Heng Chee How
Singapore
“And in the case of overseas training, then there will be specific link-ups into the systems of our overseas partners, for example, if there is a need to further send the injured NSman to the local hospitals for more specialised treatment, that, too, was all planned in as well in terms of the protocols.”
“In addition to conducting regular exchanges with their professional counterparts, SAF personnel in our overseas training detachments participate actively in local community life and contribute back to the local communities, thus contributing to the strengthening of bilateral ties.”
“Mr Chairman, I thank Mr Giam for his question. The NS allowance, the nature of it, it is in a form of honorarium and for that, CPF is not payable. However, I just wanted to emphasise two points. One, within the NS journey, they are actually eligible for NS HOME Awards, which are paid out in the course of the NSmen's journey.”
“Mr Chairman, as we look forward, MINDEF/SAF’s commitment to NS and to our NSmen remains steadfast. We will continue to enhance the NS experience, maximise the contributions of our NSmen, and strengthen recognition for their service.”
“Mr Speaker, we have shown care for our older workers as a Government, as tripartite partners, not only in words but in deeds. As a result, we have made very substantial progress for our older workers, often bucking global trends. The environment we must deal with will be increasingly challenging.”
“Ultimately, fighting age discrimination is not only a legal matter nor is it just a moral imperative. It is also an economic necessity that will help sustain long-term prosperity for all.”
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“Therefore, we must judiciously and sustainably grow our population and workforce; maintain full employment and improve the value of jobs that our people do; and raise our standard of living. The White Paper and its debate allow us to have our say on how this can be done, to produce the Singapore that we all want to see in 2030. And in many ways, this parallels and complements Our Singapore Conversation. The hon Mr Liang Eng Hwa proposed an amendment to the original Motion and its four aspects have been mentioned again in detail by Members who spoke before me. So, I shall not go into it. But suffice to say that it lays very clearly that the purpose of this Motion in this debate is not about our population number, it is not even about the speed but it is about the well-being and the future – a good future – for our people. That is why we started, that is what we are doing, that is where we are headed. Various Ministers have given the assurance that their Ministries will do whatever it takes to directly address the problems of shortages and congestion in public goods that are currently being experienced and will go well beyond that to ensure that the standard of living of Singaporeans improve noticeably as we go forward, even as our population grows. This serious and timely execution of these commitments by the Government and the reporting of the fulfilment of these commitments would be critical to credibility and public trust. We must not slip or fail in these but must, through action and outcomes, validate public confidence in the longstanding track record of the Government Page: 88 to make things work.”
“Every organ in the body has its important use, and we should, indeed, strive to be both heart and head, but never heartless and mindless. I am the Executive Secretary of the Union of Electronic and Electrical Industries (UWEEI). The electronics industry is key to our manufacturing sector. Over the past year, we have seen increasing volatility. Shorter work weeks, temporary shutdowns and sporadic retrenchments have increased compared to the year before. Companies report intense international competition and price pressure. Many companies say they cannot see clearly the demand pattern in the coming quarters. Workers in the industry are not worried about growth. They are worried about their jobs, and how to provide properly for their families if something should happen to their jobs. This country has been built on the back of the blood, sweat and toil of all our people. What we all want, all of us, is to keep building it, keep making it Page: 87 better and give each succeeding generation more confidence and more tools to construct an even better future for themselves. So, how do we then defuse this time bomb that I was speaking about? How do we realistically, energetically and purposefully prolong our progress, and not slip back, so that in time to come, Singaporeans travelling will continue to see their passports respected and Singaporeans well regarded? There are three things to avoid in order to do that: one, let not our population and workforce shrink – do not let that shrink; two, do not let our unemployment or under-employment rise; three, do not let our standard of living drop. But to be a country wanting to be taken seriously and to be respected and, above all, to have a bright future for our citizens, we must aspire more than just to avoid decline.”
“The people of such a country will suffer for their country's weakness. When we travel, we know the value of the Singapore passport. Other countries regard Singapore well. Why? Page: 86 Because Singapore has risen in the global ranks and has done well economically over the past five decades. We achieved full employment and has produced a better standard of living over the years. This, against an international picture of growing unemployment, is a blessing and an achievement. I remember the story of Cinderella. For her, a magical moment was granted her to go to the royal ball, and everything was transformed. And she went there in all her glory. But she had to leave that party before the clock strikes 12. Because once the clock hits 12 o'clock, the carriage will change back into being the pumpkin, the horsemen will revert to being mice, and her gown will go back to being rags. Singapore's movement from being an under-developed country to a developed one happened much quicker than most other countries. But, like Japan, we also have a rapidly ageing population, and our citizen population is expected to start shrinking from 2025, which is a mere 12 years from now. This is a time bomb and it is ticking. Will we experience our own Cinderella moment, when our achievements will begin to unravel? I certainly do not want to see that happen. Not to us, not to our children. But can it happen to us? Why not? As Member Jessica Tan rightly said, "Growth does not just happen." And I take that to also mean that "Jobs do not just happen". Certainly, good jobs for citizens do not just happen, even with the best of heart. It really does take brainwork and a lot of hard legwork to make happen these good jobs and to keep and to grow them.”
“That country battles deflation, which saw the value of assets held by the Japanese people decline. And these are developments that worry the Japanese, rightly so. We look at the third country. We look at Ireland in Europe. According to a report dated 20 September 2012, that is, September last year, by a news agency called IrishCentral, "Almost 40,000 young Irish people are leaving the country per year, the new unemployment and workforce figures show. Unemployment is sky high, at 14.8%, but the figure would be much worse were it not for the emigration drain". And most emigrants are heading to Britain, Australia and to the United States and mainland Europe are also popular. The Irish Independent, which is a newspaper, reports the numbers at work in Ireland have shrunk by almost 30,000, which shows that thousands are fleeing the country, according to a economist, Conall Coille. "Many young Irish people are either staying on in education or moving abroad to avail of significant job opportunities," he said. This is in such a stark contrast to the days where the Irish economy was named the Celtic Tiger, when it did very well for the people, and where the Irish from around the world were attracted back to Ireland. This net emigration reminds one of the 1845 Irish potato famine which drove the Irish out of their own country in search of food. Now, it is the derailed economy which is driving the Irish out, to find jobs. And Australia reports that the Irish are a big source of the manpower working in Australia, in the Australian mines, at the construction sites. A country that is seen by others as growing weaker economically and shrinking in numbers will find it harder and harder to hold its own in the world and will become more vulnerable to being ignored or being bullied.”
