Based on a simple survey in different parts of the country, PSM central committee member Rani Rasiah claimed that cleaners and guards at seven out of 10 schools failed to get the RM1,500 monthly minimum wage.

The contractors, she said, defended this by stating that the agreements they had signed with the government predate the new minimum wage order.

These contractors, she also said, claimed that they had not received any directive on the new wage from the District Education Offices (PPD).

“Why were the contracts not adjusted, or other arrangements made in time for the May salary?” Rani said in a statement.

The new minimum wage of RM1,500 a month came into effect on May 1.

Employers with fewer than five workers will be exempted for now, with the new rates to take effect in January next year.

Rani asked if the education ministry had briefed the contractors on the new minimum wage.

She also questioned how the arrears would be paid.

Rani claimed that when the minimum wage was first introduced in 2013, a majority of school cleaners and guards continued receiving their old wages for the entire year.

This, she said, generated arrears of RM1,200 each by the end of the year, with the sum subsequently “forgotten”.

“What guarantee is there that again these workers would not be cheated of their RM300 for all the months they are denied the minimum wage?”

The government, she added, must ensure that its contract workers are not victimised again.