Tuesday October 27, 2009
MTUC disappointed Budget did not address income levels
PETALING JAYA: Budget 2010 was aimed at making Malaysia a ‘high-income society’ but MTUC has expressed disappointment that minimum wage was not ad-dressed.
Its president Syed Shahir Syed Mohamud said: “Income levels must be raised in view of the rise in the cost of living in the country.”
Syed Shahir said MTUC would continue to push the Government to introduce a minimum wage of RM900 for private sector workers in the country.
Meanwhile, ASLI’s Centre of Public Policy Studies chairman Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam said: “On one hand the Prime Minister wants to raise income but there is no provision for a minimum wage in the budget.”
Navaratnam also said that the fastest way to raise income without going through the pangs of economic transformation was by introducing a minimum wage.
He said a minimum wage would also help fight poverty and make a breakthrough in the present mid-income trap that it faces.
“The minimum wage can be based on the poverty threshold of RM700 a month,” he suggested.
He also said at present many shunned low-income jobs as they had to work so hard for so little.
“Because of this, some engage in undesirable activities such as crime in order to get a quick buck.
“Also, the dependence on foreign workers can be reduced if there is a minimum wage that provides for a decent standard of living,” he added.
Earlier, Navaratnam had written an open letter to the government calling for the introduction of a basic wage.
Source:
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