“Mdm Speaker, thank you for allowing me to join the debate. Every country wishes to be strong, to be united and to provide well for the people. But not every country succeeds. What makes the difference? What is the secret? Let us look at China. For as long as we know, China has been a big country, in terms of population, but in terms of its international standing, it has not always been high. If you look back into the history of China, you know that at the points of its weakness, it has been the subject of invasion and bullying by other countries. On the other hand, at the highpoints of its history, there is a strong direct correlation to its economic strength, and that economic strength reinforces and is reinforced by its political and military standing and capabilities. Now, we look at Japan, a country that has been often quoted in the last few days. Japan went into the Second World War and was defeated. But then it mounted a spirited and disciplined economic recovery after the Second World War and it became the second biggest economy in the world after the US. Then in the 1990s, it went into recession deflation and was caught there for two decades. Its economy stagnated and eventually it was overtaken by China in the Page: 85 year 2010 as the second biggest economy in the world, after holding that position for 42 years. Meanwhile, Japan's population aged very quickly – low birth rate and, as a result, the population began shrinking. In 2012, 1.2 million Japanese babies were born but 1.24 million Japanese died. The Japanese government projected that by 2060, the country's population will shrink by another 30% from today's 128 million and go down to 87 million. Those aged 65 and above will increase from today's 14.8% to 40% of that population.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That Parliament do now adjourn." Question proposed. Proposal for Transforming the Childcare Sector 6.00 pm”
“Sir, this year's Budget also saw the introduction of a Special Employment Credit aimed at subsidising the employers' CPF contributions for older workers on Workfare. This grant works like a mini Jobs Credit, and effectively lowers the net cost of employing such older workers, and helps maximise their employment chances. At the same time, the grant is applied toward the workers' CPF, thus helping them save more for retirement. I welcome it. However, I do not understand why it is on a one-off basis, paid over three years, as ageing is a structural rather than cyclical matter. Hence, I would like to ask the MOM to monitor the impact of this grant, and be open to prolonging it if it proves to be effective in keeping more older low-wage workers in work, while we concurrently upgrade their jobs and their skills. Sir, I would also like to lend my voice to the call by Mdm Halimah to exclude overtime pay in the computation of the Workfare Income Supplement (WIS), when deciding on eligibility of workers for the claims. This has been a call by many workers and also by many unionists.”
“Sir, with Singapore's population ageing, it is imperative that we find ways to enable Singaporeans to work more years, so that they may build up resources to safeguard their standard of living in old age. The passing of Re-employment legislation in January this year is an important step in this direction. The new law will take effect from January next year, giving all parties – employers, workers, unions, the Ministry of Manpower – one final year to get ready. On the ground, the attitude of companies toward preparedness for re-employment varies. Some are not only enlightened, but are actually business-smart and have taken the initiative to integrate the operations and human resource dimensions of re-employment, so that their re-employed workers are fully prepared to contribute to the bottomline and not become a cost or tax that the company has to grudgingly bear. Unfortunately, there are others who still choose to take a "the law has not kicked in yet" or "we will wait and see what others do in 2012" attitude. Sir, during the second reading of the law in January this year, I asked MOM if it had the necessary machinery, resources and powers to shepherd in the legislation in this final year of notice. I was told that workers and unions can seek help from MOM if they are not able to settle their disputes on re-employment. I am concerned that not all companies are taking the necessary steps to ready themselves for effective and smooth implementation of the re-employment requirements in this final year. I would, therefore, like to once again ask the Ministry whether it has enough teeth to ensure progress and compliance with the forthcoming re-employment legislation.”
“Sir, I just like to clarify the point on the Community Work Orders. I made the recommendation that convicted loanshark runners be made to serve out Community Work Orders not as a softer sentencing option but in addition to any fines, jail or caning they may receive so that they may be unmasked and their identity be known to the public, that is, face social pressure, and they be made to clear up the mess that they create.”
“But that is not good enough, especially in the light of the behaviour of loansharks to target neighbours and innocent buyers of flats previously owned by borrowers. We have to deter the source. Next, I hope that the convicted loanshark runners can also be made to serve Community Works Orders (CWOs) over and above any fines, jail terms or caning that they may be sentenced to. Their actions brought fear to the community and harmed the innocent. They should not be allowed to remain anonymous to society at large. The CWO should require them to clean blocks of graffiti, much of which is the work of people like them. I would also like to find out from the Ministry whether persons convicted of vandalising common properties, such as scrawling on walls and splashing paint on doors of flats, can be ordered by the Courts to compensate the Town Councils and the innocent victims for the damage and clean-up costs. There is no reason why Town Councils or innocent parties such as neighbours should foot the bill to clean up after such vandals. We must increase the tangible cost to these vandals, so that they would not resort to these forms of harassment without thinking about the cost to themselves. Sir, even as we do more to make borrowing from loansharks a crime and increase further the financial and social penalties against them, we must also do more to harden the physical targets against easy attacks. Today, loanshark runners can go right up to any front door in any HDB estate and splash paint, padlock the gate or even set it on fire. For places that have been subjected to intense, repeated attacks, and for which CCTV, police ambushes and patrols have not been able to deter the attackers, can additional modes of "target hardening" be considered?”
“Sir, as today is 8th March, I wish all women a happy International Women's Day. Now, on to the cut. Sir, with the enhancements to the penalties against loansharks and their runners, and the stepped up Police enforcement against these criminal elements, I believe more of such criminals have been arrested over the past six months. I would like the Ministry to update on the arrest figures of 2010 compared to 2009. Sir, when we passed the changes to the law on illegal moneylending, we noted that there was a trend of loansharks using their borrowers as runners. I would like to know from the Ministry, based on ground intelligence and arrest profiles, whether this trend is persisting. While the use of hooligans and gangsters to harass borrowers is criminal and must be dealt with harshly, I am even more concerned with the use of "normal people" as runners, that is, non-gangsters. Some people may think that if harassers are not really gangsters, for example, if they are borrowers who could not pay, then the matter might be less serious. My view is the opposite. I fear that if the trend towards the use of "normal people" as runners and harassers is not stopped, the threat to public perception of security would be even more serious. This is because the cancer can then be said to have spread to any part of the body and no longer limited to a particular organ. The public will then feel more and more insecure because regardless of whether they are borrowers or innocent neighbours, their homes can be vandalised by people fitting a broad profile. For this reason, I continue to urge the Ministry to make borrowing from loansharks a crime. I know that with enhanced legislation, borrowing with a false address is already a crime.”
