Changes to political salaries: Workers concerned over timing of pay hikes, says labour MP Yeo Wan Ling

Workers have raised concerns over the timing of proposed increases to political salaries, with some questioning why pay adjustments are being made amid higher living costs and uncertainty over jobs, said MP Yeo Wan Ling.

Speaking in Parliament on Thursday (Sep 10) during the debate on the review of political salaries for officeholders and MPs, Yeo said she had spoken to workers and heard concerns on the ground about the political salary increases, with some asking why the adjustments were being made now.

"It was not simply a question about salary adjustments. It was a question about timing, and about whether workers feel that we are sharing the same realities that they are experiencing," said Yeo, a MP for Punggol GRC.

She added that while Singapore's economic numbers might look healthy, workers do not feel the same way.

"Workers' wages have gone up, but so have their everyday expenses. Some told us that after accounting for the higher cost of living, they do not feel substantially better off, even with the support that Government has provided," said Yeo.

"Workers worry about jobs, about business conditions and about what restructuring and AI may mean for their livelihoods."

She said some workers also felt that political service should fundamentally be motivated by a desire to serve, and questioned the need for further increases when they considered political salaries to already be at a "substantive" level.

Others, she said, could understand why salaries needed to be reviewed and adjusted, but felt that nine per cent was too high, especially when compared with their own annual wage agreements.

"These are sentiments we must take seriously, I understand them not only because workers tell me so I understand them because I sit at the tables where their wages are negotiated," said Yeo.

'We never look only at the headline number'

She said that while negotiating wages, unions, employers and the Government typically look beyond the headline percentage and consider factors such as benchmarks, economic and manpower conditions, sustainability and the outcomes being rewarded.

"When we negotiate wages, we never look only at the headline number, we ask what sits behind that number. What is the benchmark, how does the pay move... and what outcomes are we rewarding," she said.

Yeo added that the same considerations should apply when assessing the political salary review.

She also pointed out that political salaries had not been adjusted for 15 years, noting that the period began with a substantial downward restructuring in 2011, when the annual salary of an entry-level MR4 minister was reduced by 37 per cent.

"That does not, by itself, justify any particular adjustment today, nor does it tell us that 9 per cent is the right number," she said.

"But it does tell us that we should look at the whole period, and not just one number in isolation."

xingying.koh@asiaone.com

议员杨婉玲表示，工人们对拟议的政治人物薪酬增长的时机表示担忧，一些人质疑在生活成本上升和就业前景不明朗的情况下，为何要进行薪酬调整。

周四（9 月 10 日），在国会就审查公职人员和议员的政治薪酬进行辩论时，杨丽娟表示，她已与工作人员交谈，并听到了他们对政治薪酬增长的担忧，一些人询问为什么现在要进行调整。

“这不仅仅是薪资调整的问题，还涉及到时机，以及员工是否觉得我们与他们面临着同样的现实，”榜鹅集选区议员杨荣文说道。

她补充说，虽然新加坡的经济数据看起来很健康，但工人们并不这么认为。

“工人的工资上涨了，但他们的日常开支也增加了。一些人告诉我们，即使有政府提供的支持，扣除更高的生活成本后，他们感觉生活并没有明显改善，”杨先生说。

“工人们担心工作、担心商业环境，以及重组和人工智能可能对他们的生计意味着什么。”

她表示，一些工作人员也认为，政治服务的根本动机应该是服务他人的愿望，并质疑在政治薪酬已经达到“实质性”水平的情况下，是否有必要进一步提高薪酬。

她说，其他人可以理解为什么需要审查和调整工资，但认为 9% 的涨幅太高了，尤其是与他们自己的年度工资协议相比。

“这些是我们必须认真对待的情绪，我理解它们，不仅是因为工人们告诉我，更是因为我参与了他们的工资谈判，”叶说。

“我们从不只看头条数字”

她表示，在协商工资时，工会、雇主和政府通常会超越表面上的百分比，考虑基准、经济和人力资源状况、可持续性以及所奖励的结果等因素。

“我们在谈判工资时，从不只看数字，我们会探究数字背后的含义。基准是什么？工资是如何变动的……以及我们奖励的是什么样的成果，”她说道。

叶补充说，在评估政治薪酬审查时，也应考虑同样的因素。

她还指出，政治人物的薪水已经 15 年没有调整了，并指出这一时期始于 2011 年的一次大幅下调结构调整，当时入门级 MR4 部长的年薪减少了 37%。

“这本身并不能证明今天进行任何特别调整的合理性，也不能告诉我们9%是正确的数字，”她说。

“但这确实告诉我们，我们应该关注整个时期，而不能孤立地看待某个数字。”

邢英.koh@asiaone.com