To date, 27 out of more than 100 unionised security agencies are on or have signed an agreement with the Union of Security Employees (USE) to include a Progressive Wage Model (PWM) clause. They will kick-start discussions on how the PWM will be adopted to give security officers a better future.
USE Executive Secretary, Steve Tan, said the union was encouraged by the increased number of agencies getting an early start in adopting the PWM.
“If they (security agencies) all come on board even before the legal framework is reviewed, it will help to demonstrate that these companies are serious about their workers and that they are committed to walk this journey of raising skills levels, productivity, career progression benchmarks, and salaries with the union voluntarily,” said Mr Tan.
The manpower shortage of 10,000 to 15,000 officers makes it hard to reduce the 12-hour work day prevalent in the industry. This has led to difficulties in attracting people into the sector, according to Mr Tan.
Boosting productivity in terms of the use of technology, he added, will “boost the attractiveness of the industry to Singaporeans”.
“From all these (PWM), we must see wages rise sustainably. It is important for this to happen, because our workers do an important job and deserve to be paid well enough,” he emphasised.
Kingdom Security Pte Ltd and Lim & Lim Security Agency Pte Ltd recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to recognise the union as the voice for its workers and, more importantly, begin talks on how the PWM will be implemented. Now, the union can represent the two-year old Kingdom Security Pte Ltd’s workforce of 40 full-time, part-time, and contract employees.
Ms Wong Chin Inn, Director of Kingdom Security Pte Ltd, shared that being a unionised company will show that the company “cares for its workers”.
Speaking on the PWM which the company hopes to implement, Ms Wong said, “In the long run, the four components (wages, productivity, skills and career) also will help to progressively evolve the industry and improve the image of the industry.”
Lim & Lim Security Agency Pte Ltd’s Managing Director, Lim Chei Yoo, said the company’s move towards PWM was motivated by a desire for a win-win situation for the company and its security officers.
“We decided to formalise the relations with the union to show that we care for our workers,” he added.
For a start, the company plans to raise the basic salary of its officers from S$800 to S$1,000 in September this year.
Original article written by Nicholas Lee, and can be found in NTUC This Week (29 June 2014)
