SINGAPORE: As most office workers head home for the day, Mr Aziman Tohid is strapping himself into an Econic truck and checking all the moving parts of the waste collection vehicle.
With two crew members, he pulls out of Sembcorp’s Bukit Merah depot to start a roughly 12-hour overnight shift clearing hundreds of rubbish bins in industrial estates.
AdvertisementAdvertisementIt is hard work, and the night shift captain, tanned and spry at 56, has been doing it for 20 years. He is now in charge of more than 60 workers every night, helping them with their issues even as he does his own rounds.
SembWaste night shift captain Aziman Tohid looks in the side mirror of his truck as he drives. (Photo: Jeremy Long)
Night shift captain Aziman Tohid (left) waves to another driver as he and two SembWaste crew members head out for their shift. (Photo: Jeremy Long)
The environmental services sector has no wage standards for workers like him. But SembWaste, where Mr Aziman works, has adopted a training and wage ladder based on Singapore's Progressive Wage Model (PWM), which aims to lift workers' wages as they upgrade their skills and improve productivity.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAziman got a 5 per cent salary increment when the system was first implemented and another 7 per cent bump when he was promoted from a Level 5 Captain to Level 6 Captain.
Mr Aziman said his pay and benefits have been “enough” for his family of 10. The clear career progression and pay scale have motivated him and his colleagues, he said.
“Actually, I didn’t expect to become a captain, but they saw what I was doing and they promoted me. (The company) appreciates what I’m doing,” he said.
Mr Aziman Tohid, night shift captain at SembWaste's Bukit Merah depot. (Photo: Jeremy Long)
AdvertisementMs Wendy Foong, Sembcorp Industries’ chief human resources officer, said that SembWaste’s PWM for its solid waste collection crew and drivers was implemented in 2015.
“(It) provides a structured and defined framework with clear career pathways pegged to training and growth incentives. We believe our people are our most critical asset,” she said.
[h=3]LISTEN: Raising wages of Singapore's poorest earners: A hard look at the Progressive Wage Model[/h]In Singapore, PWM is mandatory for the cleaning, security and landscape industries, but not for other sectors.
It returned to the limelight recently as parliamentarians debated the need for a minimum wage, and various ministers defended PWM as a better system.
Manpower Minister Josephine Teo and Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam have both referred to PWM as “minimum wage plus”, a point which union leaders echoed.
On Monday (Oct 5), Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat promised to expand PWM to more sectors over time. He reiterated that companies that voluntarily pay progressive wages to lower-income workers will be recognised with a PWM Mark – a programme first announced by Mrs Teo on Sep 1.
“We will raise skill levels, and create more and better jobs. And in time, we will slow down the future growth of the foreign workforce in these sectors,” said Mr Heng in a ministerial statement in Parliament.
“This will also mean that business costs will go up, which will add to the difficulty of businesses during this time. But COVID-19 has highlighted why it is critical, for long-term survival, for firms to be more manpower-lean, productive and have jobs that are attractive to our locals.”
MORE SECTORS TO BE COVERED BY PWM
Eight years after PWM was first introduced in the cleaning industry, it has been made mandatory for two other sectors. It now covers 79,000 low-wage resident workers – 40,000 in cleaning, 36,000 in security and 3,000 in the landscape industry.
This means that some workers pulling in lower salaries have yet to benefit from the initiative, including those in the food and beverage industry.
During the debate on the President’s Address last month, National Trade Unions Congress (NTUC) deputy secretary-general Koh Poh Koon said he hopes tripartite partners can come together to conduct an in-depth study on the implementation of PWM in more sectors.
[h=3]READ: PAP MPs call for faster roll-out of progressive wage model, higher workfare payouts for essential workers[/h][h=3]READ: Singapore’s overall unemployment rate in August climbs past global financial crisis’ high[/h]“NTUC is continuing its conversations with tripartite partners on expanding PWM, to ensure that we have the buy-in of all stakeholders, including the Government and businesses, to implement the PWMs when the economic conditions are right,” he said.
Dr Koh, who is also Senior Minister of State for Health, told CNA that work on PWM implementation is ongoing in several sectors, with the scheme set to become mandatory for the lift and escalator sector in 2022.
NTUC is also working on expanding the PWM model in sectors like food services and this can potentially cover 50,000 workers in that sector. But for industries that are bigger and more diverse, more work is needed to assess the implications of introducing the scheme, Dr Koh said.
“For PWM to have traction, it takes time to build a strong working relationship with industry associations and relevant government agencies, which is needed to overcome possible impediments or challenges in implementing a PWM,” he said.
Explaining further why it is a drawn-out process, he said making the PWM mandatory may also require sector agencies to identify “appropriate regulatory levers” to ensure the model's scalability across the industry, and these take time to be developed and applied.
