When it comes to fair pay at work, it’s a big deal. Lately, there’s been a lot of talk about employers not paying their workers enough, especially the minimum wage required by law.
Take the recent case of a beauty product founder under fire for allegedly underpaying and neglecting her employees’ benefits.
Founder accused of paying workers only RM5 per hour
The founder, believed to hail from Kulim, found herself in hot water after an individual named Muhammad Musoddiq Bin Jaafar brought her actions to light.
He shared screenshots and a detailed account of her misconduct on social media, which quickly went viral.
“This is a big red flag for an employer. She’s exploiting and oppressing people. When they refuse to be exploited, she calls them spoiled,” Musoddiq wrote.
His post highlighted that the founder was paying her employees RM5 per hour, far below the legal requirement of RM7.21 per hour or RM1,500 per month.
EPF and SOCSO contributions were ignored
He also noted that even with overtime, employees were still not receiving the minimum wage, and their EPF and SOCSO contributions were ignored.
Musoddiq didn’t stop there; he pointed out the founder’s arrogance toward her employees.
“She says she wants to help her workers, but is she really helping them or herself? If she paid fair wages, that house in the paddy field wouldn’t be finished, right?” he added sarcastically.
And this is her justification
Screenshots of the founder’s Facebook posts revealed her justifications for the low wages. She claimed that since the workers were not permanent but part-time, paying RM5 per hour was acceptable.
Her defense continued with an emotional recount of her own past struggles, comparing her current practices to her past experiences where she earned only RM35 a day.
She expressed frustration at being accused of overworking her employees, asserting that she was only trying to help young people earn pocket money while waiting for their exam results.
In her posts, the founder emphasised that she offered monthly rewards ranging from RM200-500 to her staff, but expressed disappointment over what she saw as a lack of appreciation.
“This will be the last month I hire local workers. Don’t say our own people don’t want to help their own race later. I’m sorry, but I’m tired of dealing with such high demands,” she wrote.
She also threatened to hire foreign workers who would accept lower wages.
‘Why should I pay EPF for part-timers?’
She also questioned the need to pay EPF for part-time workers and noted that not all her employees could maintain regular hours.
“I only hire part-time workers! Why should I pay EPF for part-timers? Not all of them can be as punctual as full-time employees. Even when work starts at 11 am, my workers still come late,” she argued.
The founder concluded her posts with a call for gratitude and perseverance.
“When talking about bosses, please don’t compare them all. Not all bosses are the same. People nowadays are very demanding. I used to be a laborer myself.
How can I hire people now? Because my experiences taught me. So, be thankful wherever you work. Salaries can always go up when the boss sees you working hard. That’s my opinion.”
