KUCHING: The Union Network International-Malaysia Labour Centre (UNI-MLC) hopes the unity government will consider making it compulsory for the private sector to have a standard annual salary increase of minimum RM100, when tabling the Budget 2023 on Friday (Feb 24).
Its vice president Mohamad Ibrahim Hamid said this could ensure that contributors will have enough saving for their old age expenses.
Speaking to New Sarawak Tribune yesterday, he said the government should also review the existing contribution rates of Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) as there had been substantial number of withdrawals lately since the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The economic recovery after the pandemic is on-going and of course we understand it can’t be done or happened (recovered) overnight.
“Thus, we hope the federal government will consider favourably the rising cost of living and needs for all private sector workers in the national budget,” he said.
The Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, he said, should relook seriously into the low pension payment claim by the government-linked companies group (or former government departments that have been privatised) which had been submitted to the government for years.
He also urged the government to fully implement the amended Labour legislations, especially the Sarawak Labour Ordinance as well as open up more employments in all sectors to minimise the unemployment rate.
“Lastly, like most of the rakyat, we want the government to monitor the prices of goods thoroughly to minimise inflation and help us to cope with the rising cost of living,” he added.
