PRIME Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob today sent out a reminder to employers that the minimum wage had been set at RM1,500 since May 1. 

However, he said based on MYFutureJobs statistics until July, the salary range for most job vacancies offered nationwide was between RM1,200 and RM2,000 per month.

“The government is now actively developing a talent pool that is skilled, productive and has high potential, but I am a little disappointed because the salaries offered by employers do not commensurate with the qualifications and work done by locals.

“As such, I request that employers take this matter seriously because employees are the pillars in any organisation, where they can make or break a business,” he said.

He said this when officiating at the launch of the JaminKerja Keluarga Malaysia Career Expo 2022 in Kuala Lumpur today. 

Also present at the event were Human Resources Minister M. Saravanan, Higher Education Minister Dr Noraini Ahmad and Social Security Organisation (Socso) chief executive officer Dr Mohammed Azman Aziz.

Ismail urged the Human Resources Ministry to hold discussions with employers and employee representatives to identify the best approach and solution to the problem.

He added that the National Labour Advisory Council could also be engaged to carry out tripartite consultations in order to reach a consensus for all parties.

The prime minister said the government was very concerned about the issues faced by the people and was always looking for the best methods to resolve them, including those related to unemployment and job loss.

To ensure this could be done effectively, various job-guarantee initiatives have been implemented to help those in need, he said.

“In an effort to narrow the gap between job supply and demand, national profiling needs to be developed by intensifying the implementation of job-seeker profiling outreach programmes throughout the country,” he said.

The prime minister said since the country entered the transition to endemic phase on April 1, the economy had been gradually recovering, while the unemployment rate fell to 3.9% in April with 15.85 million people on the payroll. 

“This development is the result of government initiatives through cooperation across ministries, agencies and industry players that successfully helped to place more than 558,000 workers last year,” he said.

Besides the ongoing Jamin Kerja expo, he said the Jamin Kerja Wage Incentive (JKIP) and MYFutureJobs job matching services have assisted some 113,672 members of Keluarga Malaysia. 

The government, Ismail added, has also extended the JKIP programme till December 31, with focus given to the recruitment of workers from vulnerable categories, such as persons the disabilities (PWD), women, those who lost jobs, tourism sector workers and ex-convicts. 

He said a total of 36,281 PWDs have successfully obtained job placements through programmes and initiatives implemented by Socso. 

“I also hope that the economic empowerment programme aimed at attracting the participation of persons with disabilities in entrepreneurship would be intensified, in line with the Keluarga Malaysia Aspirations,” he said.

Some 1,000 employers offering 30,000 jobs in various sectors are participating in the five-day mega expo that began on Saturday. – Bernama, July 25, 2022.