More companies will raise wages of low income workers: ASME

President of the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (ASME) Chan Chong Beng believes there is no need to put in place a minimum wage now. 

This is because more companies will raise wages of low income workers within the next two years. 

Mr Chan feels the progressive wage model championed by the labour movement will be effective in helping to raise wages. 

Under the progressive wage concept, wages will be gradually scaled up as workers become more skilled and productive. 

Mr Chan was responding to Professor Lim Chong Yah's call for a minimum wage scheme should the wages of the lowest paid resident workers remain stubbornly very low in two or three years' time. 

Professor Lim who's the founding Chairman of the National Wages Council (NWC) made the suggestion at the Singapore Economic Policy Forum today.

Mr Chan also said low wage workers are generally mobile and will move to a company that can pay them more. 

"I think that within two years we should see a lot of companies having to raise their wages to the $1000 level. That's because of the progressive wage model which was recently introduced on the cleaners and so on. Workers are very fluid they will move around and if the industry cannot pay workers the minimum of $1000. They will go to another industry that has that $1000 minimum."