National Day Rally: 8 in 10 lower-wage workers can look forward to higher incomes in next 2 years
THE government has accepted the recommendations by a tripartite workgroup on ways to uplift lower-wage workers, which include an extension of the Progressive Wage Model and the Local Qualifying Salary scheme, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
"The extended progressive wages plus the tighter Local Qualifying Salary will cover 8 in 10 lower-wage workers," Mr Lee said on Sunday during his annual National Day Rally address. "If we include the Workfare enhancements, almost all lower-wage workers can look forward to higher incomes within the next two years."
The Progressive Wage Model will cover more sectors from 2022, beginning with retail, followed by food services and waste management, he said.
It will also cover specific occupations across all sectors simultaneously, starting with administrative assistants and drivers, according to recommendations by the tripartite workgroup chaired by Senior Minister of State for Manpower Zaqy Mohamad.
The model - which former Manpower Minister and workgroup advisor Josephine Teo had previously described as "minimum wage plus" - currently covers cleaners, security guards, landscaping workers and lift maintenance workers.
"Today, with progressive wages, every cleaner earns at least S$1,200. In two years' time, they will earn at least S$1,500. And after another two years, this will go up further to at least S$1,900," said Mr Lee.
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By then, the cleaners would also have picked up new skills and become more productive, he said.
Meanwhile, the government will make it mandatory for companies that hire foreign workers to pay all their local employees at least a Local Qualifying Salary of S$1,400, Mr Lee said.
These firms already pay this amount to some of their local employees, depending on the number of foreigners they hire.
With the change, companies that hire foreigners will be required to pay all their local employees this Local Qualifying Salary, which will be adjusted from time to time, he said.
The workgroup's third strategy is to introduce a Progressive Wage Mark (PW Mark), an accreditation for companies that pay all their workers progressive wages.
The PW Mark, whose logo is designed by Nanyang Polytechnic students, will signal to consumers which companies are paying all their workers decent wages, said Mr Lee.
He added that the public sector, as a major buyer of goods and services, will take the lead and purchase only from businesses that are accredited.
In his speech, Mr Lee stressed that the cost of higher salaries for the lower-wage workers will have to be shared as workers reskill and become more productive.
"Employers have to absorb part of the additional wage costs. The government will help them with transitional support, but businesses will still have to pass on some of the costs to their customers," he said.
At the same time, consumers must also chip in.
"Pay a little bit more for some of our favourite things, like bubble tea or bak chor mee (minced meat noodles), with or without hum (cockles), to help the shop cover higher cleaning and waste collection costs," he said.
While lower-wage workers already receive government support in housing healthcare, retirement and education, they are also more stressed than others, the prime minister said.
This is because their jobs are less secure, they are more likely to be laid off, and they have less savings to tide over hard times.
"In the pandemic, their situation has been precarious. And that's why in every Covid-19 Budget Package, we included extra help to lower income households," he said.
Beyond emergency assistance however, these workers need longer-term support, said Mr Lee, adding that the earnings of such workers have stagnated in many countries.
Noting that many lower-wage workers were on the frontline during the Covid-19 pandemic, Mr Lee said: "Singaporeans saw the importance of jobs like cleaning, food delivery, and security. We gained fresh respect and appreciation for these workers."
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