Jamus Lim Clashed With Minister on Minimum Wage Again, This Time About the $1,300 Wage

However, MPs from the PAP, including Mr Zaqy, feel it is unclear if this sum is supposed to be a person’s gross or nett income.

Gross income refers to an individual’s total pay from his or her employer before taxes or other deductions.

Conversely, nett income is a person’s income earned after deductions and taxes, including CPF contributions.

When asked about this, Dr Lim said he was referring to take-home pay, “in part because it is about what it means for survival”, reported CNA.

This, however, didn’t satisfy Mr Zaqy

“Could I just confirm once again that the Workers’ Party’s S$1,300 minimum wage benchmark is gross income so that we could settle this and come to an understanding?” he said.

Dr Lim initially said that this was a “fair characterisation”, but later clarified that the figure of $1,300 was meant to be take-home pay.

52,000 Singaporeans Earn Less than S$1,300 a Month

The whole reason why WP included minimum wage in their manifesto and why they want to implement it is to raise the salaries and improve the well-being of low-wage workers.

According to Mr Zaqy, 52,000 Singaporeans earn less than $1,300 a month.

This figure includes 30,000 full-time Singaporean employees who work in industries such as food services, cleaning and retail.

The remaining 22,000 are self-employed workers, Mr Zaqy said.

These low-wage workers tend to be older and have a lower education profile, though.

Over a third of them are above the age of 50, and 80% have up to post-secondary qualifications

While their wage is low, Mr Zaqy noted that many of them receive financial support from the government, such as GST vouchers and financial assistance under ComCare.

When the Marsiling MP uses the figure of $1,300, however, it includes CPF and Workfare contributions, and is not their take-home pay.

This is because these contributions can be used for healthcare and housing needs, he said.

Mr Zaqy said he was simply following the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) definition of earnings, which includes such contributions.

In response, Dr Lim said: “The ILO has a particular definition but I’m sure that he will also appreciate that for a worker that works full-time in Singapore, they will have a notion of how much their labour effort is worth every month.”

Why do the WP Want Minimum Wage?

In his maiden speech in parliament, Lim urged the government to be more compassionate when developing policies, saying that while we’ve made progress as a nation, the “gains from this progress have not been equally shared across society.”

WP chief Pritam Singh later echoed Lim’s point, saying it’s “not just a moral imperative, it is an act of national solidarity, one that is even more relevant in today’s economic environment.”

While the debate over minimum wage has waged all over the world for decades, several countries have already implemented it, such as South Korea, Japan, Australia, and the UK, to name a few.

This approach dictates that if two people do the same kind and amount of work, they should receive equal remuneration.

It also protects workers against unduly low pay.

So, Why are the PAP Against It?

The ruling party has several reasons for their decision not to implement minimum wage.

For one, they feel it could increase expenses for companies, which in turn, could lead to higher unemployment.

There is also the possibility of political auction.

Since minimum wage is a policy driven by compassion, parties could compete with each other and suggest a higher wage than the other, to appear more compassionate.

As a result, the minimum wage might end up exceeding what companies can afford and endanger the jobs of low-income workers.

PAP’s alternative is the PWM, which they introduced in 2012.

This model imposes a minimum wage of sorts, but it’s customised for each sector.

However, as WP pointed out, it’s only been implemented in three sectors: cleaning, security, and landscape.

Debate Likely to Rage On

With the WP in parliament, Singaporeans can certainly expect the minimum wage debate to rage on until the next election.

Opposition MPs will continue to make the case for a minimum wage model, while the ruling party will defend its progressive wage model.

As the two parties fundamentally disagree on the issue, a compromise may be out of reach.

What we can all agree on, though, is that while 52,000 is but a small portion of the country’s population, it’s still far too many.