Progressive wage

The Progressive Wage Model is a wage structure advocated by the Labour movement of Singapore,^[1] which is led by the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), the sole national trade union centre in Singapore. The objective of introducing the Progressive Wage Model is to increase the salaries of workers through the enhancement of skills and improving productivity. Progressive Wage is enforced via business licensing (as opposed to legislation).^[2] This model was designed to enable rank and file workers to climb the wage ladder, and provides for a minimum wage. This would then lead to higher wages for the worker and improved overall productivity which helps sustain economic growth.

History

While the Progressive Wage Model concept was only introduced by the Labour Movement in June 2012, this remuneration model is actually an amalgamation of various existing programmes and initiatives over the years by the Labour Movement to help workers in Singapore upgrade and up-skill themselves to be able to earn higher wages. These programmes and initiatives include the Skills Redevelopment Programme, the Job Redevelopment Programme, the Best Sourcing Initiatives, and the Inclusive Growth Programme, among others. All of these already help workers in Singapore improve themselves to be able to take on better-paying jobs. However, the Progressive Wage Model takes things a step further by ensuring employers’ commitment to their employees’ career growth, better wages and increased productivity.

Principles of Progressive Wage

The Progressive Wage Model is based on the key objectives of helping Singaporean workers climb the four ladders of skills upgrading, productivity improvement, career advancement and wage progression. Thus far, seven unionised clusters in Singapore have implemented or are planning to implement a Progressive Wage Model to help workers . The Tripartite Cluster for Cleaners, a working committee formed representatives of the tripartite partners, is pushing for the Progressive Wage Model to help about 10,000 cleaners across various industries. These workers are set to earn a higher entry-level basic wage of between S$1,000 and S$1,200.^[3] About half of all cleaners employed under government contracts, or over 3,500 cleaners, currently earn basic wages of at least $1,000 per month. The median wage of cleaners in the civil service was between S$675 and S$950 prior to the introduction of the Progressive Wage Model.

Minister of State Josephine Teo was reported as saying that the government plans to engage only cleaning companies accredited under the National Environment Agency’s Enhanced Clean Mark Accreditation Scheme for all contracts called from 1 April 2013.

According to NTUC Secretary General Lim Swee Say, the reason why Singapore can adopt this method of wage improvements through re-skilling and upgrading of workers is based on these factors: the availability of workfare supplements to help the worker while he or she undergoes training to reach the next step of the wage ladder; the establishment of a comprehensive employee training framework in the country; and the government’s financial capacity to pay for such training programmes.

Progressive Wage Model and the Minimum Wage Model

The Progressive Wage Model is an enhancement to a basic Minimum Wage model to help increase the salaries of workers in Singapore.^[4] NTUC Secretary General Lim Swee Say was reported as saying that he believed that the shortcomings of a minimum wage system outweigh the benefits. He noted that if the minimum wage was set too low, it would not help workers. On the other hand, if the minimum wage was set too high, that could result in higher unemployment as employers may not be able to afford to pay their workers . He felt the Progressive Wage Model would be a more sustainable approach to helping workers earn better wages.^[5]

Labour MP Patrick Tay Teck Guan delivered a speech at the Singapore Budget Debate in parliament in 2013 highlighting how the Progressive Wage Model does not only apply to low wage workers but also to Professional, Managers, and Executives (PMEs).^[6] He gave the example of how Singapore Power, a unionized company of The Union of Power and Gas Employees, has implemented a structured path for Technicians to progress to Senior Technician, and thereafter to Technical Officer, Senior Technical Officer and to an Engineer which earns as much as S$7,000 per month .

Singapore’s union clusters representing various sectors are working alongside their respective tripartite partners, which include industry players and government officials, to design Progressive Wage Models tailored to meet the needs of each sub-sector. These clusters have set individual targets for progressive wage increases to help especially low-income earners, women and mature workers, the most vulnerable groups of the workforce.

