Ram Chandra Giri

Nepali migrant workers in Malaysia are likely to receive a raise in January. The Malaysian government has set a January deadline to implement its minimum wage policy which was announced last May. 

The new policy will raise the existing minimum wages of Nepali workers by more than 64 percent. The scheme will benefit an estimated 400,000 Nepalis in Malaysia. Presently, Nepali workers are paid a minimum wage of 546 ringgits (Rs 15,637) per month. The proposed wages are 900 ringgits (Rs 25,776) per month for workers on the Malaysian Peninsula and 800 ringgits (Rs 22, 912) in the states of Sabah and Sarawak on the island of Borneo. 

The policy is set to be enforced in two categories, depending on the number of workers. Malaysian companies recruiting five workers or fewer have to comply with the policy from July 1 while those recruiting more than five workers have to comply with the government policy from January. 

The Malaysian government has also asked employer groups recruiting less than five workers to apply to the National Wages Consultation Council by April 1, and those recruiting more than five workers by December. All the foreign workers will be entitled to the minimum wage, but it will not cover workers in the domestic sector, like maids and gardeners. 

About 3.2 million migrant workers are expected to benefit from the newly announced introduction of the country’s first minimum wage, part of the Malaysian government’s plan to transform Malaysia into a high-income nation. 

The government had planned to implement the policy within six months from its announcement. However, the plan was delayed when employer groups asked for more time as they were not fully prepared to enforce the scheme. 

The Malaysian Trade Union Congress has been calling for a minimum wage policy for more than a decade. The union had asked for the minimum wage to be set at 1,200 ringgits (Rs 34,368), however, it was revised to 900 ringgits.  

According to Nepali manpower agencies, the policy will also reduce anomalies as many Nepalis workers working in Malaysia are given a raw deal by recruiting agencies.

“The proposed hike is 60 percent of the existing minimum wage,” said an official at a foreign employment agency here. However, some agencies in Nepal have started taking advantage of the planned hike. “I was compelled to pay Rs 120,000 to a manpower agency,” said Drona Gurung of Belghari, Lamjung. Gurung, who flew to Malaysia three months ago, said the agency in Nepal had asked for more money as the wage had been hiked to 900 ringgits. A number of Nepali workers have been duped by agencies by pointing to the pay hike.

Published on: 6 December 2012 | The Kathmandu Post