65-year old Linda (not her real name), took on a job as an office cleaner with a monthly wage of $800.
She has taken the option of not having her CPF entitlements, as she needed the full amount of her salary to support her family’s immediate needs.
A quarter of Linda’s $800 salary goes to her son’s medical bills while the rest goes to rent, food, groceries and transportation.
It was natural for Linda to be contented with this arrangement until a friend made her realise something.
“She asked me if I had been receiving the payouts from the Government (referring to Workfare Income Supplement – WIS) all these years. I said no, and then she asked me about CPF and I told her about my company’s practice. She chided me and told me to call NTUC’s U Care Centre,” shared Linda.
After talking to Senior Consultant Lan Peishan, Linda found out she was not receiving the Workfare Income Supplement (WIS) because her employer was not paying her CPF.
WIS is a scheme that supplements the wages and retirement savings of older low-wage workers.
“After talking to Peishan over the phone, I felt like I was ready to take on my employer. I wanted to get back my CPF for working hard all these years,” said Linda.
On 26 December 2013, Linda received a text message on her phone from her employer. The message read that her CPF contributions of $3000 will be reinstated which will be both the employee’s and employer’s owed contributions.
In addition, the company would increase her salary to $850.
“All the time, U Care Centre was supportive and I would receive frequent calls from Peishan on the status of my case. I was really thankful for U Care Centre’s help. Although it was just through phone calls, their assistance made a big difference to me and my family,” Linda added.
Later this year, Linda will earn at leat $1000 as the Government makes the Progressive Wage Model (PWM) a mandatory licensing requirement for all companies that provide cleaning and security services.
NTUC U Care Centre Director Zainal Sapari expressed his concern about the plight of vulnerable workers like Linda.
"CPF is an important part of workers’ pay. This is especially so for low-wage workers as these CPF contributions are given in tandem with WIS that help to build up their savings for their retirement and future needs,“ Mr Zainal said.
He also urged low-wage workers to find out how NTUC can help them know more about their rights.
Original article written by Naseema Banu Maideen, and can be found in NTUC This Week (26 January 2014)
