By Esther Teo & Jonathan Kwok

MOST companies which cut or froze staff pay prefer to wait until the strength of the economic recovery becomes clear before they commit to reversing the measures.

A Straits Times survey of 11 firms which had previously announced cost-cutting measures found that only MediaCorp and Apex-Pal International were looking to at least partially restore the cuts.

Property firm Knight Frank is reviewing its situation at the end of this month, and if the positive results seen so far hold up, it plans to restore all pay cuts it instituted this year and even reimburse staff for pay taken since May.

'We do what we feel is right and fair in relation to our staff. Even if we remain only marginally profitable, we want to reward staff who have been loyal and who stood with us through hard times,' said Knight Frank managing director Danny Yeo.

Medical giant Parkway Holdings partially reinstated pay cuts a few months ago, as it saw markets improving in the first half of the year.

The remaining companies are taking a wait-and-see approach, saying they will monitor the economic situation, or wait until their next wage reviews, before deciding on courses of action.

A wider poll of 50 firms undertaken by the Singapore Manufacturers' Federation (SMa) found that about a quarter reduced pay this year and none have reinstated the cuts.

SMa president Renny Yeo said: 'They are not confident that this is a sustainable recovery and will only look at restoring the wages in the first quarter of next year after the picture becomes clearer.'

Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong suggested last Saturday that companies that are doing well should consider reversing recession wage cuts.

However, he cautioned that they should remain flexible given the uncertain outlook for next year.

MediaCorp has heeded that call and has 'adjusted' its day-off scheme, which compels employees to take an unpaid day off once a fortnight.

The scheme, which started in April, is not being implemented this month but will resume in December.

Adjustments to the scheme will be decided only in late December when there is greater certainty about the company's performance and recovery.

Apex-Pal International's chief executive officer, Mr Douglas Foo, said his team would discuss pay later this month and that the company was working towards restoring cuts by the first quarter of next year.

Most of the other companies The Straits Times spoke to say they are staying cautious.

CapitaLand, which introduced pay cuts ranging from 3 to 20per cent in January, affecting primarily management and executive level employees, said it was monitoring the economy closely and may consider reinstating salaries if the recovery is firm.

United Overseas Bank's wage freeze policy will be reviewed between January and March next year.

Singapore Press Holdings said it was 'currently in discussion with the unions and not in a position to comment publicly'.

SingTel said a wage freeze imposed across the board for this year would be reviewed in the light of such market conditions as the state of the economy, business sentiment and demand for services.

Human resource consultants and trade unionists told The Straits Times that they were generally in support of a gradual reinstatement of benefits but conceded that a blanket reversal of wage cuts or freezes might not be possible yet for all companies.

They suggested that these firms reverse cuts for non-management staff first, or pay workers a one-off bonus.

Employees vital to a firm's core business should also have their pay restored first, perhaps in the form of increments next year as a way of retaining talent.

Mr Kevin Ong, a consulting leader at human resource consultant Towers Perrin, said companies should introduce performance-based plans that promise to restore cuts if results reach a certain level.

'These companies should also prioritise pay restoration for pivotal groups of employees. They should focus on employees who are vital to their company's core business, and on hot talent that could be in demand by other firms,' he added.

National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) deputy secretary-general Halimah Yacob suggested the process of getting back to previous levels of benefits might be incremental.

'Typically, our experience shows that the first step most companies take is to revert to the full week instead of the shorter work week...those asked to go on paid or unpaid leave would start working their normal hours,' she said.

Madam Halimah added that more companies have already started scheduling workers for overtime.

That slightly more optimistic trend is reflected in a survey by employee management company ECA International.

It found that 11 per cent of 99 companies polled here are proposing salary freezes next year, down from this year's 39 per cent.

Employees can also expect salary increases of 3 per cent next year, up from this year's 2 per cent average, said ECA regional director Lee Quane.

This article was first published in The Straits Times.