Goh Chee Wee
Singapore
“Sir, I would like to thank HDB and the Government for the upgrading programmes. We saw 4,900 units of flats in my constituency, Boon Lay, benefiting or about to benefit from the Interim and Main Upgrading Programmes. For older constituencies like Boon Lay, most if not all of the flats are eligible for main upgrading.”
“There will be no need to panic and rush to secure COEs at all costs and this will address the kiasu syndrome expressed by Mr Chew Heng Ching earlier on. 1.15 pm In short, the authority must lay out clear rules and regulations and devise a fair and workable system.”
“The actual cost savings to the taxi operators would, therefore, come only from the existing fleet of taxis which were subject to the old tax regime. Nevertheless, there are sizable savings which could be passed on to the taxi drivers.”
“We already have Mercedes and London cabs on our roads to cater for those who are prepared to pay more to travel in style and comfort. One day we might have Kancil and Daihatsu taxis to cater to the budget-conscious commuters, provided the vehicles meet LTA's conditions.”
“Until such time when the taxi industry is completely deregulated, I propose that the Government fix the price of COEs for taxis in the same way that the taxi fares are regulated. We do not expect the taxi fares to fluctuate monthly, neither should the COE price for taxis.”
“Sir, there is currently no plan to extend the MRT line to the cargo and engineering complexes. Any extension will have to be justified in terms of cost and ridership. We should also consider the fact that the cargo and engineering complexes in Changi are housed in a sprawling area and I believe they cover 70 hectares.”
The complete record
Every one of 409 lines we hold for Goh Chee Wee, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 8 of 9.
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the priority registration scheme for children of graduate mothers is no doubt one of the most controversial schemes introduced by this Government. In principle, I am not against measures which are taken to encourage the better educated parents to produce more children so as to correct the lopsided pattern of procreation. However, I wish to question the basis upon which the proposed priority scheme is introduced. Sir, the priority registration scheme accords priority to children of graduate mothers. One of the underlying assumptions is that graduate mothers are supposed to be more intelligent and the chances of their producing intelligent children are greater. The other underlying assumption is that, with universal education, all women who have the talent and ability to make it to the university would have done so because of the opportunity open to them. I would like to question the validity of the latter assumption. Sir, I believe the idea of favouring the graduate mother is not because they are university graduates per se but because we believe they have good brains as proven by their academic record. Short of administering an IQ test for all mothers to measure their intelligence, the use of academic qualifications is thought to be a convenient yardstick to gauge their talent. But the criteria used are fair only if all women who have the talent and ability to enter university were given the opportunity to do so, and here is where I wish to register my reservation. Sir, we have not, I repeat, we have not reached the stage of universal university education. Over the last 20 years, there were still many who were denied opportunities to enter university because of the limited number of places in the local universities.”
“Similarly, I am aware of at least one employer who has indicated that some existing service benefits should be replaced by the COWEC Scheme. I would, therefore, like to seek the assurance of the Minister that in approving a company's COWEC Scheme, the Government should see to it that the company does not reduce or withdraw the existing welfare benefits. I am registering this point strongly for the very simple reason that the fund to be provided under the COWEC Scheme is the employees' money which is apportioned out from their CPF entitlement, notwithstanding the fact that the contributions come from the employers. Any attempt to replace the existing welfare benefits by COWEC will, on balance, place the employees in a worse-off situation. Unless the COWEC Scheme could offer something over and above the existing benefits, it is only natural to expect the employees to prefer to leave their money in the CPF. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I wish to conclude my observations by saying that the COWEC Scheme is not the panacea to all the problems of staff morale, employees' motivation or labour-management relations. It would be naive to believe that by the mere mechanical introduction of a COWEC Scheme, the employee would feel obligated to the company and would be motivated to work hard. What is important is not so much the form, but the substance. Whether there be COWEC or no COWEC, the management must always have the interest and welfare of the employees at heart. They must be sincere in looking after the interest and welfare of the workers. COWEC provides a framework and mechanism for the company to practise some forms of company welfarism, but it is up to the employers to fill in. the substance and to make it work.”
“I do not think it is wise to expose the employees to the risk of getting an interest return of less than what is being offered by CPF. I would, therefore, like to see companies operating the COWEC Scheme to include the guarantee on both the principal sum and the interest as a standard feature. The Scheme is voluntary and the existing employees have the option of joining or not joining the Scheme. My view is that the Scheme should be open to all the employees of the company, right from the General Manager to the lowest graded staff. There should be no distinction between bargainable employees and non-bargainable employees. To demonstrate to the employees that the Scheme is indeed beneficial to them, the top management, and indeed all the managers and supervisors, should take the lead in opting for the Scheme. If the management staff themselves choose not to opt for the Scheme, I do not see how they can convince their subordinates and other employees to do so. If the managers themselves feel that it is safer to leave their money in CPF rather than to opt for the COWEC Scheme, then the effort to con- vince the employees to join the Scheme is doomed to fail right from the word "go". As a matter of fact, the credibility of such a Scheme would be seriously questioned. The COWEC Scheme is intended to provide benefits over and above those currently being provided by the employer. The company should not, subsequent to the introduction of the Scheme, seek to withdraw or reduce the existing welfare benefits. Let me bring to the attention of the Minister that with the introduction of the proposed Medisave Scheme, some employers are already talking about withdrawing, offsetting or adjusting the existing company medical benefits.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, the proposed amendments to the Central Provident Fund Act provides for the introduction of the COWEC Scheme which allows the employers to retain part of its CPF contributions in a trust fund which can be used to provide welfare benefits to its employees. As I understand it, the objective of the Scheme is to strengthen the nexus between the company and its employees. It is hoped that through the COWEC Scheme, the employees would identify their well-being closely with their employer and this would help to inculcate a sense of commitment to their work and loyalty to the company. While I subscribe to the ideal of the Scheme and what it sets out to achieve, I wish to register the following points for the consideration and clarification by the Minister:- (1) The selling point of this Scheme is that the benefits that an employee would enjoy should be better than what would be accrued to him if the money were to be left in the CPF. The COWEC Scheme requires that the principal sum retained in the trust fund be secured by a banker's guarantee. However, there is no guarantee required on the amount of interest the principal sum would generate. Presently, the CPF offers an interest return of 6 1/2%. If we wish to assure the employees who opt for COWEC Scheme that they have nothing to lose by joining the Scheme, and since the whole exercise is intended to generate benefits better than what would be derived by putting the money in CPF, I suggest it would be prudent to require that not only the principal sum retained in the trust fund be secured by a banker's guarantee, but the interest rate of 6 1/2% or any prevailing CPF interest rate must also be secured.”
