KUALA LUMPUR: Only two per cent, or five, of 236 eligible companies have applied to participate in the Progressive Wage Policy (PWP) pilot project citing unattractive financial incentives, a survey the by Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) has found.
MEF executive director Datuk Shamsuddin Baradan said almost 40 per cent of the firms, involving those from manufacturing and non-manufacturing sectors, deemed the incentives as unattractive.
He said that stringent criteria and short-term period were among the factors that impacted the private sector's confidence in the programme given that the lowest threshold wage level in a participating company must be at RM1,700 and provide 21 hours training for one year.
"This is where MEF urged the government to instill more confidence in the private sector to provide the incentives for more than one year," he said at the launching ceremony of MEF 2024 Publications here today.
The government allocated a total of RM50 million for the implementation of the PWP pilot project which kicked-off last June until August, and includes incentive payments to 1,000 employers.
Under this project, participating firms receive a monthly incentive, with a maximum of RM200 per entry-level employee and up to RM300 for those who have been in the company for over a year.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in the 2025 Budget presentation recently said that following the pilot programme for the PWP, it will be fully implemented next year, with an allocation of RM200 million benefiting 50,000 workers.
Shamsuddin further commented that the RM200 million allocation suggested that only about 60,000 employees can actually benefit from the programme, compared to about 4.5 million employees that are within the category of up to RM4,999 wages per month.
He said the project is not well-received by the private sector given that only about 60 per cent of the companies have very limited awareness of the PWP's various aspects.
"This is where raising awareness is crucial, especially before the government rolls out the policy to a bigger audience early next year.
"Recognising the pros and cons identified during the pilot project, they are going to rectify the challenges before they rule out the program to wider participants," he said.