Picket: Minimum Wage
Jun 26th, 2007 by Tian
The Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) called a nationwide picket from 17:00hr to 18.30hr today (25 June). Throughout the country, union members gathered at at least 15 places to express their demand for the government to implement minimum wage and cost of living allowance (COLA).
Last week 18 June, MTUC sent a delegation led by General Secretary Rajasekaran and President Syed Shahir to PM Office to submit a memorandum calling on the government to implement a minimum wage policy. The union center demand a response from the government or else MTUC would hold a national picket.
Despite Malaysia experienced rapid economic growth in the last 3 decades, we have one of the worst distributions of wealth in Asia. We are one of the very few countries that refuses to implement minimum wage policy.
Workers, though credited for their hardwork have created enormous fortune for our society, enjoy only very meager share of the country’s wealth. Workers in many sectors are paid as low at RM300/month as basic wage. In Malaysia, there has not been any standard to determine the minimal level of wage for labour.
There are more a hundred good reasons why we need a policy for minimum wage. There are also objections and concerns. However most of employers’ anxieties about the minimum wage are due to misperception of labour market economy. The media must allow free debate to hear all sides of the argument.
The unions waited for a week for the government’s reply. PM was busy with honeymoon. Nobody seems to care about the poor workers struggling at the edge of subsistences. Instead of empathizing with low-paid workers, DPM Najib warned the unions against their pickets.
The pickets today were a great success. It is surprising that even the mainstream media gave the event a good coverage.
I participated the picket outside Goodyear factory. Some 400-500 union members and supporters assembled near to the Shah Alam Seksyen Seksyen15. The action here was headed by Syed Shahir and Rajasekaran. Heavy weight leaders such as: Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim, Ananda Krishma, Dr Wan Azizah, Mat Sabu, Lim Guan Eng, Kit Siang and so on.
