Cham Hui Fong
Singapore
“Hence, in times like this, we would like to urge both the companies and workers to take a total approach in managing the cost. Companies should optimise whatever resources and support the Government is providing in areas that will support the training and upgrading of their workers.”
“One clarification – would the Ministry review the Retirement Age Act? There is a particular provision on a cut of up to 10% for worker reaching 60 years. Currently, there are already sectors that have significantly reduced the salary ratio, eg, the banks which have already moved to 1.5 and below.”
“So we would like to urge the Government to conduct probably more road shows at some centralised industrial areas, where they are densely populated with such contract workers, heartland shopping malls and bus interchanges to create more awareness of the scheme and the rights of the workers, because we have to bring more of these workers on…”
“Because we believe that all Singaporeans should be able to join this learning fund which is primarily the objective to help them to upgrade. I would like the Ministry to make available training funds for this group of workers who are vulnerable to being displaced by the economy, and whom we should really help to allow them to move up the…”
“At the same time, the labour movement will continue to work with MOM, the employers and relevant agencies to re-develop the industries, to retrain the workers, to re-design the work, and to reward the workers accordingly. Sir I would like to thank the Government for this bold and socially inclusive Budget. I fully support this Budget.”
The complete record
Every one of 72 lines we hold for Cham Hui Fong, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 1 of 2.
“So, with more than 50% of our resident workforce who are PMETs, I believe it is appropriate for us to have a new thinking on how the PMETs will not be left on their own, and whether more can be done to help the PMETs to ensure that there is fair play and fair treatment at the workplace. Sir, we must continue to engage all our workers, whether they are young or old, PMETs or the rank and file. This is the 50th year since Singapore has become a self-government state. That is something we should be proud of. The Prime Minister in his May Day Rally speech has also mentioned that this is a significant milestone and we should continue to look at what more we could want to achieve together. Our workers have rallied behind us all these years. They have weathered many storms with us. When times are bad, they tighten their belts. When times have improved, they would want to be remembered of the sacrifices they have made and also to share the fruits of the labour. The President said that we will want all citizens to have full opportunities to achieve their aspirations. Let us not forget what our workers have done for us. Let us win this battle and reaffirm the trust in them again, and let us help everyone achieve their aspirations. Sir, with this, I support the motion. 3.19 pm”
“PMETs form the majority today, 51%, compared to 41% 10 years ago. There have been numerous programmes introduced recently to help these PMETs to tackle the downturn. We have PCP, PSP and also some recent improvements to the absentee payroll for PMETs undergoing SPUR training. Currently, out of the 530,000 union members that NTUC has, about 127,000 of them are PMETs, which means that we represent about 13% of the PMETs. And we understand that they face the challenges of the downturn as well. We have a unit whereby we have officers that deal with workplace issues faced by the PMETs. They are what we call the General Branch members, not from the unionised companies. Hence, there is no legal representation for them. But we could adopt a moral suasion approach when we speak to the companies. We have seen an increase in the number of cases raised by the PMETs in the last few months. Most of them query about labour law. They asked where they can seek help if they are in trouble. And we have also seen cases where they were retrenched without retrenchment benefit after serving many years in the company or they were being terminated in disguise of retrenchment or they were just told to go on one or two months' unpaid leave, with no visibility whether there will be work when they return. In most of the cases, what they have wanted to is a listening ear – somebody listens to them – and somewhere they can seek redress and, in most of the cases, there were no proper communications between their employers and them.”
“The first group – the older workers. The older workers are those who have made contributions, helped built the economy that we have today. The labour movement has been, over the last four years, working with our unionised companies to support the re-employment of older workers. Today, we have some 70% of our unionised companies implemented, one way or another, policies to support the re-employment. We must not lose sight of this cause, even in down times like this. It will be challenging when companies are facing excess manpower. But we are also glad to note that a lot of our older workers have also made adjustments to benefits and pay in order to stay on the job. Similarly, companies must believe in employing or re-employing these workers based on merit, skills and experience. We have another two-and-a-half years before the legislation takes place. There are many areas that we can develop further – such as reorganising the work, redesigning the work so that it can be more older worker friendly, workplace health programmes, healthy living for the elderly, employability training to stay relevant in the job, even to move on to new jobs. We have been saying that working beyond 62 need not be the same job or the same pay, as long as there are opportunities to continue working and making meaningful contribution to the economy. These are the workers who have brought us where we are today. They have been through the difficult years and they can continue to play important roles to contribute to our workforce. Next, I would like to touch on the PMETs – the Professional Managers, Executives and the Technicians. The Singapore workforce profile has changed over the years. More Singaporeans are now employed in the positions of the PMETs.”
“And, in fact, there are times when we get more resistance from the managers in cost cutting measures! Our strong tripartism has played a pivotal role in enhancing the industrial peace, even at a time like this. More issues are now being resolved at the company level. Before 2000, there was an average of 300 disputes that were referred to the Ministry for conciliation. The last few years, we have seen that reducing to just about 150 per year. It does not mean that we have less cases now because we conduct surveys. We know that on a quarterly or yearly basis, there are still a lot of issues. But most of the time, the workers will try to resolve them at the company level, seek some understanding, forge closer ties, strengthen relationship and move forward. Many tripartite guidelines have also been effective in formulating closer understanding and, therefore, leading to fewer disputes. I have full respect and confidence in our workers. The determination and resilience in them is clearly seen in the many international recognition we have gained for our excellent workforce. Singapore's workforce came in amongst the top in various research and ranking reports by the International Institute for Management Development (IMD), Business Environment Risk Intelligence (BERI) and World Economic Forum (WEF). In 2009, Singapore was ranked first again and with a composite measure of productivity, quality of labour and technical skills. So bread and butter issues are certainly still important today while workers have many more issues to deal with, in terms of flexibility and enhancing their competitiveness. So, indeed, our workers have worked hard to actually earned those top spots. Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to highlight two particular groups of workers today.”
“The orders are still there but in order to cut cost, the workers, together with the management, agreed that instead of working from Monday to Friday, they shift their work days, one group from Monday to Friday, another group from Tuesday to Saturday, because there were always orders coming in on Saturday and they have to make production on Saturday. They could have chosen the easy way, just have the overtime earnings on Saturday. But what they have done is that, in the mood to cut cost, working with the companies, they move the working hours for certain groups of people. It was not a simple decision to make especially in explaining to the workers, when workers were actually hoping for more overtime pay. But the union leaders then took the decision, explained to the workers, and they persevere, accepted the decision and moved forward. Today, some 30,000 workers have gone through shorter work week or temporary layoff. On non-working days, we schedule classes and courses for them to attend, to make use of the opportunity to reskill themselves. Since November when SPUR was introduced, about 30,000 workers from the unionised sector have committed to the SPUR training. They could or could not be on shorter work week. So while there are strikes and demonstrations in Europe and countries in protest of the economic troubles, the workers here braced themselves, accepted pay cuts and tough measures. Many forums, workshops, dialogues were held with the Secretary General, Mr Lim Swee Say, explaining the need for these tough measures. And we never fail to emphasise that management must take the lead in such measures. We are happy to note that while it is difficult for most of the workers to accept, most of them accepted the need for us to take on these measures.”
