Hundreds protest ‘paltry’ minimum wage hike outside Parliament
The crowd, joined by PSM activists as well as union leaders, is demanding a substantial increase to the current minimum wage of RM1,050.
KUALA LUMPUR: Some 300 people today gathered outside the Parliament building to protest the meagre increase of the minimum wage, but were stopped by police from handing over a memorandum to Human Resources Minister M Kulasegaran.
Calling themselves “Bantah1050”, a reference to the new minimum wage following the RM50 increase announced by the Prime Minister’s Department last month, protesters chanted slogans as a handful of representatives got into an argument with police who refused to allow them into the parliament compound.
Bantah1050 is a coalition made up of the Socialist Alternative, National Union of Bank Employees (NUBE), Malaysia Muda, Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MUTC) as well as Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM).
They had earlier marched from Padang Merbok to the Parliament, and are seeking a minimum wage of at least RM1,500.
Several MPs and political leaders, including Pasir Gudang MP Hassan Karim, also addressed the crowd.
Hassan said the RM50 increase was not reasonable, adding that the government needed to ensure the welfare of workers as they played an important role in the economy.
“I will send your message to the Cabinet and the relevant ministers so that changes will be made in the near future,” he said.
PSM’s S Arutchelvan meanwhile said an increase in minimum wage would help stimulate the economy.
MTUC secretary-general J Solomon said they would continue to protest if no formal decision was made on the matter, and warned the government not to repeat the mistakes of the previous administration.
“We want our dignity restored to us,” he added.
A delegation of over 20 people was later allowed to hand over the memorandum on minimum wage to Kulasegaran.
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The minister told them that the government would open an avenue for discussion.