Adapt to minimum wage, SMEs advised
Association: ‘Crucial
period’ for companies to adjust
JOHOR BARU: Small and medium
enterprises (SMEs) have been urged to start adjusting and adapting their
operations when the payment of minimum wages to foreign workers comes into
effect on Jan 1, 2014.
SMI Association of Malaysia
national president Teh Kee Sin said they had to take into account the extra
costs in their operations with the implementation of the minimum wage scheme.
“Our SMEs only have nine
months to go, and this period is rather crucial as to whether they would be
able to adjust and adapt to the new ruling, or continue grappling with
escalating operating costs,'' he told StarBiz.
Teh said the SMEs that had
already paid their foreign workers the minimum wage, effective Jan 1, 2013,
would consider the January and February salaries as “bonuses”.
The National Wages Consultative Council (NWCC) had on Tuesday
issued a statement that the SMEs would not have to pay the minimum wage to
their foreign workers until Dec 31.
The SMEs are not allowed to make any deductions on levies,
accommodation and other allowances from the salaries of their foreign workers.
However, the SMEs have to abide by the law which requires them to
pay the minimum wage to Malaysian workers.
The minimum wage for private-sector employees has been set at
between RM800 and RM900 per month.
The RM900 is for employees in the Peninsula, while the RM800 is
for workers in Sabah, Sarawak and the Federal Territory of Labuan.
It covers employees in all economic sectors, except those in the
domestic service sector such as maids and gardeners.
He said the SMEs were glad that the Government had listened to the
proposal made to them via their associations to defer the payment of minimum
wages for foreign workers.
“It might not be a good
solution, but the best solution for us for the time being,'' said Teh, who is
also the chairman of the South Johor SME Association.
He said hopefully, in the
near future, the Government and the relevant agencies would listen to the voice
of the SMEs pertaining to SME matters and not only to the NWCC.
Teh claimed that small-time
employers, chambers of commerce and non-governmental organisations had not been
consulted on the minimum wage scheme.
He said it seemed that the NWCC was the one that was making the
recommendations to the Government on the scheme on behalf of the SMEs.
“With the minimum wage scheme already in place, the cost of doing
business has gone up and we have not much choice but to pass it on to
consumers,'' added Teh.
He said the only way for the
SMEs to reduce the labour cost in their operations was to automate their
operations, as it would help to offset the hike in operating costs.
Teh added that the Government
could assist the SMEs by introducing soft financing loans for them to switch to
automation, or to upgrade their current machinery to help improve productivity.
He said while the SMEs supported the move made by the Government
on the scheme, at the same time, many of the SMEs in the second- and third-tier
towns were not prepared for it. “Nobody would want to work with SMEs in Johor
Baru, Penang or Kuala Lumpur if they are not paid RM900 or more, but how about
SMEs in smaller towns?'' asked Teh.
He said many of the SMEs in the smaller towns hired senior
citizens and pensioners and could only afford to offer a RM500 monthly salary,
as the cost of living was low.
Source: The Star
Date : 25 March
2013
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