“Their concerns then were that as long as they can make decent earnings to bring up their children, and that their children can have good education and get good jobs, I think these are the priorities in their life. In 1998, we were hit by the financial crisis. First time after many years, there was a quantitative guideline in NWC. They recommended a wage cut of 5% to 8% to survive the economy. In addition, there was also a 10% point CPF cut. I remember we held numerous sessions. It was led by the then NTUC Secretary General Mr Lim Boon Heng, explaining the rationale for such a painful measure to many workers through many rounds of sessions. And we managed to pull through that crisis pretty soon. Over the years, our economy has been transforming, so are our workers. They have to transform, adapt and pick up new skills. We have restructured the wages, introduced flexible work arrangements, co-payment of medical benefits, job redesign. We have introduced many schemes and changes which our workers today understood that these are necessary changes for them to adapt and continue to grow. Again, the current crisis has shown that our workers can be resilient by working closely with the companies to cut cost and save jobs. Where can we find unions that take initiatives to talk to the companies to restructure their working hours, so that we can optimise the manpower and that companies do not have to incur extra costs? One of the companies, Avanstrate, is in the chemical sector.”
“We usually talked about annual increment, bonuses, individual grievances, and of course talking about allowances when we renew our collective agreements. I remember this branch, Lea Hin Metal Factory, along Alexandra Road. They fabricate aluminium for doors and windows. Then annual increment negotiation was about 5 cents, 7 cents or 10 cents because they are monthly rated. The pay of the workers there is not high. They are long-serving employees. But what we have seen in them is that their dedication to work. Although they do not draw very high pay, they take pride in their work, and they enjoy working as part of the organisation. Today, the company is still there but they have downsized tremendously and they are very much in the maintenance and refurbishment business now. During then, there is no WIS, SPUR, Jobs Credit, ADVANTAGE FUND or Job Recreation Programme. But, again, because these are dedicated workers who have worked hard and who believe in themselves that they have to be self-reliant. I remember explaining Retirement Age Act to them in 1993. Before then, we do not have any retirement age, but the unionised sectors were in the forefront pushing for retirement age to raise it to 60 years. Most of the companies were adopting 55 years as the retirement age. So when I explain the retirement age to them, they told me that with or without the legislation, they will continue working as long as they can. I also took pains to explain the Goods and Services Tax (GST), which was introduced in 1994, to them. They were very unhappy when they knew about the implementation of GST but they accepted its implementation.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, thank you for allowing me to speak. Our President in his Address said that the economy has gone through a roller-coaster ride, with two good years in 2006 and 2007, a disappointing 2008 and a very gloomy 2009. Yes, indeed, we are in for a very tough season. If you speak to the workers, they will share with you their darkest moments in the first quarter of this year, probably during the Chinese New Year period. Companies which were previously bustling with activities and a lot of overtime have just come to a halt. In some of the chemical companies, there were absolutely no activities at all in the month of February and March. Can they feel the recession? Yes, certainly! They find it coming much earlier than any one of us. They could feel when the overtime was cut, when the orders were not coming in and they were not meeting their monthly KPIs. The President in his Address has also said that we have not allowed ourselves to slacken during good times. Instead, we have restructured ourselves, upgraded our workforce, and also brought many new and high-end investments into Singapore. We should pay tribute to our workers too. They have been standing tall, rallying behind us in good and bad times. I joined NTUC in 1991, 18 years ago, as a young officer. I took an elective module in Industrial Relations (IR). I thought I knew a lot about IR but I was wrong. What I learnt was the textbook knowledge. It did not demonstrate to me the resilience and the perseverance in our workers. I was an officer with Metal Industries Workers’ Union. We dealt with workers in the metal industries – stamping, machining and tooling. Issues confronting the workers then were bread and butter issues.”
“Sir, I fully support this Budget. 1.54 pm”
“Sir, we have made good progress over the last three years to restructure the wages, redesign the work processes, engage the companies on workplace health programmes to ensure that older workers have all that is necessary to continue working. We should not let this go to waste but we should continue our long-term objective of ensuring that our older workers can stay employed and employable. Lastly, I would like to say that tripartism is indeed our unique advantage. It is a strong relationship we have nurtured for many years. It is because of this strong relationship that we have that we are able to build up confidence with the employers and the workers to make them go through different changes in their worklife. It is not an easy decision to dip into the reserves to fund the Jobs Credit Scheme. But I think it sends a strong signal to everyone, whether it is the workers or the employers, that the fact that we are dipping into the reserves is that we are very serious, that we are here to work closely with you and with the workers to save jobs. The challenges before us are tremendous but we do have our own ammunition – our united tripartism, the trust and confidence in our people, or unique Singapore. It is an extraordinary programme during extraordinary times, and we require extraordinary efforts. So it is not going to be a miracle jock that will just bring us out of this crisis immediately. If we want to see the outcome, then we have to work hard to achieve that. So we will be engaging all our partners to work even harder and I will call upon everyone to maximise the Jobs Credit Scheme. Do not discredit this. Turn this adversity into our Singapore advantage, and I am sure we will emerge stronger in this downturn. So, in this downturn, please do not turn us down.”
“It will be a very challenging year for those workers seeking re-employment or hoping for a second renewal of their contract, and I was also hoping that the Jobs Credit could have actually given a slight slant towards the older workers. We talked to the companies and the workers. With the plethora of bad news, people are more aware and more realistic today. Many are actually receptive to flexible work, shorter work hours, flexible time, as long as they keep their jobs because they understand that if their pay drops below certain level, they can be supplemented through Workfare Income Supplement, as long as they remain in the payroll. Some companies told us that the lower employer's CPF contribution rate, together with the Jobs Credit, actually gives them an added advantage. There is one company who even did up the calculation to compare the cost between the locals and the foreign workers. So with all those different cost components of the foreign workers, including airfare, accommodation, etc, they openly tell us that, certainly, the older workers will be more cost competitive. But we spoke to them and we all agreed that while this is a temporary relief, it will only be here for one year. We should make sure that we should not exploit this cost advantage that we have. We should actually ensure that we can make use of these savings and really invest more in the older workers to ensure that they can remain in the workforce. Because what we want to see is that, when the economy recovers, the older workers continue to be employed and stay in employment.”
“They understand the need to stay competitive because they know that other companies out there which are also doing well will also be having the same amount of savings. They want to make full use of these savings to ensure that they can become more competitive, so that they will have a competitive edge over others. These are the commitments from companies that are doing well, who are prepared to spend this money to invest in their people. They told us that, to them, they do not look at this as mere cost savings that fatten up their bottomline. This is actually something that they will treat as part of their investment in their people. Sir, we have seen how Jobs Credits Scheme has helped some workers save their jobs and, in some cases, get some wage increment and given them some confidence that, at least, they stay viable. Another company told us that while they are not able to keep all the jobs, they may still have to retrench 15% or 20% of the workers, and that happened just last night. We can at least be assured that there will be more viability for the remaining 80%. What we want to echo is that the whole Resilience Package is for us to build more confidence in our businesses and our people, so that they do not give up hope. We do not want to have a batch of people who are helpless and hopeless, and feel that this is just the end for them. Next, I would like to touch on the older workers. We have 709 companies committed to re-employing older workers. We hit as high as 5,400 workers being re- employed in October last year. But as at today, it has dropped to 4,600. This means that some of them will not be able to get their second renewal, or we find it even more challenging to get those who are in the "new" 62s to be re-employed.”
