Make poverty history

Study reveals one-third of workers earn less than RM700

PETALING JAYA: Some of us can walk into a boutique at a shopping complex and select a shirt without worrying too much about the price.Little do we realise there are those out there who struggle to make enough to fill their stomachs, let alone buy clothes.That is the situation facing some Malaysians living in Kuala Lumpur, who have to account for every single sen in their daily spending.A study on wages in the country, initiated by the Human Resources Ministry, revealed around one-third of about 1.3 million workers earned less than RM700, just below the poverty line of RM720 a month.

Minister Datuk Dr. S. Subramaniam said the National Employment Return study stressed the need for wages to be increased, especially after discovering the difficulties of relying on market forces alone.Last year, Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) president Syed Shahir Syed Mohamud called for income levels to be raised in view of rising costs of living. Till now, MTUC is still pushing for the government to introduce a minimum wage of RM900 for private sector workers in the country.To get a better idea of how crucial the need for the minimum wage to be revised is, The Paper That Cares spoke to families in the city with a household income of RM800 and below.

Nalini Sudainarayanan, 36, Taman Mulia Jaya, Ampang - single mother of four, cleaner:"I earn RM650 as a cleaner and have four children to support. They are eight, seven, four and two. My youngest child is sickly and has to undergo check-ups at IJN (National Heart Centre) every six months."Thankfully, I pay only RM75 for each check-up. So, I try to save RM15 a month to make sure I have the money for it.
"I rarely give my children pocket money for school and pack food for them from home with whatever I cook. I cook once a day and make sure we have that for the whole day."The little things I can save on are kitchen necessities like rice, instant noodles and other essential items as an NGO in Cheras provides for those who can't afford these things."

Basic monthly expenditure breakdown:

● RM200 - food

● RM150 - traveling expenses

● RM100 - utility bills

● Balance - covers miscellaneous expenses, often insufficient to last till the end of the month.

● On the proposed RM900 minimum wage: "I would rent a room so that my children, aunt and I could live together. Then, I would be able to take a bus to work without feeling guilty."


Vijaya Soosai, 30, Pandan Jaya - single mother of three, petrol station cashier:"I live in Pandan Jaya and work in Kampung Pandan. It's not within walking distance but I would rather save the bus money for more useful purposes."It's been five years since I was separated from my husband. Since then, I don't earn enough to save up to pay a deposit for a house. I am now renting a room in my younger sister's house."Fortunately, I have a supportive family but they are not well-off either. My aunt looks after my youngest child who is five. My older two children, aged six and seven, are being taken care of by my mother, who is living hand to mouth."I cannot afford to spend even an extra RM1 as my monthly expenditure is extremely tight. Most of the time, before the end of the month, I'm often broke and have to borrow from friends. When the next salary is in, I pay my debts."

Basic monthly expenditure breakdown:

● RM100 - room rental

● RM350 - given to mother for the two children

● RM150 - given to aunt for the third child

● RM 100 - food

● On the proposed RM900 minimum wage: "I would be able to give at least RM1 pocket money to my children for school."

Ahmad Mat Din, 36, Cheras - sole earner for family of five, dispatch clerk:"My salary in hand after deductions is RM690 and it is difficult to run a family with that amount. My wife is not working as we cannot afford to employ a babysitter to look after our children aged two, three, five and seven."I make sure I don't spend more than RM2 for lunch daily and my wife cooks so my two older children can pack their food to school from home."We seldom take our children out as we only have one motorcycle to travel on and taxi fares are expensive."Some of our relatives donate old clothes for my children, which is a great help to me."

Basic monthly expenditure breakdown:

● RM124 - low-cost unit rental

● RM150 - food and petrol

● RM120 - utility bills

● RM200 - household expenses

● On the proposed RM900 minimum wage: "I will spend more on household expenses and give a little extra to my children."


Gunning for minimum wages for private sector workers
PETALING JAYA: Organisations representing employees and employers are concerned about how the implementation of mininum wages will affect them and the country before a proposal is tabled before the Cabinet in October.Human Resources Minister Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam said Malaysia would have a minimum wage model unique to the country that would fit the economic situation and needs of the working force.
Said Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) secretary-general G. Rajasekaran: “What is our cost of living and what do the people need to enjoy a fair standard of living? That's what minimum wage is about. A person going to work should earn enough to sustain himself and we are not even talking about families here."
He said at a conference on minimum wage last week, former Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri Fong Chan Onn said the Malaysian consumer price index (CPI) was suppressed and due to this, wage level was low.
"Fong said in many parts of the world over the past 30 years, CPI has gone up as much as 3,000 per cent whereas in Malaysia, the CPI has gone up only three per cent. For the public sector, the government set the minimum wage about two years ago when former Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi raised it to RM1,150. Even so, those working in the private sector are still getting paid as low as RM300 or RM450 a month.""The government also decided that pensioners who were getting RM300 to RM400 monthly would have their pensions raised to RM720."

Congress of Union of Employees in the Public and Civil Services (Cuepacs) president Omar Osman said poverty was not prevalent among civil servants, but still supported the call for standardised wages and cost of living allowance (CoLa).“Even the lowest paid civil servant earns about RM800 a month, which is bearable,” he said.

“But the government should introduce a minimum wage scheme to lessen the burden of the urban poor. The CoLa should also be standardised in all sectors and should be RM300.”Prominent Malaysian economist Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam said a minimum wage scheme should be introduced and the practice of employing cheap foreign labour eradicated.“We want to be in line with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s motto of 'People First, Performance Now',” he said, adding the New Economic Policy (NEP) failed to address the issue of poverty.

“The thrust of the NEP was not strong enough in combating poverty. Too much focus was given to restructuring the economy based on Bumiputera equity. This is why the New Economic Model (NEM) should avoid the ‘mis-implementation’ of the NEP.”Said Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) executive director Shamsuddin Bardan: “We would like to see no minimum wages at all in Malaysia because the country believes in free trade and practises free trade and any attempt to enforce minimum wages will affect the way business is done here.

“Minimum wage does not guarantee protection for the so-called lower end employees. Minimum wage is not the way. Instead, we should look into increasing productivity and performance."He said although Singapore's wages were three times more than Malaysia, the cost of doing business there was cheaper."Last year, 61 per cent of total Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Asean went to Singapore while only 3.5 per cent came to Malaysia and this was happening even without minimum wage. If we were to implement it, the situation here would get worse."

Source : http://www.mmail.com.my/content/46166-make-poverty-history