Oral Answer to PQ on Wage increases for security officer
NOTICE PAPER NO. 3545 OF 2025 FOR THE SITTING ON 10 MARCH 2025 QUESTION NO. 7370 FOR ORAL ANSWER
MP: Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song
To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) whether the Ministry has data on security agencies which incorporate security officers’ allowances into their basic pay following the implementation of the Progressive Wage Model (PWM); (b) if so, whether this has resulted in any reduction of total wages for security officers; and (c) what measures are in place to ensure that salary adjustments under PWM result in genuine income growth rather than reclassification of existing wage components.
Answer:
1. We do not have data on security agencies who incorporated allowances into basic wages following the implementation of the Progressive Wage Model (PWM). However, we observe that gross wages for security officers, which include allowances, have increased since the implementation of the PWM in 2016. From 2016 to 2023, the median monthly gross wage of Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents working as full-time security officers increased 19.2%1 cumulatively.
2. Employers have the prerogative to decide how to structure workers’ overall compensation, provided that they comply with PWM requirements. While it is possible for employers to incorporate allowances into the basic wage to offset PWM-mandated wage increases, such practices are unsustainable. PWM requirements increase year on year, and there is a limit to how much wage components can be shifted.
3. In 2016, the PWM wage requirements for a security officer employed by a security agency was $1,100 for the security officer on the lowest rung of the Security PWM job ladder. From 1 Jan 2025, this has increased to $2,870, and by 2028, this would increase to $3,530. This translates to PWM raising the salaries of Security Officers to around 220% more than the wage requirement in 2016.
4. This means that security officers will likely see their total take-home pay, which includes both basic wages and variable components such as allowances, increase in the coming years.
5. Security officers who wish to report contractual breaches or employers not adhering to PWM requirements can approach their union or contact MOM for assistance.