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SINGAPORE: Growth in Singapore's real basic wages last year outpaced productivity for the second consecutive year.
That was the conclusion of the tripartite National Wages Council (NWC), which on Friday released its annual wage guidelines for 2008-2009.
The NWC, however, qualified that taken on a five-year or longer period, productivity growth still exceeded the growth in real basic wages.
The NWC said total wages (which include basic wages and bonuses) rose by 5.9 percent for private sector employees in 2007. That was higher than the 4.5 percent increase in 2006. The average bonus payout was 2.36 months in 2007.
On the other hand, labour productivity growth declined from 1.5 percent in 2006 to a negative (minus 0.9 percent) last year. This was partly due to record employment gains in 2007.
Turning to the economy in 2008, the NWC expressed concern that the outlook has deteriorated in recent months.
And going forward, there are some risks to growth due to considerable uncertainty in the global financial markets and a slowing US economy.
The NWC urged the government, employers and the unions to monitor the situation and its impact on companies and workers. - CNA/ir
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