Businesses also need time to adjust human resource practices and for existing contracts of outsourced services to be completed so that new contracts take on the new manpower costs.
CHEAPSOURCING WOES
For the three sectors covered by the PWM, has it worked well? One thing to note is that all three provide outsourced services, which has led to what some called the “commoditisation” of manpower – the idea that workers are interchangeable goods.
Companies from the cleaning, security and landscape sectors told CNA that "cheapsourcing", where buyers award tenders to the lowest bidder, is a serious problem. PWM has helped to cushion the price race to the bottom, they said.
Mr Kelvin Goh, managing director of Soverus Security, said he has encountered many customers who ask for a price below the minimum at which the company has to charge in order to pay PWM wages.
“When that happens I usually just let go of the customers. The problem with the whole industry is that there are security agencies that are quoting below that minimum number … They are undercutting so much that they are definitely cutting corners because there’s only a minimum you can charge in order to pay the PWM,” he said.
[h=3]READ: 'We still have some way to go': MPs emphasise individual responsibility in maintaining public hygiene standards[/h]Mr Ang, who runs a small landscape firm, said it has been a rough ride for small companies like his over the last few months. Some customers have cancelled their maintenance services due to the COVID-19 pandemic and some of his foreign workers have had to be quarantined.
"Now, the market is very competitive, and you have to quote for the lowest price to get a contract,” said Mr Ang, who did not want to provide his full name. “If you don't, you will lose to the lowest bidder."
He has about a dozen workers, whose salaries he has to pay, he said. “If I don’t get the job ... how am I going to pay their salaries? No matter how I still need to get the job – so I bid the lowest price to secure the job."
Workers wipe down doors at a train station in Singapore on Aug 17, 2020. (File photo: Reuters/Edgar Su)
There are similar woes in the cleaning industry, companies CNA spoke to said.
The director of one cleaning company called for a minimum sum for contracts to avoid companies undercutting each other. “(Then) we will not have a low baller trying to tender very cheaply because there is no minimum wage,” she said.
FIGHTING “LOW BALLERS”
Companies that pay their workers by the rules are supportive of the PWM because they find it deters less scrupulous companies from undercutting them.
Mr Noor Irdawaty, general-secretary of the Building Construction and Timber Employees Union, said the PWM has helped to “ringfence” the wages of cleaners and landscape workers.
Prior to the PWM, the union found it difficult to negotiate with essential service providers on the wages of outsourced workers such as cleaners and landscape workers. The wages of these workers depended on the tender contract sum agreed between the companies and their clients, he said.
The PWM wage ladder acts as a “safety net” and has helped to improve their wages “tremendously”, he said.
With two crew members, he pulls out of Sembcorp’s Bukit Merah depot to start a roughly 12-hour overnight shift clearing hundreds of rubbish bins in industrial estates.
AdvertisementAdvertisementIt is hard work, and the night shift captain, tanned and spry at 56, has been doing it for 20 years. He is now in charge of more than 60 workers every night, helping them with their issues even as he does his own rounds.
The environmental services sector has no wage standards for workers like him. But SembWaste, where Mr Aziman works, has adopted a training and wage ladder based on Singapore's Progressive Wage Model (PWM), which aims to lift workers' wages as they upgrade their skills and improve productivity.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAziman got a 5 per cent salary increment when the system was first implemented and another 7 per cent bump when he was promoted from a Level 5 Captain to Level 6 Captain.
Mr Aziman said his pay and benefits have been “enough” for his family of 10. The clear career progression and pay scale have motivated him and his colleagues, he said.
“Actually, I didn’t expect to become a captain, but they saw what I was doing and they promoted me. (The company) appreciates what I’m doing,” he said.
AdvertisementMs Wendy Foong, Sembcorp Industries’ chief human resources officer, said that SembWaste’s PWM for its solid waste collection crew and drivers was implemented in 2015.
“(It) provides a structured and defined framework with clear career pathways pegged to training and growth incentives. We believe our people are our most critical asset,” she said.
[h=3]LISTEN: Raising wages of Singapore's poorest earners: A hard look at the Progressive Wage Model[/h]In Singapore, PWM is mandatory for the cleaning, security and landscape industries, but not for other sectors.
It returned to the limelight recently as parliamentarians debated the need for a minimum wage, and various ministers defended PWM as a better system.
Manpower Minister Josephine Teo and Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam have both referred to PWM as “minimum wage plus”, a point which union leaders echoed.
On Monday (Oct 5), Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat promised to expand PWM to more sectors over time. He reiterated that companies that voluntarily pay progressive wages to lower-income workers will be recognised with a PWM Mark – a programme first announced by Mrs Teo on Sep 1.
