Gan Siow Huang
Singapore
“So, it is both regulatory codes and also review of existing regulations for us to move both new buildings and existing buildings toward higher adoption of solar as well as other environment sustainability measures. On the third question on strengthening our local ecosystem, that is a really good question.”
“Mr Speaker, BCA had conducted a public consultation to review various aspects of the Building Strata Management Act, and this includes the proposal to lower the resolution requirement for third-parties solar ownership models. They are exploring a reduction from 75% to possibly 50%.”
“This year, the Government has set aside $800 million under the Decarbonisation Grand Challenge, to support research and innovation in low-carbon technologies. This includes energy storage systems and grid modernisation.”
“I want to thank Mr Azhar Othman on his comments. I fully agree that data centres, they are energy guzzlers. In fact, data centres are also actively looking for alternative solutions that are more sustainable. Electricity imports, hopefully, if we can get that coming, using renewable energy sources.”
“Speaker, I would like to respond to Mr Fadli Fawzi's earlier question on petrol prices at the petrol stations. Singapore has a competitive and open economy, and prices naturally would fluctuate in response to various factors, including changes in global supply and global demand.”
“It is actually premature for us to give any meaningful and useful advice to companies that may potentially be affected by the Section 301 investigations. We are following up with the US authorities to try to better understand the reasons as well as the coverage of these Section 301 investigations.”
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“The Government does not tolerate age discrimination. I would like to reiterate that all employers are expected to abide by the Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices (TGFEP). As announced last year, a Tripartite Committee is looking into enacting workplace fairness legislation. This will broaden the range of measures and penalties available to address workplace discrimination, including age discrimination. Mr Deputy Speaker, as a society, we must collectively rethink our attitudes towards ageing and see it as a boon, not a bane. The Government will continue to provide the fullest support to enable our seniors to have longer careers and contribute meaningfully in multi-generational workplaces. But we cannot do this alone. We need a strong ecosystem of employers, unions, training institutions and, most of all, employees, young and old, to play a part to enable Singaporeans to harness the benefits of longevity. [Applause.] [(proc text) Question put, and agreed to. (proc text)] [(proc text) Resolved, "That Parliament do now adjourn." (proc text)] Adjourned accordingly at 6.27 pm.”
“As Ms Jessica Tan has pointed out, a multi-generational workforce allows us to harness the experience and expertise of senior workers which can contribute to better productivity. As the saying goes, "姜还是老的辣". The older, the wiser. Senior workers bring a different value-add and complement the younger workerforce as they often have more experience and knowledge of the trade. We all have a role to play in creating effective multi-generational workplaces. Senior workers themselves play an important role in shaping perceptions. It may not be easy but they should be open to job role changes and picking up new skills to keep pace with technological advancements and also changes in the ways of working. The Government will always support our senior workers on this journey. Employers should adopt age-friendly workplace practices such as job redesign to make tasks and workplace environments more age-friendly, providing flexible work arrangements and practising fair employment practices. Business leaders and HR have an important role to play in shaping a company culture that is age-friendly. The tripartite partners have taken steps to nurture age-friendly work practices. The Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Practices, or TAFEP in short, runs complimentary workshops to guide employers on putting fair employment practices into place. I encourage employers to approach TAFEP to find out more. I would also like to encourage more employers to adopt the Tripartite Standard on Age-friendly Workplace Practices, which specifies a set of good age management practices and recognises progressive employers that implement them. Several Members in this House today and in the past have expressed concerns with ageism affecting job opportunities and career progression for senior workers.”
“Indeed, this is critical not just for senior workers but also for other workers. While the Government can and will continue to provide the necessary resources and support, employers must also see the value of adopting a "plug-train-play" approach rather than a "plug-and-play" approach. This is why we have been working with companies to provide quality training to their employees at the workplace. We have expanded the reach of the National Centre of Excellence for Workplace Learning (NACE) to uplift the workplace learning capabilities of companies, especially SMEs. To date, more than 1,700 companies have benefited from the programmes offered by NACE. I agree with Ms Jessica Tan that we must continue promoting different pathways for workers to progress. There is no one-size-fits-all-solution. Different businesses will have different needs and so do different senior workers. A ground-up approach is thus needed where employers take ownership and conduct regular and structured career conversations with their senior workers. This is one of the key aspects that the NTUC's Company Training Committees (CTCs) seek to do – bringing together the employers, HR and employee representatives to identify gaps and opportunities and align the training plans for its workforce to its business transformation roadmap. MOM has also worked with the Singapore National Employers Federation to develop a structured career planning resource guide. I encourage more employers to utilise this guide and take a more deliberate approach in workforce planning. As our population ages, multi-generational workplaces will increasingly be the norm.”
“We have put in place a skills upgrading ecosystem to support career switches through the SkillsFuture Mid-Career Support Package and, more recently, SkillsFuture Career Transition Programme. We also provide enhanced salary and training support of up to 90% through reskilling programmes such as career conversion programmes which support employers to upskill their new hires, including senior employees, to take on enhanced job roles such as in digital fields, where we know there are lots of exciting development. There is a career conversion programme, for example, for in-house digital communication professionals, which equips individuals with digital marketing skills to take on in-demand job functions such as brand development. In addition, there are volunteer career advisors, some of them senior workers themselves, who provide their peers with sector- and occupation-specific career advice and mentoring and connect them to relevant Government programmes and services. To complement these moves, we provide structural support through schemes such as the SkillsFuture Enterprise Credit, which encourages employers to invest in the training and capability building of their employees. Ms Jessica Tan has raised several other pertinent points that can support the upskilling of senior workers. We will definitely take her feedback into consideration as we continually look into how we can refine our training ecosystem. In particular, we are studying how we can support Singaporean mid-career workers in enhancing their skills more substantially during the later stages of their working lives. Ms Jessica Tan has also suggested that there must be a culture of continuous learning at the workplace. I fully agree.”
