UPLIFTING THEIR STATUS AND WELFARE

PUTRAJAYA: The 2024 Labour Day celebration held at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre (PICC) was not just a ceremonial gathering but a fervent demonstration of Malaysia’s commitment to enhancing workers’ rights and recognition across all sectors.

Themed Pekerja Kesuma Bangsa, the event underscored a nationwide resolve towards uplifting the status and welfare of workers as well as the advancement of Malaysia’s workforce.

The 2024 Labour Day celebration was launched by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, and attended by government officials, union leaders, and workers.

Human Resources Minister Steven Sim Chee Keong, in his opening address to a packed hall of attendees from various work sectors, expressed appreciation to the workers whose relentless efforts and sacrifices have significantly contributed to the nation’s development.

“May 1 is not merely a holiday for leisure, but a date to reflect the effort, sweat, and long struggle of workers that have brought us to where we are today,” he said.

Sim also took the opportunity to highlight the 20 key events by the Human Resources Ministry (Kesuma) in conjunction with the national level Labour Day celebrations. This included a series of forums and pocket talks, Labour Day Run, the Asean Green Forum, Green Jobs and Green Skills Fair, and the nationwide career carnival called Kesuma MyfutureJobs that will offer 10,000 job opportunities.

Additionally, the Labour Day Awards which took place during the event witnessed 12 categories including the introduction of a new category for public servants and media practitioners. The total amount of cash prizes has also been raised from RM75,000 last year to RM120,000.

Strategic Mission 3K

“Kesuma has established our strategic mission termed 3K – namely enhancing the welfare, skills and success of workers.

“This is crucial to support the efforts of our Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in boosting the nation’s economy, and as a result, we now record the highest employment figure in history with 16.51 million workers.

“In the 100-day Reform effort, Kesuma has implemented 80 reforms that can be categorised into four main themes: fairer wages for workers, higher skills for workers, a more comprehensive social security protection, and better governance.

“This year, we will review the minimum wage rates. A 10-year study shows that the minimum wage has had a positive impact on those with low income, with nearly 60% increase in monthly wages from 2010 to 2019,” Sim said.

He added that they are aware that a minimum wage alone is not sufficient, especially for those in the middle-income bracket.

“Hence, one of the government initiatives to improve the wage conditions of Malaysian workers is by introducing a progressive wage policy to drive better wage compensation. The pilot project for the progressive wage policy, implemented together with the Economy Ministry, is expected to start in June targeting 1,000 companies.

“The Government has allocated RM50mil for this pilot project. An expected 1.05 million Malaysian workers will benefit from the implementation of the progressive wage policy pilot project this year.”

Empowering workforce with skillsets

Kesuma understands that better wage compensation is closely linked to higher productivity. And higher productivity can be achieved with higher skills. Therefore, Kesuma is aggressively promoting skill development.

“Kesuma will allocate RM2.56bil to provide various skills training for Malaysians. We offer a variety of courses in various fields, including AI, robotics, 5G technology, computer coding, skills in the green economy, and so on.

“We will go all out on skills training. We want to ensure that every Malaysian regardless of race, religion, gender, age, academic qualification, and region, has the opportunity to enhance their skills through upskilling, reskilling, and cross-skilling,” Sim highlighted.

He also said that Kesuma is enhancing social security protection for workers through substantial reforms and expansions in coverage.

Notably, PERKESO’s coverage under Act 4 now includes 10 million contributors, and the Employment Insurance Scheme benefits approximately seven million.

“I take this opportunity to thank Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim for allocating RM100mil to subsidise the Self-Employment Scheme and RM50mil for the Housewife Scheme. This will certainly expand PERKESO’s social security protection to more Malaysians.

“PERKESO aims to provide protection to one million contributors under the Self-Employment Scheme and 500,000 housewives under the Housewife Scheme by the end of 2024.”