PUTRAJAYA’S reactivated Social Protection Council (MySPC) must ensure that workers in urban areas are able to take home a pay packet of at least RM2,700 per month, said the Malaysian Trades Union Council (MTUC).

This wage level had been recommended by Bank Negara in its 2017 annual report so that workers in urban areas can attain a minimum living standard, said MTUC secretary-general J. Solomon.

“We urge MySPC to take the lead on this, otherwise, the majority of Malaysian workers in our cities will remain in dire straits and be burdened with household debts,” Solomon said in a statement today.  

“Also (if not), the government’s hopes of wooing them to take over jobs from foreign migrants will fall flat.”

These include 3D (dangerous, dirty and demeaning) jobs, which have traditionally gone to lowly paid foreign workers.

MTUC and other labour experts have said that Malaysians are willing to go to Singapore, South Korea and Australia to take up such jobs due to better wages.

Solomon said the cost for raising the wage level should be shared by the government and employers, especially key economic stakeholders that can be incentivised with appropriate tax cuts.

It was reported that Putrajaya reactivated MySPC with the aim of ensuring a holistic social welfare agenda as the economy continues to be battered by the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Economic Affairs) Mustapa Mohamed had said that the council would focus on four core areas – social assistance, social insurance, labour and data market intervention and governance.

“These improvements are intended to improve the protection of the people’s social security at every stage of their lives, extending social protection coverage to every Malaysian and making sure no one is left out,” Mustapa had said yesterday.

The MTUC today also refuted the Malaysian Employers Federation’s (MEF) claim that a RM2,700 wage level would bankrupt Malaysian businesses.

“It is inconceivable that after 60 years of independence and many years of economic boom, Malaysian employers still claim they will go bankrupt if they pay workers a salary that reflects the cost of living in urban areas.

“MTUC challenges MEF to prove this absurd claim with facts and figures, or admit that it is merely making another wild allegation to the detriment of lowly paid workers,” Solomon said.

The MTUC is against any attempt by politicians and employers to force and exploit unemployed local workers into taking over 3D jobs from foreigners, without making a conscious effort to push for better wages, Solomon added. – June 30, 2020.