Enhancing Deterrence against Violations of Progressive Wage Model Requirements
Ministry of ManpowerSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns enforcement actions against companies violating Progressive Wage Model (PWM) requirements and plans for enhanced deterrence, as raised by Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye. Minister for Manpower Dr Tan See Leng stated that compliance remains high, with enforcement taken against only three non-compliant employers following over 4,000 inspections since 2022. The Ministry prioritizes an educational approach, collaborating with tripartite partners and sectoral leads to help firms rectify gaps and understand requirements through workshops. To further ensure adherence, Minister for Manpower Dr Tan See Leng encouraged employees to utilize the Progressive Wage Portal to verify their wages against their specific job levels. These efforts, alongside continued inspections in sectors like retail and food services, aim to maintain high compliance and facilitate prompt resolution of any wage discrepancies.
Transcript
28 Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye asked the Minister for Manpower (a) in the past three years, how many enforcement actions has the Ministry taken against companies for flouting Progressive Wage Model (PWM) requirements; (b) whether there is an increasing trend; and (c) if so, what is the Ministry's plan to enhance deterrence.
Dr Tan See Leng: The compliance rate with the Progressive Wage Model (PWM) is high. Over the past three years, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has taken enforcement action against three employers, as they were non-compliant with the PWM requirements despite several rounds of engagements.
MOM takes an educational approach in the first instance to help employers comply with the PWM. Since the expansion of PWM in 2022, MOM has conducted over 4,000 inspections, focusing on retail and food services firms, to check on PWM compliance. Most of the employers were compliant with the PWM requirements and those who had gaps rectified them after our intervention.
MOM will continue to conduct checks on PWM compliance across sectors and work with the tripartite partners and the PWM sectoral leads, the Building and Construction Authority, National Environment Agency, National Parks Board and Singapore Police Force, to educate and help employers meet their PWM requirements.
Employers who need help with understanding the PWM can sign up for the Progressive Wages workshops, organised by the Singapore National Employer Federation (SNEF). MOM also strongly encourages employees to log in to the Progressive Wage Portal to check if they are paid the correct wages according to their PWM job level. This will enable employees to quickly detect any discrepancies and approach their employers for clarifications.