[bigsale]

Wage divide gets narrower

THE demand for junior employees here is more acute than that for managers — leading to the pay gap between these two groups narrowing slightly between 2006 and last year — a study by global management consultancy Hay Group has revealed.

Unlike economies like China and Thailand — where the salary gap is more pronounced because companies are willing to offer top dollar to fill the many management positions — Singapore's large pool of well-educated and trained workforce is keeping the rate of wage increases for top executives in check.

Said Hay Group director Roland Ruiz: "Base salaries for senior positions are already high in Singapore. There is not much room for increase.

"At the clerical level, however, salaries have been pushed up by a shortage of people."

The statistics bear this out: Between 2006 and last year, the average pay of a junior employee grew 5.9 per cent compared to 5.7 per cent for managers.

The study analysed wage data of more than 12 million employees in 61 countries. The top 200 companies in Singapore were surveyed in the study — among them are firms in the oil and gas, chemicals and banking and finance industries.

The findings showed that emerging developing economies had the greatest pay disparity between management and clerical positions, with these countries occupying the top 20 positions.

This is because the "overwhelming demand for key talent is inflating senior salaries far beyond that of junior staff", said Hay Group.

The rapidly-growing markets of China, Thailand and Vietnam took the top three spots.

Singapore ranked 36th on the list with a five per cent drop in the wage difference.

As Singapore prepares itself for a slowdown in the economy this year, in line with the generally dim global outlook, human resource consultants are split on whether the wage gap would narrow further.

Mr Ruiz anticipates that it would close up in the event of a worldwide downturn.

But Ms Su-Yen Wong, managing director for Mercer (Asean), said it might not narrow because the strain on the talent pool at both junior and senior positions would ease during a slowdown.

"Even in a slower economy, good talent remains hard to find and keep, and top talent will continue to demand top dollars as companies focus on improving their productivity," she noted.

Mr Tim Hird, Robert Half International's managing director, said companies could choose to reward employees in other ways — for example, through variable bonuses.

Source: http://www.todayonline.com/articles/252614.asp

[kerrigan]

getting narrower.. with ministers pay like that?

who are we kidding?

[raysusan]

narrower among the poor is it?

[dxter]

The statistics bear this out: Between 2006 and last year, the average pay of a junior employee grew 5.9 per cent compared to 5.7 per cent for managers.

hehe. 2000*1.059 vs. 6000*1.057. Narrower indeed

[oOgA]

sigh..wat an article...

[Shrek]

narrower by 0.2%. WTF

[kerrigan]

their minds are narrower .. their ability to govern has gotten a lot narrower as well

[Dr_ARCHer]

Originally Posted by dxter

hehe. 2000*1.059 vs. 6000*1.057. Narrower indeed

In the HayGroup report, Page 3 stated:

How the findings were calculated
For each country, we took the market median base salary for a “Clerical” level worker (Hay Group Reference level 12, or 208 Hay Group Points), and for a “Management” level worker (Hay Group Reference level 20, or 805 Hay Group Points). We then divided one by the other, to give us the “pay gap” – i.e. how much more does a management worker earn, compared to a clerical worker.

i.e. Pay Gap = (Median base of "Management" level worker) / (Median base salary for "Clerical" level worker)

Thus, taking the numerical example cited,

Pay Gap in 2006 = 6000 / 2000 = 3.000

Pay Gap in 2007 = 6000*1.057 / 2000*1.059 = 2.994

So based on HayGroup Pay Gap definition, pay gap is indeed narrower.

However

If we define pay gap as differences in pay i.e.

i.e. Pay Gap = (Median base of "Management" level worker) - (Median base salary for "Clerical" level worker)

then Pay Gap in 2006 = 6000 - 2000 = 4000

while Pay Gap in 2007 = 6000*1.057 - 2000*1.059 = 4224

so this alternative definition of pay gap would show a widening.

Like I said (again), it's a matter of intepreting the statistics.

[Alverya]

Singapore media, bought over by gahmen

[Del_CtrlnoAlt]

Originally Posted by Alverya

Singapore media, bought over by gahmen

paiseh, u got it wrong...

they never bought over... it belong to them.

[nutcase23]

Originally Posted by Del_CtrlnoAlt

paiseh, u got it wrong...

they never bought over... it belong to them.

[kyouta]

another piece of BS

[LgO-sluglives]

at least they try.... lol

[tarui04]

Originally Posted by Dr_ARCHer

In the HayGroup report, Page 3 stated:



i.e. Pay Gap = (Median base of "Management" level worker) / (Median base salary for "Clerical" level worker)

Thus, taking the numerical example cited,

Pay Gap in 2006 = 6000 / 2000 = 3.000

Pay Gap in 2007 = 6000*1.057 / 2000*1.059 = 2.994

So based on HayGroup Pay Gap definition, pay gap is indeed narrower.

However

If we define pay gap as differences in pay i.e.

i.e. Pay Gap = (Median base of "Management" level worker) - (Median base salary for "Clerical" level worker)

then Pay Gap in 2006 = 6000 - 2000 = 4000

while Pay Gap in 2007 = 6000*1.057 - 2000*1.059 = 4224

so this alternative definition of pay gap would show a widening.

Like I said (again), it's a matter of intepreting the statistics.

thanks for the enlightenment.