Consider migrant workers in wage guidelines: HOME

SINGAPORE — The Humanitarian Organization for Migration Economics (HOME) has urged fairer pay for migrant workers in Singapore in its Labour Day message and called on the National Wages Council (NWC) to consider this group when setting its annual salary guidelines.

In a statement issued yesterday, HOME said it welcomed the council’s recommendations for sustainable wage increase for low-wage local workers and said migrant workers should be included in the guidelines.

The average migrant on work permit earns a basic salary of S$2 to S$7 per hour, or even S$1.50 an hour in cases of “economic abuse”. “Foreign worker levies remain exceedingly high ... These levies discourage the payment of decent wages to migrant employees as employers aim to cover costs by transferring the financial burden to the workers,” the group said.

HOME also observed differences in pay among migrants from different countries, with South Asian workers earning less than their Chinese and Malaysian counterparts, it said. “Besides affecting migrant workers, the exploitation of migrant workers is detrimental to local workers. The absence of adequate employment protection for migrant workers makes it more advantageous and lucrative to hire migrants over Singaporeans, causing both parties to be on the losing end.”

Meanwhile, the Singapore People’s Party (SPP) in its Labour Day message raised concerns about the large proportion of professionals, managers, executives and technicians being laid off last year and called for policies to better safeguard the interests of this group. In a statement, SPP secretary-general Chiam See Tong questioned whether tripartism would leave interests of workers in the cold in the face of “strong corporate lobbying and government pressure”.

The Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA) too questioned Singapore’s model of tripartism in its Labour Day message, calling on the Government to separate political leadership from the labour movement, which it said had given rise to conflict of interest. “This will ensure the interests of employees are not compromised and trade union leaders can fight to attain First World salaries to meet the costs of First World living standards,” said SDA chairman Desmond Lim.