He said that he was informed by the Human Resource Ministry that the National Wage Consultation Council Bill 2011 would be presented to the Cabinet for a decision before it is tabled at the current Parliament sitting.
"If passed (by Parliament), we will set up the council. I hope by year end the minimum wage policy can be in place," he said when addressing Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) members at a dinner here Tuesday night.
Also present were MTUC president Mohd Khalid Atan, Deputy Human Resource Minister Datuk Maznah Mazlan and Umno Youth head Khairy Jamaluddin.
Najib said besides the policy, several other matters like cost of living allowance (Cola), retirement and foreign workers which were raised by Mohd Khalid in the latter's speech would also be referred to the council to be studied in detail.
"What was raised by the MTUC president has the government's support and needs to be pursued. If the council feels they are justified, they will be brought to the Human Resource Minister for consideration so that the appropriate decisions can be taken for the good of all," he said.
He said the government had taken several initiatives that showed its caring attitude with examples being the salary hikes for postmen and security guards.
Najib also praised the umbrella union for private sector employees for the role it played in helping Malaysia to be where it is today.
"To the 12 million workers in the country, I congratulate you for the success in transforming Malaysia from an agricultural state to a modern industrialised nation within a generation," he said, adding that their next challenge was to join the government in making the country a high income nation by 2020.
He said the days of confrontational positions between unions and employers like in the 60s and 70s were long gone and that today it was symbiotic relationships that produced the best results for everyone.
At the function, Najib also launched a complaints portal for workers that was developed in collaboration with Umno Youth.
No comments:
Post a Comment