KUALA LUMPUR: Human Resources Minister Datuk Richard Riot yesterday said that the action to be taken against employers who failed to implement the minimum wage policy will only be determined on Jan 1 next year.
“We will wait for the policy to be fully implemented before we decide the action to be taken against errant employers,” he told reporters after witnessing the signing of the 11th collective agreement between Genting Malaysia Berhad and Genting Malaysia Berhad Workers Union here yesterday.
Riot said the National Wage Consultative Council, together with the Consultative Technical Committee, were in the midst of studying the applications for postponement submitted by several employers.
“We will scrutinise the applications. If the reasons given can be accepted, we will allow the postponement, if not, we will reject the applications,” he said.
The minister said employers who had not made any application for postponement would be considered to have accepted and implemented the minimum wage policy.
The minimum wage policy was launched on Jan 1 last year through the Minimum Wage Order in which the minimum wage for the private sector was set at RM900 or RM4.33 an hour for Peninsular Malaysia and RM800 or RM3.85 an hour for Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan.
On the collective agreement between Genting Malaysia Berhad and the Workers’ Union which involved almost 7,000 hotel workers, Riot said under the agreement, the workers would be paid based on the clean wages system after the implementation of the policy for them was postponed for nine months.
“The employer and the workers’ union have agreed to adopt the clean wages system where service charge will be structured as part of the minimum wage, which will bring about positive impact to the workers in the long run,” he said.
This is evident in the aspects of higher pay for overtime, public holiday, annual bonus, Social Security Organisation and Employees’ Provident Fund contributions, insurance coverage and other perks and benefits, he added. — Bernama