OVER 50,000 workers have had their salaries increase by over 10% under the government’s Progressive Wage Policy (PWP).
The Human Resources Ministry said that to date, 51,363 workers from 4,025 participating employers had their wages increased based on PWP incentive requirements.
It said the median monthly wage of workers under the scheme increased by RM290, or 13.8%, from RM2,100 to RM2,390 on average.
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.
“This shows that the policy is structurally helping young workers catch up with income levels that are more comparable with their older colleagues,” the ministry said in a written reply.
It said that currently, the highest participation sectors in PWP are 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 also said the government disbursed RM64,076,884.75 in incentives over the same period.
Implemented in January last year, PWP offers financial incentives to registered employers who agree to increase their employees’ wages.
