Progressive Wage Model Essay

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Introduction Launched to great fanfare by the Labour Movement in mid-2012, the Progressive Wage Model (PWM) was introduced to help low-wage workers attain progressive and sustainable wages proportionate to their productivity levels and skills. National Trade Union Congress Secretary General Lim Swee Say believes that it can “help our low-wage workers receive more decent starting wages and more importantly, to create a ladder for them to move up in terms of skills, productivity and jobs” . The PWM takes the form of a traversable wage ladder, promising wage progression as one rises up the rungs of his industry. It establishes that with constant upgrading, productivity can be increased, translating to better commensurate wages and quality of …show more content…

In addition, SG Lim also introduced the Progressive Wage Incentive (PWI) in early 2014, replacing the previous Best Sourcing Funding Scheme , qualifying service buyers who best source services from service providers exercising the PWM structure for funding of up to 10% of their contract value. Moreover, the Inclusive Growth Programme complements the PWM by financing job and process redesign in companies to increase productivity while ensuring the sharing of productivity gains with workers through means of higher wages. The PWM may impress with promises of progressive wages and social mobility for low-wage earners, but its true viability and applicability remain in question. Detriments of the Progressive Wage …show more content…

Business operations would become unsustainable as the company is too top-heavy. For example, in the environmental cleaning industry, as general cleaners upgrade themselves, increase their productivity, earn higher wages and get promoted, they will eventually be reach the highest rung of a supervisor. A lack of regulation towards managing human resources and careless business organization can lead to the presence of too many supervisors and few general cleaners doing actual work. Such business disorganization deprives companies from proper allocation of manpower and can cause a company’s eventual downfall. This challenge, brought about by the need for career progression as warranted by the PWM, lacks a concrete solution as there is an absence of governmental power to intervene in the structuring of business organizations. However, the internal human resource departments of the various businesses can regulate their promotion policies and alter the job scopes of the respective rungs, such as designating supervisors to perform a balance of both managerial and manual labour, to ensure balanced job

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