TL;DR : A security agency reset the wages and employment terms of some 300 officers because it no longer had the contracts to keep them at their current employed job ranks.
Late last year, the Union of Security Employees (USE) was informed by some of its union members of the unfair treatment of a security agency which had attempted to reset their officers’ wages and employment terms unilaterally.
This agency had demoted some 300 officers, subsequently resetting their wages when it no longer had the contracts to keep these officers at their current employed job ranks.
After USE’s intervention, the agency agreed not to demote these officers. Instead, the officers’ working hours were extended- an attempt to reset their employment terms.
USE took the agency to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) for conciliation. As a result, the agency agreed to the union and MOM’s request to conduct joint engagements with affected workers.
According to its media statement on Tues (7 Feb), NTUC reminded companies to refer to Tripartite Guidelines on Managing Excess Manpower and to consult the union before undertaking actions that impact workers.
In his Facebook post, NTUC’s Secretary-General Ng Chee Meng said that NTUC and USE are keeping a close watch on the case and stand ready to take further action.
Progressive Wage Model (PWM) for the Security Sector
- The PWM for the outsourced security sector was implemented from 2016. For security officers, basic wages before overtime (OT) was licensed were at $1,100 in 2016. Today it is at $1,650, an increase of 50 per cent over seven years.
- From 2024 the Security Tripartite Cluster committee (STC) had recommended for the basic wages for the rank of Security Officer be increased to $2,650 to assure security officers sustainable wage growth without clocking excessive hours for a higher gross wage.
- As all security officers will cross the current $2,600 monthly basic wage threshold for coverage under Part IV of the Employment Act, which provides basic protection on hours of work, rest days, and other conditions of service, the STC recommended capping extra working hours (above the 44-hour workweek) at 72 hours a month to protect officers from working beyond what was the current shift pattern.