Even though people who work in the social service sector may have motivations other than money, they deserve to be paid a fair wage all the same.

Social and Family Development Minister Desmond Lee said that from April 1, 2018 onwards, MSF will raise salary guidelines for social service staff working in programmes funded by the Ministry.

New guidelines

The increase is expected to be up to 12 per cent from the previous financial year, across different professions and job levels.

The National Council of Social Service (NCSS) will release the new salary guidelines sometime in March 2018.

Said Lee:

"Many of those who work in the social service sector do not do it for the remuneration. They see it as a calling. Nonetheless, they deserve to receive a fair and competitive wage and have their contributions recognised."

The MSF reviews salary norms for the programmes it funds every three years.

Accordingly, MSF's recurrent funding for programmes run by volunteer welfare organisations will get an extra $11 million, or five per cent, in FY2018.

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Moving on up

Lee gave the example of a senior teacher, trained in early special needs education, who can expect a rise of eight per cent with the new guidelines.

The revised guidelines would cover more of such professions under social services.

As another example, according to Payscale, the median salary for an occupational therapist in Singapore is about $44,000 per year.

A rise of 12 per cent would see that that occupational therapist earning $49,280.

These guidelines are not rules, and charitable organisations can choose not to implement them if they choose.

But it'd be a smart move to do so, given that any organisation in any industry needs to increase salaries to remain competitive in attracting and retaining talent.

Top image from National Council of Social Service's Facebook page.