Polisi dan Realiti Gaji Minimum di Negeri Sabah: Satu Kajian Kes Pekerja Kontrak Pembersihan di Universiti Malaysia Sabah - The Policy and Reality of Minimum Wage in Sabah: A Case Study of Contract Janitors in UMS

Abstract

Pelaksanaan gaji minimum di Malaysia pada dasarnya bermula apabila Akta Majlis Perundingan Gaji Negara (Akta 732) dikuatkuasakan mulai 15 September 2011. Bersandarkan kepada Pelaksanaan Perintah Gaji Minimum 2012 (Sabah, Sarawak dan Labuan) yang telah diperkenalkan pada September 2012, Sabah memulakan operasi agar para majikan di Sabah turut melaksanakan gaji minimum kepada para pekerja masing-masing. Penguatkuasaan pelaksanaan gaji minimum di Malaysia pada 1 Januari 2014 meletakkan gaji minimum di Semenanjung Malaysia sebanyak RM900, manakala Sabah dan Sarawak sebanyak RM800. Gaji minimum diperkenalkan bertujuan menjaga hak dan kebajikan pekerja menerusi ‘fair pay’ bagi membantu golongan pekerja sekali gus menggalakkan mobiliti. Namun, sejauh mana alasan-alasan tersebut dan kesedaran tentang kewujudan gaji minimum diketahui oleh para pekerja masih menjadi persoalan, khususnya dalam konteks pekerja di negeri Sabah. Artikel ini membincangkan tahap kesedaran pekerja terhadap gaji minimum serta menilai sejauh mana pembayaran gaji minimum dilaksanakan dalam sektor pembersihan di Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) menerusi temu bual mendalam ke atas dua orang wakil pengurusan dan 16 orang responden dalam kalangan pekerja pembersihan. Kajian mendapati bahawa tahap kesedaran pekerja terhadap kewujudan dan pelaksanaan gaji minimum adalah sifar. Walaupun majikan mengakui telah melaksanakan gaji minimum, dapatan kajian menemukan sebaliknya. Manipulasi maklumat oleh majikan telah mengekang pelaksanaan gaji minimum untuk dilaksanakan secara berkesan. Kajian ini penting sebagai sandaran untuk memastikan hak dan kebajikan pekerja bukan sahaja di Sabah tetapi juga di Kepulauan Borneo ini secara amnya dapat dipelihara. The implementation of a minimum wage in Malaysia basically began when the National Wage Consultative Council Act (Act 732) came into force on 15 September 2011. In accordance with the Minimum Wage Act that was introduced in September 2012, Sabah’s employers have started implementing the Minimum Wage Act (2012) on their workers. The implementation of a minimum wage in Malaysia have become mandatory on 1 January 2014, thus a minimum wage of RM900 has been set for workers in Peninsular Malaysia and RM800 for the workers in Sabah and Sarawak. The reason for introducing a minimum wage is protecting workers’ rights and welfare through fair pay policy which is intended to help workers and also to encourage worker mobility. However, the awareness of employees about the existence of the minimum wage is still questionable, especially workers in Sabah. Therefore, this paper discussed the level of employee awareness with regard to the minimum wage, as well as assessed the extent of the minimum wage implementation in the cleaning services in Universiti Malaysia Sabah via in-depth interviews with two management representatives of the cleaning service organizations and 16 janitors. This study found that the level of employee awareness of the existence and implementation of the minimum wage was zero. Although employers claimed to implement the minimum wage, the research findings showed otherwise. The manipulation of information by the employers have constrained the effective implementation of the minimum wage. This study is important to ensure the rights and welfare of the employees are preserved, not only in Sabah but also in Borneo.