Pay Ratio Disclosures for Ministries, Statutory Boards and Government-linked Companies

Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis asked the Prime Minister whether the Government is considering implementing pay ratio disclosures to require Ministries, Statutory Boards and Government companies to disclose the ratio of top to median, lower quartile and upper quartile staff pay ratios and, if not, why not.

In October 2022, in response to a Parliamentary Question from Mr Seah Kian Peng, I had explained why measuring pay ratios in the Public Service is not a meaningful endeavour. [Please refer to "Ratio of Annual Total Compensation of Top versus Lowest Earners in Civil Service", Official Report, 20 October 2022, Vol 95, Issue 72, Written Answers to Questions for Oral Answer not Answered by End of Question Time section.]

In the same month, I had also responded to a Parliamentary Question from Mr Louis Chua to explain that the measures and safeguards to ensure that Statutory Boards and Government companies put in place proper governance systems are held accountable and continue to deliver services for the benefit of all Singaporeans. [Please refer to "Remuneration Disclosures for Statutory Boards and Government-linked Firms", Official Report, 3 October 2022, Vol 95, Issue 69, Written Answers to Questions for Oral Answer not Answered by End of Question Time section.]

The considerations in those responses remain valid and also apply to Ministries.