By Naseema Banu Maideen
When looking at the Wage Credit Scheme (WCS) announced at this year’s Budget, NTUC Secretary-General Lim Swee Say was posed with the question on the minds of many: What happens to businesses beyond the three years that the Government will fund 40 per cent of workers’ wage increases?
The Labour Movement approaches wage increases from three factors, he said:
Performance-based: NTUC has always advocated that employers ought to reward workers based on performance.
Market driven: Over the next three years, the labour market is expected to continue to remain tight, thus forcing wages to go up.
Productivity through gains sharing: NTUC will urge companies and businesses to step up with their productivity gains so that there will be more to be shared with workers.
While he acknowledged that different businesses over the next three years will see different weightage given to these three factors, SG Lim said the companies that are able to upgrade their operations to enhance their productivity and step up innovation are the companies that will be able to make full use of the WCS. He also warned that businesses that are adamant and resist innovation will suffer.
“So therefore, the right question for businesses to ask today and the next three years, really, is not about whether after three years, the WCS will continue. The right question is how can they make best use of the WCS over the next three years to upgrade operations, productivity and wages of the workers, and do so in such a way that beyond this scheme, they will still be sustainable,” he said.
SG Lim has hopes that the WCS will work in synchrony with other incentive schemes already in place to ensure that productivity will be sustainable beyond these three years.
