Economy Policy
Singapore to raise salaries for 53,000 retail workers
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Retail workers will get wage increases over the next three years following months of consultations.
Lower-wage Singapore retail workers may soon get annual salary increases ranging from 5.1% to 6% over the next three years, as the government has accepted the latest recommendations on the Progressive Wage Model (PWM) for the retail sector.
Under the PWM, full-time retail staff will see their wages gain a "more modest and sustainable increase" of $130 to $160 per year from September 1, 2025, to August 31, 2028, the Tripartite Cluster for Retail (TCR) announced on Monday.
Part-time workers who work less than 345 hours a week will also benefit from increases of around 6% of their hourly gross pay starting September 1. The wage hikes will also be subject to review in 2026, as they may be adjusted if the economic situation improves.
The recommendations were made after nearly nine months of consultations between the members of the TCR, which consists of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), the Singapore National Employers Federation, and the Ministry of Manpower.
Established in September 2022, the PWM outlined a fixed three-year schedule of wage increases for more than 53,000 retail workers across Singapore. Aside from raising wages, it also aims to strengthen career progression and support skills development.
“As the retail sector transforms and faces headwinds, so must our approach to helping our retail workers adapt and make progress in their career and wages,” said Yeo Wan Ling, TCR chair and assistant secretary-general of the NTUC.
Yeo also noted that the new wage schedule will affect 7,000 more employees since the PWM was implemented, and that more retail workers were undergoing skills training to take on other roles.
“It’s important that we continue to bring fresh, new blood into the sector,” Yeo told reporters.
The latest recommendations also come at a ‘challenging’ time for Singapore’s retail sector, according to the TCR, as local brick-and-mortar shops face increasing competition from e-commerce stores and overseas retailers.
Manpower minister Dinesh Vasu Dash said the new PWM schedule reflects current global market uncertainties and offers an opportunity for retailers to discover ways to be more efficient and productive.
“The government is also watching the economic outlook closely, and if there’s a requirement for us to make further changes along the way, we will consider that as well,” Dinesh said on Monday.
When asked about the possibility of retailers passing on the cost of paying for higher wages to customers, Dinesh said that “buffers” have been put in place to defray costs.
As of 2023, there are more than 24,500 retail enterprises employing a total of 142,000 workers across Singapore.
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