SINGAPORE — Some 41 unionised workers who have not received any salary increases since 2010 will receive backdated increments after successfully arguing their case in the Industrial Arbitration Court (IAC).

The employees of First Defense Services (FDS) will receive a tiered increment backdated to 2011, in line with the National Wages Council (NWC) Guidelines 2011/2012.

The base operating support (BOS) contractor services the United States Navy’s support facilities at Sembawang Wharves and Paya Lebar Airbase and provides housing for some 3,000 personnel.

Affected workers who earn up to S$2,000 a month will receive a built-in increase of S$50 a month, while those earning more than S$2,000 will receive a built-in increase of 2.5 per cent of their monthly basic salary. Seven of the workers who had served for less than a year as at July 1, 2011 will receive pro-rated increments.

Handing down the decision, IAC President Chan Seng Onn said the wage increments will result in an estimated overall increase of about 2.88 per cent in the workers’ total monthly wages for 2011, above the annual inflation rate of 2.8 per cent for 2010.

The FDS’ case was that it was unable to provide any increments as it made losses of S$1,750 in 2008, S$160,849 in 2009 and S$16,849 in 2010, although it saw a profit of S$373,055 in 2011.

Besides a costly lawsuit by a former sub-contractor, US government spending cuts will also “significantly” impact the BOS contract, FDS Programme Director William Corke said.

But the court ruled that the increments would not be “too financially onerous” for the company. The company’s contract is set to expand when the US begins deploying its littoral combat ships in Singapore from April.

National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) Legal Services Department Director Patrick Tay told the court that FDS had not been responsive to negotiations for an annual increment.

But the workers, over half of whom earn less than S$1,700, had helped FDS achieve an “excellent” rating from the US Navy. And the company’s financial position had improved “greatly” in 2010, Mr Tay noted. An increment was “sorely needed to help with rising costs of living”, he argued.

Speaking to reporters later, Mr Tay said the case “serves to further underline the importance of open and forthcoming information sharing by employers to unions and its members”.

AMIR HUSSAIN