“Another US semiconductor company that produces epoxy moulding compound with about 150 workers was also discussing with the union on possible retrenchment, shorter work weeks and SPUR before the Lunar New Year. This was the company that we managed to get WDA to approve their claim for absentee payroll when their workers are on shorter work weeks. Their SPUR training will begin on 18th February and they have now reverted to us that, because of the SPUR and the Jobs Credit Scheme, they have now deferred retrenchment indefinitely, and they will come back to us because orders are still low. They will take this time to reposition themselves to look at new skills and new training that may be needed to equip their people to up their capabilities. Another well-known paint company that has about 200 workers, got a directive from its HQ this year for a wage freeze. The company is actually doing pretty well. But, understanding the NWC guidelines, we would rather that they have some savings. At the end of the day, under the flexible wage system, the savings will be translated into KPI bonuses for the workers. But the management actually wanted to pay some form of increment to the workers, so they were trying to find ways to justify this to its HQ. When the Jobs Credit Scheme was announced, they readily got it approved and all the 200 workers will now enjoy some form of wage increment. We talked to some companies that are doing well and they have no signs of retrenchment. So, how are they going to make use of this Jobs Credit Scheme? Because it will amount to a few hundred thousand dollars a month as they have quite a huge workforce. They told us that they are committed to use these savings to train their workers.”
“Sir, there will certainly be workers who worry that the Jobs Credit Scheme may not help them save jobs. We can understand their concerns. The Government has already done its part to introduce the scheme. What is left here is for employers, unions and workers to do their part and act responsibly. One plastics moulding company with about 560 workers was doing badly, with its capacity already dropping and today, it is probably less than 50%. They went into temporary layoff in December, had one round of retrenchment in December, and they are now into shorter work weeks until February. They told us early this year that further retrenchment is unavoidable. We have already cut all sorts of non-wage costs, including cutting the AWS last December. We last spoke to them last Wednesday – third day of Chinese New Year – and got a favourable response from them. They did their calculations and told us that now, the retrenchment numbers will be reduced considerably and, more importantly, they will retrench in batches and only the non-Singaporeans. And they told us that the Jobs Credit Scheme helps them. If I may just add, the batch that was actually retrenched in December, through the assistance of the union and, of course, through the company, we have actually arranged training for them at e2i. We understand from them that after going through some days of employability camp training, they were put on training courses and given $30 training allowance, up to a maximum of $600 a month. The workers were telling us that although this falls short of what they were earning previously at $800, this is something much better than they have expected.”
“And there are already changes in the shift patterns, from three shifts to two shifts to one shift, and a lot of them have even gone on temporary layoff, which means that they do not even have to come back to work for a period of time, two weeks or one month. So, of course, we are concerned with the high number of workers on shorter work week. But, on the other hand, we are actually heartened that – because of the relationship that we have built up with the companies and workers over the years – we managed to gain their trust to actually work together during this period, at least to stave off retrenchment, and see how we can get ourselves out of this downturn. SPUR was introduced at the right time. The timely announcement has also helped many of our workers make use of the lull period to go for training, something which they could not afford to do previously, either they do not want to miss their overtime or the company just does not want to release them. Just recently, we spoke to WDA to sort out some arrangements on the payment of absentee payroll, because if a person is technically not working, he is not entitled to absentee payroll. So we sorted that out and we managed to get it done which means that, effectively, as long as our workers are all on a shorter work week, they can claim the absentee payroll to ensure that they at least get part of their pay, if not full pay. We spoke to some of the companies before and after the Budget announcement. They are hopeful that the Singapore Government will do its best to help businesses and save jobs. In fact, it is with such commitment and belief that many of the MNCs have informed their HQs that Singapore will have what it takes to let them stay afloat.”
“And we were asked whether we only represent the bigger companies that are performing better. Again, the answer is no, because we do represent the MNCs as well as the SMEs. And we know that this year, or in fact the end of last year, many MNCs were also badly hit. So, we take a look and we realise that we have been working with the tripartite partners over the years, to build up the trust and confidence with the employers and with our people. We have adopted the tripartite guidelines on managing excess manpower, and we actually applied it in a timely manner to ensure that the companies are coping with the crisis of having low or no orders. We put them onto shorter work weeks or temporary lay-offs. We explained to the workers to make them understand and accept that. And this will help to, at least, stave off retrenchments. In other cases, they could have just resorted to retrenchment. We have also put in place flexible wage systems and work arrangements to ensure that we can actually optimise the manpower and also cut costs, if necessary, to save jobs. But again, we look at the number of workers on shorter work weeks. Last year, there were a total of 16,000 workers that were put on shorter work weeks because we have been working with the companies. They put them on shorter work weeks instead of retrenching them immediately. 16,000 of them were put on shorter work weeks versus 22,800 of them in 2004. That was the highest since last year. It was 22,000 because of the spillover effect of SARS in 2003. Just the first quarter of this year, we have 21,000 workers already affected or will be affected by shorter work weeks and changes are already taking place in the companies. There are already negotiations on whether we should put them on three-day or four-day work week.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, there was a lot of anxiety amongst the businesses, the workers, the unions and Singaporeans, before the Budget was unveiled on 22nd January. Bringing the Budget forward sent the right signal that the Budget will be here to help boost the economy and, of course, to keep jobs. We are here today, not just to debate what ought to be included and what ought not to be included in this Budget. But, importantly, I think we ought to send the right signal to our workers and employers out there that we are serious that this Budget will help us through this crisis. On jobs for Singaporeans, we are pleasantly surprised that with the unprecedented measures introduced this year, especially the Jobs Credit Scheme, last year, 13,000 workers were retrenched at the national level. Just in the fourth quarter of 2008, there were 7,000 workers hit versus 6,400 workers in the first three quarters. So, we could see that retrenchment is actually increasing rapidly. Look at the unionised sectors. In the unionised sectors, we have 3,800 workers retrenched for the whole of last year. We did a comparison, it is about 28% of the national figure. Then we take a look at the past years' records. The past records show that in terms of the proportion of the share, the unionised sectors usually take up about 40% to 50%. In 1998 and 1999, it was 45% and 54% respectively, but last year, it was 29%. So for the 29%, did it happen by chance? The answer is no. So we asked ourselves, are the unionised sectors more insulated from retrenchments? Are they doing better than the rest? Again, the manufacturing sectors bear the brunt in all retrenchments, and we represent most of the manufacturing companies, big and small.”
