The National Wages Council (NWC) Guidelines this year has given workers much to cheer about, in particular the recommendation to maintain the built-in increase of S$60 for low-wage workers earning S$1,000 and below. But the guidelines have also given workers much to think about, judging from their response at the United Workers of Electronic & Electrical Industries (UWEEI) NWC briefing by Assistant Executive Secretary, Timothy Phang, in June. 180 union leaders were present.
Murata Electronics (Singapore) Branch Chairman, David Phang, said that many of the leaders had hoped for a higher cut-off salary mark for the recommended dollar built-in increase. This was because over the years, many Singaporeans who had been with their companies for years had already passed the S$1,000 salary mark in a seniority-based wage system.
UWEEI General Secretary Richard Tan, who is also an NWC panel member, assured that the NWC will continue to push for a fair and equitable quantum to help these workers in the long run.
There was, a need to strongly advocate the implementation of the Progressive Wage Model within each branch to ensure that workers’ wages did not stagnate, and that they would have the opportunity to move beyond Annual Increments, added UWEEI Executive Secretary and NTUC Deputy Secretary-General, Heng Chee How.
Original article written by Tong Su Yee, and can be found in NTUC This Week (13 July 2014)
