6 months' paid leave for mum?

The National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) has come up with suggestions to nudge reluctant Singaporeans to have more babies.

At the top of its wish list: give working mothers six months’ paid maternity leave, with an option for a further six months’ unpaid leave.

Also, it believes bigger government housing grants would help couples get their first Housing Board flat earlier and hopefully start families sooner too.

And it wants employers to do more to help employees balance their work and family life. This means going beyond merely paying lip service, and making flexible work arrangements a reality.

NTUC assistant secretary-general Cham Hui Fong told The Sunday Times that these and other recommendations by its family unit will be handed to the National Population and Talent Division this week.

The Government is reviewing policies to encourage Singaporeans to marry and have babies as Singapore’s total fertility rate has fallen to 1.2 children per woman of childbearing age, far below the replacement rate of 2.1.

The labour movement consulted members, conducted surveys and held small group discussions before drawing up its suggestions.

It hopes to encourage young couples without children to start families, as well as convince those with only one child to consider having more, said Ms Cham, 43, a former nominated MP.

She thinks it would make a difference if maternity leave goes up from the current four months to six months. “When parents don’t want to have a second kid, they say it is because they don’t have enough quality time to spend with the child,” she said.

But even if the Government pays for the additional two months of maternity leave, there must be buy-in from smaller firms because they have to hire temporary staff when mothers go on long leave.

“Today, if we say there is no discrimination, we’re kidding ourselves,” Ms Cham said. “In reality, some women fear that if they disappear from the job for six months, they can be displaced forever.”

Still, she felt six months’ maternity leave would be attractive to women considering motherhood.

To make housing more affordable for young couples, she hoped the Government would increase the housing subsidy, which is now between $30,000 and $40,000 for first-time HDB resale flat buyers.

Young couples say they still find it hard to afford their first flat. The extra financial help might reverse the trend of delayed marriage, said Ms Cham, citing the rising number of singles aged 25 to 29.

The NTUC’s list of ideas includes having two days’ mandatory paternity leave. “The guys don’t mind taking their own leave, but it’s a kind of support that the company can give if we want to promote equal parenting,” she said.

Why she would rather forego $50 pay raise

SINGAPORE - When the National Wages Council accepted a proposal by the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) to give a $50 pay hike to workers earning less than $1,000, many among these low-wage earners cheered.
But not this 66-year-old cleaner. Instead, the proposition worried her.

Madam Tan (not her real name) said she had actually turned down a pay increase offered by her company last year.

She earns $800 a month and lives in a one-room rental flat. She said the raise would have pushed her into a higher salary bracket, causing the rent of the flat to go up from $26 to $111.

According to HDB's website, those earning between $801 and $1,500 will pay rent of between $90 and $123, instead of the $26 to $33 that those earning below $801 pay.

"It's not that I don't want to earn more and pay higher rent, but maybe the (rent) increase could be smaller," Madam Tan said.

"I'm very thankful that the authorities are giving this increase, but I'll be $35 worse off."

The divorcee, who has been a cleaner for 10 years, lives alone. Her two children, who are in their 40s, are unable to support her, she told The New Paper.

Social workers told The New Paper that many others have fears similar to Madam Tan's.

Flexible

But responding to queries from TNP, HDB said that it exercises flexibility to make sure that those getting a pay increase don't end up worse off because of higher rent.

Madam Tan's current lease expires in January next year.

So what will her rent be if she renews her tenancy?

An HDB spokesman said: "Based on Madam (Tan's) last reported income in February 2011... Her rental fees will remain at the same rate of $26 per month, since her increased household income would still be below $800."

HDB declined to reveal her reported income because of confidentiality issues, but Madam Tan told TNP that she had earned $650 a month as a polyclinic cleaner for six years.

She started earning $800 when she joined her present employer, a global provider of facility services, in April last year.

If she renews her tenancy next year, HDB will re-evaluate how much rent she has to pay.

The HDB spokesman said that even if Madam Tan's household income exceeds $800, her rent may not go up to $111 (as Madam Tan claims).

Said the spokesman: "HDB does exercise flexibility to ensure that any rental increase will not result in a worse-off situation for the tenant."

Madam Tan also gets payment under the Workfare scheme and assistance from various organisations.

She gets groceries, free meals and vouchers from voluntary welfare organisations.

Mid-year bonus for civil servants

SINGAPORE - Civil servants will be paid a mid-year Annual Variable Component (AVC) of 0.3 month, against a backdrop of modest economic growth and global economic uncertainty, the government announced on Tuesday.

It has also considered the National Wages Council's (NWC) recommendation to grant a built-in wage increase of at least S$50 to low-wage workers earning up to S$1,000 per month, and decided to go beyond these recommendations for civil servants in Divisions IV and III - mainly support staff and junior officers.

Division IV officers, including those earning more than S$1,000 a month, will get an additional increment of S$60 per month. This is in addition to their normal annual increments. Division IV civil servants who have reached the maximum of their salary scales will get the same wage increase of S$60 per month. This will benefit around 3,600 civil servants.

Division III officers, all of whom earn more than S$1,000 per month, will get an additional increment of S$30 per month. This is in addition to their normal annual increments. Division III civil servants who have reached the maximum of their salary scales will get the same wage increase of S$30 per month. This will benefit around 5,900 civil servants.

For example, an operations support officer in Division IV who earns S$1,000 per month will get an additional built-in wage increase of S$60, on top of a S$30 normal annual increment. This will bring his monthly wage increase to S$90, which is three times the normal annual increment.

A corporate support officer in Division III, who is paid S$1,500 per month, will receive an additional built-in wage increase of S$30 on top of his S$50 normal annual increment. In total, his S$80 monthly wage increase amounts to 1.6 times the normal annual increment.