“Sir, I thank the Parliamentary Secretary for his reply. I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”
“Sir, I must thank the hon. Parliamentary Secretary for his positive response to the several points that I have made. On the question of financial subsidies, the Parliamentary Secretary said that the Government will provide $20,000 for the setting up of each centre. But I do hope that the Government will not only provide capital grant but also sufficient financial assistance to meet part of the running cost of the child care centres so that the staff of the centre can concentrate on improving the quality of child care service rather than waste their time on fund-raising projects. We can, of course, operate child-care centres without any form of Government subsidies, but the question is, at what cost? We can try to meet the full operating expenses by charging a higher fee for the child care service. But this goes against the policy of the NTUC to provide child care services at a cost which is within the reach of our working population and to maintain the fee at a level which our working women will continue to find it worthwhile to remain in the workforce. Sir, I do not worry for the so-called specially qualified married women. They can afford to pay higher charges. In any case, they are well taken care of by the Minister for Trade and Industry. But while the Minister for Trade and Industry is taking good care of these specially qualified married women, can I appeal to the Acting Minister for Social Affairs to take good care of those not-so-specially qualified married women? They are a bigger number. Sir, in his reply, the hon. Parliamentary Secretary mentioned about the holiday care schemes and the before-and-after school care programmes, etc. May I ask the Parliamentary Secretary for further information on this matter?”
“Expenditure on child care must not be considered as a welfare cost, though the programme is administered under the Ministry of Social Affairs. I think it is time the Government reviewed its position and policy on child care in the light of our country's rapid social and economic development. Sir, let me give another example. In Japan, great attention was placed on the training of the child care personnel and nursery teachers. Full-time training is available at the universities and colleges. In Singapore, needless to say, such training facilities have been given lowest priority. Training courses are only organized on an ad hoc basis. Sir, I believe that as part of our overall strategy to develop the full potential of our scarce manpower resources and to encourage women's participation in the labour force, we must seriously examine the positive support that the Government must give for the setting up of more child care centres. May I suggest the Hon. Minister consider the following proposals: (1) To provide full financial support for the setting up of child care centres run by non-profit making organizations and to substantially finance the operating expenditure; (2) To provide regular training to upgrade the quality of pre-school and child care personnel; and (3) To incorporate the planning of child care centres in new towns so that suitable sites (or even void decks at HDB estates) can be reserved for such centres.”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head V be reduced by $10 in respect of Subhead VC-01 of the Main Estimates. A survey showed that only about 30% of married women in Singapore are economically active. Of the 70% who are economically inactive, most of them have indicated that child care and housework were the main reasons for their decision not to enter the workforce. Sir, with the current shortage of manpower in Singapore and the decision to phase out foreign workers, the Government must provide all the necessary incentives and encouragement for the women to come out to work. Provision of good child care services is indeed one of the best ways to attract women to take up part-time or full-time employment. With the present high cost of employing a baby-sitter and the gradual phasing out of foreign workers, more of our women will find it rather unattractive to seek a job unless good and less expensive child care services are available. I must say that to-date the Government has not provided sufficient support, in particular, financial support for the development of child care centres in Singapore. In Japan, for instance, the Government provides 100% of the capital cost for the setting up of public child care centres and finance 50% of the operating cost. In Singapore, the Government is taking the reverse course. As we can see from the Budget allocation, Government's financial support for child care centres is diminishing. Sir, the Government must regard its financial expenditure on child care as an investment on child development which is part of the total educational and manpower development programme with consequential social and economic benefits.”
“Sir, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. The following amendment stood on the Order Paper Supplement: (6) That the sum to be allocated for Head R be reduced by $10 in respect of Subhead RD-02 of the Main Estimates.”
“Sir, on the point of safety committees, I am very glad to hear that 80% of the safety committees are chaired by managing directors. May I know what happens to the remaining 20%, and what is the Ministry going to do with the remaining 20%? Also, is the Minister of State very sure that the managing directors do not delegate their duties to the production managers?”
“Sir, nobody looks forward to receiving workmen's compensation but with the rising cost of living we must ensure that the amount of compensation to be awarded to the unfortunate victims of industrial accidents and occupational diseases is adequate and realistic. The rate must therefore be constantly reviewed to take into account the increasing cost of living. 7.15 p.m.”
