Monday, February 25, 2013

Bosses deferring minimum wage must pass audit


PETALING JAYA (Feb 25, 2013): Applications to defer paying the mandatory minimum wage to foreign workers will be stringently scrutinised before they are approved, said National Wages Consultative Council member Mohd Khalid Haji Atan.
Mohd Khalid, who is also the Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) president, told theSunlast week any employer seeking deferment of the minimum wage would have to provide the implementation committee with three years of audited accounts.
"They also have to provide all information about their workforce and other relevant documents which will be required by the committee," he said.
He said the committee would make its recommendations to the National Wages Consultative Council for deliberation, which would in turn forward its decision to the cabinet for approval on a case-by-case basis.
"Some companies have been coming with all sorts of reasons. So they can apply, but they have to justify why they need the deferment," said Mohd Khalid.
The exemption, which does not apply to Malaysian workers, was approved by cabinet last Wednesday following feedback from employers, particularly from the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector.
Employers who have applied to defer payment are not allowed to deduct levy charges or accommodation allowances from the wages of their workers.
The minimum wage order which came into effect on Jan 1 makes it mandatory for employers who hire more than six workers to pay a minimum wage of RM900 in Peninsula Malaysia and RM800 in Sabah and Sarawak.
Meanwhile, Parti Sosialis Malaysia secretary-general S. Arutchelvan said the deferment was backtracking from the minimum wage order, and said it would give employers an excuse to hire foreign workers and then defer payments.
"We suggested the government help subsidise SMEs having problems instead of punishing workers," he said when contacted.

No comments:

Post a Comment