By Fawwaz Baktee
For five-and-a-half-days a week, 55-year-old Landscape Technician Goh Keng Lian does back-breaking work pruning bushes and clearing driveways of dried leaves.
Mr Goh started working for landscape company Cassia Horticulture Pte Ltd with a basic pay of $800 in 2008 and said that he didn’t know anything about the job at first.
Initially, he used simple tools like the handsaw, rakes, and hedge shears and was subsequently sent on upgrading courses a year after being employed.
Through courses such as the Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Landscape Safety Orientation Course provided by NTUC LearningHub and Workforce Skills Qualification (WSQ) Chainsaw Safety and Maintenance Course provided by the Centre for Urban Greenery and Ecology among many others, Mr Goh has seen his pay increase according to his skills.
He now earns a basic of $1,050 a month and is qualified to operate machinery such as leaf blowers, chainsaws and lorry cranes.
“I am single with no family to support so my pay is enough for me to get by. But for other Singaporeans with families to take care of, it will be difficult. So it’s good that my company is committed to paying us according to our skills and productivity so that we have opportunities to earn a better living,” said Mr Goh, in simple Malay.
Attracting Singaporeans
Mr Goh’s employer said that although the company does not have a formal wage model implemented yet, it is already raising the wages of employees according to their skills and productivity, in line with the spirit of the Progressive Wage Model (PWM).
Cassia Horticulture Project Manager Ong Eng Soon said: “We face a lot of issues with attracting local workers. Even if we employ them, they’d prefer to do landscape work at places such as condominiums rather than working in conditions where they are exposed to the scorching heat of the sun.
“Although the wage increase costs that come with the PWM will be shouldered by the company, we hope that the productivity initiatives such as making work easier with the use of more machinery will attract more Singaporeans into the industry.”
Mr Goh meanwhile suggested that companies let young people try out the job through initiatives such as attachments, saying that awareness and education might get them interested.
Future Plans
The company will soon be sending Mr Goh on a course to get him a licence to operate an excavator, saying that it would be good for him as the licence can be used in many other industries. And should Mr Goh choose to leave the company, the licence would be an asset.
“At my age, it’s already hard to find work outside. I get along with my boss and I’m interested in my work. So I will continue working for the company for as long as I can after the course,” said Mr Goh.
Source: NTUC This Week