“Under the retirement and re-employment framework, the onus is placed on businesses to re-employ senior workers but there is some flexibility to adjust re-employment terms so that businesses can provide employment opportunities to our senior workers while remaining competitive. If an employer is unable to identify a suitable position to re-employ the senior worker in, he can provide an Employment Assistance Payment in lieu of re-employment as a last resort. This is to help the worker tide over while he or she seeks alternative employment. These flexibilities are the outcome of close discussions between tripartite partners and seek to mitigate the concerns on whether re-employment policies may inadvertently disincentivise the hiring of senior workers. We will continue to study international best practices and ensure that our retirement and re-employment framework stays robust and relevant for Singapore. Beyond just employment, I agree with Ms Jessica Tan that we should also make sure that senior workers are employed in meaningful roles. The key to this is reskilling and upskilling our senior workers so that they continue to remain relevant as the economy evolves. Ms Jessica Tan raised an important point that with improving longevity and more frequent economic change, our career paths may no longer be so linear as before but rather, we may need to be prepared for a few career changes throughout our working lives. Senior workers, in particular, may wish to or even find themselves needing to transition into new roles or getting into new growth sectors. For seniors who are currently out of the workforce and require assistance in job search, Workforce Singapore and NTUC's e2i provide career matching services.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, I thank the hon Member Jessica Tan for sharing her insights on this very important subject of senior employability and also sharing her findings from the PAP Seniors Group, their surveys as well as their focus group discussions. Indeed, as our seniors lead longer and healthier lives, we need to collectively shift our mindset as a society. It is important to see this as a golden opportunity to tap on the accumulated human capital of our seniors. The Government has long placed a strong emphasis on improving the employability of our senior workers and we have made good progress. Employment rates for senior workers have continued to rise, even during the pandemic. From 2019 to 2021, the employment rate for those aged 55 to 64 increased from 67.6% to 69% while those aged 65 to 69 increased from 41.7% to 49.0%. This is comparable to top OECD countries and reflect the fact that our senior workers are valued by employers in Singapore. Perhaps another reality is that we have a tight labour market in Singapore and an ageing workforce, so companies that are progressive and forward looking know that they must tap on the growing pool of senior workers if they want to meet their needs for manpower and talent in the long run. It is heartening to hear that seniors themselves want to continue to work. Together with our tripartite partners, we have put in place a roadmap to support that. We have raised the retirement and re-employment age to 63 and 68 respectively from 1 July this year. Our goal is to increase it to 65 and 70 respectively by 2030. This will support more senior workers who wish to continue working to do so. Even as we work towards this goal, we are mindful that there must be sufficient flexibility to avoid unintended consequences.”
“As I have mentioned earlier on, MKs are part of the ecosystem of preschools in Singapore. Besides MKs, there are other preschools managed under MSF that cater to the needs of students, whether they hare normal or special needs. So, I think it is important that we do not just look at the MKs by themselves, but look at how as a system as a whole, we can meet the needs and demands of the students. Offhand I do not know the waitlist for special needs children who want to go to the MKs. But, as I mentioned earlier on, all MKs have specially trained teachers and are supported by a group of professionals to help students with special needs. And also, we know that among special needs students, there is actually a very wide spectrum. Those that are of very mild conditions; most of them are able to get the support that they need from the MKs. And those who are deemed to have moderate and more severe conditions, their care and support will then be supplemented by the other centres that the students will go to once or twice a week. So, I think it is important that we look at this issue more holistically and not just look at the MOE system alone.”
“I thank the Member for the supplementary question. We want the best support for children with special needs, whether they are in MKs or in the EIPIC centres or the early intervention centres that Member Denise Phua mentioned. And we will work together with the early intervention centres to make sure the programmes and support given to the special needs children will be complementary.”
“MKs are part of the wider ecosystem of preschools for children, especially those with special needs. And in our MKs, the MK Educators are offered baseline training by MOE Educational Psychologists within the first two years of service to gain awareness of developmental needs and strategies to support these diverse learners in the classroom. They would also have undergone training by the NIEC or the National Institute of Early Childhood Development or other training institutes on the skills required to identify and support children with developmental needs. Our MK Educators are supported by a Case Management Team set up in each MK to coordinate identification and support for children with developmental needs. The MK Case Management Team includes personnel, who receive more in-depth training including school Special Educational Needs Officers and our MK Special Educational Needs Coordinators. Our MKs are also supported by MOE Educational Psychologists, who provide consultation on identification, referrals and advice on in-class strategies.”
“MKs also work closely with parents to support their child and prepare them for transition beyond preschool, whether in mainstream or SPED schools.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, currently, 8% of children enrolled in MOE Kindergartens (MKs), numbering around 600 Kindergarten One and Two children, are reported to have developmental needs that require support. Not all these children have a formal diagnosis. Some were identified by our Kindergarten educators, who are equipped with basic awareness and strategies to support diverse learners in the classroom. The type of support would vary depending on the needs of each child. MKs tap on sector-wide Early Intervention (EI) provisions, such as the Development Support - Learning Support (DS-LS) and Development Support Plus (DS-Plus) programmes, to support these children. Under these programmes, professionals such as Learning Support Educators and therapists provide intervention for identified children once or twice a week. This includes language and literacy support for children with learning needs and psychological support for children with behavioural needs. MOE also provides Assistive Technology such as Frequency Modulation systems for children with hearing loss. Some children who require medium to high levels of Early Intervention support also attend the Early Intervention Programme for Infants and Children, EIPIC in short, outside of MKs to ensure that their developmental needs are met. MOE Educational Psychologists work with our MKs to identify the needs of the children and design in-class strategies to support them. While the majority of children with developmental needs will progress to mainstream Primary schools, MOE Educational Psychologists will also make recommendations to Special Education (SPED) for the small proportion of children better supported in a SPED school.”