“In this respect, I would like to ask the Ministry to make sure that all the members of the Safety Committees are adequately trained so that they can carry out their duties effectively. The Safety Committees must also be vested with adequate power to enforce safety rules at the work place. Under no circumstances should the urgency of any operations or work schedules result in the safety measures being neglected. I would like to bring the attention of the Minister that in many companies, the Safety Committee is put under the control of the production department. This I think is not desirable. There is a tendency for safety standard to be compromised when the production department is under pressure to meet the production schedules. In my view, the Safety Committee should be answerable to the top management, and not to receive directives from the production department. Sir, I am equally concerned with the high incidence of occupational diseases which were reported in recent years. Statistics showed that industrial dermatitis and noise induced deafness are the two leading industrial diseases in Singapore. As such industrial diseases usually take some time to develop, we must emphasize on the preventive aspect. The Ministry must introduce medical surveillance programme and impose statutory medical examination as soon as possible to cover all hazardous occupations. The Ministry must also ensure that whoever carries out the examination must be competent enough to detect diseases at an early stage and to recommend preventive measures. Sir, may I also take this opportunity to suggest to the Minister that it is time to review the rate and amount of compensation stipulated under the Workmen's Compensation Act.”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head R be reduced by $10 in respect of Subhead RD-01 of the Main Estimates.* Sir, in moving this amendment, I wish to express my concern over the increasing number of fatal and permanent disablement accidents that have occurred at the work place in Singapore. The construction industry, in particular, has had a very bad record in 1982. The number of fatal cases at the construction site increased by 75%, from 28 cases to 49 cases. The number of temporary and permanent disablement cases has also increased. The shipbuilding industry has also recorded an increase in the number of industrial accidents. Sir, industrial accidents cause immeasurable suffering, anguish and misery to the unfortunate victims and their families. They also represent a loss to the nation of our valuable manpower resource. We must prevent accidents and loss of lives and limbs at all cost. As Singapore becomes more developed, improving working conditions and obtaining better safety results must follow in the light of such progress. Sir, I believe the Ministry of Labour should intensify their efforts to inculcate safety consciousness among the employers and the workers. At the same time, stiff enforcement actions must be taken to penalize those who flout safety rules. Under the Factories Act, Safety Committee comprising management and workers' representatives must be set up in any establishment which employs more than 50 persons. I believe the most important function of the Safety Committee is to prevent accidents and not just to investigate into the accident after it has occurred.”
“I thank the Minister for his reply. I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment by leave, withdrawn.”
“Sir, I just wish to seek clarification from the Minister. When I suggested the widening of the scope of representation in the trade unions, it is not just to build up a strong union leadership. In fact, even under the present set-up we do have good and capable leaders. But I think the more important aspect is the sense of common identity that must be developed. We should try to blur the distinction between the so-called management staff and non-management staff. In fact, all the workers are the employees of the company. So I do not see any reason why we should want to promote this type of attitude that supervisors should never be included in a trade union which represents the workers. That is an important aspect of my suggestion. Mr Ong Teng Cheong: Sir, if the management staff, i.e. the managers and executives were allowed to join the same union, when it comes to bargaining, with whom do they bargain? They have to bargain with the management. The labour legislation allows the managers and executives to form their own union as distinct from the other group because the management staff do have a different function. They have the function of assessing workers' performance and so on. They also have to look after the interests of shareholders. When it comes to bargaining, the unions will have to bargain with the management. If the management staff, the managers and the executives, join the union as well, then they will have no one to bargain with. As I have mentioned earlier in the reply, one way to overcome this is to promote joint labour/ management committees to get the managers, workers and supervisors together, to meet often to discuss their problems, so that they will continue to work together within the same establishment as harmoniously as possible.”
“1% of the companies have one or more board members who have had experience as union officials. 16.2% or nearly one in six of all the board members were previously trade union leaders. In Japan, practically all managerial positions are filled by people who have risen from the rank and file. University graduates and engineers have to work their way up from the production floor. In Singapore, the situation is different. Persons with good honours degree are automatically assumed good managers and are appointed as such. Perhaps at this stage of development, when qualified people are a scarce resource in Singapore, we cannot afford to put our engineers through the production floor. But that makes the great difference between the kind of confidence, trust and understanding that exist between the managers and workers in Japan and the type of relationship that prevails in Singapore. In formulating policies and strategies, the Ministry of Labour must take all these factors into account if we were to succeed in promoting the kind of industrial relations and co6peration that we desire in Singapore.”
“To help remove the artificial and psychological barriers between the supervisors and workers and between the so-called senior staff and junior staff, I suggest that the employers should be enlightened enough to allow the supervisors and senior staff to join the same union which represents the junior employees. This will also help to encourage a common identity and team spirit among all employees and enable the union to draw its leadership from a larger and expanded pool of membership. In this connection, I wish to bring to the attention of the Minister for Labour that section 16(3) of the Industrial Relations Act states that: 'No trade union of employees, the majority of whose membership consists of employees in non-managerial or non executive positions may seek recognition in respect of employees in managerial or executive positions.' In other words, if the union is representing production or clerical workers, it will not be allowed to represent the senior staff. I believe this section of the Industrial Relations Act must be reviewed in the context of its intent and interpretation. As a matter of fact, if we wish to successfully promote the concept of house union, the leadership of which must necessarily come from within the enterprise and not from outside, then it is all the more important and pressing that we break away from the traditional thinking and be prepared to consider widening the scope of representation of trade unions. Sir, we try to emulate Japan in the conduct of industrial relations. But we must understand the conditions and circumstances under which the Japanese system works. Let me give an example. In the survey conducted in Japan in 1981, it was found that as many as 74.”
