Malaysia’s Human Resource Minister says V. Sivakumar said that increasing wages would be the best way to retain the local workforce and reduce dependence on foreign workers.
The Human Resources Minister said there was still demand for workers in local industries but many locals were opting to work overseas due to various reasons, with wages being the most likely.
According to Sivakumar, many locals are working overseas such as in Singapore, where about 1.18 million of them are there while about 1.8 million are spread out globally.
“Employers here have to look at this as a sign that we are not lacking workers, but due to issues such as wages and benefits being offered elsewhere that have led to them preferring to work overseas. We can increase the wage scheme for the long term and should not always be bound to the government’s national minimum wage of RM1,500,” he said.
“Increasing wages is the most effective way to reduce our reliance on a foreign workforce,” he told reporters after closing the MYFuturejobs career and Housewives’ Social Security Scheme (SKSSR) carnival at PICCA @ Butterworth Arena held recently. The two-day event saw over 7,000 vacancies offered by 56 employers.
Sivakumar said to support employers, the government was providing the Daya Kerjaya Programme with incentives of up to RM1,800 for three months for new employees hired under targeted groups.
He added that according to statistics by MYFutureJobs, there are currently 58,717 vacancies in Penang with 40% of them offered to foreign workers. – The Star
