KUALA LUMPUR: Over 50,000 workers have seen their salaries increased by over 10% under the Progressive Wage Policy (PWP) of the government, says the Human Resources Ministry.
The ministry said a total of 51,363 workers under 4,025 participating employers have had their wages increased based on PWP incentive requirements, as of Sunday (June 5).
It said the median monthly wage of workers under the scheme had increased by RM290, or 13.8%, from RM2,100 to RM2,390 on average.
It added the median wages of young workers in particular recorded a higher increase of 13.0% compared with 10.6% for adult workers under PWP.
“Before the implementation of the PWP, the median wage gap between adult workers (RM2,300) and young workers (RM2,000) stood at RM300.
“After PWP’s introduction, the gap narrowed to RM284, with adult workers earning a median wage of RM2,544 and young workers RM2,260,” the ministry said in a parliamentary written reply dated Monday (June 6).
It added that this shows that the policy is structurally helping young workers catch up to income levels that are more comparable with their older colleagues.
It said the highest participation sectors in PWP were currently wholesale and retail trade (26.7%); manufacturing (15.7%); professional, scientific and technical activities (11.1%); education (7.4%); and accommodation, food and beverage service activities (6.9%).
The ministry said small companies accounted for 50.2% of employers making PWP claims followed by large and medium-sized companies at 18.4% each, while micro-enterprises made up 13.1%.
It added that the government had disbursed RM64,076,884.75 in incentive payments as of the same period.
“The government will continue to monitor the policy and conduct impact assessments from time to time to determine whether there is a need to continue the PWP,” it added.
The ministry was responding to Muhammad Ismi Mat Taib (Perikatan Nasional-Parit) who wanted to know the effectiveness of PWP's implementation and in reducing the income gap between young and adult workers so far.
Implemented since January 2025, PWP offers financial incentives to registered employers who agree to increase their employees’ wages.
