National Productivity Corporation representative Hajah Shahuren Ismail (left) says minimum wage can only be implemented if productivity is increased. – Pictures by Jack Ooi
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 13 – Unionists remained dejected and disappointed today as rhetoric dominated a minimum wage forum organised by the Barisan Nasional (BN) Youth and Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC).
The audience comprising more than 400 union veterans and fresh graduates waited patiently while each of the panelists spoke while some jeered and mocked at the speakers, among which were BN Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin, MTUC secretary-general G. Rajasekaran, Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) representative Sarita Beram Shah, National Productivity Corporation representative Hajah Shahuren Ismail and Professor Dr Durrishah Idrus.
Sarita said that only a minority of employers are against minimum wage.
“Personally I feel that only a small group of employers reject minimum wage because they fear of the increasing cost and that foreign investors will be scared to invest. But for me, the cost of workers is only three per cent so if they want to reduce cost then they should look at other costs,” she told the forum.
She added that not only employees but also companies will benefit with the wage policy.
“I also believe that if we give suitable minimum wage then I will get quality workers that are productive. If the workers are happy and able to perform then the company will profit,” she said.
However Hajah argued that employers are not able to increase wages because productivity of the workers are insufficient.
“Even though there has been an increase of productivity but the level is still very low. The wages cannot be increased because the productivity is too low. So we cannot say that the employers make money and the employees are not getting its share. The question I asked is that do we really understand what is the meaning of productivity? We can only distribute the value of the products between the employees and employers when we increase our productivity,” she said drawing heavy criticisms from the audience.
While Hajah went through her power-point presentation, an audience shouted, “We are getting sick of this. Training here and there but our wage still remains the same.”
Another added: “You can talk about output and input but in the end, all is left is just ‘siput’ (empty shell).”
During question and answer session, veteran unionist J. Solomon attacked Hajah for equating a
NUBE secretary-generaly J. Solomon says BN will experience a backlash if it doesn’t fulfill its promise on minimum wage.
worker’s productivity and minimum wage.
“I want to say that you cannot related productivity and minimum wage. Productivity is different. During the financial crisis, the prime minister then said if we come out of it then we will think about RM1,200. However we have yet to see RM1,200 from 1998 until now but productivity has increased.
“We contribute but we do not get the rewards. Leave alone the rewards because the basic salary is still not here. After 53 years, we are still not independent from our debt,” said the National Union of Bank Employees (NUBE) secretary-general.
He added that workers are feeling alienated because incentives are only given company bosses.
A member of the audience also said that employers are not being fair to the employees.
“They are not being fair in giving productivity marks to the workers. They give unjust evaluation of workers which has led to unproductive workers given bonuses while those that work hard get nothing. While his secretary gets seven months bonus,” he said to a loud applause.
MUTC member Siva stressed that mimum wage is an essential component of the New Economic Model (NEM).
“The pre-requisite of the NEM is the minimum wage, you cannot have NEM without it because there is a vacuum created there. Therefore can you (Khairy) as BN Youth ensure that that the minimum wage is passed in parliament?” he asked.
A TNB union member also said that public should not vote for lawmakers that oppose the policy in the coming general election.
“If there are members of parliament that do not support minimum wage then we should vote them out!” he said.
Dr Durrishah admitted that politics will play a significant role in determining rights of the employees.
Professor Dr Durrishah Idrus says government must have the political will to implement minimum wage.
“We have to remember that the government is the central authority and the government must have the guts and will to implement minimum wage. It has been more than 50 years and once we used to have a national collective agreement where we can do collective bargaining between the employees and employers.
“We are a rich country and our workers are productive. If we are not productive then how can the country remain productive? This shows that the government must serious in considering the emotions, needs and wants of the workers,” she said to cheers from the crowd.
She also mentioned the national wage council in Singapore which has been very effective in protecting worker’s wages.
“Even though Singapore does not have any minimum wage but it has the national wage council which meet every year and has said that every year if the economy is good then the employers must give remuneration without thinking twice,” said Durrishah.
Khairy told the forum that BN Youth will urge the government to expedite the implementation of minimum wage.
“We have agreed that the process of implementing minimum wage should be expedited by the government. Secondly the implementation must be done at a national level involving all sectors but separately in peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak.
“What is also important is to have a free mechanism like a wage council to determine the minimum wage which is to be reviewed every year so that it will reflect the increase of price good and others,” said the Umno Youth chief.
He added that the minimum wage must be higher than the poverty line.
“We will follow to what the MTUC has proposed which is minimum wage of RM900 and RM300 cost of living allowance to give a comfortable life to the workers. Minimum wage will also be the baseline and will have no relation to productivity,” the Rembau MP said.
Khairy also stressed the need for a new tripartite agreement between the employees, employers and the government.
“A new tripartite agreement is important that so that every problems such as pensions and health benefits can be solved in an environment where there is so suspicions between the employees, employers and government. Hopefully this will create a harmonious relationship between the three parties,” he said.
A participant voice his opinion during the minimum wage forum.
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