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:
- Running of errands
- Data entry
- Receiving and registering documents
- Sorting and storing of files
Examples of jobs covered:
- Office attendant
- Data entry clerk, library clerk
Responsibilities include performing administrative tasks such as:
- Accounting, bookkeeping and money handling
- Customer facing tasks such as answering and directing phone calls, providing client information and services
- Management of records such as maintaining and updating filing and inventory
- Secretarial tasks such as arranging appointments, organising meetings
- Preparing production schedules
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 such as 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 such as 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 such as 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
Find out more about the duties and responsibilities of job roles that are covered under OPW using the Singapore Standard Occupational Classification (SSOC) Search.
To find out about the duties and responsibilities of an office attendant (covered by OPW for administrators under the Administrative Assistant job level), search “office attendant” in the SSOC search box under “Enter an SSOC Code or Title” and click on the “Search” button.
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.
In 2025, the NWC will discuss and recommend the OPW wage requirements for 30 June 2026 and later.
| Job level |
Monthly gross wage requirements (excluding overtime payments) for full-time OPW employees based on regular contractual working hours of 35-44 hours per week, assuming no overtime worked |
| From 1 March 2023 |
From 1 July 2024 |
From 1 July 2025 |
|
Administrative supervisor
|
≥ $2,800 |
≥ $2,980 |
≥ $3,160 |
|
Administrative executive
|
≥ $2,000 |
≥ $2,390 |
≥ $2,580 |
|
Administrative assistant
|
≥ $1,500 |
≥ $1,800 |
≥ $1,980 |
| Job level |
Hourly gross wage requirements for part-time OPW employees |
| From 1 March 2023 |
From 1 July 2024 |
From 1 July 2025 |
|
Administrative supervisor
|
≥ $14.69 |
≥ $15.63 |
≥ $16.57 |
|
Administrative executive
|
≥ $10.49 |
≥ $12.53 |
≥ $13.53 |
|
Administrative assistant
|
≥ $9.00 |
≥ $9.44 |
≥ $10.38 |
| Job level |
Monthly gross wage requirements (excluding overtime payments) for full-time OPW employees based on regular contractual working hours of 35-44 hours per week, assuming no overtime worked |
| From 1 March 2023 |
From 1 July 2024 |
From 1 July 2025 |
|
Specialised driver
|
≥ $1,850 |
≥ $2,085 |
≥ $2,320 |
|
General driver
|
≥ $1,750 |
≥ $1,970 |
≥ $2,190 |
| Job level |
Hourly gross wage requirements for part-time OPW employees |
| From 1 March 2023 |
From 1 July 2024 |
From 1 July 2025 |
|
Specialised driver
|
≥ $9.70 |
≥ $10.94 |
≥ $12.17 |
|
General driver
|
≥ $9.18 |
≥ $10.33 |
≥ $11.49 |
Total monthly gross wage for full-time work of 35-44 hours per week includes:
- Basic wage
- Allowances e.g. travel, food, housing
- Productivity incentive payments
It excludes:
- Bonuses including Annual Wage Supplements
- Stock options
- Reimbursement of special expenses incurred in the course of employment
- Payments-in-kind
- Employer CPF contributions
Additional PWM gross wage requirements for overtime
For full-time employees working overtime (OT) and are covered by the Employment Act (EA) Part 4, employers will need to comply with the EA requirement for OT rate of pay, which is at least 1.5 times the basic rate of pay.
In addition to the EA requirement, employers will also need to comply with the OPW OT gross wage requirement, which the NWC has set to safeguard the interests of full-time workers for OT work.
- For workers covered by Part 4 of the EA, the PWM gross wage requirement will increase with every hour of OT worked beyond 44 working hours per week.
- Employers are required to pay the higher of either the EA requirement for OT rate of pay, or the total PWM gross wage requirement.
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.
Find out more
For more information: