PETALING JAYA: The government is studying a proposal by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) to implement a living wage, says human resources minister V Sivakumar.
Sivakumar said the BNM 2017 annual report had proposed a living wage of RM2,700 for single persons living in urban areas, RM4,500 for couples without children, and RM6,500 for couples with two children.
“The government needs to study carefully and identify the most suitable model,” Bernama quoted him as saying in a parliamentary reply to Awang Hashim (PN-Pendang), who asked whether it would consider implementing a progressive wage model.
Sivakumar said any implementation would need a more detailed study that was in line with the current economic and labour conditions.
He also said the purpose of a minimum salary and progressive wage was to protect workers who were receiving the lowest of salaries.
In a reply to a supplementary question from Tan Kar Hing (PH-Gopeng) on the ministry’s monitoring and enforcement, Sivakumar said the Peninsular Malaysia manpower department had conducted 17,565 statutory inspections on employers regarding the implementation of the minimum wage from May to December last year.
Of the total, 2,448 were found in violation of the compliance order, he said.
During the same period, the Sabah manpower department had conducted 5,707 inspections and issued 128 compliance orders, while Sarawak carried out 5,490 inspections and issued 83 compliance orders.