PETALING JAYA: Six multinational companies (MNCs) have increased the monthly salaries of their workers from RM450 to between RM650 and RM700 to lure more locals and reduce dependence on foreign workers.
“This move has encouraged more locals to take up jobs with these companies,” said Human Resources Minister Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam.
He said the Labour Department would continue to secure commitments from other MNCs to provide reasonable monthly salaries so that more locals would be encouraged to join them.
“I have been holding discussions with employers on their request for foreign workers.
“We have always maintained that locals should be given priority.
“Only after they have exhausted all avenues will we consider their request to hire foreign workers,” Dr Subramaniam said in a statement yesterday.
He said the decision by the six MNCs, mostly in the manufacturing sector, to increase the monthly salaries of their workers proved that it was low pay that deterred locals from joining them.
“Now that these companies are offering higher salaries for local workers, we are confident that more locals will take up the offer,” he added.
Dr Subramaniam said one company needed 3,000 foreign workers but with the higher salaries, more than 500 locals had signed up with the company.
He said he would continue to engage with employers to resolve their problems in getting workers while the department would continue to monitor the situation.
There are more than two million legal foreign workers in the country.
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