Enforce minimum wage for school guards, says PSM

IPOH: Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) wants the state Human Resources Department to monitor security firms to make sure they pay the minimum wage to their guards at schools following a special allocation by the government.
State PSM workers bureau chairman M. Sukumaran said the firms should pay the minimum RM900 monthly salary and the stipulated overtime rate.
The Education Ministry had set up a fund to channel financial aid to help the firms pay the minimum wage, backdated salary and EPF arrears after the minimum wage scheme came into effect on Jan 1, 2013.
"We want the department to ensure that the security firms follow the minimum wage structure approved by the government," Sukumaran said today.
"We do not want firms to keep the money and refuse to pay the workers... the department must take action if they fail to implement the minimum wage scale."
He was speaking to reporters after handing a memorandum on the matter to the departments's principal assistant director Kamal Bahrin Abd Majid here.
Also present was PSM central committee member and Sungai Siput MP Dr Jeyakumar Devaraj.
Sukumaran said they earlier raised the issue with the department after receiving complaints from guards employed at schools in Perak who have not been paid the minimum salary.
The government agreed to make the special payment as some guards had signed agreements with firms with less than RM900 salary before the implementation date.