WORKERS employed by contractors who service the government are being left out of the RM1,500 minimum wage scheme which came into effect in May 2022, they said.

They told The Malaysian Insight this was because the contract their bosses have with the government had not factored in the increased minimum wage from RM1,200 to RM1,500. 

They want the government to take immediate steps to overcome this problem so that they, who are mostly from the B40 group hired to do maintenance and support staff work for the government, do not continue to suffer.

One of the affected workers, a 42-year-old security guard at a school in Klang said he received no answers from his employer on the matter.

“Before the Covid-19 pandemic, I was doing odd jobs but in 2022 when things were starting to get better, I got a job as a security guard. I was told that I would get RM1,200 a month.

“Then the government increased the minimum wage to RM1,500 but I am still getting the same salary. When I asked my bosses, they said they are working on it. It has been a few months now and there is no clear answer,” said the man who wished to be identified only as Halim.

“I hope the government will listen to us. I am only a contract worker. But I think I deserve the same pay as everyone else,” he added.

Preema, a 49-year-old cleaner at a government hospital in Selangor, said she had high hopes for Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to find a solution for them.

“As a contract worker I feel that we all deserve the basic minimum wage of RM1,500. My employer said that we would get the new basic pay once everything is sorted out but there is no clear indication when it is going to happen.

“Hopefully with the protest at Putrajaya recently, our PM can help us. I do believe he can make changes,” the mother of two said.

Recently a group of contract employees staged a protest in Putrajaya outside the prime minister’s office, appealing to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to intervene.

Unfair to ask employers to pay first

Parti Sosialis Malaysia secretary general A. Sivarajan said the government should make a proactive move to handle the matter instead of passing the buck to the department of labour.

He said PSM has received countless complaints from contract workers nationwide on the issue but has yet to receive concrete feedback from the government when pressed.

Sivarajan said the government should be able to handle the issue as the country has twice increased the minimum wage from RM1,100 to RM1,200, and now to RM1,500.

“Putrajaya should standardise government contracts. The bosses tell us that they could not pay RM1,500 because their contract is not standardised.

“When we pressed the ministries responsible for hiring the companies, they said that the companies should pay up front and make their claims later.

“We know for a fact that these companies hired by the government do not have strong financial support to use their own money to pay workers before making their claims.

“In the end, workers are told to lodge a complaint with the department of labour. But the issue is not with just one or two companies, there are many companies out there that can’t pay workers the minimum wage. 

“That is why we urge the government, especially the Finance Ministry to take this issue seriously,” said Sivarajan. –  February 11, 2023.