The Malaysian Insight

A SPOT check found that about 30% employers were flouting labour laws by not paying the minimum wage or not making contributions to social security and retirement funds.

Human Resources Minister M. Kulasegaran said the Manpower Department (JTK) last week checked 274 companies in Malaysia, including Sabah and Sarawak, which employed a total of 3,207 Malaysian workers.

The operation found 43 cases of failure to meet the minimum wage requirement of RM1,100 per month that was introduced last year, 51 cases of non-contribution to Social Security (Socso) and 28 cases of failure to contribute to the Employees Provident Fund (EPF).

Kulasegaran said the common excuse these employers gave for not paying the minimum wage, SOCSO or EPF, was that their employees did not want them to. 

“But we told them under the law they must pay EPF and Socso. Employees must make a contribution and employers must also pay,” Kulasegaran told reporters in Putrajaya after chairing the National Labour Advisory Council meeting today. 

He said these companies were given a grace period of about a month to comply with labour regulations failing which they would be taken to court. 

“We don’t want to take them to court but we ask them to comply by the end of the month. We advise them first and in two to three weeks we will visit them again. Then we will take action if they don’t comply.”

The operation also saw the following actions taken against errant employers: 

* legal summonses from JTK (114), Socso (25) and EPF (41)

* investigation papers opened by JTK (57), Socso (10) and EPF (2)

* notices of compliance from JTK (92), Socso (39) and EPF (10)

* Orders to settle overdue contributions from Socso (22) and EPF (21). – June 27, 2019.