Lower-wage civil servants in Singapore will receive a built-in wage increase of up to $20 in monthly salary, over and above their annual increment in 2017.
The Singapore economy grew by 2.7% in the first quarter of 2017 and is expected to grow by 1.0% to 3.0% for the full year. Labour demand is expected to remain uneven across sectors in 2017. Total employment growth has moderated, while the unemployment rate has trended upwards and redundancies are expected in some sectors as the economy restructures.
Against this backdrop, the Government has decided to pay a mid-year Annual Variable Component (AVC) of 0.5 month. The Government also supports the National Wages Council’s (NWC) wage recommendations for low-wage workers.
Civil servants in Grades IV and V of the Operations Support Scheme (OSS) will receive a built-in wage increase of $15 and $20 respectively. This will be in addition to their annual increment in 2017. It signals the Government’s continued commitment to raise the salaries of lower-wage civil servants. Around 1,485 civil servants will benefit from the built-in wage increase.
See: Bonuses of Civil Servants in Singapore Has Declined by 28% in the Last Decade
A worked example of the built-in wage increase is provided below for your understanding.
| Officer A
(Typical officer in OSS Grade IV) |
Officer B
(Typical officer in OSS Grade V) |
|
| Job Title | Operations Support Officer | |
| Job Functions | Basic office administrative support functions which may include registry duties and office maintenance. | |
| Monthly salary scale | $1,466 – $1,863 | $1,230 – $1,561 |
| Monthly salary before increment | $1,500 | $1,300 |
| Annual Increment
Additional NWC Built-in Wage Increase |
+$30
+$15 |
+$30
+$20 |
| Total Monthly Wage Increase for 2017 | +$45
(i.e. 1.5 times of the usual increment) |
+$50
(i.e. 1.7 times of the usual increment) |
| Revised monthly salary scale | $1,481 – $1,878 | $1,250 – $1,581 |
| Salary after 1 July 2017 | $1,545 | $1,350 |
The mid-year payments were decided in close consultation with the public sector unions, and will be made in July 2017. The Government will decide on the year-end AVC payment for civil servants after taking into consideration Singapore’s economic performance in the second half of 2017.
NTUC Assistant Secretary-General Cham Hui Fong says NTUC and the public sector unions are glad with the announcement. The 0.5 month amount is slightly higher than the 0.45 month quantum given in June 2016.
“We’re happy to note the Government’s commitment to continue helping our lower wage officers with the built-in quantum though no civil servants are earning below $1,200 per month. As our economic and employment landscapes evolve, we will work closely with relevant Government agencies to press on with efforts to increase productivity to ensure our working people remain relevant with training and skills upgrading.”
Also read: No Plans for Six-hour Workday for Civil Servants
