Over 3,600 firms accredited with Progressive Wage Mark since January launch
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The mark was launched in January to help consumers and businesses easily spot companies that support better pay for lower-wage workers.
ST PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG
SINGAPORE – Over 3,600 firms have attained accreditation for their efforts at better pay for lower-wage workers since the launch of a scheme to recognise such companies in January.
Firms that hold the Progressive Wage (PW) Mark employ about 56,000 lower-wage workers, said Senior Minister of State for Manpower Zaqy Mohamad on Tuesday.
This accounts for about 20 per cent of the 283,000 lower-wage workers in Singapore, based on estimates by the Tripartite Workgroup on Lower-Wage Workers in 2021, he added.
Mr Zaqy was responding in Parliament to questions from labour MP Yeo Wan Ling (Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC) on the uptake of the two-tier accreditation scheme.
The mark was launched in January
A company that adheres to the Progressive Wage Model (PWM) for all eligible workers and pays the rest of its local workforce the local qualifying salary – currently $1,400 in gross monthly salary for full-time workers and $9 in gross hourly salary for part-timers – qualifies for the basic PW Mark.
The PWM is a wage ladder with pay rises pegged to training and productivity.
Those that additionally adopt the Tripartite Standard on Advancing Well-Being of Lower-Wage Workers stand to be awarded the PW Mark Plus, a higher tier of accreditation.
About 76,000 companies are eligible to receive the mark upon application.
Ms Yeo also asked Mr Zaqy whether the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) tracks whether more service buyers have chosen to do business exclusively with companies accredited with the PW Mark.
In response, Mr Zaqy said MOM does not track the number of service buyers that have chosen to do so, but it encourages them to procure from PW Mark-accredited suppliers.
He added that as a major service buyer, the Government has taken the lead in making the PW Mark a contractual condition for tenders since March 1, 2023.
This requirement will be extended to include government quotations from March 1, 2024, he noted.
In response to another question from Ms Yeo on extending the requirement to the renegotiation process for existing contracts, especially long-term contracts, Mr Zaqy said the Government’s own procurement is largely aligned with the Tripartite Advisory on Best Sourcing Practices.
The advisory includes ensuring progressive remuneration and benefits for workers.
“We certainly will make sure that all government agencies abide by it and support this,” Mr Zaqy said.
However, he added that the Government’s principle is not to interfere with commercial negotiations and contracting.
Ms Yeo also asked Mr Zaqy what “pragmatic steps” MOM would take against service buyers who ask service providers during contract renegotiation to pass on or share the money these providers received through the Progressive Wage Credit Scheme.
Mr Zaqy said Ms Yeo, or the National Trades Union Congress, could bring up specific cases, if any, for the ministry to look into and “advise accordingly”.
“Uplifting lower-wage workers is a whole-of-society effort. We urge all employers to pay progressive wages to their lower-wage workers, and to apply for the PW Mark if eligible,” he added.
“We also encourage service buyers and consumers to do their part by purchasing from PW Mark-accredited companies where possible.”
First mooted by the Tripartite Workgroup on Lower-Wage Workers in August 2021, the mark is administered by the Singapore Business Federation on behalf of the three-way partnership between MOM, NTUC and the Singapore National Employers Federation.
