SINGAPORE - About 12,000 full-time lower-wage workers in the food service industry can expect annual pay hikes for the next three years under a government scheme helping to increase the wages of workers through upgrading their skills and productivity.

Under the Progressive Wage Model (PWM) for the sector, lower-wage food service workers such as waiters and cooks will benefit from a three-year schedule of sustained baseline wage increases of up to 19 per cent from 2023 to 2025.

There are about 26,000 full-time food service workers in Singapore. Of these, 17,000 are considered lower-wage workers, and about 12,000 of this group of lower-wage workers are currently earning below the entry-level PWM wage level and can expect to see pay increments.

From March 1, quick-service workers, such as those in establishments such as foodcourts, coffee shops, fast-food outlets, food kiosks, self-serve eating houses and some supermarkets with ready-to-eat stations – will get their minimum gross wages raised to $1,750.

Meanwhile, full-service workers – those in food establishments with wait staff, caterers and central kitchens – will earn at least $1,850 monthly.

The baseline gross wages of both quick-service and full-service workers will be increased by a fixed amount of $165 annually from March 1, 2024, and again from March 1, 2025.

The new PWM will apply to full-time and part-time resident employees working in the industry and employed by firms that hire foreign workers on work passes. 

The model, recommended by the Tripartite Cluster for Food Services (TCF) and accepted by the Government, also comprises a clear career progression pathway for workers and the training they require. The TCF comprises tripartite representatives from government agencies, union, associations and firms from the food service industry.

As a result, some 41,000 resident full-time and part-time food service workers are set to benefit from the new recommendations as a whole.

Employers will have a transitional period of six months – from March to August – to adjust and comply with the new requirements. Tripartite partners will also be educating employers.

After this period, employers who do not comply with the PWM requirements may have their work pass privileges suspended, MOM said. This generally means the firm may not be able to apply for new work passes or renew existing ones.

On the PWM resulting in higher business costs, Senior Minister of State for Manpower Zaqy Mohamad said on Wednesday: “As consumers, we have to let our pockets do the talking too… I think most Singaporeans don’t mind paying a bit more, if (they) know that it supports our lower-wage workers and keeps them in the job.”

The PWM was introduced in Singapore in 2012, helping to lift the wages of workers in six different industries such as those in the cleaning, security and landscaping sectors. The food service industry is the seventh sector that the model has been introduced to.

The TCF has also proposed a career ladder for food service workers to help them earn higher wages, pick up skills and gain the ability to take on more job responsibilities.

This includes differentiated tracks for quick-service establishments and full-service establishments, caterers, and central kitchens.

The mandatory PWM wage requirements will cover job roles on this career ladder, except for those on the highest rung, where wages will be determined by market forces, the Ministry of Manpower said.

To raise productivity, the TCF has recommended that each food service worker complete at least two Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ) training modules relevant to their job role. Employers will have one year from the implementation date of March 1 to ensure their workers meet the training requirements, MOM said.

Ms Yeo Wan Ling, the director of the National Trades Union Congress’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) unit, as well as its women and family unit, said: “The PWM allows us to uplift the lives and livelihoods of lower-wage workers... not just in the short term where they see their wages going higher but also in the long term because it sets out a kind of career progression for our workers. We hope to accelerate the number of industries we will extend this (PWM) into.”