Update on wage statistics?
Using the Ministry of Manpower’s (MOM) statistics cited in David Wan and Ong Chin Huat’s paper “Compensation systems in Singapore” (July/August 2002) and the MOM’s Occupational Wages Benchmarking Tool (Benchmark data reference period: 2012), the median monthly basic wages for the eight occupational categories in 1999 and 2012 were as follows:-
Median Monthly Basic Wages 1999 ($) 2012 ($) Increase (%) Real Increase p.a.(%)
Cleaners, Labourers & Related Workers 1,015 1,000 – 1.5 -2.23
Service & Sales Workers 1,175 1,391 18.4 -0.78
Associate Professionals & Technicians 2,210 2,801 26.7 -0.25
Clerical Support Workers 1,515 1,920 26.7 -0.25
Craftsmen & Related Trades Workers 1,500 1,880 25.3 -0.34
Managers 5,099 6,800 33.4 0.15
Professionals 3,350 4,595 37.2 0.37
Plant & Machine Operators 1,108 1,600 44.4 0.78
(Note: The above were computed assuming an estimated inflation of 30.9% from 1999 (CPI 86.4) to 2012 (CPI 113,1). I believe the Department of Statistics’ inflation data is for the full year, whereas the wages data is for the mid-year in June)
Negative real wage growth for 5 of 8 job categories & near 0 for 3 of 8?
Does the above mean that the real median basic wage growth was negative in the last 13 years or so, for 5 of the 8 job categories; and only grew by 0.15 to 0.78% per annum for the other 3 of the 8 categories?
Liberal foreign labour policies?
To what extent has our liberal foreign labour policies contributed to the above?
The labour movement and the tripartite movement may need to do more to prevent the continuing erosion of workers’ real wages.
In this connection, Singaporean workers may need to be concerned about their “right to work for a fair wage” (Article 23 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Simplified Version) (UDHR)).
Leong Sze Hian