“The number of students that require mental health support in our Primary school has been stable for the last five years. In particular, in the last year, the number was about 16 per 1,000 students.”
“I thank the Member for a very good question. We are very concerned about the continuity of mental health care and support for our young people. The Member might also be aware that the inter-agency task force for mental health and well-being has been stood up. MOE is plugged into this task force and we are discussing, in great depth, on how we can provide continuous care as well as to do so in a manner that respects the need for medical confidentiality and also that respects the wishes of the individuals as well as their parents.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, the number of Primary school students being referred to school counsellors for mental health-related issues was stable between 2017 and 2021. Some of these students may require counselling support even after they graduate from Primary schools. The school counsellors facilitate this by engaging parents to discuss how the counselling support can be extended in the child's new school. With the parents' consent, information such as the strategies to support the child and his challenges will be shared with the receiving school. Such information will be managed sensitively and will only be shared on a need-to-know basis.”
“MOM further encourages employers to hire senior workers through the Senior Employment Credit which provides up to 8% wage offsets for Singaporean workers aged 55 and above and earning below $4,000 a month. The Part-time Re-employment Grant supports employers in providing part-time re-employment opportunities to senior workers who may prefer a lower work intensity. To further promote local employment, Workforce Singapore offers SGUnited Mid-Career Pathways Programme (SGUP) through which employers can take in mature candidates on attachment programmes. Employers can also tap on career conversion programmes which provide higher support levels for mature hires. Fundamentally, to cope with the manpower crunch, our businesses need to continue to transform, increase their productivity and improve manpower efficiency. The Government remains committed to supporting businesses and workers to achieve this. Sector agencies are working closely with industries across the 23 Industry Transformation Maps (ITMs). Workforce Singapore has rolled out Job Redesign and Reskilling Programmes to support employers to upskill their employees to take on enhanced job roles. Other schemes, such as the Enterprise Development Grant and the Productivity Solutions Grant, are also available to help our businesses strengthen their capabilities. 2.59 pm”
“Mr Speaker, the overall resident Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) in Singapore has increased steadily, from 66.1% in 2011 to 70.5% in 2021. This is comparable to the top five OECD countries. In particular, more women and seniors have joined the workforce, even during the pandemic. From 2019 to 2021, the female resident LFPR increased from 61.1% to 64.2%, while that of residents aged 55 to 64 increased from 69.9% to 71.1%. While the LFPR in Singapore is already relatively high, we can, potentially, increase it further. One key strategy is to make work more flexible, so that more can participate. We are working with the tripartite partners to promote flexible work arrangements (FWAs) and build HR capabilities to implement FWAs successfully. We will also be establishing a set of Tripartite Guidelines on FWAs by 2024 to require employers to consider all requests for FWAs fairly and properly. This will allow more workers to remain in the workforce or return to the workforce while meeting other needs, such as caregiving. The Government is also committed to improving access to affordable and quality preschool services, which enables parents with young children to go to work with peace of mind. Overall, the Government’s annual spending on the early childhood sector is expected to more than double over the next few years, from around $1 billion in 2018. In addition, we have increased the retirement and re-employment ages to 63 and 68, respectively, on 1 July 2022. In line with the recommendations of the Tripartite Workgroup on Older Workers in 2019, our eventual aim is to increase the retirement and re-employment ages to 65 and 70, respectively, by 2030. This will support more senior workers who wish to continue to work to do so.”
“Mr Speaker, different sectors and roles have diverse needs and may not be able to adopt the same type of flexible arrangement in the same manner. A four-day work week has worked in some companies, places and jobs, but not others. So, we welcome employers and employees out there, whether in the private or public sector, to try the type of flexible work arrangement that they think best suits their workplace. MOM does not intend to specify any trial or rigidity or impose any of these formulas on the public sector.”
“Mr Speaker, the Ministry is not aware of any ongoing studies conducted by third parties to examine the feasibility of a four-day work week in Singapore. We have noted reports of four-day work week pilots in other countries, such as Ireland, Japan and Spain. Elsewhere, such as in Belgium, employees have the right-to-request for a four-day work week, but with daily work hours extended so that the total number of hours worked per week remains the same. So far, results appear to be mixed. Some of the key concerns that stakeholders have include the impact on productivity, business costs and employee well-being. While productivity improvements have been reported in some cases, this depends on sector and job type. In some instances, reduced work hours have had to be compensated by hiring more labour. At the same time, employees are concerned that their salaries could be reduced due to fewer hours worked, while some could face increased stress when they work more hours than usual in a day to complete their work. As with any work arrangement, a four-day work week may work well for some employers and employees but not others. We should adopt a flexible mindset. A four-day work week is one of many types of flexible work arrangements, and the Ministry, together with the tripartite partners, strongly encourage employers and employees to be open to flexible work arrangements in all its various forms to identify and adopt those that best suit their unique business needs and those of the workers.”
“When our educators are well supported, they will be able to bring out the best in our children, the future of our nation. [(proc text) Question put, and agreed to. (proc text)] [(proc text) Resolved, "That Parliament do now adjourn." (proc text)] Adjourned accordingly at 7.12 pm.”
