Human Resources Minister, Datuk Seri Richard Riot Jaem said the notice of compliance had been issued to the errant employers and legal action would be taken if necessary.
“The Labour Department, under the purview of the Ministry of Human Resources throughout the country, has started full enforcement since Jan 2014.
“Through its implementation (minimum wages), the government hopes it can be used as a base for calculating other payments, including social security contributions for the Employees Provident Fund, Social Security contributions and overtime pay calculations,” he said.
His speech was read by his deputy Datuk Ismail Abdul Muttalib who also opened the ‘Seminar on Implementation of Minimum Wages: Lessons Learnt from Asean Members States and Dialogue Partners’ here Monday.
The Minimum Wages Order was gazetted on July 16, 2012 and came into force from Jan 1 last year after the gazetting of the National Wages Consultative Council Act 2011.
Currently, the minimum wages which is the basic wages are set at RM900 a month for the Peninsular and RM800 for Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan.
Meanwhile, speaking to reporters, Ismail said more than 90 percent of the countries throughout the world had implemented minimum wages, while other Asean countries such as Vietnam, the Philippines, Cambodia and Myanmar had already implemented it before Malaysia.
On the revision of the minimum wages scheme, Ismail said it would be finalised by year’s end after a thorough study.
“The National Wages Consultative Council is looking at what needed to be presented to the government in the cabinet later. Only then we will know as it is not easy to explain this issue,” he said.
He said it was also looking at the views of various quarters, including from the employers and workers for a review.
— BERNAMA
