Mtuc Slams Noh Omar For Interfering Over Minimum Wage

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Kamarul Baharin Mansor (left) says ministers like Noh Omar should not thwart the prime minister’s plans to improve the wellbeing of workers.PETALING JAYA: Entrepreneur development and cooperatives minister Noh Omar has come under fire for deferring the implementation of the new minimum wage on micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.
Noh Omar should not have “interfered” by announcing that only larger companies would have to abide by the new wage, said the Malaysian Trades Union Congress.
MTUC secretary-general Kamarul Baharin Mansor said the human resources ministry, which is responsible for the new policy, had yet to state how the new minimum wage of RM1,500 would be implemented from May 1.
Noh should not have stepped in since the human resources ministry would be discussing the matter with employers’ and workers’ representatives.

“Ministers are reminded not to thwart the prime minister’s plans to improve the wellbeing of workers,” Kamarul told FMT.
He said it would be “very unfortunate and disappointing” if MSMEs were left out of the implementation of the new minimum wage.
Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob had announced last week that the minimum wage of RM1,500 would be implemented on May 1.
However, on Wednesday, Noh told the Dewan Rakyat that his ministry had decided to delay the minimum wage deadline for SMEs because of the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on smaller businesses.
The Malaysian Employers Federation was relieved, but its president Syed Hussain Syed Husman agreed that the announcement would cause dissatisfaction among workers. “Those who work with bigger companies will get the increment and others will still be subject to the RM1,200 minimum wage,” he said.
While the increase in minimum wage will only apply to companies in the private sector with five or more employees, Syed Hussain said he hoped that the government would reconsider this policy and exempt companies with up to 20 employees.
He said small businesses constitute about 98% of all businesses in Malaysia and should be given a reasonable chance to recover their businesses first. - FMT

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