SINGAPORE - The monthly wages of more than 18,000 Home Team officers will be raised between 5 and 12 per cent this month, said the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in a statement on Wednesday.
Officers from the Singapore Police Force, Singapore Civil Defence Force, Singapore Prison Service and Central Narcotics Bureau, will enjoy a raise of between 10 and 12 per cent in their monthly pay, while those in the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority and others in the Home Team Specialist Scheme will get a 7 and 5 per cent raise respectively.
These agencies will also introduce sign-on bonuses: $10,000 for recruits who join the police as corporals; $30,000 for those who sign up as sergeants. Recruits who are eligible to sign up as sergeants in the Singapore Civil Defence Force, Singapore Prison Service and Central Narcotics Bureau will get $10,000, and those who join the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority will get $8,000.
The new recruits, however, will have to serve a bond of between two and three years, depending on their appointments in the Home Team, the ministry told The Straits Times.
The MHA statement comes after an announcement by Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean earlier on Wednesday, who introduced a new award to recognise officers who had responded to major incidents such as the Little India riot last December.
The Home Team Operational Service Medal will be presented in September to around 180 officers who were involved in the operation, said DPM Teo, who is also Home Affairs Minister, at a National Day Observance Ceremony at New Phoenix Park.
"As we celebrate National Day, we take pride in Singapore being one of the safest cities in the world," said DPM Teo.
"This has been possible only with the significant contributions of our Home Team Pioneers, the continued support and partnership with the community, and the hard work and dedication of our Home Team officers," he added.
DPM Teo also presented awards to 115 officers and volunteers from the Home Team. Another 73 members of the public were also recognised for their public spiritedness, for example, in assisting in the arrest of thieves and helping to evacuate neighbours from fires.
