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‘Political will needed to help raise income of low-wage workers’

Everyone needs to do their part in raising the minimum wage of low-wage collar workers in Singapore, including the government.

So says Zainal Sapari, Member of Parliament (MP) for Pasir Ris-Punggol, who is also director for contract, casual and low-wage workers at the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC).

In a wide-ranging panel discussion on low-wage workers at a Young PAP forum on Saturday, Zainal, who was there in his personal capacity, said the government has not been blameless for the widening income gap between the rich and poor in Singapore.

Speaking to an audience of about 50 YPAP members and the public, Zainal said, “The government can be equally responsible (for the widening income gap) because it sometimes doesn’t have the political will to make difficult decisions to help low-wage workers.”

Apart from the government, Zainal noted that employers and employees also have a part to play in eliminating injustices in wage payments at the workplace.

Weighing in on the wage shock therapy debate that was first mooted by top economist Lim Chong Yah last month, Zainal said he preferred industry-specific wage benchmarks instead of a national minimum wage.

He said industry-specific wage benchmarks could help counter stagnating salaries that low-wage workers face in the midst of rapidly-rising inflation.

“I think a national minimum wage policy isn’t the way to go, but we could go for a sectoral wage benchmark policy,” said Zainal. 

“This will make it easier for people to highlight errant employers who are underpaying lower-income workers, definitely.”

Other panelists at the session, which included the Public Transport Council’s Gerard Ee, who previously chaired the ministerial salary review committee last year and president of the Restroom Association of Singapore Tan Puay Hoon, also touched on the stagnating pay of low-income workers.

Removing social stigma

Giving the example of how salaries of bus drivers had stagnated over the years, Ee said there had not been a corresponding increase in wages for bus drivers despite the productivity increments over the years following the abolishment of the two-man system of driver and conductor many years ago.

Tan also spoke up for toilet cleaners, highlighting that a cleaner earned an average of $700 per month in 1995 but that as recently as in 2008, this had only risen to $750.

“There are even instances where cleaners who renew their contracts, and despite doing the same tasks with just a change in uniform, they have to take a pay cut from $850 to $800—just because of market forces,” she said.

Panel moderator and Pasir Ris-Punggol MP Janil Puthucheary said that Singapore’s society may not have reached a point of maturity, where social mobility can be acceptable in both directions—where jobs across a spectrum are seen as more or less equal in reputation.

He said, for instance, that working as a florist or plumber should be seen as equally and socially acceptable and reputable as being a doctor or lawyer.

“We’re a young nation, and we’re still riding the very rapid growth curve where everyone is caught in the froth of social mobility,” he said. “This (the definition of social mobility) comes from the way our society evolves and grows over time, and this mindset (of mature societies) is something that we can learn from,” he added.