In a Facebook posting on 31 October 2014, DSG Heng Chee How made certain clarifications to an article in The Straits Times that mentioned some security officers had thought that making the Progressive Wage Model (PWM) a licensing requirement from September 2016 meant there was not going to be wage adjustment in the meantime. But DSG Heng said that this was not so.
He said: “Indeed, security firms interviewed in the article say that the tight labour market is already causing them to pay more to attract and keep better security officers. The requirement to strictly adopt the PWM as part of licensing from September 2016 will clearly help focus action in this area.”
He added that the Security Tripartite Cluster (STC) will urge security agencies to:
Take into account the PWM recommendations henceforth when bidding for new contracts or when renewing existing contracts.
Send officers for the required training specified by the PWM’s skills ladders as soon as possible to avoid a last minute rush when the licensing deadline draws near. Those who leave it till the last moment will find themselves caught without adequate supply of qualified officers and put their licenses at risk of non-renewal.
Don’t just think about passing the cost between buyers and service providers, but proactively introduce technology and other productivity enhancing improvements to achieve the same or superior security outcomes that are more manpower-efficient. NTUC’s e2i has a technology fund to help security agencies do this, and a Progressive Wage Incentive (PWI) to help Service Buyers cope better in this transition. In this way, the industry will cope better with the effects of the labour crunch.
(Source: NTUC This Week)