HUMAN RESOURCE PRACTICES IN LANGKAWI HOTELS AFTER MINIMUM WAGE ORDER 2012 IMPLEMENTATION

This paper presents the human resource practises (HRP) in Langkawi hotels after the enforcement of Minimum Wage Order (MWO) 2012. Despite the criticisms, lawsuits and publicity received by the hotel industry due to its enforcement, articles published on HRP in Malaysian hotel industry since MWO implementation are still very few. Existing studies are mainly quantitative, and they only focus on compensation and labour cost increase. To ensure information richness, this study was conducted in hotels of various sizes and levels of service. It employed qualitative method with semi-structured interview to investigate the HRP in Langkawi hotels. Participants were asked the question “Does MWO implementation affect your human resource practises?” Based on the interviews with 18 hotel managers and two hotel owners, it is discovered that the MWO enforcement affects employees’ wages. In addition, the size of the workforce is reduced and organisations are practising organisational flexibility. This paper contributes to human resource management literature by providing information of HR practises in Langkawi hotels after MWO implementation. It provides implications for HR practitioners who are facing challenges of MWO and the rising minimum wage level.