Long Term Care Manpower Study
This research study shows long term care workers in Singapore are dogged by low pay and limited prospects. It evaluates the pay, perks and prospects of Singapore’s care workers in comparison to four other fast ageing Asia-Pacific economies – Japan, Hong Kong, Australia and South Korea. It also examines the top-of-mind concerns of conducted 250 long term care workers, including migrant workers, who form the bulk of the direct care workforce.
The study reveals key insights into LTC manpower policies and practices in the five surveyed economies. Although Singapore has the second-highest (SGD $4,000) post-tax national median monthly wage among the five territories surveyed, its long term care workers are the lowest paid. The disparity in wages is especially wide among support care workers who make up the bulk of the care workforce. A foreign nursing aide in Singapore, for instance, earns only around $850 and a local earns around $1,350 per month compared to post-tax salaries of more than $3,000 for their peers in Hong Kong, Australia and Japan. Foreigners appear to make up around 70 percent of the direct care workforce in Singapore, compared to 32 per cent in Australia, 10 per cent or less in Japan, Hong Kong and Korea. Locals are reluctant to join the sector, given that they have many better-paying jobs to choose from that require similar qualifications.
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