The government is unable to meet the demand by the Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) for a minimum wage of RM900 and RM300 cost of living allowance (Cola) for the private sector, the Dewan Negara was told today.

According to Bernama, Deputy Human Resources Minister Abdul Rahman Bakar said such a move would only cause many companies in the country to close shop.

"There are about two million foreign workers in this country. If everyone is given a minimum wage as sought by MTUC many local companies will close.

"For example, it's not logical to require employers to pay their maids a minimum wage and Cola when the maids are given food and lodging," he said.

The deputy minister was responding to senator Dr Jins Shamsudin.

He said that so far 335 companies had wound up because of high production costs and wages.

Moreover, not all the developed countries gave minimum wages to their workers, he said, citing the United States, which paid hourly wages, and Britain and Australia.

"The government will not fix a minimum wage if it is going to affect the national economy," he said.

'Naive' remark

In an immediate response, MTUC president Syed Shahir Syed Mohamud said it was "naive" to say that Britain and Australia do not have minimum wages.

"Britain has a Low Pay Commission that collects data of workers and interviews them to determine the wages that they need.

"Australia does have a minimum wage using a different mechanism but they too have migrant workers. It's naive to say that they don't have minimum wage," he told malaysiakini.

He said Abdul Rahman should not "pick and choose the issue" by using foreign workers as an excuse.

"We have to look at the bigger picture. We are talking about our workers. There are millions of Malaysian workers facing difficulties and addressing the pay issue is quite fundamental," he added.

Last month, MTUC staged a nationwide picket in 14 locations after discussions with the government for a minimum wage came to a deadlock.