“Hence, in times like this, we would like to urge both the companies and workers to take a total approach in managing the cost. Companies should optimise whatever resources and support the Government is providing in areas that will support the training and upgrading of their workers. They should take the opportunity to improve the quality of the employees and also reposition themselves. We also want to urge the employees to exercise flexibility, which may include changes in their work patterns, taking up new job roles and probably taking up new skills. At this point in time, we would want the employers and workers to stay engaged, be consultative and transparent. I think this is an important time that we must continue to build trust. And these are necessary measures to stay nimble and viable. Sir, on this note, I support the Bill. 4.39 pm”
“But we would also like to state that the salary proxy used here in this regard should not be regarded as the standard or the criterion in allowing junior managers or executives to join the rank and file unions, with limited representation, under the Industrial Relations Act. In the Industrial Relations Act, executives and junior managers are eligible to join the rank and file unions, with limited representation, in areas such as unfair dismissal, retrenchment benefits and the breach of contract. The eligibility is determined by whether the person has substantial influence on industrial matters or if he has access to confidential information affecting industrial matters. So here we would like to clarify that the eligibility criteria, in the case of the IR Act, should be mutually discussed and agreed with the unions. Hence, the $2,500 salary proxy used in the Employment Act protection for executives should not be seen as the standard set for representation under the Industrial Relations Act. Third, all the proposed changes will invariably lead to cost increases for businesses. And the timing has, unfortunately, raised some concerns among the employers. Earlier when we consulted the employers, the feedback given to us was that they would probably need some time in the transition period because they would probably need to make adjustment to the payroll system. They would have to work out the different formulas to actually compensate the workers where overtime is concerned. Today, when we engage them again, the scenario has changed totally. Overtime has been reduced in most companies over the last few weeks, and is going down very rapidly. In fact, a lot of companies are actually moving into shorter work week and temporary layoff and the numbers keep increasing.”
“So we would like the Ministry to give us an assurance that those workmen who are currently earning more than $4,500 and are expected to carry out overtime, be it on rest days or public holidays, that they must be fairly compensated for their work done. Some companies that we spoke to, which are already aware of these changes, do not want to make any indication to the employees as yet. They would like to adopt the wait-and-see attitude, and I think a lot of them are actually looking at signals coming from the Ministry. May I also ask if the cap of $4,500 will be reviewed over time, if the general salary of the workmen rises? We would also urge the Ministry to have regular reviews on the salary ceilings and all the employment terms and benefits, probably once in three years. Second, on the protection of junior executives in the Employment Act. We have always assumed that executives and managers need not be covered under the Act as they are able to negotiate on their own terms of employment and seek redress through their own lawyers if they have claims against the employers. However, with the increasing proportion of new entrants joining as junior executives, we have seen many cases where they encounter difficulties, especially so during the last Asian Financial Crisis and also during good times when they are unable to make statutory claims from their employers. Hence, we will support the proposal to enable a manager or an executive earning less than $2,500 to have access to the Labour Court or claim for the unpaid salary.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I rise to support the Bill. The last amendment to the Employment Act which adjusted the salary ceiling for employees was in 1995. So for the last 13 years, the profile of our workforce has changed rapidly with the move towards a knowledge-based economy. The rapidly reducing coverage means that more and more employees, especially the Singaporean workers, are not covered by the Act. We therefore welcome the initiative by the Government to increase the salary ceiling to $2,000, to enable a wider coverage of the Singaporean workers. There have been extensive consultation and discussion with our union leaders on the changes. Most have been supportive. However, we do have some concerns which we would like to seek clarification. First, the proposed changes to section 35 will hence only apply to workmen whose salary does not exceed $4,500. Before the changes, all workmen, regardless of salary, are protected under Part IV of the Act. Imposing such a cap will affect perhaps less than 1% – the Minister mentioned 0.6% of workmen today – or some few thousand workers essentially coming from the petroleum, petrochemical, pharmaceutical and aerospace industries. There were a lot of resistance from these workers when we first raised the subject with them. But they have eventually come to understand the rationale and the total approach that the Ministry is actually looking at the amendments. But, importantly, we would like to ensure that there must be fair play and fair rewards in the transition. What we do not want to see is the employers citing the law and deny them of this compensation when they actually performed overtime beyond the contractual working hours.”
“One clarification – would the Ministry review the Retirement Age Act? There is a particular provision on a cut of up to 10% for worker reaching 60 years. Currently, there are already sectors that have significantly reduced the salary ratio, eg, the banks which have already moved to 1.5 and below. These sectors have also moved into a performance-based system, because the rationale of having a 10% cut was actually to address the seniority-based wage system then.”
“The good news is not just on overtime payment, which Mdm Halimah mentioned earlier, they got good bonus last year. This particular company paid them three months' bonus. We worked out the annual sum. Including the overtime - leave the overtime that these workers have clocked in - they are unlikely to qualify for the second round of payment in April because their annual salary will exceed $18,000 by a little bit. 7.00 pm However, to our horror, we were told by CPF Board that if their annual salary were to exceed $18,000, CPF Board will recover the first payment that was already made to them, ie, recover from their bank account and their CPF account. So, that is something that we have a lot of difficulties explaining to them - that if their annual salary were to exceed $18,000, as the company was doing well, they would be penalised because they got to pay back. We would certainly like the Ministry to look at this limit and also explain to us why there is this recovery of the first payment. At the same time, can the Ministry consider the fact that these people indeed had a lower CPF contribution rate for the particular months, even though towards the end of the year, they could have higher overtime or higher bonuses to actually compensate for the difference? Employment Assistance for Vulnerable Workers”
“Sir, the much-discussed savings for old age CPF LIFE lies in the fundamental of having a CPF account. 287,000 persons received the first payment in January. Probably we have another 150,000 more to go to ensure that they can come on board the CPF scheme. May I ask the Ministry how and what more will the Ministry be doing to reach out to this group of people? In fact, many workers today, although they are on the WIS scheme, do not quite understand the mechanics of it, eg, how do we actually calibrate and compute the figures to them? Even the formal low-wage workers that we spoke to do not quite understand the scheme. In most cases, when we talk to the workers, they would not want to come forward to claim for their CPF for fear of losing their jobs. So, in most cases, we engage the manpower agencies, through the help of the end-user companies who are essentially our unionised companies. That proved to be quite effective. Can the Ministry therefore identify all the manpower agencies that we have, check on their compliance on CPF and conduct investigations into these companies and not just act when there are complaints? Similarly, the end-user companies have a role to play to ensure that all the workers - whether they are formal or informal workers, as long as they are working in their work premises - are treated fairly, because the fact is that they can outsource the work but they should not outsource their responsibilities. Next, on the payment of WIS. We have workers who earn less than $1,200 a month, which qualifies them for WIS. We understand that they were paid in January, two months ago. They contribute lesser per month to CPF, but WIS should be enough to offset the reduction. In fact, that has been something that we have been telling them.”
