WAGE REFORM

Encik Abbas Abu Amin asked the Minister for Labour how many establishments have concluded wage reform agreements; of these, how many are unionised and non-unionised and what steps his Ministry is taking to get non-unionised establishments to expedite wage reform.

Mr Lee Yock Suan: Sir, to monitor the progress of wage reform, my Ministry recently conducted a survey covering 1,048 establishments, including 62 non-unionized companies. As at 31st October 1987, of the 881 companies that responded, 109 companies or 12% have successfully implemented flexible wage systems. 31 companies or 4% are satisfied with their present systems, while another 50 companies or 6% indicated that they are refining their systems to make them more flexible. 252 companies or 29% are negotiating with their respective unions. 337 companies or 38% are studying how a flexible system could be implemented. The remaining 102 companies or 12% have yet to come up with plans to reform their wage systems. Thus about 50% of the respondents have implemented or are negotiating with their unions to implement wage reform. Of the remainder, the majority are considering what flexible wage system to adopt.

The sample of non-unionized companies is relatively small. 42% of them already have flexible wage systems or are refining their existing systems compared to 20% of the unionized companies. It would appear that some non-unionized companies are able to change over to flexible wage systems more expeditiously partly because they do not need to wait for collective agreements to expire. Their annual increments or wage increases for their employees are often determined annually.

Whether unionized or non-unionized, companies that have yet to implement wage reform should quickly work out flexible wage systems with their unions or employees while the conditions are still conducive. Otherwise they will miss out a chance to enhance their competitiveness and the job security of their workers.

To help companies develop their flexible wage systems, various seminars have been conducted. My Ministry has published a series of wage reform models in our "Labour News" for reference by companies. The Singapore National Employers Federation has also published a compendium of wage reform models. My Ministry, NPB, SNEF and NTUC are available to provide assistance to companies and unions if they need help to reform their wage systems.