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The Security Tripartite Cluster (STC) has reviewed the Progressive Wage Model (PWM) and overtime exemption (OTE) for the private security industry in its continued efforts to ensure security officers receive sustainable wage increase and improved working conditions.
Following the launch of the Security PWM in October 2014, the wages of resident security officers have increased. As the demand for security services continues to rise with the emergence of new buildings and infrastructure, and given the rising threat of terrorism, further measures are needed to uplift the security industry to ensure our security officers have the skills and competencies to perform their roles well, as well as to attract more and younger Singaporeans to join the sector.
To do this, the STC, in consultation with the tripartite partners, recommends to increase the PWM wage floors starting from 2019, and remove OTE with effect from January 2021.
The recommendations take into consideration, amongst others, the need to ensure security officers achieve sustained moderate wage growth; as well as the impact on their gross wages when their overtime hours are reduced.
An estimated 34,000 resident security officers will benefit from the changes.
The STC’s three key recommendations are:
a) Annual quantum increments to each PWM wage point from 1 January 2019 to 2021
The STC recommends a total increase of $300 to the PWM basic wage floor for Security Officer ranks; and $285 for Senior Security Officers and above ranks from 2019 to 2021. Higher quantum increments are recommended in 2021 – the year that OTE is removed – so that most security officers’ gross wages would not be adversely affected due to a reduction in overtime hours.
b) Schedule of Increases from 2022 to 2024
For 2022 to 2024, the STC recommends an annual increment of at least 3% per annum to the PWM basic wage floor across all ranks, subject to review. This will help the industry better plan and budget for manpower costs in their new service contracts. The Schedule of Increases would also mitigate any wage reset for the security officers when the contract is renewed or a new service contract is awarded to a different service provider.
c) Remove OTE with effect from January 2021
Currently, security agencies are issued OTE to meet their operational needs on a case-by-case basis. To improve the working conditions and achieve better work-life balance for the security officers, the STC recommends to remove the issuance of OTE with effect from 1 January 2021. The STC discussed and agreed that a three-year lead time was necessary for security agencies and service buyers to review their operations and manpower needs, and implement solutions to reduce their reliance on man-hours.
Security agencies that currently deploy security officers on 12-hour shifts, 6-day work-week throughout a month (i.e. a “6-6-6-6” work-month) are encouraged to transit their security officers to a “6-5-6-5” work-month if their site requirements permit, so that officers can enjoy two more rest days a month .
The above recommendations are illustrated in Table 1 below:
Table 1: Recommended Adjustments to PWM Basic Wage Floors
|
Basic Wage
|
Jan 2019
|
Jan 2020
|
Jan 2021
|
2022
|
2023
|
2024
|
|
Security Officer (SO)
|
+ $75
|
+ $75
|
+ $150
|
+ minimum 3% p.a.
(subject to review)
|
|
average YOY increase of 8.4%
|
|
Senior SO (SSO)
Security Supervisor (SS)
Senior SS (SSS)
|
+ $60
|
+ $60
|
+ $165
|
|
average YOY increase of 5.3% to 6.9%
|
|
|
OT Exemption removed
with effect from 1 Jan 2021
|
In addition, the STC encourages security agencies to adopt minimum-maximum wage ratios of: (i) 1.2 for Security Officer rank; (ii) 1.3 for Senior Security Officer and Security Supervisor ranks; and (iii) 1.5 for Senior Security Supervisor rank. The min-max ratio serves as a tool to encourage companies to move away from a seniority-based wage structure towards a productivity-based wage structure. Security agencies are encouraged to adopt the recommended min-max ratios to reward deserving employees.
Achieving Better Security Outcomes with Technology and Skills Upgrading
The increasing demand for security services and the current security climate has accentuated the need for adequate and quality security services. Leveraging technology solutions to augment the manpower supply in a tight labour market would be one of the most effective ways to derive better security outcomes and yet moderate increasingly higher manpower costs.
The STC strongly urges security agencies to start planning early and to work with their service buyers to review their operations and manpower needs. Security agencies are encouraged to tap on existing Government grants under the Lean Enterprise Development Scheme, such as the Inclusive Growth Programme, Capability Development Grant, and SMEs Go Digital, to implement solutions to raise productivity and become more manpower-lean.
On the training front, the STC strongly encourages all security officers to continue to upgrade their skills, so that they have the opportunity to progress to higher value-add jobs and at the same time, earn more. At the same time, service buyers are encouraged to work with their respective security agencies to enable their outsourced security officers to attend training.
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