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30% pay rise for landscape workers under Progressive Wage Model

SINGAPORE — By June next year, most local landscape maintenance workers will see their starting pay go up by at least 30 per cent, after the Progressive Wage Model (PWM) became mandatory for those competing for contracts given out by the National Parks Board (NParks).

SINGAPORE — By June next year, most local landscape maintenance workers will see their starting pay go up by at least 30 per cent, after the Progressive Wage Model (PWM) became mandatory for those competing for contracts given out by the National Parks Board (NParks).

The Labour Movement said skills upgrading and career advancement paths for landscape maintenance workers will also be made clearer. This is to try to draw in fresh talent and to debunk the myth that the industry involves only “labouring under the sun”.

The Tripartite Cluster for Landscape Industry (TCL) proposed starting monthly wages of S$1,300 for workers and S$1,500 for technicians. The median basic wage of workers has hovered around S$1,000 since 2009.

Under the PWM, assistant supervisors and supervisors will get at least S$1,700 and S$2,100 a month, respectively. Around 3,000 local workers, of which an estimated seven in 10 are above 50 years old, stand to benefit from the changes. There were 6,900 workers in the entire landscape maintenance sector last year.

Companies looking to renew their place on the NParks register, which allows them to bid for the statutory board’s projects, will have to adopt progressive wages by June next year. Currently, more than 90 per cent of landscaping companies (300) are registered.

The National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) had targeted the cleaning, security and landscaping sectors for the PWM. It was introduced for cleaners last September, and will be a licensing requirement for security guards from September next year.

Among the four sub-sectors in the landscape industry, the TCL recommended that the PWM be rolled out in the maintenance sector only because locals tend to shun construction work, while nursery work is mainly done in-house. It stressed that a PWM for the maintenance sector would cover most outsourced local workers.

The sector has typically been plagued by issues such as price-based contracts, which depress wage growth, and a shortage of local manpower. Low basic wages, physically demanding work and a lack of career progression pose a challenge in attracting locals and younger workers, said the TCL.

NTUC assistant secretary-general Zainal Sapari acknowledged that although it is an improvement from the current situation, higher starting wages alone may not be enough to woo young talent.

But he added: “We also have to be very mindful of a possible shock impact ... It’s about striking a balance to make sure that we are able to help the workers earn wages that commiserate with their skills, productivity and experience, and at the same time, levelling up the playing field.”

At Mao Sheng Quanji Construction, one in six local workers are under 40 years old, and their pay starts at S$1,200. To woo locals into the sector, Mr Jeverss Choo, the firm’s project manager, said outsiders must be made to see that “it’s not just about watering plants or plucking weeds”.

On the need to send workers for training under the PWM, he said customers could be more supportive of the move by not looking at prices only.

“If we factor in the increase in wages and time spent on training, tender prices might have to be adjusted upwards by about 10 to 15 per cent for, say, condominium contracts,” he said.

Oh Heng Huat’s director Jasmine Lam, who pays entry-level workers a basic salary of S$1,000 to S$1,200, said the company will have to absorb the higher wages under the PWM. “We have existing contracts that are two years long. We’ll just have to swallow the cost until they expire,” she said.

Chairman of the Landscape Industry Association of Singapore John Tan believes that having progressive wages is a good starting point in an industry plagued by high turnovers. Some leave as early as six months after joining.

“We’re trying to encourage young people to come into the industry not just in a supervisory role, (but) as arborists, as horticulturalists. These are professional positions,” he said.

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