Progressive Wage Policy: Over 51,000 Workers Enjoy Salary Increases
KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 51,363 workers nationwide have enjoyed salary increases through the implementation of the Progressive Wage Policy (DGP) as of 5 June, involving 4,025 employers who met the stipulated incentive requirements.
Human Resources Minister, Datuk Seri R Ramanan, said that as of that period, the government had channelled more than RM64 million in incentives to the five highest sectors participating in the DGP.
He said that the full implementation of the DGP began in January 2025 with an allocation of RM300 million until 2027, which is expected to benefit 50,000 workers.
“The wholesale and retail trade sector, including repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles, recorded the highest participation in the DGP at 26.7 per cent, followed by the manufacturing sector (15.7 per cent), professional, scientific and technical activities (11.1 per cent).
“Meanwhile, education (7.4 per cent) and the accommodation and food and beverage service activities sector (6.9 per cent),” he said in a written reply published on the Parliament website.
In terms of company size, Ramanan said that small companies recorded the highest participation, representing 50.2 per cent of the total employers making incentive claims, followed by large and medium-sized companies at 18.4 per cent each, while micro-companies accounted for 13.1 per cent.
He was responding to a question from Muhammad Ismi Mat Taib (PN-Parit) who asked to state the effectiveness of the DGP implementation to date and the extent to which it has succeeded in reducing the income gap among young workers in the private sector.
Commenting on the effectiveness of the DGP, Ramanan said that the median salary of workers participating in the policy increased by RM290 or 13.8 per cent, from RM2,100 to RM2,390.
He said that youth workers recorded a higher median salary increase rate of 13 per cent compared to 10.6 per cent for adult workers, indicating that the DGP implementation has also helped reduce the income gap between the two groups.
“Before the implementation of the DGP, the gap between adult workers (RM2,300) and youth workers (RM2,000) was RM300.
“After the DGP was implemented, the income gap between adult workers (RM2,544) and youth workers (RM2,260) narrowed to RM284.
“This shows that the DGP not only increases workers’ salaries in absolute terms but also accelerates the income growth of young workers so that the income gap with adult workers is becoming smaller,” he said.
He said that the government will continue to monitor the implementation and conduct impact studies of the DGP from time to time to assess the effectiveness of the policy and determine the need to continue it in the future.
Berita Harian