SINGAPORE: Local rank-and-file shop workers are set to receive wage increases in the next few years, after proposed changes to the Progressive Wage Model (PWM) for the retail sector were announced on Monday (Aug 15).
The recommendations by the Tripartite Cluster for Retail Industry (TCR) - to be implemented from Sep 1 - include increasing the gross baseline wages of the likes of retail assistants, cashiers and assistant retail supervisors by stipulated amounts, up to Aug 31, 2025.
Retail assistants, for instance, will have to be paid at least S$1,850 a month, excluding overtime, from Sep 1.
The TCR arrived at this figure after consulting extensively and considering the existing median wage of these jobs.
Retail assistants will also get a minimum pay increment of S$125 from Sep 1 next year; and another hike of S$200 from Sep 2024.
This is a total increase of more than 17 per cent, which works out to a compound annual growth rate of 8.4 per cent.
There are about 46,000 full-time and part-time employees in retail and of these, around 19,000 lower-wage workers will benefit.
For retail supervisors and managers, their wages are generally above the lowest 20th income percentile and thus should be left to market forces, said TCR.
This expansion of the PWM was announced by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at last year’s National Day Rally. It is one of several measures to improve the wages and working conditions of lower-wage workers, to be implemented in recent years.
There will be a six-month “run-in period” for employers to get up to speed on the new PWM requirements, from Sep 1 to Feb 28, 2023.
As there is some fluctuation due to seasonality in the retail sector, baseline gross wages will be averaged over three months to give employers flexibility in meeting the requirements.
And employers can incorporate all variable wage component - such as allowances, performance incentives or commissions - to meet the stipulated gross wages, said TCR.
Other recommendations by the tripartite cluster include more structured career progression and minimum requirements for training.
It has also proposed that workers take at least one Workforce Skills Qualifications training module for all job roles under the PWM.
And TCR has mapped out the frontline operational and supervisory job roles within the retail sector, to provide a career progression pathway for such workers.
There are more than 29,000 retail enterprises in Singapore spanning convenience stores, department stores, supermarkets and shops selling fashion, sporting, consumer electronics, furniture and household goods among others. Some of the retail workers are also in firms in the wholesale sector.
Pointing to a manpower crunch in the retail sector, the Singapore Retailers Association’s honorary secretary Helen Khoo said she hopes that wage increments and structured career pathways will help retailers retain workers and attract more people to join the industry.
Mr Chou Cheng Ngok, a TCR co-chair and representative for the Singapore National Employers Federation, said that the PWM recommendations by the TCR considered feedback from the retail industry, such as seasonal fluctuations in sales and performance incentives.
This would help employers with implementation of the new requirements, said Mr Chou, who is also group chief executive officer and executive director of Popular Holdings.
“With the Singapore economy emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic, I strongly urge retail employers to leverage technology to transform their business, redesign their jobs and upskill their employees to stay relevant and be more productive,” he added.
The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) will enforce the implementation of Retail PWM requirements through employers’ eligibility for work passes.
Employers will need to comply with the stipulated Retail PWM requirements, and any other applicable PWM and Local Qualifying Salary requirements, in order to apply for or renew work passes including work permits, S Passes and Employment Passes.
From this year to 2026, the Government will co-fund PWM wage increases under the Progressive Wage Credit Scheme, as announced during Budget 2022.
Given recent significant inflationary pressures, the Government said in June that its co-funding share in 2022 will increase from 50 per cent to 75 per cent for resident employees with gross monthly wages of up to S$2,500.
It will go up from 30 per cent to 45 per cent for employees with gross monthly wages of above S$2,500 and up to S$3,000.
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The recommendations by the Tripartite Cluster for Retail Industry (TCR) - to be implemented from Sep 1 - include increasing the gross baseline wages of the likes of retail assistants, cashiers and assistant retail supervisors by stipulated amounts, up to Aug 31, 2025.
Retail assistants, for instance, will have to be paid at least S$1,850 a month, excluding overtime, from Sep 1.
The TCR arrived at this figure after consulting extensively and considering the existing median wage of these jobs.
Retail assistants will also get a minimum pay increment of S$125 from Sep 1 next year; and another hike of S$200 from Sep 2024.
This is a total increase of more than 17 per cent, which works out to a compound annual growth rate of 8.4 per cent.
There are about 46,000 full-time and part-time employees in retail and of these, around 19,000 lower-wage workers will benefit.
For retail supervisors and managers, their wages are generally above the lowest 20th income percentile and thus should be left to market forces, said TCR.
This expansion of the PWM was announced by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at last year’s National Day Rally. It is one of several measures to improve the wages and working conditions of lower-wage workers, to be implemented in recent years.
There will be a six-month “run-in period” for employers to get up to speed on the new PWM requirements, from Sep 1 to Feb 28, 2023.
As there is some fluctuation due to seasonality in the retail sector, baseline gross wages will be averaged over three months to give employers flexibility in meeting the requirements.
And employers can incorporate all variable wage component - such as allowances, performance incentives or commissions - to meet the stipulated gross wages, said TCR.
Other recommendations by the tripartite cluster include more structured career progression and minimum requirements for training.
It has also proposed that workers take at least one Workforce Skills Qualifications training module for all job roles under the PWM.
And TCR has mapped out the frontline operational and supervisory job roles within the retail sector, to provide a career progression pathway for such workers.
Related:
There are more than 29,000 retail enterprises in Singapore spanning convenience stores, department stores, supermarkets and shops selling fashion, sporting, consumer electronics, furniture and household goods among others. Some of the retail workers are also in firms in the wholesale sector.
Pointing to a manpower crunch in the retail sector, the Singapore Retailers Association’s honorary secretary Helen Khoo said she hopes that wage increments and structured career pathways will help retailers retain workers and attract more people to join the industry.
Mr Chou Cheng Ngok, a TCR co-chair and representative for the Singapore National Employers Federation, said that the PWM recommendations by the TCR considered feedback from the retail industry, such as seasonal fluctuations in sales and performance incentives.
This would help employers with implementation of the new requirements, said Mr Chou, who is also group chief executive officer and executive director of Popular Holdings.
“With the Singapore economy emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic, I strongly urge retail employers to leverage technology to transform their business, redesign their jobs and upskill their employees to stay relevant and be more productive,” he added.
The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) will enforce the implementation of Retail PWM requirements through employers’ eligibility for work passes.
Employers will need to comply with the stipulated Retail PWM requirements, and any other applicable PWM and Local Qualifying Salary requirements, in order to apply for or renew work passes including work permits, S Passes and Employment Passes.
From this year to 2026, the Government will co-fund PWM wage increases under the Progressive Wage Credit Scheme, as announced during Budget 2022.
Given recent significant inflationary pressures, the Government said in June that its co-funding share in 2022 will increase from 50 per cent to 75 per cent for resident employees with gross monthly wages of up to S$2,500.
It will go up from 30 per cent to 45 per cent for employees with gross monthly wages of above S$2,500 and up to S$3,000.
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