5-14% pay bump for public healthcare nurses; other roles including support staff to get a raise, too: MOH

SINGAPORE — From July, the monthly base salaries of about 56,300 employees in the public healthcare sector will be raised by between 3 and 14 per cent.

Nurses will get a higher pay raise — ranging from 5 to 14 per cent — to be adjusted in phases over the next two years. Allied health professionals, pharmacists as well as administrative and ancillary staff members, including support care employees, will get a raise of 3 to 7 per cent this year.

At the same time, the Ministry of Health (MOH) will also increase funding support to publicly funded community care organisations to keep salaries competitive. An estimated 20,800 staff members may benefit from this funding support. 

“We will work with the Agency for Integrated Care and the community care organisations to effect these changes over the next two years,” MOH added.

The moves were announced during a debate on the ministry's budget on Friday (March 5). 

Dr Koh Poh Koon, Senior Minister of State for Health, told Parliament that the pay increments were to ensure that salaries remain competitive and continue to attract and retain “quality talent” into the sector.

“Our healthcare workforce is the lifeblood of our healthcare system, and the work that they do is critical in protecting the health of our society,” he added.

MOH last increased salaries for nurses in 2014 and 2015. In 2016, a pay hike was implemented for allied health professionals, pharmacists and administrative and ancillary staff members. 

While doctors and dentists did not get a salary adjustment this time round, MOH said that their salary competitiveness is being monitored. There will be a review in the future when adjustments are necessary.

The salaries of junior house, medical and dental officers, consultant family physicians and newly promoted associate consultants working in public healthcare institutions were last updated in 2019.

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat first indicated that the healthcare workers will be getting a pay raise in his Budget speech on Feb 16 this year. He had added that beyond the Covid-19 pandemic, the healthcare sector is set to grow as the population ages. 

MOH on Friday said that it had been increasing intakes for medical, nursing, dentistry and allied health students since 2012.

Over the years, it has also enhanced the attractiveness of nursing, leading to intakes of nursing students increasing by about 45 per cent between 2014 and last year, it added.

“We will continue to monitor the progress of our yearly training intakes and grow our healthcare workforce in a sustainable manner,” MOH said.

In response to queries from TODAY, MOH said that the salary increases will also apply to the starting salaries of those who just graduated and joined public healthcare institutions before July this year. Right now, the starting salary of nurses holding a diploma is S$2,300, and that of Nitec-trained nurses is S$1,740, excluding employer contributions to the Central Provident Fund, bonuses and other variable components.