Source: Free Malaysia Today

Syed Jaymal Zahiid | June 22, 2011

The setting up of the NWCC is redundant, a waste of public funds and it introduces another bureaucratic layer in wage determination, says Klang MP Charles Santiago.

KUALA LUMPUR: The proposed National Wages Consultative Council (NWCC) has come under fire from unionists and opposition MPs who described it as an added “bureaucratic layer” to an already questionable government will to implement a minimum wage policy.

The NWCC Bill was tabled in Parliament for first reading yesterday after the Najib administration conceded that giving workers decent salaries is pivotal to realise its aim to drive the nation’s per capita income up on par with rich countries. The government has vowed that a minimum wage policy will be implemented by year end.

But unionists are perplexed by the government’s logic in creating the council when the longstanding issue of providing Malaysian workers with decent living wages can be instantly addressed by introducing a minimum wage law.

“The setting up of the NWCC is redundant, a waste of public funds and it introduces another bureaucratic layer in wage determination,” Klang DAP parliamentarian Charles Santiago, a trained economist and leading advocate for a floor wage policy, told reporters in Parliament today.

Another contention to the NWCC is the alleged lack of independence and autonomy in the council.

Members of the NWCC will be appointed by the human resources minister and they will conduct studies and make recommendations to the government on minimum wages. The minister has the final say and the council’s suggestions are not binding.

Santiago said this can lead to abuse and suggested a tripartite system, a practice popularly used in rich economies and recommended by the International Labour Organisation, be implemented to ensure non-partisanship in the council.

A tripartite system involves the employers, employees and a third independent party comprising individuals that meet a set of specified criteria with their appointments based on a rotation system.

The criteria must include knowledge of labour laws, experience in analysis of complex national issues while those seen to have vested interests and incapable of making independent judgements must be disqualified.

Appointments must also include consultations with stakeholders, workers and employers reserving the right to veto up to one-third of the total number of nominations.

“This leaves in the end an independent group that is acceptable to both employers and employees to help bring a minimum wage figure that is acceptable to all,” said Santiago.

This is a workers’ agenda

The NWCC Bill also made no mention or definition of a minimum wage which the Klang MP said will defeat the purpose of the council which is supposed to determine wages. This, he noted, can lead to further abuse.

Santiago said various references can be drawn from countries like Indonesia and South Korea whose workers enjoy strong protection from robust labour policies.

Both countries, which have outdone Malaysia in economic performance, have clear cut minimum wage laws that defined the term as meeting the need for decent living.

This definition must also include cost of living, wages comparable workers and labour productivity.

“This is not a political agenda. This is a workers’ agenda. I think its about time we help them get out of the poverty line, which is not a new issue,” former Malaysian Trade Union Congress president Syed Shahir told the press conference.

The NWCC Bill is expected to be tabled for second reading in the coming session with the opposition gearing up for a heated parliamentary gabfest.