“Sir, I must say that the Ministry of Labour and the National Productivity Board still have a long way to go in converting our managers. Some are, of course, not convertible even if you send them through the most intensive management and human relations courses conducted by the best Japanese experts. Nevertheless, we must try. 5.30 p.m. Now, what about the trade unions. According to the survey conducted by NPB last year, most of the managers felt that trade unions in Singapore are responsible. However, some have expressed their concern over the ability of our branch union leaders. Here I must point out that today most of our employers still insist that trade unions should only represent the junior staff. The supervisory staff, technicians, engineers, administrators and managers must be considered as management staff and have to be excluded from the union. So on the one hand, the employer insists that unions should only represent workers at the lower ranks. On the other hand, they cast their doubts on the ability of the union leaders. As a matter of fact, when a good union official is promoted to a higher grade, he or she will have to resign from the union. I must say that in Singapore, we have artificially created a very sharp demarcation between so-called management staff and non-management staff. I believe the distinction between management staff and non-management staff must be blurred. All workers and staff must identify themselves as members of the same family, sharing the same goals and objectives.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head R be reduced by $10 in respect of Subhead RA-01 Object Group 1100 of the Main Estimates*. In recent years, we have enjoyed industrial peace and harmony and this has in no small way contributed towards enhancing the confidence of investors in Singapore and hence the continued growth of our industry and economy. The fruit of industrial peace and economic growth is being enjoyed by all Singaporeans through better job prospects, increasing wages and higher standard of living. Sir, over the last two years, there has been much talk about the need to increase productivity and to improve human relations at work. The National Productivity Board has made remarkable efforts to spread the message of the importance of fostering good human relations. However, let us not be under any illusion that with all these campaigns, seminars and courses, all our managers in Singapore have been converted into angels who always have the interests of workers at heart. There are still many managers who just treat the workers as digits of production without any human feelings. If Members of this House think that this kind of managers are no more in existence after all these successful campaigns, then may I inform Members that my colleague at NTUC has just met one of this kind recently. When discussing the working conditions and company welfarism with the managing director of a company (obviously, my colleague was talking to the wrong person on such theme), the managing director said, "Well, my company has made a lot of profits over these years but what has this got to do with the workers? Why should I provide them with more than what I think they are legally entitled to under the law?".”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the current practice is that the employer provides more or less the same amount of hospitalization benefits to his employees irrespective of their wages. In other words, a worker earning $300 a month is covered to the same extent as a worker earning $1,000 a month. Under the Medisave Scheme the amount of the employer's contribution to the Scheme is based on the salary of the worker. So a worker who earns $300 a month would only have $18 a month in his Medisave Account and he is the one who probably could not afford the medical bills; whereas a person who earns $3,000 a month -”
“May I ask the Hon. Minister of State, first, under this 12-hour shift system, will the workers work the same total number of hours? Secondly, presuming that the workers are rostered to work, say, from 7 o'clock in the evening to the next morning at 7 o'clock, in other words they have to work through the night too, how will this really overcome the workers' reluctance to work on the late night shift when this new system requires them to work an even longer late night shift?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, can I have a reassurance from the Minister that the HDB would explore all other means and consult Members of Parliament and the residents before the HDB consider imposing charges for parking?”
“Free parking has enabled the residents and their relatives and friends to visit one another rather freely, without having to worry about paying the parking fee or getting a fine for exceeding the parking time limit. This has encouraged better social interaction. However, the free parking has also attracted a lot of lorries, private buses, container trucks, trailers and ready-mixed concrete trucks to the residential parking lots. What I am afraid is that the HDB might think that the only way to control this problem is to impose fee parking. I believe that there are other measures to improve the situation, like erecting physical barriers to stop the entry of these heavy duty vehicles or to set aside specific areas for parking of lorries, buses, etc. I would, therefore, appeal to the Minister to explore other more positive measures to improve the situation rather than to simply impose charges for parking. I have great confidence and faith in our Hon. Minister for National Development who is no doubt most resourceful and innovative in solving complex problems or seemingly insurmountable difficulties. May I, on behalf of my constituents, thank the Hon. Minister in advance for his kind and sympathetic consideration.”
“To be fair to JTC, I must also mention some good points about JTC. In spite of all limitations, I must say that the staff of the JTC are generally cooperative and have established very good rapport with the community leaders, the Citizens' Consultative Committee and the Residents' Committee members in the constituency. I hope the link would be strengthened and not weakened by the transfer. Sir, in response to my question in this House last year regarding rusty water supplied to households in Boon Lay and Jurong housing estates, the Hon. Senior Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Trade and Industry assured me that the JTC would take steps to repaint the inside of the water storage tank. I am glad to learn that the JTC has already started the recoating programme of all water tanks and I hope that the work can be completed as soon as possible. Sir, one of the greatest successes which the JTC can be proud of, and which is very much appreciated by the residents, is that all these years the Corporation has been able to offer free parking facilities to residents of the JTC housing estate. Ever since the residents of Jurong and Boon Lay moved into these housing estates, they have been able to enjoy free parking facilities. As a matter of fact, they are now used to such a free parking system and would very much like to preserve this JTC tradition. May I, therefore, bring to the attention of the Hon. Minister for National Development that the residents of Boon Lay, Jurong and Teban housing estates will be very angry with him if the HDB tries to impose parking fees after the takeover. Sir, I am not saying that currently there are no problems of parking in Boon Lay housing estate.”
