Everything You Need to Know About Progressive Wage Model

Gross salary for entry-level waste collection workers to rise to S$3,260 a month by 2028. The base wages of cleaners who are Singaporeans or permanent residents will go up each year over six years under the progressive wage model. How can employers keep up with the rising costs while staying profitable?

The progressive wage model is designed to raise the salaries of lower-wage workers by upgrading their skills and increasing their productivity.

Since the start of the pandemic, the cleaning industry has been plagued with challenges after challenges. The cleaners have been brave and supported the reopening of the country by taking on an invaluable role of ensuring the hygiene and cleanliness of public areas, serving as a frontliner to keep all visitors safe and healthy.

In Singapore, a new progressive wage model will be introduced starting 2023 to 2028 to recognise the importance and higher-value of cleaning work. Cleaners who stay with a company from 2022 to 2028 may see a 45% increase in wages by the end of the new model.

Cleaning companies need to be aware and prepared for the progressive wage model in order to maintain the fiscal sustainability of their companies. As such, this is the most important time for companies to start upskilling their workforce, to ensure that they can carry out higher-value tasks and increase in productivity. Companies can also adapt to this change by bringing technological transformations such as autonomous cleaning robots to their daily operations.

By improving productivity and efficiency through output-based solutions, employers are able to see more work done with the same workforce size, allowing them to better manage their resources and direct adequate manpower to projects.