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SINGAPORE – Companies that voluntarily pay progressive wages and provide career advancement pathways for low-income workers will be recognized with a Progressive Wage Model Mark (PWM), as part of efforts to raise the wages of low-income workers, said Labor Minister Josephine Teo on Tuesday (September 1).
Sectors such as food services and retail have the potential to be incorporated, which would broaden the implementation of the PWM, which she described as a “more minimum wage”, beyond the three sectors in which it is currently mandatory: cleaning, security and landscaping. .
Speaking in Parliament during the debate on the President’s speech, Ms Teo said that for the PWM brand to work, there must be a broader movement that involves the whole of society.
“As consumers, we must be prepared to pay a little more and intentionally support these progressive companies by purchasing their products and services. This will spur more companies to be progressive and adopt the PWM brand, which in turn will benefit our youth workers. income., “she said.
The PWM, started by the National Trade Union Congress (NTUC) in 2012, is a ladder that sets minimum wage and training requirements for workers at different skill levels, and covers around 80,000 workers in the three sectors where it is mandatory.
Speaking to Ms Teo, NTUC Undersecretary General Koh Poh Koon highlighted in his speech Tuesday that the efforts made by the tripartite partners ahead of the Covid-19 pandemic will lead to the elevator and escalator maintenance sector PWM becomes mandatory in 2022.
The union movement is also in discussions to see how the model can be implemented for the waste management sector, he added.
Dr Koh, who is also the Chief Minister of State for Health, said the government must also be prepared to use more regulatory levers to widely implement the model, and that waiting for the market to move on its own will not produce results.
“As we move towards universal PWM, we should explore establishing a sector wage benchmark for companies as a first step in sectors where there are currently no regulatory levers to require a PWM,” he said.
Industry wage benchmarks can help propel more companies in sectors with a more diverse job landscape, such as food services and retail, to embark on improving the livelihoods of low-wage workers, said Dr. Koh.
Both Ms. Teo and Dr. Koh acknowledged that this is not the best time to raise wages, given the current global health and economic crisis.
“Timing is important. We do not want to put companies out of commission by increasing wage costs in an economic downturn, nor do we want to discourage hiring workers in a struggling labor market with a rising unemployment rate,” he said Dr. Koh.
“Even as we strive to help low-wage workers, we must ensure that we strike a balance, so that ‘low wages’ do not become ‘no wages,'” he said.
Ms Teo said that while it may be risky to impose the model in more sectors today, the government can still promote voluntary adoption of the model, which is the rationale behind the introduction of the PWM brand in collaboration with partners. tripartite.
In his speech, he highlighted that the Government has supplemented PWM with Workfare benefits and skills training for low-wage workers.
Workers in the three sectors where PWM is mandatory have experienced cumulative wage growth of around 30 percent over the past five years, compared to an average cumulative wage growth of 21 percent.
But there is scope for expansion, Dr. Koh noted, as industries where PWM is required represent the 5 percent of all workers in the lowest 20th percentile of the wage ranges.
Singapore should leverage the skills scales outlined by SkillsFuture Singapore to move towards universal PWM across all lower paying jobs, in line with the Industry Transformation Maps goals of skills enhancement, job redesign, growth productivity and salary progression, he said.
Ms Teo said that in other sectors not covered by PWM, Workfare and the Special Employment Credit have also increased wages.
The government’s preferred approach to raising low-wage workers has four points, he noted.
First, regularly adjust Workfare to support employability and mitigate income inequality.
Second, increase wages in the PWM sectors at an appropriate rate.
Third, expand PWM over time to more sectors, assessing the ability of companies to absorb change.
Fourth, raise the standard of living for low-income workers in ways such as skill acquisition, home ownership, and access to quality health care and education.
This approach has been supported through measures such as expanded Workfare coverage and higher payments introduced earlier this year, and a special $ 3,000 Workfare payment to cushion the impact of the virus pandemic, Ms Teo said .
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