Low Wage Vocations in Singapore - Part I

I previously wrote about low wages in Singapore ("Living on Low Wages", 31 March 2011), citing the example of  McDonald's 6,000 rank-and-file workers whose monthly wages are $1,100 for full-time employees and $1,240 for team leaders.  These levels are after increasing an average of 20 per cent due to improved productivity.

There are many more people in similar, or more challenging, situations.

Here is a sample, ranked by median basic monthly wage in June 2009 (the date of the latest data):

How do they survive on such low wages?

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Notes

1. Report on Wages in Singapore 2009.

2. Data pertain to full-time employees in private sector establishments each with at least 25 workers who contribute to CPF (Central Provident Fund, the national social security programme).

3. Monthly basic wage refers to the monthly basic pay before deductions of the employee's CPF contributions and personal income tax.

4. Monthly gross wage refers to all remuneration received by an employee before deductions of the employee's CPF contributions and personal income tax. It includes overtime payments, commissions, allowances (e.g., shift, food, housing and transport) and other regular cash payments, but excludes employer's CPF contributions, bonuses, other lump sum payments and payments-in-kind.


This posting was previously published on 25 April 2011.  It was updated subsequently.