Quite frankly, if they cannot afford to pay a minimum wage that is just at the poverty line they have no business to be in business. 

Andrew Lo, Secretary MTUC Sarawak Division

CHUA SOI LECK & Small Businesses - Don’t cut your noses to spite your faces.

The latest woeful attempts by certain business groups to squeeze more out of their workers, especially foreign workers just show the true colours of Malaysian employers.

To resort to threat of demonstration show how low they can stoop to.

The Minimum Wage policy was finally introduced precisely because of the exploitation of workers especially by these small businesses who contrary to popular thinking, actually make much more than you and me.

There are 600 thousand businesses in Malaysia. If it is not lucrative, why are there so many wanting to be in business?

I am shocked that the President of MCA has openly threatened to support demonstrations to get their way. His statement only goes to show that he is only serving the interest of MCA leaders who own such businesses. This is what he is reported to have said;

“If it fails to do so by then and if many small and medium sized enterprises, including those run by MCA leaders, want to have a demonstration against the ministry, we will support them.”

MCA, said Dr Chua, had proposed to the ministry almost a month ago that foreign workers pay for their own levy, transport and housing costs following the implementation of minimum wage. Transport and accommodation allowances for foreign workers, he said, could be deducted from their minimum wage.

MCA should do so after the employment agents who charge exorbitant fees and make billions out of the whole foreign workers racket, instead of asking the poor foreign workers, who bear subsistence expenses to pay for the levy transportation and housing cost.

It beggars believe that these employers, who are the most vocal opponents of the minimum wage can proudly claim that they are still paying RM500 wages to even local employees. The Minimum Wage Order gave them the chance to apply for deferment but they refuse to produce audited accounts to back up their claims that they will go bankrupt saying that it is a trade secret.

Quite frankly, if they cannot afford to pay a minimum wage that is just at the poverty line they have no business to be in business.

Please understand that one of the main objectives of the MW is to reduce our reliance-addiction on foreign workers. By demanding that they bear food and levy will only serve to encourage these unscrupulous employers to continue to employ more foreign workers at huge social, security and cost to the country. We believe that it’s at least 2 to 3 millions of them. It will open up to the possibility that soon unscrupulous party may issue I/C to them.

MTUC has been calling for a Royal Commission Inquiry on the whole racket of recruiting and employing foreign workers.

Please also think carefully as all these attempts to squeeze them will come back and bite the employers as one day foreign workers may not even want to come to this country.

So don’t cut your nose to spite your faces.