FILIPINO domestic workers in Malaysia will be the first to benefit from the new minimum monthly salary of US$500, according to the Migrant Workers Office (MWO) in Kuala Lumpur.
In a statement, the MWO announced that Agensi Pekerjaan CCS Sdn Bhd (AP CCS) has agreed to comply with the wage increase set under Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Memorandum Circular (MC) No. 03-2025, raising the minimum salary from US$400 to US$500.
“It is the first recruitment agency to fully comply with DMW Memorandum Circular No. 03-2025,” the MWO-Kuala Lumpur said.
Under the circular, recruitment agencies and employers are given six months to voluntarily implement the salary adjustment.
After the transition period, the DMW will conduct a performance audit to evaluate compliance and determine whether to extend the grace period or require full implementation.
MWO-Kuala Lumpur head Jocelyn Buizon Ortega welcomed AP CCS’s move, saying it will greatly benefit overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the region.
“Their compliance will have a significant impact on uplifting the lives of OFWs in the region,” Ortega said.
The circular also provides incentives for compliant recruitment agencies, including streamlined license renewals and branch establishment processes, reducing approval time from 30 days to 10 days, subject to complete documentation.
Recruitment agencies will likewise receive automated acknowledgment of personnel changes through a dedicated portal for faster and more efficient processing of staff updates. (Anton Banal / SunStar Philippines)