Data on Private Sector Bonuses and Their Correlation with Civil Service Bonuses

30 Mr Leon Perera asked the Minister for Manpower (a) whether the Ministry keeps track of private sector bonuses given out each year; and (b) whether the Ministry has discerned any pattern whereby private sector bonuses tend to be causally correlated with civil service bonuses.

Mrs Josephine Teo: The Ministry of Manpower conducts annual surveys on wage practices, and publishes the data in our annual Report on Wage Practices. The report includes data on the quantum of the annual variable component (AVC) – in other words, the bonuses – given by private establishments.

As we reported in the 2018 Report, the performance of establishments and individuals were employers' main considerations when determining bonuses. These factors are not affected by civil service bonuses.