“For instance, while some blocks have an average of one lift for every 20 units of flats, certain blocks have a ratio as low as one lift for every 110 units of flats. I hope with the takeover of the housing estate, HDB will not only bring along with it the management expertise but also bring along more lifts and, if possible, replace those old lifts, which are beyond repair, with new ones. Sir, the other major problem is housing maintenance. Like HDB estates, cleanliness of the JTC estate is maintained by contract workers. On paper, these contract workers are supposed to sweep or wash the corridors and common areas frequent enough to keep the places clean. However, I do not think the jobs are carried out according to schedule. For instance, although the flushing of the refuse chute is supposed to be carried out regularly at not less than once a week, very often I hear complaints from residents that this is only done at intervals of weeks or months. I must stress that this problem of cleaning the refuse chutes has become all the more serious as the residents now have to dispose of the swill by throwing them down the refuse chute. As we know, even if the swill were to be thrown down in a plastic bag, as advised by the Ministry of the Environment, the plastic bag would explode like a bomb when it reaches the ground floor. This has posed a serious health and environmental problem. I hope the Minister for National Development will inform this House of the steps that HDB will take to overcome this serious problem. I would also like to know how would HDB ensure that cleaning contract workers do carry out work as specified in the contract. Sir, I can go on and on to list the complaints of my residents but I do not propose to do it today.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, JTC is a statutory board set up by the Government to develop industrial estates. I must say that the Corporation has played a very significant role in developing Singapore into a thriving industrial nation. The effort and achievement of JTC is indeed commendable. However, as part of the infrastructural development, JTC has somehow and unfortunately found itself engaged in the business of building and managing residential estates. Sir, managing housing estates is a complex task. The HDB, being the public housing authority in Singapore, has accumulated a wealth of experience and expertise. With due respect to JTC, their resources and experience in managing housing estates are necessarily limited. The move to transfer the JTC housing estate to HDB is a logical one. Sir, any move to change must be a change for the better. With the intended transfer of the estate to HDB, residents in Boon Lay and Jurong area certainly hope to enjoy a better and more efficient standard of service to be provided by HDB. I have to mention Jurong as I believe that my good Friend, the Member for Jurong, would definitely have a lot to say after having been the Member for Jurong for many years. Unfortunately, the Member has to trade in his freedom to speak for the position he is now occupying. Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to take this opportunity to bring to the attention of the Minister for National Development a few problems that confront my constituents in Boon Lay. One of the teething problems is the frequent breakdown of lifts. I believe this is due to the inherent faults in the design of the lifts that have been installed. Other reasons are poor maintenance and inadequate number of lifts for certain blocks.”
“Sir, I do not bring this case up for the purpose of inciting ill-feelings against management. I also understand the preconceived idea that some of our managers have about the union. I believe this case serves as a vivid example to illustrate what the management should do and what they should not do. While we prepare our workers and the unions for a new role, we must also prepare the managers for the changes.I hope that the Ministry of Labour pays particular attention to the education of not only the workers but also the management in our current efforts to bring about further quantum-jump in our productivity drive.”
“In the meantime the company quickly formed a welfare committee and for the first time in the history of the company an annual dinner was held. In spite of this annual dinner, at the subsequent secret ballot a great majority of the workers, including the foreign workers, cast their votes for the union. The union ended up representing not only local employees but also foreign workers from non-traditional sources, a position and privilege which the union did not bargain for, but was kindly bestowed upon the union by the management. What is most intolerable is that immediately after the workers are unionised, the company sent a circular informing all workers that their promise of a 13th month bonus was to be withdrawn. In addition the tea-break coupons as well as the productive-incentive scheme were withdrawn. Sir, this action of the company punishing its own employees is an act of extreme stupidity. When some of the workers approached the management on this matter, their reply was, "Who asked you to support the union? Ask your union to fight for you." When the union tried to establish a dialogue with the management, the answer was, "If you want to talk to us, write in officially and we will consider the request." Sir, if we wish to succeed in our productivity drive through good management-worker relationships and other measures, we must first change the attitudes of many of our managers. The managers must, first of all, show their genuine concern for their workers. All our efforts to convince the workers to discard the antagonistic approach, to adopt good attitudes and to foster good relations with the management would come to nought if the management themselves do not know how to manage their workers and how to motivate them. 7.45 p.m.”
“Sir, in promoting the new industrial relations order, we seek to promote good management-labour relations, better work attitudes and higher productivity. We seek to replace the antagonistic and adverse approach in management-labour relations by a positive one which promotes close cooperation, mutual trust, respect and confidence. Both the management and the workers should emerge as winners under a positive industrial relations climate. When productivity goes up, company's profitability would go up, and the wages of workers should also go up. Having said that, I must stress that it requires both the efforts of the union as well as the management to create a conducive environment for cooperation. Responsible trade unionism must be matched by enlightened management. I am sad to say that to-date there are few managers who are completely negative in their approach towards the unions and their employees. Let me illustrate this by a very recent example. A group of workers expressed their interest to join a union. The Ministry of Labour was approached to conduct a secret ballot to determine the right of the union to represent the majority of workers in the company. There are quite a substantial number of foreign workers from non-traditional sources in this company. With the confidence that all these foreign workers would vote against the formation of a union, the company insisted that these workers should be classified as bargainable and are therefore eligible to vote. I need not elaborate on the tactics the company used to ensure that the foreign workers would not vote for the union. On the day of secret ballot, the company did not comply with the procedures for conducting the secret ballot, as a result of which the date of balloting had to be postponed.”
