Committees formed to look into Progressive Wage Model for food services and retail

TWO tripartite cluster committees for the food services and retail sectors have been formed to look into implementing the Progressive Wage Model (PWM) for these sectors over the next two to three years, Senior Minister of State for Manpower Zaqy Mohamad said.

This follows an agreement by the Tripartite Workgroup on Lower-Wage Workers, chaired by Mr Zaqy, to extend the PWM to the two sectors, which could cover up to 80,000 local workers.

The committees will recommend an implementation timeline, taking on board all stakeholders' concerns, he said, during the Ministry of Manpower's (MOM) Committee of Supply debate in Parliament on Wednesday.

"The Tripartite Cluster committees will target to submit their recommendations on the timeline and other implementation details to the government by the end of this year," he said.

He added that the work group recognises the National Trades Union Congress's aspirations for the PWMs to be implemented within two to three years.

The PWM, pushed as the government's alternative to having a minimum wage, sets out the skills workers must attain to qualify for higher wages in certain low-paying sectors, including cleaning and security.

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Mr Zaqy said he is confident local workers in the food services and retail sectors will see a "meaningful uplift to their wages in time to come".

This is because the median gross monthly wages of cleaners have seen cumulative real growth of 37 per cent since 2013 to S$1,388 in 2019, he said. For security officers, it grew by 29 per cent since 2015 to S$2,391 in 2019.

However, he said the approach would need to be balanced, as some firms may still be at recovering from the economic crisis, even as others are doing well.

"Our interventions must therefore be carefully calibrated. It must be meaningful for the worker, but also viable for our SMEs (small and medium enterprises)," Mr Zaqy noted.

He added that the government will pay close attention to the potential impact of PWM on business costs, and that it will do its part to support the transition, alongside employers and consumers.