SINGAPORE: Uplifting lower-wage workers is not as easy as just setting minimum salaries and Singapore must be careful about unintended consequences when working through solutions, according to Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, on Saturday, speaking at a workshop for the Alliance for Action for Lower-Wage Workers, Mr Wong said that the government is investing in more resources to uplift lower-wage workers.
While Singapore wants to see lower-wage workers get higher starting salaries, it is important that these workers see continued career progression throughout their working lives.
Mr Wong, who is also Finance Minister, said this means not just good starting salaries but new wage increases tied to a skills ladder.
He said that the goal is to achieve a compression of wages in our workplace, not increasing wage gaps, but wage compression taking place largely by the uplifting of lower-wage workers in Singapore.
He said that pursuing the objective is not as straightforward as it sounds, and that it is not just about putting minimum salaries in place.
He cited examples of countries with the highest minimum wage and high unemployment rates, as well as a lack of a silver bullet to solve the problem.
You can decide that this is the new minimum wage at the stroke of a pen. He said something.
In some cases, the beneficiaries of a higher minimum wage are not low-income families, but young people from rich families who go out and work at minimum wage levels.
These are all unintended consequences that can happen if you're not careful in thinking about the right solutions. The Deputy Prime Minister said that the government works with employers, union leaders and workers instead of doing things through a top-down approach.
It takes longer for an approach to work. He said that it takes longer because you have to build consensus and you have to bring people along with you.
It is an approach that leads to more enduring solutions that work, not just because of political headlines, but because of the fact that solutions that make an impact on the ground.