MTUC Acting President Abdullah Sani Abdul Hamid said that he could not accept the difference in minimum wages when the cost of living in East Malaysia was higher than in the Peninsula.
“I cannot accept that there are differences in salaries between Sabah, Sarawak, Labuan and the Peninsula. What kind of discrimination is this?
“Are those in Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan considered employees of no class? This cannot be, we must standardise all the salaries,” he told FMT today.
Richard is responsible for having set the Minimum Wage Order 2016 (MWO 2016) at RM920 per month or RM4.42 per hour for those in East Malaysia and RM1,000 per month or RM4.81 per hour for workers in the Peninsular.
Abdullah Sani, who is also MP for Kuala Langat, said the issue of equal pay between workers nationwide could not be taken for granted or underestimated.
“He (Richard) is Malaysian, we are Malaysians. Why should there be a separation of classes between Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan. We cannot discriminate against workers in Malaysia,” he added.
Abdullah Sani had previously rejected the MWO2016, to be implemented on July 1 this year, and called instead for a minimum wage set at RM1,200 for workers nationwide.
“MTUC insists that under the current conditions, RM1,000 is insufficient. This is because Malaysians are now forced to bear an increase in the price of goods with the Goods and Services Tax (GST),” he said.
He added that although RM1,200 would still be insufficient to ensure comfort, it could solve some of the burden faced by workers.