“All these considerations mean that workers at large and older workers, in particular, must be better enabled to upgrade their employability and value at work. Employability is not only about skills, it is also about health and fitness to do the job. Hence, we need to further enhance our workplace health efforts to go upstream and beyond payment arrangements like portable medical benefits which are schemes that help answer the question of who pays when workers fall ill. We have to move upstream from those to encourage the regular systematic and sustainable adoption of workplace health. Put simply, we should be looking at introducing a *Cols. 3835-3836. wellness programme at the workplace as well to complement the one in the community. This is easier said than done and calls for much more resources and attention than just urging companies to come out and do a couple of activities and then to reward them on that basis. If we were to take a leaf out of the Wellness Programme in the community, I would imagine that for the Wellness at Work programme, I would similarly need to build on certain key features such as, first, a systematic way to more intensively engage companies and educate them on the research benefits of effective workplace health, to incentivise companies to commit themselves to such programmes, to enable companies to make proper assessments of their workforce health needs while not jeopardising the workers' employment, so that they do not pick on particular workers in order to get rid of them for poor health. Madam, if I may just conclude quickly. I hope that MOH will take more measures in this area and make strategic use of workplace health as a productivity tool to be both pro-business and pro-worker.”
“Our population is ageing because of low fertility and rising longevity. With Singaporeans living longer, resources must be found to fund their additional years so that individuals can sustain their standard of living and quality of life. To enable Singaporeans to enjoy their added years and to minimise the delay of medical expenses, efforts in the community to help them age healthily have been stepped up. These efforts included, amongst others, the national Wellness Programme, the mass exercise platforms promoted under the Senior for Physical Activity (SPA) Committee and numerous initiatives by the Ministry of Health and the Health Promotion Board. 6.00 pm Madam, besides active ageing, a key part of sustaining a standard of living is to enable Singaporeans to work for more years. Here, I would like to make two observations about the growing importance of workplace health. First, many people are spending a significant amount of their waking hours at work. Second, many people are working more years. These two factors together mean that workplace health is a necessary and important second engine to complement and supplement community health efforts. There is a third factor to render workplace health even more important going forward. With the passing of re-employment legislation that will take effect from January 2012, companies will be legally obliged to re-employ workers beyond age 62 up to age 65. At the same time, we have an ongoing national drive towards higher productivity to enable real wages to rise sustainably in the coming decade. Employers will therefore be looking closely at the value add of every worker in this process.”
“Therefore, I know from this specific experience that the ABC Waterways programme can and will make a big difference to the look, feel and usefulness of our river and canal systems. I hope that MEWR can give us an update on the overall progress of this important programme, as well as what other projects are being planned under this programme going forward and, in particular, how could the rest of the Sungei Whampoa fare within this project? Carbon-neutral national events”
“Sir, Singapore is renowned as a Garden City. We are remaking it into a City within a Garden as well. As an island, we should make full use of the water element to enhance our quality of life. The MEWR's ABC Waterways programme is a key programme that can take us forward in this regard. The efforts so far, I believe, have yielded very encouraging results. The look and feel of our rivers and waterways are progressively being restored to appear ever more natural and less canal-like. The options of activities in the water and along the banks have thus also increased. Waterside living is also becoming progressively more available to our broad population as opposed to being available only to the wealthy. For the HDB, that vision of sustaining and enhancing the value of properties and quality of living has led it to introduce many programmes over the years. I, therefore, look at the upgrading programmes of HDB, in terms of the hardware and the living quarters, and within our waterways for the MEWR's ABC Waterways programme as providing a complementary upgrading programme to enhance the overall value. In the case of my constituency in Whampoa, there is a stretch of river – the Sungei Whampoa – that lies within its boundaries. Part of this river is currently shared between two divisions of the Jalan Besar GRC – one side is Whampoa and the other side is Kolam Ayer. Recently, a project under the ABC Waterways programme is completed. Beautiful surroundings and I could actually see the delight and joy of the residents as they witnessed the completion of the project. Certainly, in terms of what they can enjoy, it goes far beyond just having a park connectors that run along a canal.”
“Sir, I would like to withdraw my cut as the subject matter on Productivity has been explained by Deputy Prime Minister Teo during the debate on the Budget Statement.”
“Sir, it is our hope that by targeting our efforts in both the community and in the work environment, more seniors will exercise so that they can stay active and healthy.”
“Seventy-four-year-old Mr Goh Chin Yong exemplifies what our Committee sets out to achieve. At every check-up, the doctor would praise him for being in excellent health. He has been participating in the North West Health Qigong Clubs at Sembawang Zone "E" Residents' Committee for the past five years. Mr Goh reveals that he has made many friends and introduced many other friends through this regular exercise of qigong. Sir, in the next phase, we are going to move beyond community platforms and also work on workplace platforms. The reason for that is because more and more of us are going to work for a longer span of time, and we are spending a significant amount of our waking hours at work as well. Therefore, if we can complement the efforts in the community with efforts at the workplace, then we could achieve even more. The second National Tripartite Committee on Workplace Health has published their recommendations in November 2010. These are therefore being implemented by the respective agencies. SPA sees that we can work together with this National Tripartite Committee, MOM, MOH and also the union network, to reach out to and promote active exercising amongst the senior population, also in the workplace. The SPA will share training capabilities and our pool of qualified trainers with the Tripartite Committee and the networks. Also, we will transfer our experiences and expertise in promoting and sustaining interest through the use of social groups and peer support and see how this could be used to catalyse similar groups in the workplace. Third, we will help companies to see how their work and surrounding environment can be adjusted to better encourage workers to exercise regularly.”
