Mr Pritam Singh asked the Minister for Manpower how many S-Pass holders earned more than S$3,000 in 2019, 2020, and 2021 respectively.
Dr Tan See Leng: The data requested by the Member is given in Table 1 below. From December 2019 to December 2021, the number of S Pass holders decreased from 200,000 to 161,800, in part due to COVID-related entry restrictions. Over the same period, the share of S Pass holders earning $3,000 or higher increased from 37% to 67%.
MOM regularly reviews the S Pass qualifying salary1 to keep pace with local APT2 wages. This ensures that S Pass holders are of good calibre, and are not hired simply because they are cheaper than locals. Correspondingly, the share of S Pass holders earning higher wages has increased over time.
Ministry of Manpower
4 April 2022
https://sprs.parl.gov.sg/search/sprs3topic?reportid=written-answer-10381
Office of the Leader of the Opposition 