“Adequate safeguards and conditions can be imposed to ensure that the training is completed within a specific period of time and that the worker does not end up as a taxi-driver or a hawker at the end of the training period. Sir, such a scheme has already been implemented in several countries including West Germany, which is best known for the success and emphasis that the country has placed in skill-training. I hope our Government would not simply dismiss this proposition as a scheme, which is equivalent to asking for handouts or welfare benefits. We should view this as part and parcel of our total national upgrading strategy.”
“First, companies are generally reluctant to employ the older unskilled workers, say, 35-40 years and above, who are drawing relatively high pay. The company can employ younger workers to do the same job for less pay. Secondly, these workers have to continue to support their families, which means that they have to immediately look for new jobs which offer or ensure an income sufficient to support their families. Now, we talk about the need to upgrade our workers by training or retraining. How do we expect this group of workers to attend a full-time training programme or take up jobs which offer training opportunities but low pay initially when, at the same time, they have to support their families? Many of these workers would go to see their Members of Parliament to ask for assistance to get a hawker stall or a taxi-driving licence. To overcome these difficulties, I would like to suggest that the Government seriously consider the following alternatives: (1) Encourage the companies to employ and train these workers. The Skills Development Fund should generously support this arrangement by subsidizing the cost of training as well as paying part of their salaries. (2) If the workers concerned cannot find alternative employment immediately, because of the reluctance on the part of the employers to employ and train them, the Government should encourage these workers to enrol in approved trade or skill-training courses. If a worker makes an effort to learn a skill which is required by our industries, the Government should consider paying him an allowance which is sufficient to support his family.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the Member for Boon Teck and the Member for Toa Payoh have mentioned about the upgrading of our existing workforce and I would like to add my comments to theirs. With the economic restructuring and the introduction of new technology and labour-saving devices, such as automated machines, robots and computers, there could be fears among our workers of the possible loss of jobs. The unions in some countries have tended to resist automation in order to protect jobs. Experiences in Japan and Western Europe have proven that the more they try to protect jobs by refusing labour-saving devices and new technology, the more likely the workers will lose their jobs. This is because an inefficient company will become less competitive and will have to close down eventually. On the other hand, the more efficient and the more competitive industries are, the better able they will be to reinvest their surpluses and expand their operations, and thereby create more jobs. Hence, we should be concerned more with job creation rather than job protection. We should welcome, in particular, the creation of new jobs which can offer better pay and better opportunities for skill-training. However, it will be disastrous for us to assume that all workers who are displaced or retrenched in the restructuring process could automatically find employment in the new jobs created. Structural unemployment will result if the retrenched workers do not possess the necessary skills to take up the new jobs created. It is easy to say that these workers can go for skill-training. There are practical difficulties. We must appreciate, in particular, the plight of the older workers who face the following problems.”
“I hope the Government will examine these factors carefully before coming out with yet another round of wage increases for the senior officers when the private sector catches up again with their offers. In the meantime, may I remind the Hon. Minister for Finance again of the urgent need to revise the salary of the junior and daily-rated employees? I hope the employers in the private sector would be equally generous in making corresponding adjustments in the salary of the general worker.”
“The credit should go to our hardworking population and to the efficient PAP Government, not to the roosters that crow in the morning. I am not suggesting that we should penalize the high-wage earner, neither am I advocating measures which will stifle our citizens' determination to work hard and earn more. What I am questioning is the Government's strategy to try to retain top civil servants by keeping on increasing their salaries, knowing very well that this will cause an inflationary effect on the wages of these categories of people. My question is: is wages the only factor that results in the resignation of the senior officers in the Government departments? Would a Superscale officer, after working for 10 or 15 years in a Ministry, start looking for jobs outside just because he thinks that the private sector can offer better wages? Has the Government considered other factors, like job satisfaction, work environment and human relations? Has the Government considered other ways of motivating the staff, like providing them with better fringe benefits or giving them greater challenges and job satisfaction? According to proven motivational technique, the higher the wages a person draws, the less effective is money as the motivating factor. If we believe that increasing remuneration is the only way to instil loyalty among these categories of highly paid staff, I wonder how can we ever succeed in inculcating loyalty, reducing job-hopping among our lower paid employees using non-monetary motivational techniques like good human relations, QC circles and others if, after all, the only effective way to make them stay is to pay.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, when discussing the salary scales and terms and conditions of service of employees in the public sector, it has always been convenient for the various Ministries to pass the buck to the Ministry of Finance and to point the finger at the Minister for Finance. The statement by the Hon. Minister for Trade and Industry yesterday has raised a lot of hope among the Divisions II, III, IV and daily-rated employees. I hope the Hon. Minister for Finance would confirm today that the salaries of all the civil servants, including teachers, would indeed be revised before June and that the quantum of adjustments will be quite substantial. Having said that, Sir, I would like to express my reservation and to comment on the consequences of the Government's recent decision to adjust the salaries of the Administrative and Professional staff. There is no doubt that the Government had time and again adjusted the wages of the Administrative and Professional staff in order to match those offered by the private sector. 6.30 p.m. However, with each revision, the private sector is bound to make corresponding adjustments in their wage offers. The end-result is a spiralling of wages for these categories of people. The more serious social consequences are the widening of the wage disparity, the gap between the Administrative and the junior subordinate staff in the public sector and between the management staff and the general workers in the private sector. As a matter of fact, one of the main complaints of the foreign investors today is that our engineers and professionals are paid even more than their counterparts in the developed countries. Sir, I am not denying that the standard of living of our general workers has gone up tremendously over the last 20 years.”
