THE RM2,500 living wage proposed by Petaling Jaya candidate Maria Chin Abdullah is not going down well with business owners, who hope they will be consulted if the opposition pact takes over Putrajaya.

Malaysian Employers Federation executive director Shamsuddin Bardan said the rate proposed was unfair to employers as it took into consideration only the needs of employees.

“A wage system needs to address both the employees’ needs and the employers’ capacity to pay,” he told Malaysia Decides.

He said a fair and sustainable wage system would link wages to employees’ skill level, productivity and performance.

“This way, higher wages would not be burdensome to employers with gains in productivity,” said Shamsuddin.

The RM2,500 living wage is on the personal manifesto of  Pakatan Harapan’s Maria, former Bersih 2.0 chairman who is contesting on a PKR ticket.

A Petaling Jaya retailer, Larry Lee said even though he sympathised with the struggling wage earners, the rate was unrealistic at present for employers.

“Businesses are also struggling. A lot of kopitiam owners in PJ have changed hands. Can you imagine if they have to pay waiters RM2,500 a month? That is going to drive business costs and prices up.”

He said Maria should clarify whether the RM2,500 living wage also applied to foreign workers, and urged the government of the day to consult business owners before implementing a living wage.

PH’s’s proposal to increase minimum wage to RM1,500 in its election manifesto, is more feasible, said Lee.

Bank Negara in March said a third of households in Kuala Lumpur were earning below the level of income needed for a minimum acceptable standard of living. The central bank recommends that, in order to live comfortably, a single adult in Kuala Lumpur should earn at least RM2,700, childless couples RM4,500 and a couple with two children RM6,500.

Industrialised countries such as the UK have both a national minimum wage, which is legally binding, and national living wage, which is voluntary. – May 2, 2018.