Everything About the Increase in Salary for Healthcare Workers in the Public Sector You Should Know

If you’re a healthcare worker who’s been working non-stop since last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic that never seems to end, then your efforts are now being recognized again—this time, in the form of cold, hard cash.

But if you’re in the private sector (i.e. not in any of the Government hospitals or clinics), then you might want to skip this article or you’d feel salty.

Everything About the Increase in Salary for Healthcare Workers in the Public Sector You Should Know

Last month, DPM Heng mentioned in his Budget 2021 speech that public healthcare workers will get a raise in their salaries “soon”.

No one knew how soon it would be and how much that would be.

The pay rise will apply across all public healthcare institutions, including hospitals and polyclinics, as well as publicly funded long-term care service providers.

Yesterday (5 March), the golden numbers are revealed.

The increase will take place over the next two years. From July 2021, nurses will see increases of 5% to 14% of their basic monthly salary, while other healthcare staff, such as allied health professionals, pharmacists and administrative and ancillary staff, will get pay rises of 3% to 7%.

The percentage of increase depends on the profession and seniority of the employees.

Now, do remember that this is only for the public sector.

An estimated 56,300 healthcare workers would get the pay rise.

In addition, the Ministry of Health (MOH) will also be increasing funding support for salaries at publicly-funded community care organisations in order to ensure that wages in this sector remain competitive. These are mainly community nurses and support staff in the organisations, and that’ll benefit yet another 20,800.

Reader Bao: Still no news about private sector?

No.

Senior Minister of State for Health Koh Poh Koon said, “We must maintain the salary competitiveness of healthcare staff against the overall market to attract and retain quality talent.”

Doctors’ and Dentists’ Pay Remain the Same

Now, you’d have realised a lot of emphases were on nurses and support staff, but not on doctors.

That’s because doctors’ and dentists’ pay will not be included in the pay rise as their salaries were just updated on 2019, while for nurses, the last revision was back in 2015.

MOH added that it works with the public healthcare clusters to regularly review the salaries of healthcare workers in order to maintain market competitiveness.

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