Mahfuz sounds an air horn to flag off the ‘Jelajah Kerjaya Kenyalang’ yesterday. — Photo by Chimon Upon
KOTA SAMARAHAN: Employers were yesterday reminded to comply with the minimum wage of RM1,100 and to not ‘deliberately misinterpret’ the law by fixing that amount as the wage of their workers.
Human Resources Deputy Minister Datuk Mahfuz Omar said although the Labour Department conducts checks on employers to ensure compliance with the minimum wage law, his ministry could not take action against those who set the minimum RM1,100 as the fixed salary of their workers.
“Although we cannot take action, we do have guidelines for employers to set the wages for any of their employees. Whatever it is, the ministry hopes that all Malaysians would be paid wages according to their skills,” he told reporters after flagging off the ‘Jelajah Kerjaya Kenyalang’ event, here yesterday.
He said one of the contents in the guideline is that employers must set the wage of a particular employee based on their qualifications.
During the interview, Mahfuz said any employee who wants to report their employers to the Labour Department should not be afraid to do so, as the department will never reveal the name of complainants.
He said this is because the country has laws to regulate what an employer or employee can do.
“Employers should take note on the guidelines that we have set for them. (In this country) the government has always insisted that a wage of any employee should be based on their qualifications,” he added.
Mahfuz also assured that the Labour Department is continuously carrying out checks to ensure employers, especially those in rural areas, do not pay their workers less than the minimum wage.