Singapore rents at the posh end of the market are coming down we gather. One reason is that packages for ex-pats are getting less generous and, horror of horrors, many are told to pay the rent themselves rather than get an accommodation allowance. Needless to say, if the company´s not paying, staff often go for something a tad cheaper.
As regular readers of this newsletter will know, Spinnaker acts as secretariat for the maritime HR Forum which benchmarks salaries, bonus packages and allowances across a range of maritime industry players.
Findings of the most recent Forum survey suggest that fewer than 3% of staff members were formally labelled by members as ex-pats, with chartering staff being the highest percentage at 38%. Of the 3% 67.5% got housing allowances, (58% in Singapore and 100% in the UAE). For more on allowance amounts and salary levels in Singapore and elsewhere email us for a membership information pack.
Times are changing and the trend now seems to be towards increasing salaries in order to reflect local conditions and leaving ex-pats to pay the rent themselves. Those staying longer than a three to five year assignment will probably see their allowance, if they have one, withdrawn as they are converted to local terms.