“We also used high point events in the People's Association (PA), for example, the One Community Walk, to encourage participation. Over 85,000 participants took part in briskwalking at 75 locations island-wide in 2010. We increased outreach capability by leveraging on the PA's grassroots network. PA is also catalysing the formation of interest groups at the RC level. This is especially with respect to taichi and qigong. Because for briskwalking, when groups are formed, they can do other social activities together. Whereas for taichi and qigong, having learnt your steps, you do need to go the extra mile of having groups formed, otherwise it may just fizzle out. We also focused on capability building. We built up a pool of trainers. For example, the Qigong Shi Ba Shi Association trained 170 instructors so that they, in turn, may train other leaders in the community. And the Health Promotion Board (HPB) trained 851 lay leaders to instruct in proper briskwalking for maximum fitness. We equipped green spaces with additional supporting amenities. For example, HPB and NParks have worked together and introduced 10 briskwalking trails across the CDCs. I want to take this opportunity therefore to acknowledge the hard work put in by all our partner agencies and also the grassroots organisations. To date, some 500 briskwalking clubs have been formed, and together they have about 90,000 briskwalkers. Close to 2,000 participants, for example, joined in a mass display during the taichi launch. For qigong, as of January this year, there is a total of 86 qigong clubs with 7,000 members. So we can see that the platforms are indeed able to reach out to the broad base of our population and are growing.”
“Sir, the Minister had earlier given an update on the Wellness Programme and Ms Denise Phua had also spoken about the Wellness Programme. I would like to give the House an update on the work of the Committee for Seniors for Physical Activity (SPA) to encourage physical activity which I chair. This Committee has thus far launched three mass platforms to encourage active participation in exercise amongst the seniors, and these are briskwalking, taichi and qigong. We chose these exercises for three main reasons. Firstly, because of their mass local appeal, many people are already doing so and, therefore, we know that there is a local interest in it, and it is easier to promote. Secondly, there is good scientific basis for choosing them. They have merits in terms of promoting strength or flexibility, cardiovascular, fitness as well as balance. And, thirdly, because they offer low barriers to entry. Briskwalking, for example, does not need expensive equipment. Similarly, learning taichi and qigong is not expensive. For qigong and taichi, professional trainers have broken down the complex exercise routines into more easily understandable and digestible doses. For example, the Singapore Wushu Federation, which is a partner on this Committee, developed a set of taichi called "Tai Chi for All" which is a simplified 13-step sequence as opposed to the typical 100-odd step taichi sequence. So it makes it a lot more accessible. These exercises are also "social" in nature because if neighbours and friends come together to do it, it is more fun and you can keep it up longer. Therefore, peer support is being tapped upon as a critical impetus to bring seniors together to exercise regularly and to sustain that exercise.”
“In this connection, it is not just the pricing and affordability but also the quality and availability of such services that would be important not only for the low income but also for the broad middle portion of the population. I would like to find out whether any part of the Silver Trust fund would be applied towards the ends of capability and capacity building, and how the growth of the sector would be capitalised. 4.15 pm”
“Sir, one aim of the $1 billion Silver Trust fund matching grant is to catalyse philanthrophy and to increase the fund size. I would like to find out more about how the funds will be applied, whether it is towards the cost of services or more to build capabilities. Sir, the natural inclination of many, when they hear that there is such a big sum of money set aside, is to ask that it be deployed towards subsidies. That is, to bring down the cost of current services so as to render them more affordable to users, especially in the light of a growing elderly population. Sir, I agree that it is very important to develop a system of elderly infrastructure, services and products that is affordable to the average household and to the broad middle. But for this to happen, I think it is equally important to invest in capability and capacity; otherwise, we will be using today's capacity, today's infrastructure, today's strengths and weaknesses in our services and products to address tomorrow's growing needs, and that would be unwise and unsustainable. Hence, I am of the view that the use of the $1 billion fund should be judiciously apportioned between grants and subsidies on the one hand and capacity and capability investments on the other to cater to our growing elderly population. In this regard, I would like to ask, besides innovating assistive technologies, which was the example mentioned by the Finance Minister in his Budget Statement, whether the Silver Trust fund would also be used to develop manpower – how to better attract, develop and retain good people to serve in this sector. To help the elderly age-in-place, home care services demand would also grow.”
“More than 200 companies have already signed up just in the latter half of last year and, again, benefiting many thousands of workers, ie, the lower-wage, lower-skilled workers. And our aim, in this year, 2011, is to double the outcomes and that would be our value-add to this national push. For the CBF programme, at this moment, there is no separate funding of the programme. Instead, the companies will be urged to draw upon the funds set aside under the National Productivity Fund for each of the target sectors. In this regard, I feel that the value-add of the labour movement can be enhanced if the key unions or union clusters corresponding to the target sectors are roped in more, ie, given more information about the trends and programmes by the respective Government lead agencies. By doing so, a closer partnership can be forged with the unions or union clusters, the lead agencies and the industry bodies and they can then be in a better position to catalyse interest and attention, and help companies start or accelerate their productivity efforts. Sir, the ultimate guarantor of a better life for workers in a small open economy like Singapore's is a heightened and an ever-improving level of competitiveness and quality that will allow us to lead the field. Only then can we hope to have jobs that attract premium wage rates that can be sustained. We should therefore leverage fully upon the budgets of the Government each year and upon the strength of Singapore's tripartism to achieve this soonest. Sir, I support the Budget. 1.23 pm”
“To what extent was there a lack of know-how, management interest, availability of funding or continued easy access to alternatives, such as foreign manpower, that had hampered the fast take-up of productivity improvement initiatives? Are we sensing any of these things especially in the 12 key sectors identified? Was there any indication that some sectors or industries do not even accept that they may have a productivity challenge by international comparisons? Given the experience, would there therefore be specific initiatives that will be developed to help overcome these barriers so as to accelerate execution? As far as the labour movement is concerned, we have been playing our role in this national push for productivity through two key programmes. One is what we call the Cheaper, Better, Faster (CBF) programme. The key goal of the CBF programme is to encourage unions and companies to work together towards higher productivity through lower unit cost of production, better quality and faster responses, ie, a higher degree of responsiveness to environmental changes, so as to improve the overall competitiveness and outcome of the companies, and to share the gains with workers in a fair way. At the end of , more than 120 unionised companies have initiated CBF projects together with their unions and that has brought benefit to more than 10,000 unionised workers. The second programme is the Inclusive Growth Programme (IGP), which targets improvement especially for the lower-skilled, lower-wage workers. The IGP draws upon a $40 million fund as part of the National Productivity Fund and is making very good progress.”