“There is also a chat group, ConnectGEMS, for parents to support one another on class-based issues. Both platforms are facilitated by PSG EXCO members who send reminders on school matters as well as share information on volunteering opportunities. This PSG initiative sets a constructive tone in every class's parent chat group and relieves educators from responding to questions that are frequently asked by parents. We can all support our educators by showing appreciation for them. I am heartened by the outpouring of appreciation and gratitude to our educators on our Thank You 'Cher portal during Teachers' Day this month. There have been over 20,000 messages received from students, parents and alumni. Let me share a heartfelt message from a parent to Mdm Khairunnisa of St. Hilda's Primary School: "Thank you for going above and beyond, everytime. For looking out and cheering our children every day, celebrating small achievements and assuring that every win is an accomplishment. We are grateful and very blessed to have you as our Form Teacher." We would like to thank everyone for encouraging our educators with your words of appreciation. These heart-warming messages show how much our educators are valued. Mr Speaker, our educators are the pillars of our education system. MOE is committed to ensuring that they continue to be well-supported and their workload remains manageable. We care for their well-being and will continue to work with all stakeholders, including School Leaders, parents and the community, to support them. Indeed, every teacher matters. I thank Mr Samad and Mr Patrick Tay for your support and concern for the well-being of our dedicated educators.”
“In addition, they can tap on other channels for support, such as their school's Wellness Ambassadors, MOE's in-house professional counselling services and the 24/7 whole-of-Government Counselling Hotline for public officers. Schools' Staff Well-Being Committees have been provided with more resources to enhance staff well-being, such as additional funds and in-house curated resources. Educators can also take part in well-being workshops and talks. Beyond these measures, parents play a significant role in supporting educators' well-being. I would like to seek the support of parents to work with us to establish positive partnerships and set appropriate expectations on the educators' responsibilities. For example, parents could respect educators' personal time by minimising non-critical communication with them outside work hours. Give schools and educators some time to respond to your queries and feedback. Work together with the educators to support your children's learning and complement the learning with what can be done at home. These guidelines on school-home partnership were published by MOE in 2019 and are available online. We have started a good movement with the Parent Support Groups (PSGs) in our schools as we continue to strengthen our partnership with parents. I am grateful for how our PSGs are forging ahead in complementing our schools' efforts in doing more for our students and fellow parents. For example, Fuhua Primary School's PSG, led by Mdm Tse Ka Po and her team, has been carrying out various initiatives for their parent community. There is Junior Gems One Ninety (JnrGEMS1:90), a parent buddy programme that connects senior parents to incoming Primary 1 parents to share experiences.”
“To create capacity for educators, our schools are also resourced with additional staff. Every school has a team of Allied Educators who perform various functions, such as counselling and working with students with special educational needs. All schools have a School Administration Team that performs administrative and operational functions. Schools are given additional posts and funding which they can use flexibly to meet their needs by hiring more staff to help with administrative roles. MOE also provides funding for schools to engage vendors to help with event planning and conducting after-school enrichment activities and camps, though teachers will still need to exercise oversight and provide the duty of care for their students. To support work-life harmony for educators, our schools and education institutions have introduced more flexible work arrangements for educators where feasible, while maintaining the duty of care towards students. This includes holding virtual or hybrid parent-teacher meetings and staff meetings. Educators who require greater flexibility in working hours can also apply for part-time teaching arrangements. During school holidays, all schools provide Protected Vacation Time for educators. This ensures that educators have time to rest and recharge. An enabling school environment built on a culture of trust and support is key to our educators' well-being. School Leaders and supervisors proactively check in with their officers regularly. Educators are encouraged to share their concerns with their supervisors and leaders, or with the Superintendent overseeing their school.”
“On the issue of students' discipline, our educators' work goes beyond just teaching in the classroom to inculcating good values and character in our students. MOE has set out guidelines for schools to formulate their own discipline policies and approaches. School Leaders take a strong stand against disrespectful behaviour towards teachers and strive to promote a safe and supportive school environment for all. When engaging parents, our teachers accord appropriate respect and courtesy, and the same is expected of parents in their interactions with our teachers. When parents use abusive words or threaten teachers, School Leaders will communicate a firm stand against such behaviour. In extreme situations where the teachers feel threatened or harassed, or their safety is being compromised, the school may take further action, including calling the Police for assistance and using legal protection for our teachers, to protect them against further harassment. MOE HR works closely with the teachers' unions to support the well-being of our educators. We have quarterly dialogues to discuss matters such as capacity building, mental well-being support and grievance handling. The unions also provide an additional source of feedback on ground issues and highlight specific cases of educators who require stronger support. Managing our educators' workload is an important area of focus in MOE. We have reduced administrative work by strengthening centralised services and leveraging technology, such as Parents Gateway and Student Learning Space, to streamline processes and teaching resources. We will consider other ways to create capacity for our educators, including Mr Patrick Tay's suggestion for common exam papers to be set across schools.”
“Mr Speaker, I would like to thank hon Members Mr Samad and Mr Patrick Tay for their heartfelt appreciation for the hard work put in by our educators. In MOE, it is often said of our teachers: "Through your hands passes the future of our nation". A teacher's responsibility is a great one, as it involves moulding students and shaping lives. MOE appreciates the significance of the work of our educators and we are committed to ensuring their well-being. We are particularly grateful to our educators who worked tirelessly as frontliners over the past two years of COVID-19 pandemic, keeping schools open and safe. This significantly reduced the impact of school closures and disruptions on the learning and well-being of our students. I thank Mr Samad and Mr Patrick Tay for acknowledging MOE's efforts to recognise our educators through our recent announcement of pay revision. Our Polytechnics and ITE also review the salaries of the staff periodically, to ensure that salaries remain competitive against market benchmarks and are conducting a review currently. The outcomes will be shared with their staff when the review is completed. I thank Mr Samad for his suggestion on the special bonus for educators. While paying our educators competitively is important, building a quality teaching service goes beyond salaries. MOE is committed to supporting the well-being and development of our educators. We encourage teachers to gain diverse experiences beyond the classroom, so that they can broaden their perspectives and benefit from personal and professional growth. We have partnered with the public and private sectors through the Teacher Work Attachment Plus (TWA+) programme, so teachers can take up short-term attachments to enhance their skills and build connections.”
“Mdm Deputy Speaker, I would like to press "yes."”