“We will raise skill levels, and create more and better jobs. And in time, we will slow down the future growth of the foreign workforce in these sectors,” said Mr Heng in a ministerial statement in Parliament.
“This will also mean that business costs will go up, which will add to the difficulty of businesses during this time. But COVID-19 has highlighted why it is critical, for long-term survival, for firms to be more manpower-lean, productive and have jobs that are attractive to our locals.”
MORE SECTORS TO BE COVERED BY PWM
Eight years after PWM was first introduced in the cleaning industry, it has been made mandatory for two other sectors. It now covers 79,000 low-wage resident workers – 40,000 in cleaning, 36,000 in security and 3,000 in the landscape industry.
This means that some workers pulling in lower salaries have yet to benefit from the initiative, including those in the food and beverage industry.
During the debate on the President’s Address last month, National Trade Unions Congress (NTUC) deputy secretary-general Koh Poh Koon said he hopes tripartite partners can come together to conduct an in-depth study on the implementation of PWM in more sectors.
[h=3]READ: PAP MPs call for faster roll-out of progressive wage model, higher workfare payouts for essential workers[/h][h=3]READ: Singapore’s overall unemployment rate in August climbs past global financial crisis’ high[/h]“NTUC is continuing its conversations with tripartite partners on expanding PWM, to ensure that we have the buy-in of all stakeholders, including the Government and businesses, to implement the PWMs when the economic conditions are right,” he said.
Dr Koh, who is also Senior Minister of State for Health, told CNA that work on PWM implementation is ongoing in several sectors, with the scheme set to become mandatory for the lift and escalator sector in 2022.
NTUC is also working on expanding the PWM model in sectors like food services and this can potentially cover 50,000 workers in that sector. But for industries that are bigger and more diverse, more work is needed to assess the implications of introducing the scheme, Dr Koh said.
“For PWM to have traction, it takes time to build a strong working relationship with industry associations and relevant government agencies, which is needed to overcome possible impediments or challenges in implementing a PWM,” he said.
Explaining further why it is a drawn-out process, he said making the PWM mandatory may also require sector agencies to identify “appropriate regulatory levers” to ensure the model's scalability across the industry, and these take time to be developed and applied.
Businesses also need time to adjust human resource practices and for existing contracts of outsourced services to be completed so that new contracts take on the new manpower costs.
CHEAPSOURCING WOES
For the three sectors covered by the PWM, has it worked well? One thing to note is that all three provide outsourced services, which has led to what some called the “commoditisation” of manpower – the idea that workers are interchangeable goods.
Companies from the cleaning, security and landscape sectors told CNA that "cheapsourcing", where buyers award tenders to the lowest bidder, is a serious problem. PWM has helped to cushion the price race to the bottom, they said.
Mr Kelvin Goh, managing director of Soverus Security, said he has encountered many customers who ask for a price below the minimum at which the company has to charge in order to pay PWM wages.
“When that happens I usually just let go of the customers. The problem with the whole industry is that there are security agencies that are quoting below that minimum number … They are undercutting so much that they are definitely cutting corners because there’s only a minimum you can charge in order to pay the PWM,” he said.
[h=3]READ: 'We still have some way to go': MPs emphasise individual responsibility in maintaining public hygiene standards[/h]Mr Ang, who runs a small landscape firm, said it has been a rough ride for small companies like his over the last few months. Some customers have cancelled their maintenance services due to the COVID-19 pandemic and some of his foreign workers have had to be quarantined.
"Now, the market is very competitive, and you have to quote for the lowest price to get a contract,” said Mr Ang, who did not want to provide his full name. “If you don't, you will lose to the lowest bidder."
He has about a dozen workers, whose salaries he has to pay, he said. “If I don’t get the job ... how am I going to pay their salaries? No matter how I still need to get the job – so I bid the lowest price to secure the job."
There are similar woes in the cleaning industry, companies CNA spoke to said.
The director of one cleaning company called for a minimum sum for contracts to avoid companies undercutting each other. “(Then) we will not have a low baller trying to tender very cheaply because there is no minimum wage,” she said.
FIGHTING “LOW BALLERS”
Companies that pay their workers by the rules are supportive of the PWM because they find it deters less scrupulous companies from undercutting them.
Mr Noor Irdawaty, general-secretary of the Building Construction and Timber Employees Union, said the PWM has helped to “ringfence” the wages of cleaners and landscape workers.
Prior to the PWM, the union found it difficult to negotiate with essential service providers on the wages of outsourced workers such as cleaners and landscape workers. The wages of these workers depended on the tender contract sum agreed between the companies and their clients, he said.
The PWM wage ladder acts as a “safety net” and has helped to improve their wages “tremendously”, he said.