Companies must meet the Occupational Progressive Wages and training requirements for administrators and drivers who are Singapore citizens or permanent residents.
What is it
Occupational Progressive Wages (OPW) was developed by the National Wages Council (NWC).
From 1 March 2023, employers must meet the OPW requirements in order to renew existing work passes or apply for new work passes.
Who it covers
The OPW requirements cover all Singapore citizens and permanent residents who are:
- Full-time or part-time employees in administrative or driving roles on a contract of service, and
- Employed by firms which hire foreign workers.
From 1 March 2023, OPW will cover the following administrative and driving roles:
Administrators
Responsibilities include performing basic administrative tasks such as:
- Data entry
- Receiving and registering documents
- Sorting and storing of files
- Running of errands
Examples of jobs covered:
- Data entry clerk, library clerk
- Office attendant
Responsibilities include performing administrative tasks such as:
- Accounting and bookkeeping
- Customer facing tasks, e.g. answering and directing phone calls, providing client information and services
- Management of records, e.g. maintaining and updating filing and inventory
- Money handling
- Preparing production schedules
- Secretarial tasks, e.g. arranging appointments, organising meetings
Examples of jobs covered:
- General office clerk, customer service clerk, stock clerk, transport clerk, statistical clerk, legal clerk, accounting and bookkeeping clerk, production clerk, computer operations clerk, postal service counter clerk, finance and insurance clerk, travel agency clerk, proofreading clerk
- Office cashier, bank cashier
- Receptionist
- Telephone operator
- Secretary
- Verbatim reporter
- Typist and word processing operator
- Concierge
Responsibilities:
- Supervise staff performing administrative or clerical roles, e.g. general administration, customer service, records management, and data analysis
- Managing personnel, resolving work problems, and coordinating work between units within an organisation
Examples of jobs covered:
Drivers
Responsibilities:
- Operating vehicles requiring Class 3 driving licence or below, e.g. motorcycles, cars, vans, and trams
Examples of jobs covered:
- Motorcycle delivery drivers
- Van drivers
- Tram drivers
Responsibilities:
- Operating vehicles requiring Class 4 driving licence and above, e.g. lorries, trailer trucks, and buses, and other specialised driver roles like chauffeurs
Examples of jobs covered:
- Trailer truck drivers
- Bus drivers
- Lorry drivers
- Chauffeurs
- Concrete mix truck drivers
Wage requirements
The OPW for administrators is a three-level career progression model while OPW for drivers is a two-level career progression model. They feature:
- Training requirements to ensure that administrators and drivers are equipped with the skills needed to carry out their job functions.
- Progressive wages set at each level to ensure that administrators and drivers are paid wages that commensurate with their skills and productivity.
The wage requirements recommended in the Tripartite Workgroup on Lower-Wage Workers’ (TWG-LWW) report, will take effect from 1 March 2023.
Wage requirements for part-time workers are pro-rated on a 44-hours basis. If the pro-rated part-time wage requirement is lower than the Local Qualifying Salary part-time wage requirement of $9.00/hour, the part-time wage requirement of $9.00/hour will apply instead.
The NWC will review the OPW wage requirements in 2023, for March 2024 and later.
| Job level |
Monthly gross wage requirements (excluding overtime payments) for full-time OPW employees (35-44 hours per week) |
| From 1 March 2023 |
|
Administrative supervisor
|
≥ $2,800 |
|
Administrative executive
|
≥ $2,000 |
|
Administrative assistant
|
≥ $1,500 |
| Job level |
Hourly gross wage requirements for part-time OPW employees |
| From 1 March 2023 |
|
Administrative supervisor
|
≥ $14.69 |
|
Administrative executive
|
≥ $10.49 |
|
Administrative assistant
|
≥ $9.00 |
| Job level |
Monthly gross wage requirements (excluding overtime payments) for full-time OPW employees (35-44 hours per week) |
| From 1 March 2023 |
|
Specialised driver
|
≥ $1,850 |
|
General driver
|
≥ $1,750 |
| Job level |
Hourly gross wage requirements for part-time OPW employees |
| From 1 March 2023 |
|
Specialised driver
|
≥ $9.70 |
|
General driver
|
≥ $9.18 |
Total monthly gross wage (for full-time work of 35-44 hours per week) includes:
- basic wage,
- allowances, e.g. travel, food, housing, and
- productivity incentive payments.
It excludes:
- bonuses, e.g. Annual Wage Supplement,
- stock options,
- reimbursement of special expenses incurred in the course of employment,
- payments-in-kind, and
- employer CPF contributions.
Additional PWM gross wage requirements for overtime
For full-time workers who work more than 44 hours a week and are covered by the Employment Act's Part 4, employers would need to adhere to the additional PWM gross wage requirements for overtime.
In addition to meeting the PWM requirements for overtime, employers would need to adhere to the Employment Act’s Part 4 requirements for overtime, where the overtime rate of pay must be at least 1.5 times of the basic rate of pay.
Training requirements
Employers must ensure that their Singapore citizen and PR administrators and drivers meet the OPW training requirements of attaining:
- At least 1 Workforce Skills Qualification (WSQ) Statement of Attainment, with no restriction on which WSQ course can be taken; or
- An in-house training programme.
The in-house training programme must be guided by training objectives, training modality, key training tasks and training duration to meet the training requirements. When required, employers are expected to show supporting documentation on their in-house training programme and records of workers who attended the trainings.
On-the-job training can be counted towards the in-house training programme if it fulfils these requirements.
Employers will be given a grace period to comply with the OPW training requirements:
- For new hires: six months from the new hire’s date of employment.
- For existing employees: one year from when the OPW takes effect in March 2023; up to 29 February 2024.
Through proper training, administrators and drivers will be able to increase their productivity and skillsets.
Phased implementation of OPW
From March 2023 to August 2023, MOM will give employers time to adjust and comply with the OPW wage requirements.
Instead of enforcement, MOM will focus on educating employers on the OPW wage requirements. Those who do not comply with the requirements during this transitional period will not have their work pass privileges suspended.
Find out more
For more information: