BUTTERWORTH – Raising wages is one of the most effective ways to resolve the current acute shortage of manpower in the country as Malaysia emerges from dire consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, says Human Resources Minister V. Sivakumar.
Despite recording nearly full employment now, as the current unemployment rate is just at 3.5%, the country faces a serious shortage of workers, especially in critical sectors of the economy, such as manufacturing, plantations and services.
The country currently has reportedly up to 800,000 jobs to fill.
Of these, the majority are expected to be taken up by foreigners once their countries approve Malaysia’s request for more labour, he said.
Sivakumar said that the ministry shares the view that the surest way to curb the bleeding of the local workforce is to raise wages instead of just using the RM1,500 minimum wage as a base to offer salaries.
According to the ministry’s data, there are now 1.8 million Malaysians working overseas legally, with the bulk of the said figure stationed in neighbouring Singapore.
To woo them back, Sivakumar urged employers to be innovative in their operational planning by raising wages to meet the current living costs.
“Increasing wage rates, despite the fact that it would increase (operational) costs, is something that we need to seriously look into for the long-term benefits of both employers and employees,” he said after closing the MyFuture jobs carnival at the Butterworth Arena conference centre here today.
The centre was swamped with youngsters seeking jobs in the northern region.
As of 11.30am today, the carnival has managed to locate jobs for 552 applicants here.
The Malaysian Employers Federation had earlier said that a government ruling requiring at least 80% of the workforce in manufacturing companies to include locals by the end of next year would be next to impossible to achieve.
Sivakumar urged employers to make use of the initiatives offered by the government to meet the target, citing that the public sector is offering various incentives to ensure that employers hire the targeted market such as technical and vocational graduates.
On a separate matter, Sivakumar said the Social Security Organisation is preparing an interim report on how to help workers under the gig economy, many of whom are part-timers and freelancers who work on their own and from their respective homes.
In the long-term, Sivakumar said a detailed study is required to draft an act to protect gig workers in terms of their social security, safety, and wage structure. – The Vibes, June 4, 2023
