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Oral Answer by Mr Tan Chuan-Jin, Acting Minister for Manpower & Senior Minister of State, National Development, to Parliamentary Question on NWC's Recommendation for $50 Increment in the Salaries of Workers with Basic Monthly Salaries Below $1,000

Notice Paper No. 328 of 2012 for the Sitting on 16 Oct 2012
Question No. 690 for Oral Answer

MP: Mr Alex Yam

Question

To ask the Acting Minister for Manpower with regard to the National Wages Council's recommendation for a $50 increment in the salaries of workers with basic monthly salaries below $1,000 (a) what is the current implementation rate by the public and private sectors; (b) what are the main reasons given for non-implementation; and (c) whether the contracts for such workers in the public sector are in compliance with International Labour Organisation Convention No 94 which was ratified by Singapore in 1965.

Answer

  1. MOM conducts an annual survey on wage changes for resident full-time employees that amongst others, captures the extent to which employers have adopted the recommendations in the NWC Guidelines.
  2. The increase in built-in wages of at least $50 for workers earning a basic monthly salary of up to $1,000 was a recommendation in this year’s NWC Guidelines which are effective from this July to June 2013. MOM’s findings on its adoption will therefore only be available next year.
  3. However, feedback from employers and unions shows that based on wage settlements concluded so far, employers have generally been supportive of giving more to low-wage workers. For example, the Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF) conducted a survey on 240 companies in the private sector (employing a total of about 160,000 workers) from May to July 2012. Among the sample pool, 80 companies had workers earning a basic monthly salary of up to $1,000. And of the 50 companies within this group that had decided on the wage increase for these workers at the time of survey, three-quarters granted a wage increase of $50 or more to these workers. For the remaining one quarter that gave less than $50, they either had a large number of such workers, or were limited by the tender contracts which had already been signed with their clients.
  4. Also arising from the NWC recommendations, Division IV civil servants which comprises mainly support staff and junior officers, received a wage increase of $60 in monthly wages in July 2012. The wage increases extended also to those who were earning more than $1,000 per month.
  5. The Government upholds the principle of International Labour Organisation Convention No. 94, otherwise known as the Labour Clauses (Public Contracts) Convention. The objective of this Convention is to ensure that contractors engaged under public contracts provide wages and other conditions of work that are not less favourable than those established by law or collective bargaining, for work of similar character. All companies operating in Singapore, including those engaged under public sector contracts, are required to comply with Singapore laws. This includes compliance with the basic employment standards stated in labour laws such as the Employment Act and Central Provident Fund Act. The Government enforces the compliance of such labour laws by conducting regular random audits on companies.