Barista wages in Singapore really pale by comparison?

The inspiration to write this piece came after reading an article that a fellow Barista friend posted in his FaceBook. There and then, i could not help reading the comments and putting in my thoughts as well. That article spread like wildfire amongst coffee people that i knew. Every individual was sharing it in Coffee groups which encouraged a friendly debate; much to the agreement of many in unison. (agreeing that a particular barista in a particular country that was poll in the survey, is really earning that much in a survey) I do agree that more can be done to improve local barista wages but do we really average that low?

I can't speak much for wages that was poll based on other country index. I can though, based it on my own finding locally. Being involved in majority of hiring in mostly all the coffee companies that i have been in, i understand the trend, the pay base on experience basis and somehow the average of a local barista, no matter the hierarchy of accolades and/or experience. Most importantly, i understand the cultural difference that set us apart from Barista everywhere else in this world.

Now that i believe you have clicked on the article above that i hyper-linked, lets us examine the chart again:-

Picture courtesy of Alex Bernson, Sprudge.com

Based on the survey done, Singapore averages at USD $5-6.50 per hour, which equates to SGD $6.50-$8.50 per hour. Now looking at this figure, one will agree that this is pretty decent and exactly what a Barista gets paid here. The number is definitely higher than what any of the global chains coffee brands are currently paying their Hourly Paid Barista, that i have to agree. The story is different though for a Salaried Barista.
A salaried barista from these chains with experience somehow brings home average $1,500 per month. Working on a 44 hours a week x 4 in a month for a Full Timer, this average out to be SGD $8.52/hr. Of course if we care to include the 16% CPF top up by our employer on top of our nett salary, this number becomes $9.86. This alone proves that we average higher than what was poll.

Again many will disagree if i argued based on the finding of just one global coffee chain but the truth is, every industry and individual working in it has a market value. The market value in this instance, should be based on the finding of a market leader(click here), someone who employs the highest number of Barista and have the most number of cafes in operations, and to that i examplify the chains. Do not get me wrong though, "market price/rate" may not exactly mean that their's is the highest. Rather, we always hear the phrase "paying above market price" and this happen in indie cafes. Now reflect: Going back to my paragraph  above, that the suggested "market rate"is about $8.50 and indie cafe usually pays higher than that, this instantly justify that our average should be higher than what was poll in the graph above.

We must first be very convinced that Indie does pay well. I do not have statistic to show but in recent years, the number of baristi that made the switch from one of the many chains to an indie cafe is quite high. I personally spend some good 9 years with a global coffee chain before making a switch and many of my barista currently plying their trade in Toby's Estate, was once from one of the many chains too. Why the swap? Simple. The attraction to work in a "cool cafe" with "cool coffee toys" will always be there but the money is good too. That my friend, is the main attraction. (I am sure you have heard of how many of this passionate bunch always said that coffee is passion and they work not for the money. They are not comparing apple to apple. When they said that, they are mostly referring to their ex-classmates who are now doctors, bankers, pilots, architects. Of course comparing being a Barista and one of those profession, we are pale by comparison.)

I am in a unique position where we have a Retail Roastery in Australia (Sydney), USA (New York) and of course Singapore. This three  are listed in the graph by Sprudge.com and if we really wants to make a case study out of this topic, i am sure we can offer a better estimate from real time payroll. Instead of releasing too much P&C details as discussing about wages is a sensitive topic, lets look at the position related to coffee here and the salary range. (This i gather by visiting jobs recruitment sites, paper advertisement, industry talk etc)

So question is, based on the research above, is our industry really that pale in comparison against Barista from other countries? Whatever the job descriptions states on the individual titles, i assure you. Approach anybody here that holds any of this titles in Singapore. They can be a Trainer but will call themselves a Barista. They can be a Retail Manager that keep all administration of a Cafe tight and running but be seen pulling shots behind the Bar and still calling themselves Barista. And their salary varies but remains Barista at heart.

Last but not least, people in our coffee industry are usually hired based on experience in the field of work rather than the Diploma and/or Degree he or she holds. Our starting range of salaries as you can see, match those of someone that has a paper qualification, as recently debated in  local newspaper. Dont even argue about the long hours in F&B nowadays. The welfare as set by Ministry of Manpower becomes a mandate that most often than not, Barista are enjoying 44 hours x 5 days work week, 14 days Annual Leave and any other benefits as that off a 8-5 "white collar" occupation and MOST IMPORTANTLY, we are passionate about our chosen career path.