KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA - Workers are unlikely to see any increase in wages or improvements in perks and benefits.

The Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) said feedback from its member unions was that companies have asked for a delay to start negotiations for a new pay structure.

MTUC general secretary G. Rajasekaran said the worldwide economic downturn was to be blamed for the situation.

The Malaysian Employers Federation in a survey carried out in October last year had forecast pay rises of 5.53 per cent for executives and 5.59 per cent for non-executives.

This was a slight decrease from 5.78 per cent for executives and 5.85 per cent for non-executives in a survey carried out in August.
Rajasekaran said unions would normally submit their proposals for a new collective agreement three months before the expiry of the existing ones. For agreements expiring this year, that would have been in September last year.