.