“So we believe that this is actually a good approach and it is something that, from the union's point of view, we will certainly be talking to the employers to see how, if the companies are doing well, we can help to top-up the workers' Special and Retirement Accounts to help them build up these accounts faster. To conclude, our people have trusted the Government all these years. We have also seen this generous handout of $1.8 billion worth of benefits to the people. I think we totally agree that we have to build a resilient community, and a community that is not just resilient, but is also strong and close and must come together at all times. So we have to work together to allow more workers, especially the older workers, who are willing and want to work, to continue working. Also, to help those low-wage workers who are eligible to be on WIS to be first on the CPF scheme and WIS, and then gradually up-skill and graduate out of WIS. I believe that we all have to do our part, so let us all do our part and build up a strong, close and resilient community whereby everyone can actually look forward to better years ahead. With that, I support the Budget. 5.02 pm”
“But eventually, we should also help them graduate out of WIS because the low-wage workers cannot always be low-wage workers. Some of the contract workers we spoke to are actually quite young, probably in their late 40s, early 50s. They cannot be dependent on WIS for the next 10 to 15 years. In this aspect, since the Government has announced this reduction in Skills Development Levy from 1% to a quarter percent, it will certainly benefit these companies because a large pool of them are the low-wage workers. The Government is also pumping more money under this CET framework. This is an area where we will certainly be working with these employers. What we have done is that we have already alerted the employers who employ these 6,000 workers. We have their database and we have to work with them to find ways and means to explore new training opportunities to help these workers so that they can get out of this poverty trap and they can actually move on. Our intent must be for them to get out of WIS eventually. If I may just touch briefly on the retirement and savings account. We are happy to note that employers will now be allowed to top-up the Special and Retirement Accounts for the workers and they will also enjoy the full tax deduction. In the unionised sector, we have already seen companies whereby they use any unused balance of the outpatient amount which has already been topped up to the worker's Medisave account. We have already done that with a few companies - GSK, Tay Jin, quite a few companies have already done that - to help to build up the employee's Medisave, knowing that healthcare expenses are expected to go up in years to come. Of course, we have a separate arrangement for the foreign workers because they do not have a CPF account.”
“They can do the same job but there could be other ways to tap on their potential. So we hope to work with more companies, together with the tripartite partners, ie, the unions, workers and the employers, to see how we can find new ways to develop this further. We believe that instead of workers just expecting some year-end bonus from the Budget, the most reliable and steady stream of income that they should be looking out for is actually through their employment and re-employment. Next, let me touch on the training for the low-wage workers. Our Budget last year provided for the fourth pillar, ie, the Workfare Income Supplement. The enhanced WIS can pay up to $1,800 if you are aged 55 to 60, and probably up to $2,400 if you are 60 and above. Of course, we are using probably $1,000 as a proxy. Last year, NTUC helped about 6,000 on board the CPF scheme. These are the contract workers and we know that the majority of them generally do not enjoy wage increases at all. So the enhanced WIS certainly comes in at the right time to actually help them cope with the cost of living. When we tried to sell CPF to these workers and talk to them about WIS last year, almost everybody did not understand what we were talking about because they found the scheme complicated. One is 2.5, part of it goes to CPF. They did not understand the scheme. We spoke to them again when we knew that their money had already come in early last month. Finally, they understood what WIS is all about. They knew that this is something where, if you work, you can get the support. I remember when we talked about WIS last year, our intent was, yes, to bring those who should benefit from CPF to come on board the CPF.”
“So they looked at this cohort of workers and they picked out those with the potential to take on mentoring skills to take on mentoring roles to mentor the new workers. Their job is basically to orientate the new workers who have just joined the shipyard to familiarise them on board the vessels, to teach them and build interpersonal skills and discipline on the yard as well as safety precautions on board the ship. They looked at the cohort of 51 to 60 and they thought this is the way they want to do it. But they did not just stop at mentoring as well, because they cannot be having all the 300-over workers becoming mentors eventually. In the case of Keppel Shipyard, they have about 338 workers who are in the age group of 55 to 61 and about 43 who are currently 62 and above. They reckoned that it could not be a case where all their workers eventually would become mentors, which was why it actually pushed them to start talking to us. They even set up a dedicated committee to look at new ways to explore and develop the capabilities of the older workers. We are highlighting this because we have indeed seen more companies embarking not just on one programme but more programmes whereby they can facilitate re-employment. But what we are very happy to see in the case of Keppel Shipyard is that they did not just stop at one. They knew that if you want re-employment to work, they need to really work on many more opportunities and they have to keep on evolving the system so that they can continue to cope with this ageing workforce. Although we have about 380 companies on board, we need to work on another 600 companies in the unionised sector. What we hope to see are companies looking long-term. They should find ways to develop the capabilities of their older workers.”
“This is not a company that has only recently adopted this re-employment practice. Keppel Shipyard is one of the early adoptors since 2006. They came to us and agreed to commit to re-employing the older workers. So we looked at ways that we can restructure the company. In 2006, we looked at the wage structure. It was a seniority-based wage structure. They paid everybody the same across-the-board. So we knew that this was not something that was sustainable if we were talking about employing the older workers beyond 62. If it was seniority-based, then they would be priced out. So we moved into one that pays according to performance. We have two components. One, "performance increment", pays according to individual performance, and the other one that pays on productivity bonus, ie, to encourage teamwork. In 2006 itself, they started this. We had a lot of communication with the people to make them understand the need to move into one that is performance-based. Yes, there were anxieties. But we managed to pull through. Last year, Keppel Shipyard made a record of 8.25 months' productivity bonus that was shared by all, whether young or old. Keppel Shipyard, since embarking on this wage restructuring in 2006, has come up with multi-generational courses to ensure that the young and old work and integrate together and appreciate the values of each other. And they did not just stop there. Recently, they embarked on a mentoring programme. They came up with a mentoring programme to see how they could equip the workers. It is not just workers hitting 62. They looked at the cohort of the workers who are in the age group of 51 to 60 because they understand that if they want to prepare the workers, they have to prepare them early and not when they are near 60 or at the age of 62.”
“Mdm Deputy Speaker, 2007 was a good year for Singapore. We enjoyed good economic growth and we had a record of 236,000 jobs created. Likewise, for the workers, we had a good year as well. In the unionised sector, we had the lowest retrenchment since 1994. We had the highest bonus since 1990. We also had the highest annual increment since 2000. Not only that, about 80% of our companies actually paid higher wage increases to the low-wage workers in the form of dollar quantum or percentage-plus-dollars. By paying wage increases in this form, it certainly benefits the low-wage workers. So, what we have noticed is that the flexi-wage system is working. We are thankful that our union leaders, together with the workers, have been vigilant in ensuring that we uphold this flexi-wage system so that the wage increase continues to be sustainable and it does not erode away the cost competitiveness. The Minister for Finance spoke about building a resilient community. In it, of course, he spoke about how we can secure more financial security and retirement savings for old age. One way is certainly to encourage workers to work longer. In the unionised set-up, we have slightly more than 1,000 companies. About 40% have committed to re-employing older workers and we already have close to 4,000 workers currently beyond 62 and are still being re-employed. Over the last two years, because we have started pushing for this re-employment since the beginning of 2006, we have seen this general acceptance. The awareness is there. Of course, the acceptance that they need to restructure and to have new infrastructure to support these re-employed older workers is already there. I would like to highlight one of the companies.”
“So we would like to urge the Government to conduct probably more road shows at some centralised industrial areas, where they are densely populated with such contract workers, heartland shopping malls and bus interchanges to create more awareness of the scheme and the rights of the workers, because we have to bring more of these workers onto the CPF scheme. Overall, I believe that the changes announced are necessary and we certainly support the changes. But there are many issues that we have to continue to tackle. We need to listen, we need to apply our hearts and our minds, try whatever is possible and work together. I think at the end of the day, we must succeed and we need to succeed in our uniquely Singapore way. 5.22 pm”
“So when the withdrawal of the 50% eventually kicks in in 2012 or 2013, we doubt many would have any balance to withdraw at 55. The workers have asked to let them withdraw a small part, say, $2,000 to $3,000 when they reach 62. While it is not much money, that is something that they will look forward to at the age of 55, hopefully, they have a little bit. At the age of 62, probably just $2,000 to $3,000, half of the $5,000, I think that will certainly make them very happy and they will certainly work much harder. But, of course, the important issue for this group of contract workers is that we need to ramp up our efforts to ensure that they be paid CPF so that they can build up their retirement savings like any other formal workers. In NTUC, through our unit for contract and casual workers and help through our unions, we manage to get some 5,000 workers converted to the CPF scheme over the last one year. While it is not a big number, I think we are quite encouraged with that. Of course, this is done through a lot of persuasion, a lot of education and a little bit of enforcement. We understand that some 160,000 applied for the Workfare Bonus, previously through their own declaration, and we believe a large group of them would not have CPF contributions. We also understand, when we talked to our people, that a lot of them should be entitled to this WIS or even the previous Workfare, but they were not aware of the scheme and, as a result, they did not apply for it.”