“MOE and SSG remain committed to providing sufficient and timely SkillsFuture support and grant to individuals as well as companies. It is our collective desire to make sure that Singaporeans have access to sufficient SkillsFuture opportunities and resources. We will continue to work on that. At the same time, we need to make sure that the money is being accounted for properly and being used wisely.”
“Actually, it has not been ascertained if the $4.22 million that AGO pointed out is fraud. We have not used that term yet, because, as I explained, there is a lengthy verification process with the individuals and the companies and training providers involved. Since SSG was formed, there have been fraud cases detected. I think the most significant one was in 2017. There was a syndicate that was found to have committed fraud amounting to $40 million. Besides that, similarly in 2017, there was a discovery of 4,400 individuals who made false claims for SkillsFuture Credit and that was also discovered and arrested back then. As to how much is being recovered, SSG is still in the process of following up with individuals and the companies and they will need some time. It is not very easy to do the verification quickly. So, we ask the Members to allow SSG some time to recover the overpayments.”
“So, what I am trying to say is that, it is quite a complicated process and for the amounts that are estimated to be over payment of the grant, SSG is now in the process of doing verification and using more detailed data with the entities involved. To that question about whether retrospective approvals will be made, I think, what is more important is for us to understand the spirit of SkillsFuture courses. SkillsFuture courses are meant to help individuals as well as employers with upskilling. I think what matters to us most at the end of the day is, whether the individuals and companies are eligible for the grants that they have applied for. If the lapses in application were due to administrative errors, then we would want to look at how we can help these individuals, companies and the training providers in rectifying this in a proper way. As to whether actions will be taken against the service provider, indeed, we discovered some human errors in the manual processing by the service provider. There are contractual terms and key performance indicators (KPIs) that the service provider is liable for and SSG will be looking through this. At the moment, I think the root cause that we have identified is the massive volume of manual processing. It makes it very, very difficult for all the verifications to be done fully. And hence, there needs to be more upstream changes in policies and business rules.”
“First of all, I would like to say that the SDL Act has been around since 1979. Prior to SSG, the Government was already collecting the Skills Development Levy. Indeed, as AGO has pointed out, business rules have a certain looseness that needs to be tightened so that companies can better assess – more accurately as well – the SDL that is payable. SSG is in the process of reviewing this. In fact, we are also in the process of reviewing the SDL Act. With the review of upstream business rules, it will make it easier for companies to be able to estimate the SDL that is payable and for SSG to be able to collect more promptly the amount that companies owe to the Government. Ms Sylvia Lim also asked about whether AGO had conducted 100% checks when they detected the $4.22 million of grant overpayment. At the moment, I do not know if it was 100% checks, but to my knowledge, AGO normally does sampling checks over a period of time and in this case, they had checked for the grant disbursed between the period of 1 April 2018 and June 2021, I believe. And amongst the transactions that they had checked, they found overpayments. Actually, these overpayments are still in the process of being verified with the entities involved. Just as an example, AGO found that through their own AGO database, there was overclaim of absentee payroll by employers. What AGO did was, they looked at the salaries paid by companies over a 12-month period and they divided it by 12 to estimate the monthly salaries paid by the companies. But actually, it is more accurate for us, for SSG, to take a look at the salary that the company had paid to its employees in the month that the course was conducted.”
“I thank the hon Member Mr Yip Hon Weng for the supplementary questions. Indeed, SSG will work more closely with GovTech and is actually looking at rolling out a new IT system to be able to estimate more accurately and be able to track the employers in the payment of SDL. By the middle of next year, we are hoping to roll out a new system to help employers as well, to estimate much better what is the SDL that they are liable for and also for SSG to be able to verify.”
“SSG will send timely payment reminders and develop more efficient processes to resolve differences in the companies' and SSG’s estimates of SDL payable. For the few recalcitrant employers who do not pay the outstanding levies despite reminders, SSG will take decisive punitive actions. Finally, if there is any negligence found, individuals will be taken to task. Learning from the AGO audit, SSG will do even more to review and enhance its processes, policies and systems to prevent lapses.”
“Separately, AGO found that SSG did not follow up adequately, on a variance of $43 million, between SSG’s estimate of the Skills Development Levy (SDL) that employers should pay and what was collected for the period 2015 to 2020. Allow me to explain the SDL and how it is collected today. The SDL is a levy which companies pay every month for both their local and foreign employees in Singapore. The SDL payable for each employee is 0.25% of the monthly total wages. SSG derives estimates of SDL payable by companies based on existing Government data such as CPF. SSG’s estimates may differ from actual SDL amounts paid by the employers due to factors such as fluctuations in total wages paid to foreign workers every month, some of whom might be on home leave and not receiving salary during the period of home leave. In some cases, the variance may be due to employers using more updated employee data, instead of being an actual under-payment of SDL. SSG has adopted a risk-based approach to follow up on estimated variances. The overall variance between the estimated SDL payable and the actual payments has fallen from 18% of overall SDL collected in 2008, to the current 3% to 4%, with the majority of companies compliant in paying their levy today. This was achieved through IT system improvements and SSG’s reminder letters and calls. Nevertheless, SSG acknowledges that more needs to be done to actively reconcile the remaining gap and help all employers pay the correct amount of SDL. SSG will give affected employers time to validate the amounts owed. It has started engaging the affected employers and will contact all of them by the end of the financial year.”
