PROFIMA Hopeful Film Workers’ Wages, Welfare Issues Will Be Addressed

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 29 (Bernama) -- The Professional Film Workers’ Association of Malaysia (Profima) has urged the Gig Consultative Council (MPG) to address the welfare and wage issues of gig workers in the film industry, which remain unsatisfactory.

Its president Khalil Saleh said that despite the film industry’s immense potential, wage rates for film workers had not been revised for years and no longer reflected the rising cost of living.

He expressed confidence that MPG, which adopts a tripartite approach involving representatives of gig workers, contracting entities, and the government, could bring about systematic, realistic, and sustainable changes, including setting more reasonable wage rates.

“The film and arts industry has great potential, and with the MADANI Government’s Orange Economy plan, we hope that the Gig Workers Act can be implemented in line with the 13th Malaysia Plan so that it is more relevant and realistic, particularly with regard to the wage rates for Malaysian film and arts workers,” he said in a statement today.

In line with this, Khalil said Profima pledged its support for Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri R Ramanan’s commitment to improving the gig worker ecosystem in line with the implementation of the Gig Workers Act 2025.

As a proactive measure, he said Profima had conducted a roundtable session involving film industry representatives from various disciplines, including technical crews, creatives and independent professionals.

According to Khalil, the findings and recommendations from the session would be officially submitted to the Ministry of Human Resources as industry input, reflecting the realities on the ground.

“Profima hopes that this effort can be continued consistently, with a strong spirit of cooperation, to ensure that independent workers in the film and arts sectors are not marginalised, but are actively involved in the national negotiation process through the MPG.

“The association remains committed to playing a role as a strategic partner of the industry and the government in building a fairer, sustainable, and competitive film and arts ecosystem,” he said.

--BERNAMA