Progressive wage model review: Cleaners’ wages to rise from 2023 amid COVID-19 labour crunch

SINGAPORE: The Tripartite Cluster for Cleaners (TCC) has recommended that the base salary of cleaners be adjusted up to a range of S$1,570 to S$2,210 in 2023, and that their basic wage be increased by at least S$170 each year until 2028.

A full-time general or indoor cleaner will qualify for a monthly salary of S$1,570, while other categories of cleaners like restroom cleaners and healthcare cleaners will have to be paid at least S$1,795. 

Higher-skilled workers such as supervisors and mechanical drivers will have a wage floor of S$2,210.

The pay rise in Jul 1, 2023 for general cleaners will be up S$258, a nearly 20 per cent pay rise from the recommended salary of S$1,312 in 2022. 

In comparison, the recommended annual increments from Jul 1, 2020 to Jun 30, 2023 was 3 per cent a year.

This review of cleaners’ wages under the Progressive Wage Model (PWM), first introduced in 2012, comes amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The TCC said in a press release on Monday (Jun 7) that this is a “timely and necessary review to recognise the importance and higher value of work shouldered by our cleaners, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic”.

The National Trades Union Congress, which is part of the cluster, said that a survey conducted late last year had found that nearly all respondents indicated that the job of cleaners has become more important, and 95 per cent said that they should be paid more.

The TCC highlighted that the review is the first to take reference from the Tripartite Workgroup on Lower-Wage Workers’ objective to ensure wage growth is “ambitious enough to close the gap with workers earning median wages”. 

The workgroup was launched in October last year to review the salaries of low-wage workers and improve their well-being and its goals include ensuring wage growth in PWM sectors continue to outpace median wage growth, and expanding the number of occupations covered by the PWM. 

Singapore’s median wage in 2020 was S$4,534.

READ: Government launches work group to look into wages, welfare of low-wage workers

“In this pandemic, most of our workers, or cleaners are out there on the frontline ... we really need to show a commitment and our gratitude for what they've done, keeping Singapore safe," said Member of Parliament Mohd Fahmi Aliman (PAP-Marine Parade), who is a member of the workgroup.

"Our cleaners have been doing an important job and we want to appreciate their contributions to society in keeping Singapore clean and safe.”

The cluster also announced that training guidelines requiring cleaners to get at least two Workforce Skills Qualification (WSQ) Certificates in Environmental Cleaning Modules or the equivalent have to be met by December next year.

“This will help cleaners ensure their personal safety when carrying out cleaning tasks, especially with the increased cleaning demands and standards brought on by COVID-19,” said TCC.

Beyond 2025, the number of WSQ modules general cleaners need to complete will be increased to three, while those in higher job rungs must complete four modules.

Chairman of the TCC and NTUC assistant director-general Zainal Sapari said the proposed PWM wage ladder comes after extensive consultations with industry stakeholders. He said the six-year schedule of increases provides greater certainty to service providers and service buyers to price and award cleaning contracts.

The "aggressive wage increase" not only reflects the value of the work cleaners do, it also attempts to narrow the gap between their wages and the salaries of other workers, said Mr Zainal.

When asked if there was a target percentage of the median wage that cleaners' pay should eventually be pegged to, he said that this was "premature" but that they aim for the annual wage increase to be higher than the median annual hike, so that the wage gap can be narrowed. 

"We want to attract a younger workforce into this industry. We want this to be a possible career that they can consider, compared to going into the gig economy," he said.

The TCC includes representatives from the Singapore National Employers Federation, the labour movement, the Environmental Management Association of Singapore, service buyers and government agencies including the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and the National Environment Agency (NEA).

MOM, SkillsFuture Singapore, Workforce Singapore and NEA said in a joint press release on Monday that the Government has accepted the recommendations for the six-year schedule of wage increases and more mandatory training requirements.

This will benefit about 40,000 resident cleaners employed by more than 1,500 cleaning businesses, the agencies said.