Written Answer by Mr Tan Chuan-Jin, Acting Minister for Manpower & Senior Minister of State, National Development, to Parliamentary Question on the Requirement for Employers to Pay Minimum Monthly Wage Before Obtaining Exemption from Overtime Pay

Mr Alex Yam Ziming: To ask the Acting Minister for Manpower whether the Ministry will consider a requirement for a minimum monthly basic wage for low-wage workers before exemption from section 38(5) of the Employment Act is granted for extended overtime work.

Mr Tan Chuan-Jin:

1. Under the Employment Act, employers who require their employees to work more than 12 hours a day or more than 72 hours of overtime a month have to seek an exemption from the Commissioner for Labour before they can do so. Even with the exemption, employers that are exempted from the limit of 12 hours a day cannot require their employees to work for more than 14 hours in a day.
2. MOM considers every application for exemption very carefully to ensure they are meritorious and additionally we impose conditions and requirements on employers seeking the exemption. Employers must be able to justify why they require the exemption. In addition, they must obtain the consent of employees in extending their overtime hours as well as the agreement of the unions of the company, if it is unionised, and have a good track record in maintaining both safety and health as well as employment standards.
3. We are studying ways to raise basic wages and reduce overtime hours in targeted low-wage sectors with the various stakeholders, including the unions and industry associations. A wage requirement for applications for overtime exemption is one possible means of lifting wages of low-wage workers who work extended overtime hours and we will certainly consider the MP’s suggestion alongside other measures in our on-going review.