SALARIES IN THE VOLUNTARY SECTOR

SALARIES IN THE VOLUNTARY SECTOR: 18.

Mrs Mildred Tan asked the Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports (a) how does Singapore compare with other countries in terms of pay in the voluntary sector; (b) what is the range of pay of CEOs and Executive Directors within this sector; and (c) would the Government consider making the pay of these leaders more transparent like those in public listed companies.

Mrs Yu-Foo Yee Shoon: The employment terms in the voluntary sectors in different countries vary, depending on factors such as numbers of players in the sectors, the state of philanthropy and volunteerism, the labour market and the job scopes. Therefore, direct comparison of pay structures across countries will not be meaningful.

Based on a 2009 survey on 200 key executives in the social service sector, we found that about 79% of these executives are earning below $100,000 per annum. The remaining key executives, who are from organisations with annual receipts of over $10 million, earn between $100,000 and $200,000 annually.

Although the National Council of Social Service provides pay guidelines for the VWOs, ultimately, the boards of the VWOs decide on the salaries of the CEOs or Executive Directors. They have to bear in mind various considerations such as their financial state, the job requirement and the ability to attract and retain capable persons, as well as the depth and the breadth of experience and expertise that the potential appointee can bring to the organisation.

The Office of the Commissioner of Charities also works closely with the people-sector led Charity Council to encourage greater disclosure and transparency by charities and Institutions of a Public Character (IPCs). The Code of Governance developed by the Charity Council recommends that IPCs and large charities disclose in their annual reports the annual remuneration of its three highest paid staff in salary bands of $100,000. And while compliance is not mandatory, charities and IPCs would have to explain the reason for non-compliance in their Governance Evaluation Checklists submitted to the charity regulated annually.

We are glad to know that almost 80% of IPCs and large charities are already making the disclosure in their annual reports. The Office of the Commissioner of Charities will continue to work with the Charity Council to promote greater transparency in the charity sector under the comply-or-explain approach. There is no need to treat voluntary organisations the same as public listed companies and mandate the public disclosure of the remuneration of their leaders.

At the same time, the NCSS has set up a lot of programmes with my Ministry. We have put aside quite a number of training funds and in the last few years, 2007 to 2010, we spent about $4.7 million to upgrade the salaries of the volunteers, social counsellors and social workers. And last year, we added an additional $3.9 million to help this sector, especially in the area of personnel training, and we also give scholarships and bursaries as well training overseas to upgrade the skills of this sector. NCSS and the VWOs have done a lot in this area together with the Charity Council. The Council is private sector-led, and the chairperson is Fang Ai Lian. I think we can work closer to enhance the professionalism and quality of this sector.

Miss Penny Low (Pasir Ris-Punggol): Mr Speaker, I thank the Minister of State for her answer. I have been very encouraged by the growth of the social sector. Two supplementary questions. First, the Minister of State mentioned that there is no strict definition of non-profit sector in Singapore but I remember that the John Hopkins University once measured the combined net worth of the NPO sector and put it to a figure of one-fifth of the global GDP. If the same is to be applied to Singapore, it would mean that this is a huge sector that is also developing very quickly and having a lot of social and financial impact in Singapore that might be worth measuring. My point is what gets measured gets done. Can the Ministry consider including or coming up with a set of key performance measurements to better track both the financial as well as the social impact of this sector? The second point is that if this is done properly, it would serve not only to encourage the social sector but also increase transparency, give more faith and increase professionalism and plug the gaps, since the gaps do start to show. Can the Ministry consider that?

Mrs Yu-Foo Yee Shoon: I thank the Member for her suggestions.