Singaporean retailer NTUC FairPrice Group will be implementing a wage structure to help increase the salaries of workers through upgrading skills and improving productivity.
The structure will follow the Progressive Wage Model (PWM), which was developed by a committee of unions, employers and the Singaporean government.
The initiative will cost the group S$70m (£43m) over a three-years period. The Group says the measure will increase the wages of non-executive staff, who make up 75% of its total workforce, to a level that is in line with their roles for their respective industries.
Vipul Chawla, Group CEO, FairPrice Group said: “Our staff are our most important asset and we value their dedication and service. As a provider of everything food, we want to move forward as one team and are therefore going the extra mile and extending the initiative beyond our retail business to include employees across all our various businesses in FPG.
“While companies have six months to work on the implementation of PWM, we expedited and implemented it right from the get-go despite rising cost pressures and inflation as we believe that a motivated and empowered workforce will deliver the best care for our customers,” Vipul added.
The implementation will begin on 1 September and will benefit 10,000 non-executive staff including full-time and part-time employees, regardless of nationality.
The group consulted with the Food, Drinks and Allied Workers’ Union (FDAWU) ahead of the rollout of the scheme.
“It was indeed a pleasure working with FPG to roll out the PWM for the benefit of employees in FPG’s retail, food services and supply chain operations. We look forward to our continued partnership to do well, do good and do together for our workers,” said Mr Tan Hock Soon, General Secretary, FDAWU.
The largest supermarket chain in Singapore, NTUC FairPrice is a co-operative of the National Trades Union Congress.
