Govt will not arbitrarily impose progressive wage policy — Rafizi

KUALA SELANGOR: The government will not arbitrarily allow the implementation of the progressive wage policy but will instead take into account the ability of employers and the current state of the country’s economy, said Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli.

He said that was because the implementation of the policy was voluntary and involved incentives from the government.

“We cannot impose arbitrarily, like a minimum wage order, because we also have to take into account the ability of companies, employers and the (national) economy. The largest employers in the country are actually micro, small and medium enterprises (PMKS) and 97 per cent of business entities in our country is PMKS.

“If we make it mandatory, some (employers) will go out of business, some will lose their jobs so we have to balance it. That’s why the approach is that we take into account the ability of employers and must involve incentives from the government as well as being voluntarily,” he said.

He said this after officiating the Grant Presentation Ceremony under the People’s Income Initiative (IPR) programme and the Townhall Session with the Student Leadership of Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Selangor branch at UiTM Puncak Alam, here on Tuesday night.

According to Rafizi, his ministry and the Ministry of Human Resources only focus on private sector salaries, while the study of the Public Service Remuneration System (SSPA) is managed by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.