KUALA LUMPUR: Over 5,000 employers have opened accounts through the Progressive Wage Policy (PWP) as at the end of November.
Of those who applied, 2,846 employers have increased workers’ wages according to the PWP incentive requirements, involving 31,776 employees, says Steven Sim (pic).
“A total of 5,808 employers have opened accounts through the system. Of these, 3,925 (67.6%) have submitted applications to take part in the PWP,” the Human Resources Minister said in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday.
“Overall, PWP participation has reached 63.6% of the target of 50,000 employees, with the remaining 36.4% expected to be achieved in early 2026,” he added.
Sim said the PWP was a government initiative to reform the labour market by increasing workers’ incomes systematically in line with improvements in their skill levels and productivity.
The proposal for PWP was agreed to in principle by the National Economic Action Council on Aug 7, 2023. It received Cabinet approval on Sept 27, 2023. It was implemented in January this year.
Sim said the PWP offers financial incentives to registered employers who agree to increase their employees’ wages. The incentives offered are up to RM200 per month for entry-level employees and up to RM300 per month for non-entry- level employees.
The main target of the initiative was local employers who are registered with the Employees Provident Fund and PERKESO but are not Government-Linked Companies.
“The targeted employees are Malaysian citizens working full-time with a basic salary between the minimum wage and RM4,999 per month,” he told Kubang Pasu MP Dr Ku Abd Rahman Ku Ismail who had asked about PWP’s progress.