“As many of our parliamentary colleagues have mentioned, the idea is to sustain annual productivity growth at 2% to 3% a year, compound it over 10 years, and we can see a 30% or one-third improvement in real productivity levels that can then support and sustain real wage growth of around 30% over that 10-year period, and improve the standard of living for Singaporeans. Sir, I am therefore very keen to find out what has been the progress so far, both in terms of overall productivity improvement as well as in the outcomes for the 12 sectors that the NPCEC has identified in its work. How have we been doing so far? Sir, I also note that 2010 was a year of very strong economic rebound – 14.5% growth. But that came on the back of a recession year. So, in that recession year, we had excess capacity. And part of the Resilience Package was to save jobs and, therefore, there was also excess manpower within that economy. Part of that was being soaked up when the economy rebounded in 2010. If we were to take out the strong cyclical productivity improvement last year because of that economic rebound and the absorption of inherent excess capacity after the 2009 recession, then what would we see as the structural improvement that we may be pinned to enjoy since last year? What lessons have we learnt in this past year that would help us finesse our promotion support and methods for productivity? For example, what are the barriers that the different lead Government agencies have encountered in helping or nudging companies to ramp up their productivity efforts?”
“Therefore, it is critical that we continue to invest and invest in a big way in the training and skills upgrading of our workforce, and to take into account the structural shifts in our workforce such as the rising proportion and needs of the Professionals, Managers, Executives and Technicians (PMETs), on top of the continuing importance of equipping our rank-and-file workers. Third, aside from good defences, well-trained troops, strategy and logistics. I think the outcome of battles is also heavily influenced by technology, communications and coordination. If we look at history, in war, in the battle between Carthage and Rome when Hannibal introduced elephants into the battlefield, it wreaked havoc among the Roman ranks, at least initially. So these things are productivity multipliers. If you have a gun and the other side has a sword, you have an advantage. Technology is one thing, but if you organise your processes better, your coordination or work methods better, if you out-organise the competition, that makes a big difference. These are productivity multipliers. Economies that are able to increase the number and power of such productivity multipliers will win. For this reason, I have spoken in this House on the importance of spurring productivity, especially in the light that our productivity has been on the decline over a number of years. Last year, our Government formed the National Productivity in Continuing Education Council (NPCEC) in order to drive sustained productivity improvement.”
“We must know that whatever we do, there will always be the next downturn to prepare for. Today, our economy is doing very well but it is just a matter of time in the course of business cycles that another downturn will come. Therefore, we must ready our defences and build up our store of ammunition ahead of time. This good habit of saving for a rainy day cannot be taken for granted. In Chinese, they say wei yu chou mou ( 未雨绸缪). For example, I read in the newspapers calls by some writers that in good years, the Government should take the surpluses in the Budget and share. But they were very silent on what the Government should do in the bad years when there are deficits. So, what it tells me is that we must not kid ourselves into believing that money will come out of nowhere. We can share in good years but in bad years, where is the money going to come from? Resources to do things must come from somewhere. If we do not have savings, whether individually or in our national reserves as a country, then we can only get resources by borrowing. Many countries have had to do that in order to prop up their economies during the sharp global recession in 2009. They are now laden with debts and their current and future generations will have to labour in order to repay their national debts. Their lives are not going to get better any time soon. Sir, I spoke of the need to save in order to build up our defences. It is like a fortress. But having a fortress and having ammunition would not be sufficient to ward off attacks, because if our troops are incapable of outwitting and out-fighting the opponents, then even with the best of fortresses and city walls, we will still be over run.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, thank you for allowing me to join in this debate and to support the Budget. As a trade unionist and a Member of Parliament, one of my top priorities is to see how best to enable workers and residents to make a better living. My experience on the ground taught me that achieving it really boils down to doing a few key things really well. First, do not kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. Businesses must want to come to Singapore, invest, thrive, grow, reinvest here, so that they can create better jobs for Singaporeans. Second, grow the pie, because unless and until the pie grows, there is very little that you can share. Third, as the pie grows, get a fair share for the workers. Fourth, create the conditions for industrial peace, help achieve full employment, so that as many Singaporeans as possible can be in work and share the growth. Also, full employment makes clear to employers that they have to treat their workers well in order to get the workers that they need to fulfil the orders that they have, to grow their businesses and to make money. Fifth, and finally, help workers climb the skills and capability ladder, so that the value of their jobs goes up, and their pay can also move up. Sir, if we get these five things right, then the value-add per worker will grow with time. The productivity growth can then lead the growth of real wages, and produce a higher standard of living for Singaporeans. I am, therefore, very glad that this year's Budget gives us even more resources to shoot for this goal. To begin with, I applaud the Government for returning the $4 billion drawn from the national reserves earlier, which was used to fund the Resilience Package, to the reserves.”
“Mdm Deputy Speaker, I support the motion. 5.20 pm”
“When your labour market is tight then employers will look for workers, they will know how to treat their workers well because these workers are in demand. That answers the question that if you do not have a minimum wage law, then how to you ensure that your workers are not exploited? The best way to ensure that your workers are not exploited is full employment. Mdm Deputy Speaker, in conclusion, I would say that the truth is that there is no magic bullet. NMP Assoc. Prof. Paulin Straughan gave the story about that elderly gentleman looking into the condominium. There are many ways of looking at the story. I would just like to give my take on that. That condominium was sited, she said, next to the Singapore River and I think we would also all remember the Singapore River did not use to have Roberston Quay, eating places and condominiums. When the Member said there are rental flats across the road and on the other side are condominiums, we should then say how did we get Singapore River to become what it is today. What is it that we can, therefore, do to make sure that there will be more such successes and use those methods? What we would then find is that it is not by chance. It certainly was not that a group of people came, passed the law and then the condominiums suddenly came up. It is because of deliberate action over years, focused perseverance, hard work, leg work, hand-holding, persuasion, never give up. That is what made Singapore River look like that today, and the things that are next to the river. That must be the same spirit that, I believe, we must take in helping sincerely, practically, our low-wage workers to improve their skills and make sure not only are they not exploited but that they and their children will have a hope and a future.”
