KUANTAN | Employers are reminded not to impose salary deductions without the employee’s knowledge or without the approval of the Labour Department of Peninsular Malaysia (JTKSM).JTKSM’s labour standards division director Mohd Asri Abd Wahab said the department was seriously concerned about the issue and had received complaints of misappropriation of employees’ salaries without clear consent or reason. “Employers should honour the contracts as promised when hiring including foreign workers. “There has been a case where an employer has promised no pay cuts for accommodation since it is provided free of charge. However, the employee’s payslip shows a deduction without the consent of the employee,” he said.

Mohd Asri was speaking to reporters after officiating the launch of the JTKSM 2019 Labour Education Programme at Wisma Perkeso.Also present were JTKSM foreign workers division director Wan Ismail Wan Ibrahim and Pahang Labour Department director Pezman Che Hussin.Mohd Asri said JTKSM also noted that many employers did not take into consideration the incentive payments as overtime pay. He said allowance and other payments should be taken into account as the basis of calculations to determine overtime pay rates.

“We emphasise that employers should prioritise wages and workers’ rights to be paid according to labour laws,” he said.Mohd Asri said those who committed the offence could be prosecuted under Section 43 of the National Salary Consultative Council 2011 where a fine of up to RM10,000 could be imposed on each charge.On a separate development, he informed that JTKSM was targeting about 1,000 employers in various sectors to participate in the labour education programme held at 13 locations throughout the country.The programme which begins today with Pahang as the first location will be held until October, enabling employers to know more about the country’s labour laws. – Bernama

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