“If only four in 10 CPF members have met this Minimum Sum when they reach 55, many of them wonder what this annuity value that they can draw down at the age of 85 will be like because we are talking about $400 in 30 years' time. What will be the worth of $400 in 2042 or, maybe, 2050? There were suggestions that, since this is a pooling of resources, Government should, during budget surpluses, consider the top-up accounts of this pool so that we have more to enjoy with higher value. I think this would be a good demonstration of shared responsibilities since CPF comes from employers and workers. So Government could probably consider some topping up. The statistics also show on the average that women have lower CPF savings than the men. We all know that many women leave the workforce after they have started their families. So they have not accumulated enough. Yet, we expect the premiums for the women to be higher because of the longer life expectancy. So how would they be able to pay for the premiums? Earlier, MOS Gan mentioned about the employment opportunities for more women to come back to work, they are probably working on some employment opportunities. But I would also suggest that we make it mandatory for the husband to top up the wife's CPF, at least to pay for the basic longevity insurance, if the husband has met his Minimum Sum scheme. I do not think it is too much. If he has met the Minimum Sum scheme, probably he can consider topping up just the annuity amount. My last point is the group of contract and casual workers. These are workers whom we are most concerned with their CPF savings. Most do not have much. Yet, they will certainly have to adjust to the draw-down age and the compulsory annuity.”
“But we suspect more may be on the same pay, if we are able to move to a rate for the job. We do not expect a company to have only one model. There could be a company because certain grades are more competitive. They could be paying the same rate for the same job. But certain jobs which are not so competitive in the grades, they could be offering them re-employment but at different rates. So there will not be a fixed model to apply to all. I think what we have to do is we will have more cases of re-employment to actually offer to more companies and let them have a view of how this is being done. We do not know how this is going to be like. But I think what we know is that we do have a responsibility to our workers and we have a responsibility to the businesses to make sure that whatever system will work here and be sustainable. I think underlying all these changes is the good labour-management relationship that we have with the company, because there was mutual trust, understanding and shared values on the subject. We will continue to build on that. Moving forward, the 319 companies committed will work with us to develop the skills employability of workers, provide suitable working conditions as well as employment opportunities for the workforce that is ageing and to maintain and promote the health and working capability of the workers. It is not too late to build up the nest egg today. Working longer will certainly help. Of course, the enhanced WIS and the additional 1% CPF interest rate should help to enhance the retirement savings. What we have is also some debate on the compulsory annuity.”
“And I think a lot of time, you still have to go through a lot of trial-and-error. No one knows what is the best scheme. But we must be prepared to put in some efforts to actually try it out. We believe that there will continue to be many challenges ahead. We have set a national target of 65% employment rate for those who are 55 to 64 in the next five to eight years. We honestly do not think it is good enough to set the target in five to eight years' time. What we need to see is that we have to set check points every year. I think every year, we should have some indicators whether our re-employment is working. Because if re-employment is not going to work, then whatever draw-down age we are going to have is not going to make it very well because the people do not even have sufficient money during the period and having a draw-down age much later is going to be even more painful to the workers. If it is not progressing, then new strategies must be put in place earlier when we review the targets. Those who are 58 and 59 today would also like to be gainfully employed beyond 62 as well. So it is crucial for us to see more results in the next few years, in fact, the next two years. As far as possible, even before the tripartite guideline is ready in two years' time, we have to ensure that we have more companies that come on board to put on re-employment practices. So the Manpower Ministry's support will certainly be crucial to take on and counsel employers who find ways not to re-employ the older workers today. There must be enough models, practices and structures for the companies to learn from one another before 2012. We believe that the models will keep evolving. 70% today are doing the same job but with lower pay.”
“In the case of Bukit Timah Saddle Club - it is a big organisation with a small workforce - workers are expected to remove bulky soiled sawdust, hays and feeds to and from the stable, storage area and dumping grounds. Their work area is as big as 4.5 hectares of land, which previously they were doing manually, by removing all this and they used push carts and trolleys. It is something very tiring for the workers. They have a total of 32 workers, one out of five is more than 55 years old and, today, there are about four who are 62 years and above. The management is keen to keep the workers. So they have worked with the unions to review the entire work processes and to see how they could make it easier for the older workers to cope, if they were to work longer. They have recently got the approval of ADVANTAGE! funding to purchase tractors. It is a simple technology - they buy tractors; they also buy 25 dump bins. The dump bins can be attached to the tractors so that when they move around to collect the hays and feeds, they can also dump whatever waste into the dump bins and actually bring them back to the dump sites - but workers have to be trained with the process. And in this case, it not only helps the workers by making it easier for them, but also improves the productivity of the workers. So it is a clear case of approach that is pro-business and also pro-worker, and it helps in both cases. We have been talking to our companies that job redesign need not be a very complicated one because a lot of time when we talk about job redesign, there is always this anxiety. How difficult is it? How much time have I got to devote to actually look into all this? If you have the commitment and conviction to it, all forms of job redesign can make it.”
“In the case of Sanofi, there is a possibility that the workers may have to take on new jobs even before 62, and that is something we have been conveying to the workers - have this positive mindset that you even need to change your job before 62, to ensure you can continue working beyond that. Because we understand that there have to be sufficient learning and training before opportunities can be given to you. So it is also important that we communicate the expectations or the criteria of re-employment early to our workers. In a lot of these cases, we see satisfactory work performance, medically fit for the job, as the common criteria used by the companies. Fair enough. If these are going to be the criteria, let us be clear to the workers and let the workers know what to expect so that the unions and the management can work together during this period to assist them. If there is any performance gap or skills gap, we have ample time to actually look at that early, detect that, put in the corrective measures and ensure that these people can move on because we want to avoid unnecessary conflicts, whether it is now or 2012. Most of our committed companies share similar concerns and have taken a serious approach to all these. They know fairly well that there will be fewer younger people to employ relative to the older ones and they do not want to lose the skills, values and knowledge of the older workers that have actually accumulated with them over the years. Next, we have to look at the workplace environment. Some works that require a lot of physical mobility and strength may not be too suitable for the older workers.”
