Progressive wage model plans for aviation industry

A progressive wage model will be developed by the end of next year for six types of jobs, including baggage handlers and equipment operators, in the aviation and aerospace industry.

The other jobs are trolley retrievers, passenger service agents, aircraft technicians and licensed aircraft engineers.

About 17,750 workers are expected to benefit from the move, which was announced at Changi Airport yesterday during the launch of a new committee that aims to strengthen the industry's workforce.

The Aerospace and Aviation Sectoral Tripartite Committee will comprise NTUC's Employment and Employability Institute, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore, Singapore Workforce Development Agency, 20 employers, including ST Aerospace, and a cluster of nine unions, including the Singapore Airlines Staff Union.

Mr Lim Kuang Beng, chairman of the NTUC Aerospace and Aviation Cluster, said the new committee brings together the various parties to raise wages for workers through productivity, training and job redesign initiatives.

It aims to eventually cover all 60,000 workers in the industry.

NTUC assistant secretary-general Cham Hui Fong said yesterday that the committee also aims to develop a Singaporean core of skilled professions, such as aircraft engineers, in the industry.

ST Aerospace vice-president for human resource Ng Buck Kun said the wage model will benefit about 2,500 aircraft technicians and engineers in her organisation.

"Right now, there is some career pathing, but it is more situation-based and not so structured," she said.

NTUC's progressive wage model involves setting career ladders to boost workers' pay through training, with clear career progression set out.

Salaries of 240 airport trolley handlers were already increased from about $580 to as much as $1,000 last August.

This rise of about 40 per cent is part of NTUC's efforts to improve the pay of low-wage outsourced contract workers.

This article was published on May 8 in The Straits Times.

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