LETTER | Govt urged to implement RM2k minimum wage policy in Budget 2025

LETTER | With the announcement of the minimum salary for civil servants already adjusted to above RM2,000, the Labour Solidarity and Learning Resources Association (LLRC) calls on private enterprises to provide a minimum wage of RM 2,000 for all workers including seafarers.

The government is also urged to implement the RM2,000 minimum wage policy in the Budget 2025 to be announced at the end of this year to help workers alleviate the burden of the rising cost of living.

First of all, LLRC welcomes Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s suggestion that the private sector should increase workers’ wages, as mentioned during the 19th edition of the Majlis Amanat Perdana Perkhidmatan Awam 2024 programme.

In the announcement of the salary increase for the public sector, Anwar stated that there is no justification for a worker’s monthly salary to be less than RM2,000.

According to Statistics Department Malaysia data, the share of employee compensation to GDP has declined sharply since 2020, with the employee compensation ratio dropping from 37.4 percent in 2020 to 35.1 percent in 2021, and only 32.4 percent in 2022.

This situation needs to be taken seriously, as it indicates that workers’ wages in Malaysia have been suppressed during this period despite the rising productivity of workers. This is the right time to correct this situation.

LLRC urges private enterprises, especially public-listed firms, multinational corporations and government-linked companies to provide a wage of RM2,700, which is the living wage recommended by Bank Negara Malaysia.

Human Resources Minister Steven Sim has stated that recommendations on the new minimum wage rate are expected to be presented at the cabinet meeting in September.

To realise the Madani Economic Framework’s goal of raising employee compensation to 40 percent of GDP by 2030, the government must urgently review the minimum wage to RM2,000 as an initial step.

This policy should be included in Budget 2025 to improve the quality of life for workers so they can live with dignity.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.