“If you do that, and if the workers become unemployed, you have just converted them from low-wage workers to no-wage workers. Then who is going to be responsible for these no-wage workers and their families? I do not recommend minimum wage. I recommend best wage. What is best wage? Best wage is my way of describing the package of measures that have been put together. Upgrading the industry, upgrading the individuals – WSQ being one particular system – going for best sourcing, get people to pay for value and not go for the cheapest, and, therefore, you can then introduce technology, you can then introduce improvements to processes, up the productivity so that the Inclusive Growth Programme (IGP) driven by NTUC's e2i is another example. With improved productivity, we can then reduce our reliance – in some cases, I would say over-reliance on foreign labour – that would also serve as a re-balance, and will do some good. At the same time, productivity improvement can be part of gain-sharing, and that would motivate our workers to go along and make the companies even better. There are so many ways of doing that. Earlier speakers have shared so many specific examples pertaining to women, taxi-drivers, printing industry, work of the e2i. Yesterday, we also shared many examples about older workers in the re-employment debate. All these must happen at the company level: training, upgrading, to make it happen. Commitment from workers, commitment from management. At the macro-level, what can be done is to make sure that the conditions are conducive for economic growth because if you have robust growth then your labour market will be tight.”
“But I think there is a better way and I would say instead of going for the minimum, why not we go for the best? Let us go for the best wage instead of the minimum wage. It is not as if Singapore has not really tried something similar to minimum wage. I think there is a close analogy. Back in the 1980s, before the 1985 recession, the National Wages Council was giving out quantitative guidelines, percentages. Although these guidelines were not law, not binding, but they were taken very seriously throughout the economy, across all industries. Yes, these were wage increment guidelines but, ultimately, the aim was the same, that is, up the wages. The strategic intent at that point was, you move it up, companies will be forced in a way to upgrade their value add, improve their productivity, climb that ladder, move the Singapore economy faster. But when you set it too quickly, too high, companies cannot catch up, who loses? It is the worker who becomes unemployed even as the companies close down. What we had that year was a recession, and in order to come back out, I think all of us will remember very painful measures were taken, including a very deep cut in the employer's contribution to the CPF. It is a dangerous thing to just try to make a number that would apply regardless across the board. We have tried something like that. If we are not careful, that has been what happened, and it can happen again. When Mr Low Thia Khiang said just now that he would like to see industry-level boards being set up to set industry wages, it just reminded me so much of this and I thought that I should sound this warning that it is not a good thing to do. I would say that from the Singapore's own experience, it is not a clever thing to do.”
“Several Members have mentioned just now about reviewing the terms of the Workfare. I would also like to echo my support for that. I think as time goes on, there is always room to look at the way in which, for example, the cash and the CPF components as well as the quantum are calibrated and whether or not that ratio is optimal as circumstances evolve. We do want to make sure that our Workfare is, on the one hand, helping the workers with a certain addition to what they can earn on their lower wage jobs to be able to look after their families and, therefore, depending on what they need to spend on their living expenses to look at the possibility of reviewing from time to time and, on the other hand, not overdo it until you then develop a liking and dependency on Workfare itself. If you had not done Workfare, then the alternative of giving that amount to the workers, such as through a minimum wage, would have been to ask the companies to fork out the money. Some Members have argued that that would have amounted to being a tax. If you look at how much Workfare has been given out, it would have amounted to $400 million, benefiting close to 400,000 workers. You put that as a tax on the companies, all other things being equal, and let us just ask ourselves what might that do on an individual company basis and on an economy basis to our employment numbers. You will know that it poses a definite risk to employment, especially to workers at the lower end if their skills cannot match up to the value. I come back to this point about increasing earnings – if we have a proper perspective about gifts and transfers. Here, I will say that there are two ways. You want to increase earnings, you can try minimum wage.”
“If you go the other way and you try to do that through gifts or transfers, then it is necessary in the short term, necessary as a painkiller of sorts, but it is not a long-term solution to boosting incomes and standard of living because if you do that, aside from the negative impact that it would have on long-term employment and employability and on the morale of those whom you try to help this way, it also begs the question of where the resources to fund all this would come from. I think this is also a point that NMP Calvin Cheng mentioned earlier when he asked the question, "Who pays?" To me, the right way to look at transfers, including the Workfare, would be as an opportunity to "buy time" for a majority of our low-wage workers to do the necessary in order to upgrade their earning power. As an analogy, if you look at the recession we had in 2009, at that time if we did nothing, then I think we can all also agree that retrenchments and unemployment would have been much higher in that year. But what was done was a package, a Resilience Package and one key component within that was "Jobs Credit". And because of that, cash was pumped into companies that gave them breathing space, they could then hold on to more jobs and therefore fewer workers lost their jobs. In that same period, SPUR was introduced to upgrade and re-train the workers and so the workers went and at the end of it, we have a more skilled workforce, a more capable workforce and the individual workers, they were more capable of holding down a job and a better one. So that is the way in which, I think, we should look at these kinds of assistance given, that is, to "buy time" in order to assist our workers to do better as they go along.”
“Mdm Deputy Speaker, thank you very much for allowing me to join this debate. I would like to begin by making two points that I think the whole House can agree on. First, that inclusive growth is a critical ingredient to a nation's progress and social cohesion. That if we do not have inclusive growth, then there is always a risk that over time we may develop deep social divides, and then morale, productivity and ultimately even the law and order of this country may be jeopardised. And that in seeking inclusive growth, it is important that we pay particular attention to helping the lower skilled, lower income amongst us. If we want to be quite clear and level-headed about it, in my view, I think we should ask the question: If we want to "include" and we want to "share this growth", then how do we do this? If there is growth, you want to include and you want to share. I think there are only two ways: one, boost earning power; the other way, through gifts, that is, transfer. I think, quite clearly, by boosting earning power, we have a more sustainable way forward because that boost, that additional earning comes out of more productive work, whether by the salary or, as mentioned by Member Seng Han Thong, even the self-employed. And because of the added capability, then they are able to earn more and be able to sustain their capability to continue to compete successfully and do well.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, what I said was that we all recognise and agree based on the fact that Singaporeans on the whole are living longer. With more years of life, we would need more resources to provide for the more years of life. This Bill today is one way to help more workers extend their working life by making this a legal obligation on the part of employers. This is a good move, and those who can benefit from this will be able to earn more over more years, and therefore enjoy a better quality of life. 4.32 pm”
“I urge the Minister to ensure that this mechanism would have the requisite powers and the teeth and administrative wherewithal to do a good job because this is so essential to translate good intent into an effective practice for the benefit of our workers. Finally, Sir, I hope that in this final year before implementation, MOM, together with the tripartite partners, can further step up their efforts to highlight the good practices amongst model companies, as well as to highlight companies that are not doing it because they are against the employment of older workers. I think it is time for us to take a firm stand so that everybody knows what is the right thing we expect to be done in Singapore and to offer help, as necessary, to all companies, especially to our SMEs, to do a good job in re-employment. On this note, Sir, I support the Bill.”