“So these guys went for training and got themselves familiarised with the new jobs, have a fair understanding of what these new jobs entail, and they move on to do something else. They are now called water catchment surveillance officers. In the case of SBS, they have done likewise as well. They talk to their senior operators, those who are going to be retired, offer them new jobs as service mentors. The jobs require them to coach and guide the new operators upon retirement. In both cases, the company works with the workers, explores new grounds, trains them and sees them through the new jobs. So, we need time to work on that because we cannot create new jobs overnight. Some of these companies - ISK Singapore, the company that produces titanium dioxide (it is a Japanese company), Sanofi-aventis, a pharmaceutical company, Singapore Food Industries - they know that time is needed to actually prepare the workers in the event that there ought to be job switches, even though the workers are not going to switch jobs. I think we need to talk to them to prepare them, to make them financially aware of what are they in for, whether they should continue working. So they have worked with the unions over the years to introduce pre-retirement counselling and discussions with workers before they reach retirement age. In the case of Sanofi-aventis where technology changes very quickly - it is a pharmaceutical company - they set aside five years to prepare the workers and the management for job opportunities after 62.”
“We thought it is necessary for us to review the salary structure again and again because we have to move away to reduce the anxiety. Today, if we have a more structured wage system in place, reflecting the value of the job, I think we will be able to address a lot of concerns of the workers, which is the anxiety as in how much wage cut am I expected to get when I hit 62. Because, today, a lot of employers, before even looking at what kind of new jobs they are going to offer to you, they are talking about how much cut you can accept. So, we should actually do away with all this and really look at the value of the job, look at what are the new job opportunities there are to be given to the workers. Employability training is also another key element to ensure success in re-employment, and this is what a lot of our leaders have said. They said they need to be assured that they are kept on the job, they are given the right skills and right training to make sure that they can stay on. Because when we talk about re-employment, it need not be the same job or the same pay. Yes, this is something that they can accept. But to be fair to them, they have to be given ample time to be trained and also take on new responsibilities before they can transit smoothly to a new job. In PUB, the management values the workers. Arrangements were made to counsel, inform and prepare the workers to take on new jobs. We have seen technicians who have been technicians for the past many years and at the age of 58, 59, they talked to them, counselled them and allowed them to take on new challenges because there were actually new opportunities.”
“So, this is one of the very few companies in Japan that opted for one of the three options provided by the law, which is they abolished the retirement age totally. So we asked them: how do you manage to do that? They did a serious and very comprehensive revamp of their wage structure. Job grades were actually reassigned to reflect the value of the job. They look at the amount of competency, the amount of ability that is needed, and then they reassess. It was a very painful and difficult process for the workers to accept. They developed and introduced it in 2001. We understand that as long as your job ability does not change, your wage level remains unchanged. But as far as the company is concerned, it will pay you according to your job. So it does not matter whether you are 35 or 45, they will continue to pay you. So, to the management, working is learning. If you have a retirement age, it will affect both the mindsets of the employers and employees. It is sad to hear that if one knows that when he is retiring, his career is going to end, his attitude will change. So it did away with the retirement age totally so that there is no end point. You just continue learning, continue working. Similarly, in Singapore, so far, we have heard of two cases - Canon Singapore and Seiko Instruments. They have also taken the initiative to restructure the wages, very similar to the ones in Japan. They did a total revamp, they actually reviewed the salary, and they have new job grades to reflect the value of the job. As far as they are concerned, again, it does not matter. It is very much age-neutral, whether you are 35 or 55, they will pay you according to the job.”
“They pay them the same because they believe that as long as the person possesses the right and positive attitude, is still fit for the job and is able to perform the same job, the person should be given the opportunity to continue working. They offer them options, like flexible hours, part-time work, if they desire to spend a bit more time with their families. But we were told that a lot of them chose to work as permanent staff and for the normal hours that they were given. Similarly, our two healthcare clusters (SingHealth and NHG) re-employ more than 250 employees today who are more than 62. What the management values is really very much these intrinsic values that these senior employees have with them. Furthermore, I think what is important to note in these companies is that their wages are very competitive with a minimum-maximum ratio of about 1:5. So they could afford to actually re-employ them, continue at the same rate, on the same job. In these cases, the management believes that the workers should be paid according to their capability to do the job and not just because they have turned 62. A person does not become more expensive just because he has turned 62. This draws me to the next area of concern which is something that we have been talking about for many years, which is the wage structure. Employers are concerned about the wage cost of the older workers. Like it or not, we are still very much seniority-based, even though over the years we have made some improvements over the salary structure. When we visited Japan last year, there was one company Jellco - they call themselves a SME but they have 2,000 workers. They have an interesting philosophy, which is people can grow and improve their skills by continuously working.”
“Companies like the Singapore Food Industries, Singapore Airlines Engineering Company, for example, re-employ their workers when they reach 62. Some slight adjustments were made to the pay to better reflect the value of the job. In the Singapore Food Industries where we visited last week, more than 50% of the workers are above 50 years old and about 29 of them are more than 62 years old. We asked the management and the management told us that even though they have a relatively older workforce, they are very happy with them because they possess the right values in life. Another observation we have in the Singapore Food Industries is the management's emphasis on training and counselling, not just counselling of the workers. They counsel the younger managers and the supervisors to let them understand that these older workers form an integral part of the value chain. You have to respect them, you have to understand their psychology, you have to be able to deal with them, and the workers are well aware of this emphasis, and the older workers feel very good. They feel that there is this sense of pride, dignity and worth, that the management actually places a lot of emphasis on them and ensures that these teams - the young and the old - can work together cohesively. As a result of this good understanding that is in this culture of the organisation, about 90% of each cohort reaching 62 were actually re-employed over the last couple of years. Another 20%, or about one in five of our workers, were re-employed, doing the same job and drawing the same pay. Raffles Hotel re-employed about 14 employees over the last three to four years.”
“Out of these 315 companies, 216 companies are already re-employing close to 3,200 workers today. But there are some employers who still tell us that they do not have to do anything today, and they will probably wait for the guidelines as it will be clearer. Wait for the guidelines, wait for the law to be passed; it will be easier because they do not have to justify to HQ why they are doing this when the retirement age is still 62. So, we asked them: how could it be easier when the period of five years is really for us to look at what more we can do, what are the changes that will take place? Because we probably need to redesign the jobs, look at the structure, whether the structure is competitive, because we do not want the employers to come back to tell us that our older workers are too expensive, and they do not want to re-employ them. And we probably also have to look at whether these people possess the right skills, the right training, and whether there are any skill gaps that we need to adjust. And we have to adjust quickly and not when they reach 62. So we have to look at the entire workforce and see what more we have to do to prepare the workers. Our leaders and workers are fully aware that whatever changes that were announced underscore the need that there must be job opportunities for the workers. So the next five years will give us ample time to work out different models. Sir, I would like to share some of the learning points that we have from working with some of these companies. About 70% of our workforce who are currently re-employed are doing the same job but at a slightly lower pay to adjust for the relatively lower responsibilities.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, since the National Day Rally speech by PM, there have been a lot of discussions on how old are we going to live. Do I belong to the first medium half of the 85 or do I belong to the second? No one knows. But I think what is in the minds of many is that a lot of us are indeed going to live that long. [Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Matthias Yao Chih) in the Chair] Among some of the key changes mentioned by PM, the re-employment law, the raising of the Minimum Sum draw-down age, the longevity insurance (a lot of them call that as a tax that you have to pay for living so long) were very much discussed among our workers. But the key question that lies in many of us is still: will there be jobs for me? The growth and the employment figures for the first half appear to be good. I think the Manpower Ministry has also estimated that we can expect another 90,000 jobs per year over the next five years. But, of course, MTI has also raised the estimate from 3%-5% to 4%-6% over the next five years. So, I think prospects over the next few years appear to be good. Now that more jobs will and have been created, what we should do is to really leverage on our own resources, which are the older workers and the female workforce. For the last 20 months, NTUC has been working together with the unions and the tripartite partners to see how we can move this re-employment issue. We have knocked on the doors of the employers to explore ways and look at the different practices, what are best practices that will make the scheme work for the different companies and industries. Today, there are probably better buy-ins from the employers. We have about 315 companies committed to work out some form of re-employment together with the unions.”
