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As an individual who has been involved with the trade union movement for more than 40 years, I have never felt more disgusted than when the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government announced the revised minimum wage for the working citizens of the country, i.e. RM1,050 per month from RM1,000. A daily increase of RM1.166!
Thank you, PH, for your “commitment” to uplifting the living standards of the largest segment of society: the marginalised working-class population who voted you in to govern the country.
I am reminded of the policies of Dr Mahathir Mohamad when he first became prime minister in the 1980s. Let me label him as “Mahathir 1.0”.
“Mahathir 1.0” embraced the Look-East policy, and a hallmark of his policy was the erosion of trade union activism through the promotion of company-based unions known as in-house unions. Needless to say, it was during the “Mahathir 1.0” era that legislative controls were enacted to reduce trade union activism to an insignificant entity.
If we recall, it was during the “Mahathir 1.0” era that trade union liberty was confined to the back burner – and don’t forget basic human rights; remember Ops Lalang?
It is my view that the trade union movement and the country’s working class now face a “Mahathir 2.0” era. The first indication of this is the minimum wage of RM1,050 which can only be described as kow-towing to employers in the country.
The situation brings into focus PH’s pledge to implement a minimum wage of RM1,500 for the workers of the nation. The question that needs to be asked is this: was the manifesto a red herring to capture the votes of the working class, or was it a commitment to uplifting the working class?
I think the answer is pretty obvious: no right-thinking government would subscribe to the notion that a RM50 upward revision of the existing minimum wage would alleviate the challenges of the escalating cost of living faced by the low- and middle-income earners in the country. A government that apparently thinks otherwise does not need any respect from the workers of this nation.
As the Malay proverb goes, “Harapkan pagar, pagar makan padi”. The PH government has betrayed the workers of the nation.
K Veeriah is an FMT reader.
Source : https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opinion/2018/09/08/thanks-for-the-new-minimum-wage-ph/
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