Almost all lower-wage workers to see income rise, Latest Singapore News - The New Paper
Singapore

Almost all lower-wage workers to see income rise

This article is more than 12 months old

55,000 admin assistants, drivers to earn at least $1,500 and $1,750 a month, respectively

In the next two years, almost all local workers will make at least $1,400, while some 55,000 administrative assistants and drivers will earn at least $1,500 and $1,750 a month, respectively, as the Government redoubles its efforts to lift wages for lower-wage earners.

The existing Progressive Wage Model (PWM), a wage ladder tied to skills and productivity gains, will be expanded to more sectors, starting with retail next September, followed by food services and waste management in 2023.

It will also cover in-house workers, as well as specific occupations across sectors, such as drivers and administrative assistants.

And from September next year, all local employees in companies that hire foreign workers must get at least a baseline wage of $1,400 as part of a tightening of the local qualifying salary (LQS) regime.

These measures, together with existing efforts, will cover up to eight in 10 lower-wage workers, defined as the bottom 20 per cent of income earners, who make $2,033 and below each month.

They are detailed in a report released yesterday by a national workgroup with representatives from the government, unions and employers.

It was convened last year to uplift lower-wage workers, who were hardest hit by Covid-19.

In his National Day Rally speech on Sunday, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said the Government has accepted the recommendations of the Tripartite Workgroup on Lower-Wage Workers, as he announced its key proposals.

Existing PWMs in the cleaning, security and landscape sectors cover about 10 per cent of the 283,000 full-time low-wage workers.

Extending PWMs to more sectors as well as occupations will cover another 107,000, or 37 per cent, of such workers. Leveraging the LQS will cover another 99,000, or 35 per cent, of lower-wage workers.

Labour chief Ng Chee Meng said more sectors will be identified for the PWM, and some already mooted include pest management, strata management and renewable energy.

The baseline wage growth of lower-wage workers must outpace median growth by a "substantial margin", until they have made sufficient progress, the report said.

It added that wage growth would also have to outpace productivity growth at the individual level, given the limit to productivity growth in many low-paying jobs.

It also sought a regular review of the Workfare payout and urged people to support firms that pay progressive wages, to be recognised under a new Progressive Wage Mark accreditation scheme.

If the PW mark is factored in, the measures will significantly raise incomes for 94 per cent of all lower-wage workers. The remaining 6 per cent work in small outfits such as heartland shops and minimarts.

Singapore National Employers' Federation chair Robert Yap said employers support the moves, but businesses have to be sustainable too. This is why he is heartened that the changes will be phased in, as many businesses are still reeling from the pandemic.

Manpower Minister Tan See Leng described the report as "a road map for this decade that will refresh and renew our social compact to build an inclusive economy and society."

FOR MORE, READ THE STRAITS TIMES

Employment