An alternative bill to the National Wage Consultative Council (NWCC) Bill is expected to be put forward by a coalition of non-governmental organisations (NGOs), civil societies, elected representatives and trade unions.
The NWCC bill, to be tabled in June, is expected to coordinate and determine the minimum wage for the private sector in the country and to create a council that will decide on an appropriate minimum wage for workers in various sectors and areas.
The alternate proposal comes as a vote of no confidence in the council by certain quarters, who doubt the council's ability to be a democratic, independent and autonomous decision body on a minimum wage.
This was revealed at a roundtable meeting with representative bodies of both employers and employees this morning, which was chaired by Klang MP Charles Santiago.
"The council's credibility is in doubt as it is a government body that will not be independent and autonomous. It is also an undemocratic process where the human resource minister will decide on the minimum wage but will not tell the people how the figures come about.
"We need a system that is all encompassing and the council should be independent and democratic," said Santiago.
The roundtable meeting saw 25 participants from trade unions, employers federations and academia. They are expected to meet in two months to draw up the bill after discussion on the issues raised today.
The issues brought up during the meeting were on recognising informal workers (such as domestic workers) for minimum wage; the significant difference between minimum wage and "decent living wage"; and a formula in which an appropriate minimum wage can be calculated.
"A World Bank report showed that the Malaysian averge wage has increased only by 2.6% for last 10 years, while costs of living have increased significantly," said Santiago.
Household debt has also increased to 78% of the national gross domestic product (GDP), he said.
"Half of a Malaysian's salary goes toward debt repayment, cars and credit cards," he added.
Santiago said the alternate bill will be tabled after thorough discussion and will be a comprehensive bill that will be reflective of the current situation and needs of the people.