“The Auditor-General’s Office (AGO) had identified lapses in two areas in the audit of SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG): overpayment in grant disbursement and under-collection of Skills Development Levy. SSG takes these findings seriously. First, AGO found lapses in SSG’s disbursement of grants, which led to estimated overpayments of about $4.22 million between 1 April 2018 and 30 June 2021. The main causes of these lapses were due to inaccurate or erroneous declarations by grant applicants and training providers that were not picked up by SSG’s internal checks. The bulk of such errors occurred prior to November 2020, when SSG’s previous IT system for grant administration had used a declaration-based approach. Other errors also occurred during manual processing of grants, including human errors made by the service provider contracted by SSG to perform grant administration functions. SSG has contacted all affected training providers, companies and individuals for the necessary recovery. Parties will be given time to check their own records and return any confirmed overpayment. To reduce reliance on declarations and manual processing, SSG implemented a new IT system for administering Training Grants since November 2020. The system uses administrative data in Government databases to determine and verify eligibility of the grant applicants. SSG is also streamlining its business rules to rely less on declared information and manual verification. Where these cannot be avoided, SSG will tighten its audits on payments disbursed and on the work of its service provider.”
“Deputy Speaker, Sir, may I have your permission to combine the response to Question Nos 1 and 2 by Ms Sylvia Lim and Mr Yip Hon Weng?”
“We will also partner our Work-Life Ambassadors on the ground to support the implementation of FWAs. As laid out in the White Paper on Singapore Women's Development, we will also bring more companies on board the voluntary Tripartite Standard on FWAs. This means having a clear policy on how to request FWAs and managing employees' expectations on its responsible use, timely communication of outcomes of FWA requests as well as fair and objective evaluation of employees' FWA requests. The Public Service has taken the lead to adopt the Tripartite Standard on FWAs. These efforts will put companies in good stead to comply with the upcoming Tripartite Guidelines that will be introduced by 2024, which will make it a requirement for employers to fairly and properly consider FWA requests. Together, these efforts will establish the norm that it is acceptable to request for FWAs while maintaining employers' prerogative to assess and decide on FWA requests, based on their business and operational needs.”
“Mr Speaker, even as we continue to ease safe management measures (SMMs) at the workplace, flexible work arrangements (FWAs) remain relevant to businesses. Many employers see the value of retaining FWAs as it not only strengthens business resilience but also improves talent retention and recruitment. A recent study by the Institute of Policy Studies on workplace arrangements also found that around eight in 10 respondents who telecommuted most or all of the time felt that they were productive in doing so. The Ministry of Manpower's (MOM) own surveys show that the majority of employers are keen to continue FWAs even after the pandemic ends, given the benefits FWAs bring to both employers as well as employees. The tripartite partners agree that employers should sustain FWAs as a permanent feature of the workplace. A tripartite statement was released in April to encourage employers to continue doing so. In the last two years, employers implemented FWAs, especially telecommuting, as an urgent measure for public health resilience, even when they were unsure that this was good for productivity. For the provision of FWAs to be a sustainable and effective permanent measure, employers will need sufficient time and support to find the right calibration that works best for their employees while meeting business needs. After all, workplace settings and business needs differ across industries and jobs, and we also know that different employees have different needs for FWAs. Over the next few years, the tripartite partners will do more to strengthen training to equip companies with the know-how to implement FWAs in a win-win and sustainable manner, such as in the areas of HR and job redesign.”
“We will introduce Tripartite Guidelines on Flexible Work Arrangements around 2024 to require employers to fairly and properly consider FWA requests and continue to boost the adoption of the Tripartite Standard to cover 40% of employees. We want to provide women and men with the necessary flexibilities at work so that they can pursue their personal or family aspirations while having a good career. (In English): The benefits of our efforts will well extend beyond the workplace, where our children can grow up in more supportive family environments with greater parental involvement, where there will be stronger relationships between parents who share responsibilities at home, and where women and men partner each other as equals, progress together and pursue their aspirations freely and to the fullest. I am heartened to hear this joint call and commitment to action being strongly echoed by Members of Parliament who have spoken thus far. So, today, let us join hands as a society, regardless of our political affiliation, to commit to making our workplaces fairer and more inclusive, for an even stronger Singapore tomorrow. [Applause.]”
“To individuals who encounter workplace harassment, TAFEP's Workplace Harassment Resource and Recourse Centre is here to provide advice and assistance. We assure you that you are not alone and it is safe for you to reach out. Let us help and support you. Our community partners, such as grassroots leaders, union leaders, Daughters Of Tomorrow, Mums@Work Singapore, SCWO, AWARE and more, are among those working with us to augment outreach and support to those affected by workplace harassment. Together, we are enlarging the safety net to protect and support women. As colleagues or friends, each one of us can make a difference, too. Do not be bystanders. Instead, call out and stand up against unfair and unsafe work practices and support those who are affected. We should work towards a vision of zero workplace discrimination and harassment. Before I conclude, let me highlight our key actions in Mandarin. (In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] We have listened to our people and charted out within the White Paper the direction and steps we will take to better support our Singapore women at the workplace. We will enshrine TGFEP in law to strengthen and uphold principles of fairness at work so that our women will have equal opportunities alongside their male counterparts to pursue and progress in the careers of their choice. We will enhance our systems so that our work environments are safe and free from harassment. Employers will be required to put in place proper grievance handling procedures, protect the confidentiality of those who come forward to report workplace discrimination or harassment and protect them from retaliation.”
“Looking as far as back as 2016 in Parliament, Mr Patrick Tay had already been pushing for anti-workplace discrimination legislation. Over the years, numerous times, various Members of Parliament in this House have raised this. I am really glad that, finally, we are taking that big step towards legislation. The work of the Tripartite Committee on Workplace Fairness is ongoing and the committee has agreed to look at protecting the confidentiality of the identity of those who report on discrimination or harassment at the workplace and protecting them against retaliation. The committee is looking also at the legislation to include requiring employers to have a proper process to handle grievances reported by their employees. Like many of the shifts in the White Paper, the eventual workplace fairness legislation will not just benefit women. In giving greater assurance to women at work, we are also giving greater assurance to all workers. However, we all know that legislation is not a panacea. We need mindset shifts and collective action for real and sustained impact. I thank Ms Sylvia Lim for agreeing with us that the education of employers is key. As Ms Yeo Wan Ling highlighted, employers must educate and equip themselves, their supervisors and HR professionals to create fair, respectful and safe working environments. The Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP) and the tripartite partners can help employers with this, with further support available for SMEs if they lack knowledge or the capacity in implementing proper policies and grievance handling processes. I urge companies to take ownership and tap on such help.”