“So, when you present it to the people, there is probably a better linkage, instead of just giving them hard figures and economics that people do not quite understand. These are certain issues that we thought will be useful for the Singaporeans in general, to better understand the purpose of doing all these. If I may say it again, pay adjustment to the civil service - well, they have done a good job - we will support that the Government pay them. But this should not be a zero-sum game. Again, our people would want us to say that they would not want to dispute or say whether the timing is right or wrong because there is not right or wrong timing. If we think that this is the right Government that we have trusted and we will continue to place our trust in, then we have to trust the team that is led by PM to ensure that the pie will continue to grow amidst all the challenges that continue to daunt us. We also have to think about our next generation that will continue to benefit under the good leadership where opportunities will be abundant for our children and where we can grow old and not have to worry about our livelihood. 4.33 pm”
“Public assistance, we know, is a very sensitive issue. It is important because it benefits the lower-wage workers. But there are actually many other various funds that were introduced, eg, Opportunity funds, ComCare funds, Workfare Improvement Scheme. And these are all much bigger in scale and benefit many more Singaporeans. So we should not just probably look at one and lose sight of what the other funds and opportunities that we have actually created for the larger Singaporeans. Let me suggest that instead of every five years, when there is a General Election and we start to scramble and look at what the Government has done for our people, the various Ministries could come up with some social report card. This is something that the labour movement has done for various cooperatives because we have to explain to the people what are the challenges, what we have done and how we actually dealt with those issues, and how it actually benefited the workers in the end. If the various Ministries could have some social report card to indicate to us what they have done over the years, such as how many Singaporeans and workers have benefited in one way or another through the various schemes, it will certainly help to present a clearer picture of what the Government has set out to do and has actually done and carried out to deliver the promises that they have given to the people. This will be some sort of KPIs where they impact the individuals and can be better understood by Singaporeans in general. When new policies are being presented, we would urge that it be a bit more Singaporean-centric - take a look at exactly what Singaporeans will want to see; how will it affect them?”
“" Because they have gone through a process where whatever the management were to communicate to the people, the people could relate to, understand and appreciate how this little contribution that each individual makes can actually impact on the overall KPIs and therefore affect themselves and benefit the entire company. This is just one illustration. I would like to say that linking pay to performance is certainly a sound idea because many people could accept it better, that you can have this better pay package, but it is linked to something which is good for the economy and for everybody. So when we hear from the Ministers and the civil servants, when they communicate policies to the people, it may be useful if these policies, even the different GDP growth that we have been using, could be translated into something that could resonate with the people and that they could relate to. For example, what would be the number of better-paying jobs with this growth of GDP? What would be the real changes and value-add that people could appreciate? And what are the better opportunities that each and every individual can anticipate? I think it will be easier for Singaporeans to therefore relate to how this GDP growth can link to the pay package of the Ministers and how it will actually affect them positively. We need Government leaders who are not planners but those with a good sense to listen to the people. It will demonstrate that they not only look after the people but also with the right EQ, passion and empathy, that they really understand the ground. You can have a first-class fantastic policy but, if you do not understand the ground, you can never implement it effectively. The last Budget saw many goodies given out to Singaporeans.”
“So they find that this is totally ridiculous and out of sync. They could not agree. So we went deeper into it and realised that there were a lot of processes that were not put in place. The workers on the ground do not quite understand what the management has been doing. Despite the fact that management can bring in good business and investment, it was not communicated and translated to the people so that they could understand and comprehend. What we have done is that, through a lot of sessions with the management, we realised that there must be a lot of information sharing. And information sharing must be something that is relevant, that people could relate to and understand. So whenever the management brings in new investment, the way they communicate to the people is no longer "There is a new investment that is going to bring us millions of dollars. You have to work probably for another 200 hours to make it happen." Instead, they explained to them that "This new investment is going to help in our margins and revenues and benefit you in the end, because your bonuses will go up; overall, the prospects have improved." Whenever someone generates some new ideas that save money, it is no longer just a new idea. To them, this new idea has already transformed itself into something that they can see will benefit themselves, their pockets. So this is how they have done it over the years. For the last two years, I think all of them have been enjoying seven, eight or nine months' bonus. They are happy. They no longer point their fingers at their management and ask, "Why are they drawing more money and we less?”
“This is to also ensure that whatever we are doing, we do not just show them hard facts and figures but that there is some emotional attachment from the ground to the Government, the people and the policies that we are going to implement. Of course, a company with first-class management but third-class workers is not going to succeed. Similarly, if we look at Singapore as one that will prosper and thrive with sound policies, it cannot be just done with good policies and a first-class infrastructure but also because we also have Singaporeans who must be committed and excited by the new ideas and vision that our Government has. Sir, we will not begrudge this extra pay for a competent Government. But we must be assured that this cannot be a zero-sum game. Stakeholders like us, if we invest this money in the Ministers and the public service, would expect higher and better returns. Linking the pay to economic performance is sound. But we have to take care of the process. Three years ago, we worked with one company to introduce performance-based pay and to also introduce KPIs. This is a multinational with a turnover of millions of dollars. The rank-and-file workers used to get a fixed three-month bonus. After we introduced KPI, we changed the structure. Instead of a fixed three months, they would get a range of two months to as high as six months. The workers were certainly happy. But when the management showed us that it would in turn get a range of zero to nine months, there was a lot of unhappiness. Why? They felt that workers like us who suffer, work day and night and have to work overtime to produce the results, only get a maximum of six months, whereas the management, who sit in the air-conditioned office, get as high as nine months.”
“Why are we spending so much time to quibble over these few million dollars that we are paying to the architects of our first-class society? Sir, I think the flaw of the system today is that the voters do not have a proper assessment of the real person behind the scene, ie, the architect, the people who work behind the scene, or even those Ministers that are fronting the scene, and people who work behind the policies. More importantly, people are not able to have a good assessment of the kind of rationale and objective of why and how policies are being shaped and how these will impact the people's lives. What we hope to see is, when this debate is over, which we are quite sure that the chances are that it will be supported by all, that the Government, led by this team of Ministers, together with the support of the public officers, will continue to work and ensure that whatever policies that we are implementing - the way we present the policies and talk to the people, whether it will impact the lower-income workers, the PMETs, the older workers - these people on the ground can better appreciate what the Government has done over the years and enable them to better link, eg, the standard of living that we have today, the better life that we have, the better life that we expect our next generation will have, to leadership by this Government, that we will continue to be led by a good, competent Government. Sir, we have more discerning Singaporeans today. They are better able to judge. But we will have to continue to give this human touch to illustrate what the Government has done over the years and will continue to do.”