Government Accepts Recommendations to Enhance the Progressive Wage Model for Cleaning Sector

1. The Government has considered and accepted the recommendations contained in the report of the Tripartite Cluster for Cleaners (TCC)¹  dated December 2016 on the enhancements to the Progressive Wage Model (PWM) for the cleaning sector, which was released today. The PWM enhancements will benefit over 40,000 resident cleaners who are employed by more than 1,200 cleaning businesses².
2. The Government notes that the TCC’s recommendations are an important enhancement over the original recommendations published in 2012. The recommended PWM wage schedules³ (Annex C in the TCC report dated December 2016) comprising annual adjustments to the PWM basic wage over the next 6 years and the inclusion of an annual bonus for cleaners from 2020 onwards will improve the overall remuneration package for cleaners and ensure they experience sustained wage growth. Setting out in advance the PWM adjustments over the next 6 years will also provide cleaning businesses and service buyers greater certainty when planning for future cleaning contracts. 
3. The Government also supports the TCC’s recommendation to encourage employers to pay increments to better performing, more experienced and productive workers, above the PWM wage levels, and subject to min-max ratios as recommended by the TCC. 

Implementation timeline 


4. Paying resident cleaners progressive wages stipulated under the PWM is an existing condition under the licensing regime for general cleaning businesses today. 
5. The TCC’s latest recommendations on the annual adjustments to the PWM will likewise be implemented for all licensed cleaning businesses via an Order by the Commissioner for Labour. 
6. As recommended by the TCC, the Government agrees to provide a lead time of at least 6 months for the industry to adopt the new PWM wage schedules.  
a.  From 1 July 2017, the Commissioner for Labour will enforce the relevant PWM wage schedules for resident cleaners under all new contracts that take effect from 1 July 2017.   
b.  For existing contracts that take effect before 1 July 2017, cleaning businesses are given until 1 July 2018 to comply with the relevant PWM wage schedules. 
7. The Government, as a service buyer of cleaning services, also welcomes the TCC’s move to provide better visibility of the wage progression for cleaners over the next 6 years. When the new PWM wage schedules take effect from 1 July 2017, they will similarly take effect for all new Government tenders for cleaning services. For existing cleaning contracts that take effect before 1 July 2017, the Government will work with cleaning contractors to help them transit to the new requirements by 1 July 2018.
8. Download the Tripartite Cluster for Cleaners Report for more information.