Proton Malaysia Assembly Line Workers Among Lowest Paid

Proton Malaysia’s assembly-line workers are among the lowest paid in the nation, according to the Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC).

Malaysiakini has reported that MTUC’s secretary-general G Rajasekaran told a press conference that Proton offered RM600 (USD181) per month as its minimum wages, the lowest among government-linked companies (GLC). According to Rajasekaran, TM Net and Tenaga Nasional Bhd offered RM800 (USD242) per month, while Malaysian Airlines offered RM1,000 (USD301) per mon.

Rajasekaran revealed that Proton and its internal labour union are embroiled in a protracted negotiation over the collective agreement. One of the obstacles is Proton’s refusal to raise the minimum wage. He said that there has been no significant revision of wages since the first collective agreement was inked in 1987.

According to the news report, a memorandum will be submitted to Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and to Proton adviser, Dr Mahathir Mohamad, and chairperson, Nadzmi Salleh, by the end of March 2010.