A survey by the Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) has shown that most of the 150,000 guards in peninsular Malaysia

are not being paid minimum wages, despite such a policy being authorised in February.

MTUC vice-president A Balasubramaniam said that as the majority of the guards were unaware of the salary increase, the congress had printed about 50,000 copies of the order dated Feb 11 this year and distributed them to its various branches.

"We have also pasted the copies of the order in prominent places, so that the guards are aware of their rights and demand the new wages from their employers," he told Bernama today.

With this in mind, he said the Labour Department should intensify its efforts to enforce the minimum wages for security guards in peninsular Malaysia.

He said the new wages, ranging from RM500 to RM700, took effect from Feb 15 this year through an order signed by the Human Resources Minister, Dr S Subramaniam.

He said the MTUC was willing to cooperate with the Labour Department to disseminate this information and ensure that the guards received their dues.

The new salary scale is divided into three zones - Zone A with a basic monthly salary of RM550 and an allowance of RM150, covers Penang, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, south Johor Bahru, Kota Tinggi, Kulaijaya and Pontian.

Zone B, with a basic monthly salary of RM500 and an allowance of RM100, covers Malacca, Negeri Sembilan, Perak, Pahang, Terengganu, Kluang, Batu Pahat, Mersing, Muar, Ledang and Segamat.

Finally, Zone C, with a basic monthly salary of RM450 and an allowance of RM50, covers Kedah, Kelantan and Perlis.

Balasubramaniam urged managements to pay staff more than minimum wages if they could afford to do so.

- Bernama