More annual leave for outsourced workers from 2029

Outsourced cleaners working at East Coast Town Council, Abdul Rahman Amil and Albert Lee, said they are looking forward to having more annual leave for vacation and rest. Amil is employed by Chang Seng Services, while Lee is employed by Clean Solutions.

MOM noted that the increase in baseline leave will help ensure that workers’ employment conditions remain protected even when their employers change.

It added that the new baseline should not affect the annual leave increase that outsourced employees are currently entitled to under the Employment Act. This means workers who are already receiving leave benefits above the new baseline should continue to receive them according to their employment terms and the Employment Act.

Under the Employment Act, employees are entitled to a minimum of seven days of annual leave in their first year of service. This increases by one day per year of service with an employer, and can go up to a maximum of 14 days.

Minister of State for Manpower Dinesh Vasu Dash said this progression can be difficult to achieve and maintain for outsourced PWM (Progressive Wage Model) workers though.

“Service buyers frequently switch providers, and each time workers are rehired on a fresh contract, their leave entitlements could be reset back to seven days.

“Despite performing the same role for many years, their service goes unrecognised, and their leave entitlements stagnate at the baseline of seven days.”

As such, the increase in baseline annual leave to 10 days “will ensure that these workers receive annual leave entitlements that reflect their work and years of service”, he said.

Dinesh was speaking at an NTUC campaign launch to appreciate workers covered under the PWM at Heartbeat@Bedok on July 19.

Under the PWM, bosses must pay at least the PWM wage to eligible workers for their job level and meet their training requirements. This has helped ensure that these sectors can raise salaries for lower-wage workers at a sustainable pace.

The cleaning sector was the first to be introduced in the PWM in 2012. The pest management industry – the latest and 10th sector to be included – was announced earlier in July.