“Second, they can consider monetising their homes under the HDB Lease Buyback Scheme and the Silver Housing Bonus to unlock their housing value and enhance their retirement income. Third, we supplement the retirement income of seniors who had low incomes during their working years and now have less in retirement through the Silver Support Scheme. Lower-wage caregivers who are working may also be eligible for the Workfare Income Supplement (WIS) Scheme, which provides up to $4,000 in cash and CPF top-ups annually today. From 2023 onwards, they can receive up to $4,200 in cash and CPF top-ups annually. For more women to succeed in their careers, we must also tackle discrimination and harassment at the workplace. Some participants in the conversations shared that women still face prejudice due to perceptions that they would be less committed at work due to caregiving and pregnancy reasons. When instances of discrimination or harassment were reported to their employers, some felt that their concerns were swept under the rug. Others hesitated to come forward because they were afraid to lose their jobs or of "getting marked" by their colleagues. We can do better. All of us have a role to play. We want to send a strong message of assurance that help is available and that those who seek help and recourse can do so safely and will be protected against retaliation. We do not tolerate workplace discrimination in any form, certainly not against women, be it for their caregiving responsibilities or their pregnancy status. This is why MOM and our tripartite partners are taking a significant step to enshrine the Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices in law, strengthening equal opportunities in the workplace. I must say this is really a long journey.”
“I am heartened that there are organisations out there, such as NTUC Women and Family Unit, SHE BRILLIANCE and Financial Women's Association, that have been active in providing mentorship and career guidance to moms who are trying to come back to work. I think we need more of such community support to help uplift women. Ms He Ting Ru spoke about the gender wage gap. I agree with her. We need to do more to reduce the gender wage gap. We need to take a multi-pronged practical approach towards this. We have heard of some countries that have legislated equal pay for equal work, such as in some parts of the US and Canada, but the adjusted pay gap remains higher than that in Singapore. In Singapore, we take a much more practical approach towards matters like this. Here, we are talking about strengthening workplace fairness, introducing and entrenching FWAs, working with industry partners and community partners and using education to encourage and empower women to take on jobs in growth as well as in STEM sectors. After all, the main reason for the gender wage gap in Singapore is occupational segregation. Financial literacy is important for financial well-being. I agree with Mr Louis Chua and I thank him for raising this point. Some women, because they are caregivers, may have had disrupted careers and, as a result, were not able to earn as much as their partners. Aside from providing a supportive environment for caregivers to continue working, MOM has also taken steps to help caregivers build their retirement nest egg. First, we encourage cash top-ups to CPF accounts of caregivers through tax incentives and Government matching grants for eligible seniors, many of whom have been women who benefited from these schemes.”
“I think these are all positive steps and we encourage companies to do so if it suits their employees' needs and their business operations. The Alliance for Action for Work-Life Harmony has been championing these forms of work-life support since last year. Ultimately, companies with progressive policies will be able to better attract and retain talent, which is good for business. From the Conversations series on Singapore Women's Development, we also heard stories of how some women who chose to leave the workforce for a few years due to family reasons faced difficulties returning to work. All employers ought to practise fair and merit-based hiring. If employers screen out applicants because of so-called resume gaps or last-drawn salary, they risk losing out on good candidates. A better, smarter approach is to make a robust and fair assessment of each candidate. MOM will continue to partner the Institute for HR Professionals (IHRP) to uplift HR standards. We will help HR professionals develop capabilities that allow them to better tap on back-to-work women as a talent pool. For back-to-work women who are ready to return to the workforce, they can tap on Workforce Singapore's (WSG) and NTUC's Employment and Employability Institute's (e2i) career coaching and job matching services. They can also benefit from Career Conversion Programmes (CCPs) to reskill for new jobs. WSG will broaden its partnerships with various organisations, such as Mums@Work Singapore, Daughters Of Tomorrow and MENDAKI, to reach out to back-to-work women and support their journey to re-enter the workforce.”
“This will establish the norm that it is acceptable to request for FWAs while maintaining employers' prerogative to approve or reject the requests based on their business and operational needs. To Ms Jessica Tan, Mr Sharael Taha and Mr Melvin Yong's suggestion to implement the tripartite guidelines on FWAs earlier, it is important that we take a calibrated and enabling approach to enhance access to FWAs. We need to equip employers with capabilities to manage a more flexible workplace – not just remote work but also flexi-time and a flexi-work load – and also ensure that employees also understand the roles that they play in making FWAs sustainable for business operations. We should build confidence and capacity instead of seeking to use legislation for every workplace issue that arises. Otherwise, workplace disputes will arise and the mutual trust and understanding between employers and employees which we have carefully maintained over the years will be eroded. Over 10,000 companies have already adopted the tripartite standard on FWAs, covering more than one in four employees in Singapore today. We welcome more companies that are ready to come on board even before the tripartite guidelines are introduced by 2024. As an intermediate milestone, MOM and our tripartite partners aim to increase the adoption of this voluntary tripartite standard on FWAs by companies covering 27% of employees today to 40% at the end of this year. The Public Service has adopted the tripartite standard on FWAs. The Government also encourages and recognises companies with progressive HR policies, including FWAs, enhanced leave schemes for caregiving and sabbaticals, employee leave schemes, many of which were raised by Ms Poh Li San, Mr Gan Thiam Poh, Assoc Prof Jamus Lim and Mr Louis Chua.”
