Updated NWC wage guidelines likely in September

Singapore

WITH the jobs market having softened "considerably" and the softness likely to persist, the National Wages Council (NWC) will reconvene later this month to update its guidelines issued in March.

This update is expected to be released in September, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said on Friday.

Giving details of the NWC's move to reconvene, first announced in a Facebook posting by Manpower Minister Josephine Teo early last week, MOM said the updated guidelines will provide "timely and relevant guidance" to employers.

NWC chairman Peter Seah said: "In light of the profound impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the economy, companies and especially workers, it is important that the tripartite partners review the challenges posed and make recommendations to respond to the issues."

This will be the fourth time since NWC was set up in 1972 that the council will meet twice in the same year; it previously did so - also in times of major economic crises - in 2009, 2001 and 1998.

The NWC had said in March, when the Covid-19 pandemic was still in its early stage, that it would meet again later in the year if "the situation warranted it". Since then, the pandemic has spread, bringing the economy to a near-standstill. Preliminary findings show total employment fell in the second quarter; unemployment has climbed and retrenchments have been much higher.

The March guidelines, for the period April 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021, said employers must first reduce non-wage costs and manage excess manpower. Wages are to be cut only if needed, and retrenchments undertaken only as a last resort.