The National Wages Council (NWC), a tripartite body made up of employer, employee and government representatives, reconvened last August to review guidelines issued on 30 March 2020.
The council came together to review the current COVID-19 situation and economic fallout. It was only the fourth time in NWC’s history that it was reconvened within the same year.
The 2020/2021 Supplementary Guidelines were released on 16 October 2020 and will apply from 1 November 2020 to 30 June 2021.
In his opening remarks at a media briefing, NWC Chairman Peter Seah shared that the recent discussions were more intensive because the issues were more complex than previous years.
“Our ability to now come up with a new set of guidelines attest to how well our tripartism is working in Singapore. It has taken all three parties, particularly the employers and the workers, to get together to finalise these guidelines.
“There was a lot of give and take. And very importantly, a lot of trust among the tripartite partners to come up with solutions that are best, not only for companies but also for employers,” he said.
With the deepening and lasting impact of COVID-19, companies should take a longer-term view to position themselves and their employees to emerge stronger from the crisis.
The NWC encourages employers to carefully consider preserving and upgrading enterprise and workforce capabilities needed to support their business strategy.
Through cost-saving measures, they should retain existing employees, most especially the Singaporean core, and retrain and redeploy employees to equip them with future-skills.
Employers and employees should work together closely to minimise retrenchments. Employers should first exhaust non-wage cost-saving measures and Government support. If that is insufficient, employers can implement temporary wage cuts to the extent needed.
The NWC put forth six key principles on implementing appropriate wage cuts. These include:
The council also recommended no wage cuts for low-wage workers earning less than $1,400/month, with employers implementing a wage freeze for the workers instead.
In response, NTUC Central Committee Member and General Secretary of Union of Security Employees (USE) Raymond Chin, said: “This is something that NTUC has pushed for, and I’m glad that our tripartite partners have agreed to it.”
After all the options are exhausted, and retrenchment becomes inevitable, the NWC urged companies to carry out retrenchment exercises in a fair, responsible and sensitive manner, in adherence to the updated Tripartite Advisory on Managing Excess Manpower.
Other updates to the NWC 2020/2021 Guidelines are targeted for various groups:
Meanwhile, the Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF) said that it fully supports the NWC recommendations.
“I urge all employers to adopt the guidelines, which will help them manage short-term challenges and prepare for the eventual recovery of the economy. SNEF will continue to work closely with all our tripartite partners to help both employers and workers to emerge stronger from this crisis,” said SNEF President Robert Yap.
Likewise, NTUC President Mary Liew expressed similar sentiments.
“NTUC and our unions stand ready to continue working closely with businesses and employers to see how best we can help keep workers in their jobs. We will continue to stand by the side of our workers and continue to care and support them,” she said.
Visit MOM's website for full details of the NWC Supplementary Guidelines 2020/2021