The monthly salary scale of a Division IV officer will go up from S$864 - S$1,064 to S$924 - S$1,124.

For a Division III officer, the monthly salary scale will go up from S$1,250 - S$2,000 to S$1,280 - S$2,030.

The Civil Service's NWC adjustments for all Division IV and III civil servants respectively will benefit more than 9,500 civil servants. This signals the government's strong commitment to help raise the salaries of lower-wage civil servants, said the Public Service Division.

The mid-year AVC and the built-in wage increase for Division VI and III civil servants will be paid in July.

Announcing the bonus and wage rise in a media statement, the Public Service Division noted that Singapore's economy had expanded modestly by 1.6 per cent in the first quarter of this year. Growth in the same period last year was 8.3 per cent.

For the entire 2012, the economy is expected to grow between 1% and 3%. And, the global economy is vulnerable to downside risks.

Against this backdrop, the government decided to pay a mid-year annual variable component of 0.3-month, lower than last July's half-a-month salary plus S$250.

Still, this July's payout was good enough for the labour movement, with the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) saying it "fairly rewards" civil servants for their contributions.

NTUC also said it is heartened by the government's positive response to the NWC's recommendations and noted the special attention paid to lower-wage officers.

The government will decide on the year-end AVC payment for civil servants after taking into consideration Singapore's economic performance in the second half of 2012.

Low-wage workers to get $50 pay rise?

If the Government says yes to recommendations from the National Wages Council (NWC), workers earning below $1,000 are likely to see their pay rise by at least $50 plus a percentage increase.

Sources told The Sunday Times that the NWC has accepted a proposal from the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) to increase the basic pay of low-wage workers by $50.

The recommendations have been signed by all NWC members, who include employer group representatives, unionists and public-sector officials, and awaits approval from the Cabinet, where an announcement is expected to be made this week.

If approved, it will be the first time since 1984 that the NWC has recommended a minimum quantam of pay rise. They had recommended that companies raise the pay of workers by $27 plus 4 to 8 per cent then.

From 1985, NWC had stopped setting wage specific requirements and left it to unions and employers to negotiate based on broad recommendations, reported The Sunday Times.

According to the Manpower Ministry's latest Report on Wages 2010, there are more than 296,000 workers earning below $1,000.

A $50 pay rise would mean that those earning $1,000 will see a real increase in pay, said a source who is familiar with the annual wage talks.

President of Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (Asme) Mr Chan Chong Beng said that a $50 increase would be manageable for most SMEs.

However, he added that it would not be enough to achieve productivity gains and preferred a higher payout which would allow employers to do more to increase productivity.

Chief executive of security company Soverus Mr Paul Lim is worried about the adjustment period when companies face higher labour costs while remaining locked into existing contracts, and hoped unions would be flexible during wage negotiations.

His company will see a 3 per cent hike in wage bill for 140 full-time security officers who earn a basic pay of up to $800 a month.

Mr Lim says he supports the pay rise for security officers as this would help raise professionalism too.

"It is for this reason that I am prepared to stomach what I need to stomach," he added.

MP for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC Zainudin Nordin, who is also the chairman of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Manpower, said he would welcome the pay rise too.

"It will help low-income earners with living expenses, but they also have to be prudent and don't overspend," he said.

However, labour MP Zainal Sapari, who heads the NTUC unit for contract, casual and low-wage workers, said that he is concerned about workers in companies without unions.
He asked: "Who is going to ensure that these companies follow NWC guidelines?"
Mr Chan said these companies will face pressures from their workers and will end up having to do something to match the market rate, or else they will lose workers too.

More low-income union members eligible for assistance

SINGAPORE: From 7 May to 10 June, low-income union members can apply for S$3 million worth of discount vouchers to help them stretch their dollars on daily basic necessities.

National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) said it has revised the income eligibility criteria for the U Stretch Vouchers Programme to benefit more members in the lowest 20th percentile of household income.

Previously, the programme was open to those with a gross household income limit of S$2,200, or per capita income limit of S$600.

The labour movement has revised the criteria upwards to a gross household income limit of S$2,800, or per capita income limit of S$725.

For those without dependents, their monthly gross personal income must not exceed S$1,400.

Applicants must be union members for at least six months at the point of application.

It aims to reach out to 30,000 low-income union members.

NTUC's Care and Share Director, Mr Zainal Bin Sapari said: "Our economic outlook is still uncertain given the current global economic climate. Coupled with pressures of inflation and rising cost of living, timely reviews have to be made so that we continue to remain relevant to those who need our assistance.

"With the latest change in our income eligibility criteria, we hope to reach out to more low-income members, and help lessen their burden, especially on their daily essentials."

45-year-old Lai See Yong, who earns S$2,700 monthly and is the sole-breadwinner of a family of four, is now eligible for the U Care assistance programmes under the newly revised income criteria.

"With the increase in cost of living, the days get tougher as there is only my income to sustain the expenditures of a whole family. I am really grateful that I can now apply for the assistance programmes under U Care Fund, as I know they will be helpful in defraying some of my daily living expenses," Mr Lai said.

Successful applicants will each receive a booklet of 40 vouchers worth S$100 in total value, for use at four of NTUC Social Enterprises.

Each voucher provides the union members a S$2.50 discount off every S$5 purchase of groceries at the NTUC FairPrice supermarkets; medication or health-related items at NTUC Unity pharmacies and NTUC Unity Denticare clinics; meals at NTUC Foodfare food courts; and day care services at NTUC Eldercare centres.

These vouchers will be valid for seven months beginning 1 August 2012 to 28 February 2013.

Online application for the vouchers starts 7 May at www.ntuc.org.sg/ucare/apply.

Union members can also apply for the vouchers using paper form, they can apply directly with the respective unions they belong to.