Labour chief Chan Chun Sing welcomes NWC recommendations

SINGAPORE - Labour chief Chan Chun Sing has given the thumbs up to the recommendations made by National Wages Council (NWC).

"The NWC has continued to pay a lot of attention to our lower-income workers, and this is where we hope to help uplift (their) wages," said Mr Chan, at the sidelines of a triple rig-naming ceremony organised by offshore rigbuilder Keppel Fels on Saturday.

"We hope that all the companies which have done well will also play their part to take care of our workers, especially the lower-income ones."

Mr Chan's comments come after the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) said on Friday that it fully supports the NWC's guidelines to grant employees sustainable wage increases, including raising the wages of workers earnings $1,100 or less a month by at least $60, or about 5.5 per cent.

Mr Chan also noted that the success of Keppel Corporation, the parent company of Keppel Fels, is in part the result of its "strong labour-management relations".

The group, for instance, has been able to leverage on its workers' experience to improve productivity, he said.

"The good ideas do not just come from management, the good ideas do not just come from the engineers, but actually the good ideas to help improve productivity and ultimately improve the earnings of the company and the salaries of the workers can come from the entire family of Keppel employees."

Keppel Fels' naming ceremony was for three jack-up rigs that will be delivered to Mexican driller Grupo R by the end of July. It is the first three of five rigs that Keppel Fels is building for Grupo R.

This article was first published on May 31, 2015.
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