KUALA LUMPUR - The Ministry of Health of Singapore announced it will roll out revised salary guidelines for Community Care Organisations (CCOs), granting at least a seven per cent increase in total annual pay for about 23,000 workers.

Health Minister and Coordinating Minister for Social Policies, Ong Ye Kung said the government will provide an initial support package of around S$100 million to help CCOs manage the higher wage costs.

“We are also increasing the subsidy for long-term care which is basically what the CCOs do, in terms of nursing homes, Senior Care Centres (SCC), as well as Home Personal Care (HPC).

“We are also increasing the subsidies for these services for Singaporeans, and that will come into effect in July this year," he said in a statement on Tuesday.

Ong said further details on the new salary guidelines will be announced in the coming months and are expected to be implemented by the end of this year or early next year.

“I hope that with this move, we continue to make healthcare an attractive career in every part of the healthcare system - whether it is in the acute hospital, outpatient, or in a community care setting,” he added.