Gamuda revises upwards minimum wage for foreign workers and graduate entry effective May 1

KUALA LUMPUR (March 23): Gamuda Bhd has revised its internal minimum wage policy for its workforce across the group.

In a statement on Wednesday (March 23), the engineering, property and infrastructure company said effective May 1, 2022, Gamuda will increase the minimum wage from RM1,200 to RM1,600 for foreign workers.

Meanwhile, the company will also be increasing the entry level pay for fresh graduates joining the group from RM3,300 to RM3,500 for engineers, and from RM3,000 to RM3,200 for non-engineering graduates.

Gamuda also said its long-standing policy has been to provide accommodation to foreign workers at purpose-built centralised labour quarters (CLQs) at no cost to them.

It said the CLQs have standard design specifications to ensure that the workforce is housed comfortably and safely with access to amenities such as communal kitchens, laundry, sundry shops and medical facilities as well as recreational facilities like futsal courts, where space permits.

Gamuda said that while it has ensured that its own directly hired workers are not exposed to long-term bondage as it covers their agent or middlemen fees, the company will work with extended supply chain and sub-contractors in the next two years to align them with its requirements.

Gamuda said it has reviewed these wage levels to ensure that its entry level offers are competitive and within the top quartile of the industry to enable the group to continuously attract and develop the necessary talent for business growth.

It said the minimum wage and graduate entry level pay increases raise the floor for the group’s baseline pay, and consequently its workforce in the immediate pay bands above this (up to RM5,000) will also enjoy a cascaded pay increase to adjust for internal equity.

At the midday break on Wednesday, Gamuda added two sen to RM3.38, valuing it at RM8.63 billion.

Source: TheEdge - 24 Mar 2022