Employers hiring five workers or fewer can apply to defer the implementation of the minimum wage to the National Wages Consultative Council by April 1.

Terengganu Labour Department director Mohd Azmi Muhammud said as the Minimum Wage Order for employers with fewer than five employees would be implemented on July 1, it was up to the council to consider the applications for postponement.

“About 70 percent of 22,000 employers registered with the department fall into this category,” he told reporters after opening a briefing on retirement age to employers in Kuala Terengganu today.

The minimum wage scheme, which came into effect from Jan 1, makes it mandatory for employers who hire six workers and more to pay a minimum wage of RM900 in peninsula Malaysia and RM800 in Sabah and Sarawak.

Mohd Azmi said the department had yet to receive any complaint from workers being paid less than the minimum wage and those who were not satisfied with their employers could lodge complaints.

However, the department is monitoring employers through the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and the Social Security Organisation (Socso) records, he added.

- Bernama