PUTRAJAYA: The Human Resources Ministry is developing a live e-Wages dashboard to strengthen monitoring and enforcement of salary payments, including efforts to address unpaid, delayed and underpaid wages.
Its minister, Datuk Seri R. Ramanan, said the system would enable authorities to monitor employers' compliance with wage regulations and ensure workers received their salaries on time.
"It will ensure that the wages which should be paid are paid, and that workers receive their salaries on the stipulated payday," he told reporters at a press conference here today.
Ramanan was responding to a question on how the authorities would identify companies required to comply with the government's new wage policies.
He said the ministry was refining the mechanism, which was intended to strengthen compliance with the Employment Act 1955.
Under the proposed system, employers' salary payments would be monitored to ensure compliance with the Act, including requirements on payment within the prescribed period.
The system would also cover payments stipulated in employment contracts, including basic salaries, allowances, incentives and bonuses.
It aims to reduce cases involving unpaid or delayed salaries, payments below agreed contractual rates and wages below the statutory minimum.
The ministry has also proposed extending the system to all workers, including foreign employees.
Ramanan said e-Wages would help the ministry obtain more comprehensive data on workers across different occupational categories.
He said more than four million workers were expected to benefit from the increase in the national minimum wage from RM1,700 to RM2,000 a month.
However, the ministry could not yet determine how many workers in specific occupational categories would benefit from the broader wage adjustments.
"If we want to calculate the number based on Masco categories one to eight, we cannot determine that at this stage.
"That is why we need e-Wages. It will help us obtain the necessary information," he said.
Masco refers to the Malaysia Standard Classification of Occupations, which categorises jobs according to their occupational characteristics and skill requirements.
Under the 2027 Budget, the national minimum wage is scheduled to increase by RM300, or 17.6 per cent, to RM2,000 a month from June next year.
Micro, small and medium enterprises with annual sales below RM50 million will be exempted from the increase to allow them time to adjust their operations.
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