“And that means middle of 2011. So I would like to ask the Minister whether anything can be done with respect to helping workers who will reach retirement age by January 2012 so that companies will also be obliged to begin consultations by the middle of 2011. Sir, next, workers are also concerned about the flexibility over how employers may define their new jobs and their new pay conditions in re-employment. In particular, some will worry that some irresponsible employers may purposely put forth an offer that is so unattractive as to incentivise the workers to reject it and then the employers will say, "I have done my job." Therefore, I am very encouraged when the Minister mentioned that it would be according to reasonable factors and these factors would be performance, productivity, seniority-based structures, and so on. From the union movement, we are very, very clear. There is nothing automatic about this and where there are cuts, we then expect the employers to do so based on justifiable factors. We will continue to pursue this on behalf of our workers. Sir, I would also hope that in comparison with other countries, for example in Japan, where they passed the law but in the exercise of their law, their mechanism lacked teeth, so they could not really take employers to task if they were to disregard the law and not re-employ their workers. So I am encouraged that in our provision, we do have this legal obligation and there will also be dispute resolution mechanisms present within the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) should the employee not be satisfied that he has been fairly treated.”
“But I think it is also important for us to ensure that across the different age cohorts, before 62 years old, the employment rate in these cohorts is kept high and, in fact, can be raised. And our statistics show that among males, the employment curve actually goes up and then turns down after about age 50 or 55, and for females, earlier, in their 30s. There are various socio-economic factors explaining that. But I think it is important that even as we support this re-employment law, to continue to put in our efforts so that the pipeline into the re-employment age is kept strong and, in fact, can be sustained and strengthened over the years; so more and more workers, a higher percentage of whom will reach 62 years can therefore benefit from re-employment. Sir, secondly, I also note that contract work is becoming more prevalent, both amongst the rank and file as well as the PMETs in our economy. This is done on the part of the companies for labour flexibility. We also therefore need to look at the possible impact it would have on the employment rate across the different cohorts so that people do not leave prematurely or are made to leave prematurely before 62 years old. Next, the law is passed in 2011 and it takes effect from 2012. Much as we understand that there will be time needed for companies that have yet to figure out how to do it, to now re-double their efforts, I think, on the ground, expectations would be created. Workers would say, "Now that we have the law, can we have it effective earlier rather than wait till January 2012?" And in particular, there will be recommendations, whether in the law or in the guidelines, for consultations between company and employee on the re-employment to take place six months before they are supposed to be re-employed.”
“So do not listen to these guys when they tell you how to add more money into your account, just listen to me and go and draw whatever you have and start spending." I do not think this is helpful. And earlier we also heard – does it work? There are different concerns about this law. I would like to share the experience of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC). Since 2007, we, as part of this tripartite effort, have been working the ground through our unions, working with companies to promote re-employment, by getting companies to be committed, by getting companies to incorporate this into their collective agreements, by incorporating them into the HR policies and executing them well. So we have a tiered system of measuring them and categorising them. Now, we have more than a thousand companies – I last counted 1,055 unionised companies – already committed and some doing very well in terms of systematic practice. Together, more than 9,000 unionised employees since 2007, when we started measuring, have benefited from in-company arrangements with their unions in re-employment. So, never mind all the theory and concerns. We know if you work well, if you know how to do it, it will work and it will actually benefit many, many workers. Therefore, I support this Bill very, very much. Sir, I would like to now make six observations and suggestions which I hope can help further strengthen the overall effectiveness of this Bill as it passes into law and goes into implementation. The first is that this is a re-employment law, which means to say that we anticipate the day when the worker reaches 62 years old and it obliges the employer to re-employ him.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, thank you for allowing me to join this debate. I rise in full support of this very important law. In order to cater to an ageing population and an ageing workforce, we need a holistic approach; a total systems approach. To me, this Bill before us is a very key instrument to allow us to help Singaporean workers, most of whom are expected to live longer, to accumulate the resources through extended working life so that they may continue to enjoy a good quality of life. Earlier on, I heard the arguments by the hon. Mr Low Thia Khiang as well as Ms Sylvia Lim talking about, "Why not just let our workers, our Singaporeans, draw on their CPF monies earlier rather than later because they would want to be able to spend this in their later years, especially when they may or may not be continuing to work." But I thought that that is the very argument. We all agree that Singaporeans on the whole are living longer. The Minister had earlier shared those statistics. So, the question is, where are we going to find the resources for our Singaporeans as they live more years to be able to enjoy the quality of life? The Bill before us today is to enable more workers to work longer, more years and accumulate those resources so that they can enjoy the very quality of life that Mr Low and Ms Lim hope that they would. So let us, instead of just worrying about the darkness, complaining about possible twilight, work together and bring this candle and bring this light to our workers. Otherwise, it would be like saying, "You have a bank account, I have no idea how you are going to add money there but I know you have to spend.”
