SINGAPORE: SMRT will raise its starting salaries and improve employment terms and benefits for staff following talks with the National Transport Workers’ Union (NTWU), the transport operator said on Saturday (Feb 24).

From Mar 1, its starting pay for engineers with “good honours degrees” will be increased by up to S$350 a month to S$3,800. Polytechnic graduates will see a starting basic pay of S$2,400, an increase of S$200, and those with Higher National Institute of Technical Education Certificate (NITEC) will see a starting basic pay of S$1,900, an increase of S$225.



The changes come as SMRT aims to recruit up to 2,500 more staff over the next three to five years. This includes hiring another 200 engineers for its current MRT lines and the new Thomson-East Coast Line, which opens in phases from 2019.

The transport operator currently has 11,000 employees.

SMRT said the hiring will increase the headcount for its trains division by 45 per cent, and boost the number of rail engineers by 40 per cent.

Employees in its trains division who have “exhibited consistent good performance” and are healthy will now be offered five-year re-employment contracts when they turn 62. Previously, these workers were re-employed on yearly contracts up to 67 years old.



Selected experienced staff will also be re-skilled and redeployed to areas such as quality control, inspection, safety and as trainers, SMRT said.

Team-based incentives have also been introduced to encourage staff to work together to increase rail reliability and enhance safety, with teams which meet set targets getting up to S$250 per employee per quarter.

NTWU Executive Secretary Melvin Yong said the union has been working with all public transport operators to improve employment terms and conditions for workers.

“The improvements made by SMRT are a step forward in ensuring that the employment terms and conditions of our rail and bus workers in SMRT remain competitive,” he said.