Employers can restructure workers’ salary by absorbing certain allowances as part of the basic salary in the implementation of the minimum wage, said National Wages Consultative Council secretary T Shanmugam.

He said employers could carry out wage restructuring after negotiating with their employees.

The restructuring of the wages can only be done only once before its implementation is enforced, he said in a statement today.

“Wage restructuring only involves cash payment during normal working hours as defined by ‘wage’ under Section 2 of the Employment Act 1955, the Sabah Labour Ordinance [Cap 67] or the Sarawak Labour Ordinance [Cap 76],” he said.

Shanmugam said other payments not included in the definition of wage under the acts cannot be used in the restructuring of wages.

The government had previously fixed a minimum wage of RM900 per month or RM4.33 per hour for the private sector in peninsular Malaysia, and RM800 per month or RM3.85 per hour in Sarawak, Sabah and the Federal Territory of Labuan.

- Bernama