Rahayu Mahzam on new salary guidelines for community care sector

The salary guidelines for the community care sector have been published to provide greater transparency and clarity to jobseekers and community care workers. The Ministry of Health (MOH) provides Community Care Organisations (CCOs) with guidance on implementation, such as establishing the appropriate banding of staff and salaries. It is in the CCOs’ own interest to abide by the guidelines to be competitive in attracting and retaining their staff. MOH will continue to monitor the salary movements of community care staff against the recommended salary levels through yearly surveys. In reviewing the guidelines, it will consider salary movements in relevant labour markets. Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Health Rahayu Mahzam, who said this in reply to an MP's questions in Parliament on Friday (Mar 1), pointed out that higher salaries will lead to higher operating costs for all CCOs. She said MOH will continue to fund and support CCOs in adopting the salary guidelines but CCOs will need to co-fund some of the salary increases and this could translate into modest increases in their fees, she added. Ms Rahayu said MOH and its agencies also support the CCOs in ensuring that their workforce is future-ready through training and development programmes, as well as redesigning job roles to make careers more attractive.