The NWC calls on employers to reward employees with wage increases that are fair and sustainable, sharing productivity gains with employees. The NWC also encourages all employers to adopt the Flexible Wage System in full, incorporating both the Annual Variable Component (AVC) and Monthly Variable Component (MVC). This approach will help businesses navigate potential economic uncertainties and make timely adjustments, while ensuring employees are rewarded during good economic periods.
The NWC encourages employers to press on with enterprise and workforce transformation so that businesses remain competitive and resilient in a fast-evolving economy. Productivity-driven growth is key to enabling sustainable wage growth. Although overall productivity continues to grow in the long term, some sectors still lag behind. To address this, both employers and employees must adapt to changing job roles driven by rapid transformation. This includes reskilling and upskilling the workforce, as well as strengthening human resource capabilities to support these changes. Employees should also do their part by taking a proactive approach towards training.
The NWC emphasises the ongoing national effort to uplift lower-wage workers, ensuring that every worker enjoys the fruits of Singapore’s growth. The NWC’s recommended wage growth for lower-wage workers balances business sustainability with meaningful wage increments, and will bolster ongoing efforts to narrow the income gap. To narrow the wage gap between lower-wage workers and the median wage worker over this decade, wages of the former must consistently grow faster than the median wage. This principle informs the NWC’s development of annual wage guidelines for LWWs, which comprises a percentage range for wage growth and a minimum dollar quantum increase. These guidelines apply to lower-wage workers only.
