The NWCC lacks authority to issue guidelines under the NWCC Act, making such guidelines ineffective for wage interpretation.

[1] The Plaintiff filed an originating summons seeking for the following declarations:

a) The Guidelines on the Implementation of the Minimum Wages Order 2012 issued by the 1st Defendant is intra vires the National Wages Consultative Council Act 2011 and is issued pursuant to the powers and functions of the 1st Defendant under s 4 of the ;

b) The Plaintiffs are entitled to use para 3 (v) and Illustration No 6 of the Guidelines on the Implementation of the Minimum Wages Order 2012 issued by the 1st Defendant as an aid of interpretation of the meaning of "minimum wage" and "basic wage" under the National Wages Consultative Council Act 2011 and Minimum Wages Order 2012 for the purposes of implementation of the Minimum Wages Order 2012 ; and

c) The Plaintiffs are entitled convert all or part of the service charge meant for distribution to the employees to form part of the minimum wages for the purposes of the implementation of the Minimum Wages Order 2012 .

The Parties

[2] The Plaintiffs own and operate the hotels and resorts in Malaysia which form part of the Shangri-La chain of hotels and resorts.

[3] The 1st Defendant, NWCC, is a council established pursuant to s 3 of the NWCC Act.

[4] The 2nd and 3rd Defendants are Unions for the hotel, bar and restaurant workers in Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah respectively. Minimum Wages Order 2012 (MWO 2012)

[5] The MWO 2012 came into force on 1 October 2013 (vide an amendment to the MWO 2012) for the hotel industry, making it mandatory for employers to play its employees basic wages that meet the minimum wages requirement stipulated, which was:-

i) RM900 for Peninsular Malaysia; and

ii) RM800 for Sabah, Sarawak and the Federal Territory of Labuan. Guidelines On The Implementation Of The MWO 2012

[6] The Guidelines on the Implementation of the Minimum Wages Order 2012 (Guidelines) were issued by NWCC.