“Sir, in view of the competition and possible improvement in efficiency, may I ask the Minister whether commuters and the general public would benefit by way of a possible lowering of bus fares, and would the competing bus companies be given a free hand to charge lower fares if they wish to?”
“To ask the Minister for Law whether he is taking steps to introduce legislation to amend the patents law which grants protection only to patents which are granted in the United Kingdom; whether he is aware that, with the coming into effect of the international patent conventions, the United Kingdom has amended its patents law making it possible to grant protection in the United Kingdom to patents registered in other countries; and how long and what approach his Ministry will take in the drafting of amending legislation not only to correct the anomaly but also to provide legal protection to encourage research and development.”
“Sir, if you look at the Budget under the Public Assistance Programme, you will note that the direct cost of running this programme is about $900,000. If we add the administrative overheads, including the salary of the Hon. Minister, the total cost of running this programme is well in excess of a million dollars. Sir, it costs the Government more than a million dollars, mainly for the payment of staff salaries in the Ministry of Social Affairs, to administer the reliefs of $3.4 million. With the gradual reduction of the public assistance allowance in the Budget, I think the main beneficiary of the public assistance scheme is not the needy public but the staff of the Ministry of Social Affairs. Sir, in line with the Government's policy to increase productivity, may I suggest to the Hon. Minister to examine ways to increase productivity in the public assistance department, i.e. minimum input, maximum output. It will be desirable to cut down the number of staff, cut down the red tape, do less queries, ask less questions, save some costs and pass the benefit to the public who need assistance.”
“To raise productivity, the Government is encouraging employers to utilize the Skills Development Fund to formulate training schemes for their employees to attain higher skills. This policy is laudable. In principle, the Government should provide the employers with an opportunity to make use of this scheme. Very often, smaller companies have failed to get any funds from this source because of a lack of well thought-out plans. At present, participants in the VITB training schemes are enjoying subsidies from the SDF. This is a good opportunity for smaller companies to avail themselves of such funds. It is hoped that the VITB would expand their training schemes so that more enterprises of various industries can benefit. 5.58 p.m. [Mr Deputy Speaker in the Chair] Furthermore, participants of some courses conducted by the National Productivity Board should also be given subsidies from the SDF. Generally speaking, the training courses of the NPB are specialized courses meant for the management staff. These courses are very useful to the management personnel of medium- and small-size enterprises as they will help them to improve their efficiency. Therefore, it is only reasonable that all participants of such courses should also be given the SDF subsidies.”
“I would like to know how many local enterprises have closed down or dwindled in business since the Government's implementation of the policy in 1979, and how many staff have been retrenched or job hopped, and the reasons for the retrenchment. Has the Government conducted any survey on the matter and look into the ways and means to help solve the problems facing the local enterprises? Some of them were the pioneers of our industrialization in the 60s. At the beginning of this month when the Minister for Trade and Industry introduced his Budget in this House, he urged commercial and industrial enterprises to take advantage fully of the existing tax concessions. However, in recent years, some applications by our local medium- and small-size enterprises have been rejected just because they did not furnish with complete information. This has caused some disgruntlement. I am told that they did not furnish with complete information because they did not quite understand the schemes. Generally, the organization of these local medium- and small-size enterprises is not as good as that of the big corporations. Their management is therefore not so efficient as one expects it to be. The officials concerned should not just for the sake of their own convenience have rejected their applications because their applications did not quite comply with the required format. That would run counter to the purposes of the schemes. We hope the authorities concerned would try to simplify the application procedures and provide advisory service in this respect. The staff concerned should with all sincerity and undaunting spirit try their best to help the applicants.”
“I am not moving, Sir. The sum of $25,379,010 for Head S ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates. The sum of $26,440,500 for Head S ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates. Head W - Mr Ch'ng Jit Koon (Tiong Bahru)( In Mandarin): Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head W be reduced by $10 in respect of Subhead WA-01 of the Main Estimates. Mr Speaker, Sir, in order to meet the challenges of the 80s, we have embarked on an economic restructuring programme to change our economy from a labour-intensive to a technological and capital-intensive one, to encourage high value-added production and alleviate labour shortage. In the long-term economic and national interests of Singapore, this is a necessary move. However, what worries us is that the rapid pace of the economic restructuring will affect some of our local medium-and small-size enterprises to the extent that if they are not able to catch up with the programme, they will be pushed aside from the main road or even fall into the drain. In order to achieve the objective of restructuring, the Government has over the past three years resorted to high wage policies in order to encourage the use of automation and mechanization. The Minister for Trade and Industry had, in his speech on one occasion, said that since the implementation of the high wages policy, the great reduction in employment creation has shown that the new policy has been successful. As for the big corporations, it is due to mechanization and automation. But to the local medium- and small-size enterprises, they may not have the capacity or ability to mechanize or automate. Under the impact of the high wages policy, the reduction in employment creation indicates, in fact, a dwindling of their businesses.”
“Sir, in spite of the rising construction cost and the programme to build better quality flats, I note that the grant to the Housing and Development Board is to be reduced from $64 million to $55 million. It is not clear whether the reduction is due to the slow-down of the HDB building programme. I would therefore like to seek the Hon. Minister's clarification of the Government's policy regarding subsidies for public housing. I would like to know the cost and the current Government subsidies for the various types of flats built by the HDB. I would also like to know if it is the intention of the Government to reduce the amount of subsidy for HDB flats progressively. Will our citizens be asked to pay for the full cost of HDB flats in the same way as they are asked to pay for the full cost of utilities, transportation and others?”