NTUC estimates that the Progressive Wage Model can help about 100,000 workers in the next two to three years from end-2012.^[7]

Criticisms of Progressive Wage

According to Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower, Singapore does not have minimum wage and “salary is subject to negotiation and mutual agreement between an employer and an employee or the trade union representing the employees” . Singapore is part of the fewer than 10 percent of countries globally that do not have a legislated minimum wage policy. There has not been any outright opposition to the Progressive Wage Model that was introduced in 2012, but several Singaporean politicians and the public have made calls for Singapore to legislate minimum wage to protect low-wage workers. During the Singapore Budget 2013 debate in parliament, Members-of-Parliament such as Inderjit Singh of Ang Mo Kio GRC and Nominated MP Laurence Lien expressed concerns that wages at the bottom of the economic ladder are not increasing quickly enough to help workers cope with a rising cost of living . In an article in The Straits Times in September 2011, Tommy Koh, Ambassador-at-Large for the Singapore government, echoed a recent comment by a journalist from the same paper that “Singapore is a First World country with a Third World wage structure”. Koh believed that a minimum wage model would help low-income workers and promote inclusive growth in Singapore society.

References

http://www.lessonsearned.org/

Employment

Classifications	Casual Contingent Full-time Part-time Self-employed Skilled Independent contractor Temporary Tenure Unskilled Wage labour

Hiring	Application Background check Business networking Contract Cover letter Curriculum Vitae (CV) Drug testing e-recruitment Employment counsellor Executive search Induction programme Job fair Job fraud Job hunting Job interview Labour brokering Overqualification Onboarding Personality-Job Fit Theory Person-environment fit Probation Reference Résumé Simultaneous recruiting of new graduates Underemployment Work-at-home scheme

Roles	Co-op Employee Employer Internship Job Permanent Permatemp Supervisor Volunteer

Worker class	Blue-collar Gold-collar Green-collar Grey-collar Pink-collar White-collar

Career and training	Apprenticeship Avocation Career assessment Career counseling Career development Coaching Creative class Education Continuing education Continuing professional development E-learning Employability Further education Graduate school Induction training Initial Professional Development Knowledge worker Licensure Lifelong learning Practice-based professional learning Professional association Professional certification Professional development Professional school Reflective practice Retraining Vocational education Vocational school Vocational university Mentorship Occupational Outlook Handbook Practice firm Profession Tradesman Vocation

Attendance	Break Career break Furlough Gap year Leave of absence Long service leave No call, no show Sabbatical Sick leave Time clock

Schedules	Four-day week Eight-hour day Flextime Overtime Retroactive overtime Shift work Telecommuting Working time Workweek and weekend

Wages and salaries	Income bracket Income tax Living wage Maximum wage National average salary World Europe Minimum wage Canada Hong Kong Europe United States Progressive wage Singapore Overtime rate Paid time off Performance-related pay Salary Salary cap Working poor

Benefits	Annual leave Casual Friday Day care Disability insurance Health insurance Life insurance Parental leave Pension Sick leave Take-home vehicle

Safety and health	Epilepsy and employment Human factors and ergonomics Industrial noise Protective clothing Occupational burnout Occupational disease Occupational exposure limit Occupational health psychology Occupational injury Occupational stress Repetitive strain injury Sick building syndrome Work accident Occupational fatality Workers' compensation Workplace phobia Workplace wellness

Equality	Affirmative action Equal pay for women

Infractions	Corporate abuse Accounting scandals Corporate behaviour Corporate crime Control fraud Corporate scandals Discrimination Dress code Employee handbook Employee monitoring Evaluation Labour law Sexual harassment Sleeping while on duty Wage theft Whistleblower Workplace bullying Workplace harassment Workplace incivility

Willingness	Civil conscription Conscription Dead-end job Extreme careerism Job satisfaction Organizational commitment McJob Refusal of work Slavery Bonded labour Human trafficking Labour camp Penal labour Peonage Truck system Unfree labour Wage slavery Workaholic Work aversion Work ethic Work–life balance Downshifting Slow living

Termination	At-will employment Dismissal Banishment room Constructive dismissal Wrongful dismissal Employee exit management Exit interview Layoff Notice period Pink slip Resignation Letter of resignation Restructuring Retirement Mandatory retirement Retirement age Severance package Golden handshake Golden parachute Turnover

Unemployment	Barriers to Employment Depression Great Depression Long Depression Discouraged worker Frictional unemployment Full employment Graduate unemployment Involuntary unemployment Jobless recovery Phillips curve Recession Great Recession Great Recession job losses List of recessions Recession-proof job Reserve army of labour Types of unemployment Unemployment Convention Unemployment benefits Unemployment extension Unemployment insurance Unemployment rates Employment rates Employment-to-population ratio Structural unemployment Technological unemployment Wage curve Youth unemployment

See also templates Aspects of corporations Aspects of jobs Aspects of occupations Aspects of organizations Aspects of workplaces Corporate titles Organized labor

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