Government Support for NWC Recommendations for Low-Wage Outsourced Workers

Parliamentary Question by Mr Zainal Sapari:

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance how can the Government as a service buyer support service providers that are engaged by Ministries and statutory boards to adopt the NWC recommendations for outsourced workers earning a basic salary of $1,100 and below to get the monthly $60 built-in wage increase. 

Reply by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Tharman Shanmugaratnam:

Since July 2013, MOF has required Government agencies to remind bidders for Government contracts, particularly those involving security, cleaning and landscaping services, that they should adhere to National Wage Council (NWC) recommendations on wage increments and factor it into their bid prices. 

For multi-year contracts, bidders may also present a year-by-year break-down of their bid price, to reflect wage increments over the contract duration.  This clearly signals the Government's interest to ensure that bidders have realistic projections of their wage costs and willingness to pay contract prices that support good labour management practices.  New multi-year tenders called by Government agencies since then provide for such year-on-year break-down.