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PWM bonus, annual wage increase for eligible resident cleaners from 2020

Yesterday, the Commissioner for Labour announced that it has considered and fully adopted the recommendations in the report issued by the Tripartite Cluster for Cleaners (TCC) in November 2018.

Similar to landscape maintenance staff, the recommendations include the implementation of a Progressive Wage Model (PWM) bonus as well as scheduled annual wage increases for cleaners.

How will the PWM bonus be implemented?

According to the media release by Ministry of Manpower, the PWM bonus for eligible resident cleaners will be implemented from 1 January 2020 under the cleaning business licensing regime through the Order imposed by the Commissioner for Labour for eligible resident cleaners, based on the guidance provided by TCC in its report.

The bonus is payable to all cleaners who:

  • Have worked for the same cleaning business for an employment period of at least 12 continuous months (including paid and statutory leave), as at the business’s cut-off date for PWM Bonus computation.
  • Have not already received other forms of bonuses amounting to a minimum sum of 2 weeks of the last drawn basic monthly wage in the last 12 months. Other forms of bonuses can qualify as the PWM Bonus only if they are subject to prevailing CPF contribution rules (i.e. they must be CPF-deductible).

Cleaners who work on a part-time basis (defined as work for a cleaning business under a contract of service and for less than 35 hours a week on a regular basis) are also eligible for the PWM bonus.

Summary of scenarios and whether PWM Bonus is payable

When there is a change of service provider (this is not within the worker’s control)

  • If the worker declines re-deployment and resigns.
    • PWM bonus is payable.
  • If the employer is unable to redeploy worker and terminates worker
    • PWM bonus is payable.
  • If the worker stays with employer and gets redeployed (worker remains an employee of the company).
    • PWM bonus is payable.

If the worker retires or is medically boarded out.

  • PWM bonus is payable.

During contract period if: 

  • A worker resigns on their own accord
    • PWM bonus is not payable.*
  • A worker gets terminated due to misconduct
    • PWM bonus is not payable.*
  • A worker is terminated by employer due to circumstances not within the worker’s control and not related to performance/conduct (e.g. company closure)
    • PWM bonus is payable.

* Note: Any PWM Bonus already made to the worker prior to the termination date must not be clawed back, as long as the worker had met the length of service eligibility as at the company’s cut-off date for the last PWM Bonus computation.

Annual increment to PWM wage levels

Likewise, the TCC’s recommendations on the scheduled 3% annual wage increases to the PWM wage levels from 2020 to 2022 will be implemented for all licensed cleaning businesses by the Commissioner for Labour, for all resident cleaners from 1 July 2020.

Cleaning businesses that seek to be licensed must ensure that their submitted progressive wage plans for their resident cleaners follow the TCC’s latest PWM guidelines. Licensed cleaning businesses must also pay their resident cleaners according to their progressive wage plans, and issue payslips to their resident cleaners containing details of the resident cleaners’ basic wage and other payments received.

General licensed cleaning businesses found to be in breach of licensing conditions are liable to a financial penalty not exceeding $5,000 and may risk having their Cleaning Business Licence suspended or revoked.

Photo / 123RF

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