“Sir, I just do not understand how my comments and points about rural development have led to a discussion about parking coupons. In fact, on the question of rural development, car parks and parking coupons are of least concern to me. What we need are more roads and lightings, and not car parks or parking coupons. But anyway, since the Hon. Minister has assured me that more funds will be allocated to my constituency, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment by leave, withdrawn.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head T be reduced by $10 in respect of Subhead TA-01 Project 8101 of the Development Estimates. Sir, as Singapore becomes more developed and our population becomes more affluent, let us not forget that a substantial number of our fellow citizens are still residing in the rural areas. They do not even have the chance to enjoy the basic facilities brought about by modern civilization, like street lighting and metalled roads. In this connection, I would like to comment that the provision of $3.96 million for kampong roads and $1 million for street lighting under the Urban and Rural Services programme for the whole of Singapore is grossly inadequate. Take Boon Lay Constituency, for instance. The allocation for the current financial year is a miserable $116,000. With rising cost and inflation, this miserable sum of money is sufficient only to repair and patch up some holes in existing roads. A large proportion of our rural population will have to continue to live in these substandard conditions for many years to come, if there is no change in our allocation policy. In requesting the Ministry of National Development to consider increasing the budget allocation under this vote, I hope the Minister will give this matter his serious and sympathetic consideration. Mr Ho See Beng (Khe Bong): Sir, may I have your permission to speak now so that I do not have to move the next amendment standing in my name?”
“Sir, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment by leave, withdrawn. The sum of $16,487,960 for Head H ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates. The sum of $1,000,000 for Head H ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates. Head U -”
“Sir, while the Government has made a commendable effort to economize on the use of manpower by cutting down 465 redundant posts, we see the creation of 18 posts for the Professionals Information and Placement Unit. There is also a provision of $1 million for this programme under the Development Estimates. First, I suppose this Professionals Information and Placement Unit, unlike the Ministry of Labour's Employment Service, is not for the registration and placement of unemployed engineers, accountants or retrenched Government doctors and lawyers who cannot find alternative employment. This is meant to attract overseas talent to come to work in Singapore. In view of the investment on hardware and the commitment on the recurrent cost, I hope the House can be provided with more information relating to the objectives, the targets and the modes of operation of this Unit. I would like to know, in particular, Sir, in what way would the Unit go about in identifying and attracting the professionals, how far and how wide are we going to cast our net, how many overseas talents we hope to attract through this Unit, and how effective our effort will be.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head H be reduced by $10 in respect of Subhead HA-04 of the Main Estimates. Sir, may I have your permission to speak also on my next amendment?”
“, irrespective of the time of the year and weather conditions, ROV has failed to take into consideration the daylight hours in Singapore and the necessity to conserve fuel and energy. I would suggest ROV carry out a thorough survey and observation before implementing the regulation. Sir, I beg to support the Motion. 4.38 p.m.”
“However, I understand that currently, and in recent years, the number of applicants for technician training far exceed the intakes of our various technical institutions. This is most unfortunate as many of our young boys and girls who have the ability and will to pursue further studies and acquire skills are denied the chance to do so. Worse still, we are not developing and exploiting the full potential of our scarce human resources. Perhaps some short-term remedial action should be taken as soon as possible. Sir, I shall now touch on the issue of energy conservation. In his speech, the Hon. Minister for Trade and Industry stated that energy conservation will be pursued through campaigns and a system of incentives to encourage energy saving. The Public Utilities Board will set up an Energy Conservation Centre to provide technical advice to industry, commerce and households on how to cut energy wastage and to use electricity more efficiently. I would like to suggest that Government consider the introduction of an energy-labelling scheme, requiring the manufacturers of electrical appliances to label the power consumption and energy efficiency on their products. The public and consumers will then be able to compare the power consumption of various brands of appliances, and they should be encouraged to purchase energy-efficient appliances. Such a labelling scheme has already been introduced in many European countries and in North America. Our nation-wide effort to conserve energy is, however, being countered by the energy wastage campaign proposed by the Registry of Vehicles which requires motorists to switch on headlights in broad daylight. In requiring motorists to switch on their headlights at 6.30 p.m.”
“We must not forget that the US and Japanese economies, both industrial world giants, are heavily dependent on the existence of the small supporting industries. The Central Provident Fund is now made available to its contributors for the purchase of HDB and HUDC flats, SBS shares, and very soon a second property for rental income. All these speak well of the Government to look after the interest of the contributors by preventing a rapid erosion of their savings. It would be a worthy cause if the Government could give serious thought to the possibility of devising a scheme under which would-be entrepreneurs, who have the professional skill and knowledge and who are prepared to leave the security of paid employment to venture into an approved line of business such as a supporting industry, to utilize part of their CPF savings for such ventures. After all, it is the contributors' money and the cause is one in which Government is even willing to provide loans and other forms of support. Sir, in the Budget statement, the Hon. Minister has dwelt at great length on the critical need to train enough manpower for the higher skill industries and the brain services that we want to promote in the Eighties. When fully implemented, the plans will result in a significant expansion of the University, the Polytechnic, Ngee Ann, VITB and EDB's training centres. I am glad to note that our manpower development programmes will also cover the training needs of existing workers, and that the VITB is working out an operational plan to step up continuing education to re-train existing workers to meet the higher skills needed by the industries.”