“Thankfully, after changing jobs, things improved for her as she is now able to work from home regularly and is given time off to run errands when needed. She appreciates the workplace flexibility that allows her to continue working and be financially independent. With a more balanced share of caregiving load in her family, everyone enjoys better physical and mental well-being. Experiences like this show how important FWAs can be. With workplace flexibilities, women who are caregivers will be better empowered with the choice to continue working and progressing in their careers, thereby reducing career lags for women and helps to close the gender pay gap. FWAs apply not just to women, but also to men. With greater workplace flexibility, coupled with a supportive workplace culture that recognises both men and women have a role to play in caregiving, more of us will be able to manage work and family demands. This is why we must press on with efforts to sustain workplace flexibilities. In 2020, close to nine in 10 employees worked in companies that provided at least one FWA on a sustained basis, up from more than six in 10 in 2015. As safe management measures gradually eased, we may be tempted to revert to pre-pandemic ways of working. However, if we do so, we will lose the many benefits that FWAs bring to employers and employees. The White Paper has laid out our plans to strengthen and sustain FWAs at the workplace. We will introduce a new set of tripartite guidelines on FWAs by 2024. The tripartite guidelines will prescribe fair and proper practices that employers should adopt, such as having a proper process to assess employees' requests for FWAs and communicate the outcome of such requests.”
“Mdm Deputy Speaker, women hold many important roles in our society. We are colleagues at the workplace, also mothers, wives, sisters and daughters to our families, Therefore, as we debate in this House about how we can better support women, we are, indeed, debating about how we can create a better future, not for Singapore women alone, but for Singaporeans. We have made good progress in empowering women in Singapore and we should be proud of that. Today, women make up almost half of the labour force, literally holding up half the sky. The employment rate for women aged 25 to 64 has continually grown over the past two decades and, remarkably, continued to increase even during the pandemic from 73.2% in 2020 to 75.1% in 2021 – beating the odds. Many more women are entering and excelling in what are traditionally regarded as male-dominated sectors, such as STEM, construction, professional services and becoming leaders in their chosen fields, many of whom are in the Chamber today. We will continue to encourage and support women in pursuing their career ambitions while respecting women's choices on the sectors that they wish to contribute to. Given our manpower constraints, it is crucial that we enable both women and men to be part of our workforce as much as possible. I share the story of a dear colleague of mine. She lives with her retired husband and mother-in-law who has dementia and is bedridden. Although they have a helper, her husband started to face burnout a few years ago. In her previous job, she felt extremely helpless as she was working long hours and was unable to work from home. She contemplated early retirement to better care for her family.”
“I thank Mr Louis Chua for that question. Indeed, we do consider various forms of financial ability for the applicant to be able to hire an MDW. We do look at savings. And in the case of the resident who was referred to MOM, we have actually been in discussion with the applicant. We are supportive, in principle.”
“MOM assesses an applicant's eligibility to employ a migrant domestic worker (MDW) based on various factors, such as the income of the prospective employer, the ability to provide proper and safe accommodation for the domestic worker and the caregiving needs of the household. Income is not the sole factor in determining whether the application can be approved. In addition, MOM may consider other relevant information to determine an applicant's financial ability to hire a migrant domestic worker. These include caregiving needs and retired senior citizens without regular income but who have savings. In assessing renewal applications, we also consider the track records of the employers, such as whether they previously defaulted on salary or levy payment. Hence, we do not have a rigid income criterion and do not just reject applications solely on that alone. We do have many factors for consideration. Over the past five years, an average of about 2,000 cases, or about 1% of all the applications each year, were rejected after taking the various factors into consideration.”
“Mr Speaker, with your permission, I will address Question Nos 13 and 14 by Mr Louis Chua together.”
“Mr Speaker, the demand for caregiving support is expected to increase as our population ages. By 2030, about one in five residents will be aged 65 and above. Employing migrant domestic workers (MDWs) is one of the caregiving options in the eldercare landscape, but other options are also being further developed. It is not a straightforward matter to project the number of MDWs as multiple considerations with regard to caregiving are also being deliberated and expanded on. To meet the varied needs of seniors and their caregivers, the Government has a wide range of eldercare services, such as home personal and nursing care, day care and community rehabilitation services. MND, MOH and HDB are also piloting assisted living in the Community Care Apartments, which integrate senior-friendly design features with services that can be scaled according to needs. These options complement MDW- and family-caregiving. And to better support families with part-time domestic needs, MOM has also recently announced the expansion of the scope of the Household Services Scheme (HSS) to include basic elder-minding services, in addition to domestic cleaning services. With these caregiving services further developed, families with caregiving needs will have more options and the growth of MDWs in Singapore may be moderated to some extent. Employers can hire MDWs from 13 approved countries today. As MDWs remain important to caregiving needs, MOM will encourage employment agencies as well as the employers to employ MDWs from diverse sources. The Government will continue to monitor our population trends closely and regularly review our policies and plans to meet the caregiving needs of our population.”
“All in all, the investment in CET will go up substantially with this year's budget. The second point about career conversion, indeed, there are many people, while they are already employed, are thinking of how to upskill, what to train themselves in, how to make themselves employable for a much longer term in their lifetime. I would say that, over time, we have also taken on board a lot of feedback from individuals, as well as from companies on what would be useful, what mode of training would be useful. You would have noticed that now, there are a lot more bite-sized modules provided by our IHLs and our training providers. Some are online, some offline, all to tailor to the needs of busy working adults who want to upskill themselves but may not have the complete time flexibility to be able to do so consistently. It is important that we build in a wide range of types of courses, different modalities and have a lot of flexibility for individuals to be able to choose courses, not just in terms of content that suits their needs, but the form of delivery. On the recognition of this type of training, we are undertaking a holistic review of our skills frameworks. And in fact, we are working closely with our colleagues in MTI and MOM to make sure that the training investment, the courses, that we provide to Singaporeans, while the courses will be recognised not just by the institutions and training providers, but actually more importantly by the industries, by the employees.”