In a statement today, the ministry said payments will continue to be made according to the terms in their contract.
“Therefore, the issue that contractors are forced to reduce their employees’ salaries does not arise,” it said.
Yesterday former prime minister Najib Razak alleged that the education ministry would only pay 60% of the agreed fees to these contractors, and that this had caused the contractors to cut the cleaners’ salaries by up to 40%.
“Cleaners are paid between RM1,000 and RM1,200. If their pay is reduced along with deductions for EPF and Sosco, they only have RM500 to RM700 take-home pay.
“Why would the government force the contractors to breach the minimum wage by paying 60% from the amount under the contract?” Najib asked.
His statement followed a press conference last week in which several school cleaners said that they are struggling to make ends meet due to the massive cuts in their salary.
Meanwhile, the education ministry said it was also concerned over the difficulties faced by canteen operators due to the closure of schools during the MCO.
It said the government has agreed to extend their contracts by a year and also reduce their rent for the next six months.
The ministry added they will also extend contracts for vending machine suppliers and bookshop operators for one more year, from the date the contract is scheduled to end.
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