According to the latest statements coming from the National Wages Council, more workers that are currently earning low wager will begin to enjoy bigger salaries starting with 2018. The council strongly recommended companies to start sharing their growths in the productivity and economic sectors with their workers. Besides this, the NWC also increased the minimum wage threshold from $1200 to $1300, recommending built-in increments with values from $50 to $70, at least. In comparison with 2017, 24,000 additional workers will be included in this scheme and will enjoy bigger paychecks soon. Overall, a total number of 150,000 workers will have bigger salaries starting with this year.
Francis Tan, an economist at United Overseas Bank, backs up the initiative of NWC, saying that an additional $50 increase to a worker that earns $1000, for example, is a good initiative. This means a 5% increase in his salary, which means that the increase will exceed inflation’s percentage, expected to be anywhere between 0.5 and 1% in 2018. According to Mr. Tan, the proposed raise is just right, as it is not too high to affect the profit margin of companies and not too low, risking to fall below last year’s raise.
Read more