National Wages Council to convene on Aug 29, seek public views
The National Wages Council (NWC) will convene on Aug 29 to begin deliberations on its annual guidelines on pay and employment issues, and is seeking views from the public.
The guidelines, slated for release by November, will cover the period from Dec 1, 2024, to Nov 30, 2025.
Recommended wage practices and suggested ranges for wage increases expressed in both percentage and dollar amounts, especially for lower-wage workers, are typically part of the issued guidelines.
Members of the public who wish to share their views on wage-related issues and suggestions for the upcoming guidelines can submit their feedback to the NWC Secretariat by Sept 1.
The Ministry of Manpower said the NWC will, in deliberating, take into account Singapore’s economic competitiveness, labour market conditions, inflation, productivity growth, as well as the global economic outlook.
The NWC will continue to set out its annual guidance on the range of progressive wage growth for lower-wage workers.
Progressive wages refer to a wage ladder pegged to productivity and skill improvements that now covers seven sectors and two occupations.
The meeting of the NWC, a body comprising employer, employee and government representatives, comes amid a mixed economic outlook.
While Singapore’s 2024 growth forecast is now expected to come in at the upper end of the initially predicted range, risks such as geopolitical conflicts remain.
Non-oil domestic exports fell 6.4 per cent in the second quarter of 2024 on the back of volatile pharmaceutical demand, faster than the 3.4 per cent decline in the previous quarter.
As such, the manufacturing sector shrank, largely due to a contraction in biomedical manufacturing as pharmaceuticals output fell sharply.
The labour market has also shown signs of softening, with markedly slower employment growth and a dip in the number of employed residents.
Wage growth and inflation both slowed, which meant real total wages grew at 0.4 per cent in 2023, the same rate as in 2022.
Prevailing guidelines covering the year ending Nov 30, 2024, recommended that employers increase wages of lower-wage workers by between 5.5 per cent and 7.5 per cent, with a suggested minimum quantum of $85 to be provided by employers that have done well.
The council has 38 members, with 10 fresh faces including Mr Tan Hee Teck, the newly elected president of the Singapore National Employers Federation; labour MP and National Trades Union Congress assistant secretary-general Patrick Tay; and Ms Julie Cheong, president of the Food, Drinks and Allied Workers Union.
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