1st Mar 2024
NOTICE PAPER NO. 2621
NOTICE OF QUESTION FOR ORAL ANSWER
FOR THE SITTING OF PARLIAMENT ON 1 MARCH 2024
Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament
Mr Yip Hon Weng
MP for Yio Chu Kang
Question No. 5798
To ask the Minister for Health (a) what are the specific measures to ensure widespread implementation of the new salary guidelines for the community care sector; (b) what are the incentives in place to encourage community care institutions to comply with the guidelines; (c) how will the Ministry conduct the monitoring of salaries; and (d) what factors will be considered when reviewing the guidelines.
NOTICE PAPER NO. 2621
NOTICE OF QUESTION FOR ORAL ANSWER
FOR THE SITTING OF PARLIAMENT ON 1 MARCH 2024
Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament
Mr Yip Hon Weng
MP for Yio Chu Kang
Question No. 5799
To ask the Minister for Health (a) what is the rationale for the existence of separate salary guidelines for the community care sector issued by the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Social and Family Development through the National Council of Social Service; and (b) whether the Ministries will collaborate to develop a unified set of salary guidelines to avoid confusion within the community care sector and to ensure consistency and clarity for both employers and employees.
NOTICE PAPER NO. 2623
NOTICE OF QUESTION FOR ORAL ANSWER
FOR THE SITTING OF PARLIAMENT ON 1 MARCH 2024
Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament
Mr Yip Hon Weng
MP for Yio Chu Kang
Question No. 5802
To ask the Minister for Health (a) what is the projected increase in operational costs for community care institutions to adopt the new salary guidelines; (b) how will institutions run by voluntary welfare organisations with a tight budget be affected; (c) whether the increase in service costs will be passed on to beneficiaries; (d) whether the Ministry will help institutions to subsidise salary increments; and (e) what support will be provided to help institutions to attract and retain staff.
Answer
The salary guidelines for the community care sector have been published to provide greater transparency and clarity to jobseekers and community care workers on salaries in the sector. Through in-depth engagement sessions with the Community Care Organisations (CCOs), the Ministry of Health (MOH) provides them with guidance on implementation, such as establishing the appropriate banding of staff and salaries.
2. It is in the CCO’s own interest to abide by the guidelines, or they will not be competitive in attracting and retaining their staff, or pay them salaries that is commensurate with their contributions.
3. We will continue to monitor the salary movements of community care staff against the recommended salary levels through yearly surveys. In reviewing the guidelines, we will consider salary movements in relevant labour markets.
4. MOH and the Ministry of Social and Family Development’s (MSF)salary guidelines apply to the healthcare and social service sectors respectively, as there are differences in the job roles and benchmarked to different sectors. Nonetheless, MOH and MSF will continue to exchange salary review plans and information on a regular basis.
5. Higher salaries will lead to higher operating costs for all CCOs. Since 2020, MOH has funded CCOs through the community care salary enhancements exercise. MOH will continue to fund and support CCOs to adopt the salary guidelines. However, CCOs will need to co-fund some of the salary increases and these could translate into modest increases in their fees.
6. Beyond ensuring that salaries in the community care sector are competitive, MOH and our agencies support the CCOs to ensure that their workforce is future-ready through training and development programmes. We have also worked with CCOs to redesign job roles to elevate community care careers and improve their attractiveness.