Human
Resources Minister Richard Riot says this shows commitment to adhere to
international labour standards, especially in providing greater social and
labour protection for workers.
PUTRAJAYA:
Malaysia is the first among Asean member countries and the fifth country in
Asia to ratify the International Labour Convention on minimum wage.
Human
Resources Minister Richard Riot Jaem, who represented Malaysia at the
conference, said Malaysia deposited the documents (the instrument of
ratification) to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) at the 105th
International Labour Conference in Geneva, Switzerland.
The
instrument of ratification was deposited to ILO Director-General Guy Ryder as a
sign of ratification of the International Labour Convention on minimum wages,
namely Convention No 131: Minimum Wage Fixing Convention 1970 (C131), he said.
“This
Convention is an international instrument which outlines the method of
determining the minimum wage and related matters to be observed by the countries
that ratified the convention,” he said in a statement here today.
Present
at the convention was Malaysian Employers Federation Executive Director
Shamsuddin Bardan; Malaysian Trades Union Congress Secretary-General N Gopal
Krishnam; and the Congress of Unions of Employees in the Public and Civil
Services Secretary-General Lok Yim Pheng.
According
to Riot, the Malaysian Government, as a member of the ILO, had previously
ratified the 16th ILO Convention, which is still in force.
The move
is a positive measure taken to improve Malaysia’s national labour standards in
every aspect since the minimum wage was introduced in 2013.
“It also
demonstrates Malaysia’s commitment to adhere to international labour standards,
especially in providing greater social and labour protection for workers.”
Elaborating,
Riot said the government had held discussions and consultations and sought the
views of ILO in the National Wages Consultative Council before deciding to
ratify the International Labour Convention.
He said
the government believed the system and the basic structure of the country’s
existing minimum wage was in accordance with the requirements of articles under
the International Labour Convention.
“The
government hopes that with this ratification, Malaysia will be able to improve
the implementation of the existing minimum wage policy in the country, in line
with the objective of becoming a high-income nation by 2020.”
In the
meantime, Riot urged employers to fully support the implementation of the basic
minimum wage to improve the lives of workers, especially those in the
low-income group.
He said
the ministry would notify all parties, including the media, regarding the
ratification of the convention and the need to comply with all articles
stipulated in the convention by all employers.
The
four-day International Labour Conference began on June 6.
BERNAMA
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