By Kay del Rosario
The National Wages Council (NWC) has found that prevailing NWC Guidelines issued on 30 March 2020 and 16 October 2020 are still relevant and extended them to 30 November 2021.
The council, made up of NTUC, Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF) representatives, released its recommendations at a press conference on 14 May 2021.
Although the labour market is showing signs of broad improvement, it is not back to pre-COVID-19 conditions, said NWC. It recognises the uncertainty and unevenness of recovery across sectors and that businesses may continue to face increased COVID-19 related costs.
“All employers should re-evaluate their business situation and how the NWC guidelines would apply to them,” it said.
For instance, businesses that are doing well and have good business prospects should reward employees fairly through variable payments, as well as bring forward their hiring plans and grant built-in basic wage increases, said NTUC.
Companies which are recovering, on the other hand, can restore wage cuts or roll back cost-saving measures.
For businesses that continue to be adversely impacted by COVID-19, NTUC urged them to treat employees fairly and take advantage of Government support to retain, retrain and redeploy as necessary.
The NWC continued to call on all employers to pay special attention to lower-wage workers.
To uplift wages for lower-wage workers, employers who have done well, or are recovering, should consider built-in wage increments, while employers who are implementing wage reductions should implement a wage freeze for low-wage workers instead, said the NWC.
In response, NTUC said they are heartened that tripartite partners have agreed to continue giving special consideration to low-wage workers. In particular:
Most importantly, NTUC stressed that employers should, as far as possible, pay employees the Annual Wage Supplement (AWS). This helps workers during challenging periods with their seasonal expenses and is especially helpful for lower-wage workers.
“I'm heartened to see that tripartite partners are aligned to look out for our low-wage workers. I think that's very important, especially in promoting wage convergence for our low wage workers, which has been a very important aspect of our agenda in NTUC,” said NTUC President Mary Liew.
The NWC will convene again later in the year to develop the NWC guidelines for 1 December 2021 to 30 November 2022, given the dynamic and evolving COVID-19 situation.
The NWC emphasised the importance of the relationship between the employers, unions and employees, and the Government, that has been carefully built up over the years, working closely together to help businesses succeed and save jobs.
NWC Chairman Peter Seah said: “The past year has demonstrated the continuing need for mutual trust and cooperation between the tripartite partners.
“I must say that I am deeply heartened by how the tripartite partners have worked together in unity to support our companies and workers in navigating and emerging stronger in this crisis.”
