PUTRAJAYA (Oct 16): The Human Resources Ministry plans to amend the National Wages Consultative Council Act 2011 to allow minimum wages to be set based on education levels, paving the way for a mandatory minimum starting salary of RM2,500 a month for graduates and semi-skilled workers under Budget 2027.
Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri R Ramanan said the current law does not allow minimum wages to be set according to educational qualifications.
“We will bring this forward as soon as possible,” Ramanan told a press conference on Friday, adding that the ministry was targeting the necessary legal changes before June 2027. Legislation would need to be in place to make the requirement mandatory, he added.
In the meantime, the ministry, also known as Kesuma, is preparing basic salary guidelines based on occupation, qualifications and skills. It aims to publish and implement these alongside the new national minimum wage rate in June 2027.
Ramanan said the guidelines would use the Malaysia Standard Classification of Occupations (Masco) to provide employers and workers with a central reference for starting basic salaries.
“The focus is not merely on setting a salary figure, but on developing a clearer wage structure based on occupation, qualifications and skills,” he said.
Meanwhile, Kesuma is working out a mechanism to monitor wage payments through an e-wages module, which it proposes to extend to all employees, including non-citizens. Ramanan said the mechanism would support enforcement by monitoring whether wages are paid through prescribed methods, within the required period and in accordance with employment contracts.
It would cover agreed payments such as basic salaries, allowances, incentives and bonuses with the aim of reducing unpaid or late wages, underpayments and breaches of minimum wage requirements.