Malaysia Rejects Minimum Wage for Indonesian Migrant Workers

Tempo Interactive, Monday, 09 August, 2010 | 23:14 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Port Dickson:The Malaysian government in the end rejected the Indonesian government’s demand for a minimum wage for migrant workers as Malaysia does not have a standard wage policy for foreign workers.

The Malaysian Manpower Minister S. Subramaniam said the wage standard issue is the reason why an agreement has not been signed.

Subramaniam stressed that his government does not have a structure for it. However, he called on all employers in Malaysia to give a higher fee for trained domestic workers from Indonesia.

“This has become our policy,” he told reporters after officially opening a motivation program and training for ethnic-Indian youths.

The issue concerning the minimum wage for Indonesian workers is still being discussed by the secretary-generals of both countries’ labor ministries. Jakarta is also insisting that Kuala Lumpur provide a day off every week and that the employers should not retain the workers’ passports.

So far, informal workers from Indonesia have been getting lower wages compared to those from other countries, such as the Philippines. The issue of domestic workers has often upset Indonesia’s relations with Malaysia, particularly when they involve cases of abuse and murder. Two cases that have taken much media and public attention were the abuse suffered by Indonesian domestic workers Nirmala Bonat and Ceriyati.

It was this issue as well that made the Indonesian government decide in June last year to stop sending migrant workers there. Malaysia was surprised because the policy was issued suddenly and immediately became effective. Jakarta reasoned that the situation had not benefitted the Indonesian migrant workers.

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