In a first, Tower Transit ups drivers’ basic pay past S$2k
This is the second time that Tower Transit is raising the salaries of its staff, with the first being in May last year. Photo: Wee Teck Hian
SINGAPORE — Just over a year after it commenced operations, Tower Transit Singapore on Monday (July 10) announced a second round of increments for its staff — and in the process, pushing the basic monthly pay of bus drivers here past S$2,000 for the first time.
The United Kingdom-based bus operator said it is raising the salaries of more than 800 employees, including bus drivers and vehicle technicians, by 3.7 per cent. With this annual wage increment, the basic monthly pay for new bus drivers who are Singaporean citizens or permanent residents will be S$2,002, up from S$1,930. The increment will be backdated from May, the operator said.
In May last year, the firm announced its first round of pay hikes, raising salaries by 3.5 per cent two weeks before it began operations.
Tower Transit Singapore managing director Andrew Bujtor said the latest round of increments — which was made known to its staff last Friday, after successful talks with the National Transport Workers’ Union (NTWU) — was to ensure that the wages of its employees “keep pace with that of other Singaporeans”.
The company said its annual wage increment is based on “an index of overall wages” in Singapore, and it takes instruction from the National Wages Council’s guidelines.
In response to queries, NTWU executive secretary Melvin Yong said that wage negotiations usually take into consideration factors such as “industry trends, outlook and company performances”. He noted that while the basic salary “helps to set a certain benchmark for a job, it is also important that Tower Transit “continues to work with the union to develop and review appropriate training and career progressive roadmaps”, among other things.
Tower Transit began operations here after winning the first package of routes tendered under the Government’s bus contracting model. It currently has between 700 and 800 drivers. Under the model, companies earn a fee for running bus services, while the Government owns the operating assets, including the buses, and determines the standards and services.
Since the bus contracting model was implemented last year, all four major bus operators here have moved to raise the wages of their drivers.
Shortly after Tower Transit introduced its first round of pay hikes for drivers, SBS Transit — the largest bus operator here — raised the gross monthly salary for its new bus drivers to about S$3,460 in June last year. This comprises a higher basic monthly salary of S$1,950 — up from S$1,775 — as well as overtime pay and incentives.
Go-Ahead Singapore then followed suit the next month, raising the basic monthly salary of its drivers by about 4.6 per cent — from S$1,865 to S$1,950 a month. In September last year, SMRT also increased the basic pay for its drivers by 20 per cent to S$1,950. SMRT’s revised salary package meant that drivers could earn a monthly gross salary of up to S$3,540.
Dr Park Byung Joon, a transport analyst from the Singapore University of Social Sciences, said the “inevitable” trend is likely to continue, amid growing competition for bus drivers, as operators look to hire more drivers in order to increase the frequency of their services.
He added that other operators may consider following in Tower Transit’s footsteps, or they could face a problem of retaining their drivers.
In response to TODAY’s queries, SMRT pointed to its salary increment announced about 10 months ago, while Go-Ahead Singapore said it would, in due course, “engage in constructive dialogue with (NTWU) to deliver a fair and reasonable” wage adjustment for its bus drivers. ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY LOUISA TANG
