Lower-wage workers and job seekers to get more support under enhanced measures
Lower-wage workers and job seekers who need more help will be getting greater support, with new measures announced by Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on Tuesday (June 21).
The Progressive Wage Credit Scheme, in which the Government co-funds the wage increases of lower-wage workers under progressive wage measures, will be enhanced.
The Jobs Growth Incentive will also be extended. It provides support for employers to hire mature job seekers who have not been working for at least six months, as well as persons with disabilities or ex-offenders.
"We will continue to look out for lower income and vulnerable workers during this difficult period," Mr Wong said.
"One way is to ensure that employers continue to hire and pay lower-wage workers higher wages, better wages, as part of our Progressive Wage Model. To give this a further push, I will enhance the Progressive Wage Credit Scheme this year so that the Government takes on a larger proportion of the wage increases and this enhancement will also help to reduce the cost burden for employers."
The Progressive Wage Model is a wage ladder that sets out the minimum monthly salary for local low-wage workers, based on their skills and training.
With this enhancement, the Government's co-funding share of eligible wage increases in 2022 will jump from 50 per cent to 75 per cent for resident employees with gross monthly wages of up to $2,500.
The co-funding share will also go up from 30 per cent to 45 per cent for employees with gross monthly wages of above $2,500 and up to $3,000.
All other existing scheme parameters remain unchanged.
Senior Minister of State for Finance and Transport Chee Hong Tat said: "This will reduce the cost impact of employers when they hire and when they pay low-wage workers higher salaries. That is the outcome that we want to see, to uplift our low-wage workers.
"We also want to help businesses to cushion some of the labour cost increases while continuing with our tripartite efforts to improve labour productivity and skills upgrading."
The average gross monthly wage increase of workers has to be at least $100 in 2022 compared with 2021, according to the Finance Ministry.
Eligible employers can expect to receive the 2022 payout of the Progressive Wage Credit Scheme from the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore by the first quarter of next year.
Meanwhile, to support companies hiring mature job seekers, persons with disabilities and ex-offenders, the Jobs Growth Incentive will be extended.
The current phase will end in September this year, but it will now be extended for another six months to March next year.
Under the incentive, the Government provides wage subsidies for companies that hire local workers.
This extension aims to sustain the support for employers of vulnerable workers, the Finance Ministry said in a statement.
The Manpower Ministry will also provide more details of the extension closer to its expiry date.
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