“While employees can understand why those who hold hire and fire powers or who are privy to confidential information about the company or employees may be excluded from the arrangement on grounds of conflict of interest, it is not immediately obvious why there should be a salary limit of $4,500. So, some may wonder if such an arrangement is fair or practical enough and it would be good if the Minister could explain this more. The second question is: why limit the arrangement to the said categories of issues as listed in the Bill? Because disputes and grievances can arise over any number of issues at any point of time and, for some, this would seem to prejudge what may occur. So, what is the rationale behind limiting the range of issues that this new arrangement can cover, and would the MOM be monitoring the demand patterns – the kinds of issues that come out – as we go forward, and then refine these categories as appropriate at some future point? And, thirdly, why is the attendance mandatory at the mediation session but at the outcome not mandatory? That is, why are we choosing mediation over adjudication? If the purpose of dispute resolution is to resolve the dispute, then one may argue that securing the attendance of the two parties is necessary and critical. We hear many anecdotes where mediation cannot take place simply because of non-attendance of one of the parties. However, having secured the attendance of the parties, then how does one maximise the opportunity to resolve the dispute? Thus, it is important to explain why the recommendations arising out of those sessions are not made binding or in some way made to carry more weight. I hope that the Minister can elaborate and clarify on the thinking and reasons behind these parameters.”
“In terms of the kinds of matters that they seek help on, about 30% relate to termination and retrenchment, 20% about salary arrears and benefits, and 30% are about labour law. Sir, I believe that this increase in the proportion of PME requests for assistance reflects the increasing numbers and proportion of PMEs within our workforce. Tripartism in Singapore is a pragmatic one. It is also a proactive one. It does not wait for a problem to arise or get out of hand before acting. It is a tripartism that is able to be sensitive to developments on the ground, listen very accurately, promptly and see what needs to be done and then act on it quickly. And that is why Singapore's tripartism has been able to tackle successfully the many crises that have hit us over the decades and the numerous crises just these past 10 years, including the big recession that hit us last year, and yet come out stronger. And this is why tripartism in Singapore is not just a vision or a slogan but a reality and a key competitive advantage. It is therefore timely and necessary for the tripartite partners to take into account this fact of a growing PME segment and mobilise its energies and resources to attend to the trend. By doing so, it will further reinforce its value and relevance and strengthen its ability to turn a need into an advantage for the mutual good of employees and businesses. I, therefore, welcome the introduction of this Dispute Resolution arrangement for PMEs. It complements the existing arrangements for the PMEs at MOM, and makes it even more focused and refined for PMEs who are union members. Sir, my three questions are, firstly, why should there be a $4,500 salary limit to who can be included under this arrangement?”
“One of the areas that the tripartite partners must, therefore, pay close attention to is the resolution of disputes at the workplace to promote fair treatment and fair play in order to ensure industrial peace, not only for the rank and file but for all, including the PMEs for industrial peace is a pre-requisite for the long-term, large and recurring investments and such investments in turn define the prospects for more and better jobs for Singaporeans. All this while, rank-and-file workers in unionised companies who are members of trade unions can take up their grievances and disputes with management via the unions. Executives who are ordinary members of executive unions may do likewise. And for executives who are members of rank-and-file unions, they have, in recent years, been able to have access to union services in respect of four categories of issues: retrenchment and benefits, victimisation, breach of contract as well as the wrongful dismissal. And that is provided for under the Industrial Relations Act. For those who are not union members, or for union members who are PMEs but who work in non-unionised companies, they may approach the Ministry of Manpower’s Executive Mediation Unit (EMU) for advice and assistance. Sir, over at the NTUC, we run a General Branch Services Unit which services the workplace-related enquiries and calls for assistance of union members who are our members but who work in non-unionised companies. In the past several years, we have seen a clear trend in the enquiries and calls for assistance from such members. Since the year 2006, as the proportion of all callers to our General Branch Services Unit hotline, % of those were PMEs in 2006, but by 2009 and also this year, that has gone up to 42%.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, thank you for allowing me to join the debate. I wish to speak on two points and ask three questions. My two points are about how the structure of the Singapore workforce has changed and how tripartism must keep up with the changes to remain relevant. Sir, when Singapore became independent, we depended on a mixture of trade, agriculture and British military bases to make a living. The education level of the population and the workforce at that time was low and so were the wages. With the withdrawal of the British military at the end of the 1960s and the advent of industrialisation from the early 1970s, Singapore's workforce became more manufacturing-based and a generation of factory workers and technicians emerged. But up till then, the workforce was mainly blue collar. Later on, the services industry expanded and white collar workers grew as a segment of the workforce as well. Over the years, the Singapore economy has transformed itself even more and has become ever more high value-added as well as knowledge-based. The education of the population has changed in tandem with the needs of the economy and with improving living standards. As a result, the segment of Professionals, Managers and Executives (PMEs) came about and grew. In 2009, the percentage of PMETs, that is, the PMEs plus the technicians, as a group within the workforce, crossed the 50% mark for the first time. This is a significant milestone because it signals that the hopes, aspirations, needs and fears of this group has become important and will grow further.”
“The remaining 157 cases are either not eligible or decided not to proceed with the LBS. Besides the LBS, there is a range of other monetisation options which elderly flat owners can consider, depending on their individual needs and preferences. For example, they may consider moving to a smaller flat or a Studio Apartment (SA) purpose-built for the elderly. From 2006 to 2009, about 900 elderly owners have downsized from larger apartments to SAs. If they wish to age in the familiarity of their home and environment, they can choose to sublet their spare bedrooms for rental income. Those who wish to move in to stay with their children for care and support can sublet their entire flats. The Member asked if the current range of monetisation options is sufficient to address elderly homeowners’ financial needs for retirement. Findings from HDB’s Sample Household Survey 2008 suggest that 84% of our elderly do not need to monetise their HDB flats to meet their retirement needs. Elderly respondents to the survey indicated their main financial sources were support from their children, as well as their own personal and CPF savings. More than 80% indicated that their current sources of income were sufficient to cover their daily expenses. HDB will continue to monitor the sufficiency of monetisation options and ensure that they are readily available to our elderly flat owners as and when the need arises.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, family ties are very much the foundation of our society, it is the cornerstone of our society and, I think, certainly for Singapore. We will continue to promote the strength of the family. Filial piety would be an integral part of family ties and family values. It is important for children to love and want to take care of their parents. I think it is important for everyone to remember that as parents, we are a model to our children through how we treat our parents; the way in which we expect them to treat us in our old age as well. But at the same time, obviously, it is also important for all parents to remember to bring up their children well and to treat them well so that in your old age, your children will remember your love and the many good things that you have done for them in their growing up years and treat you properly. So, the answer is, yes, we will promote filial piety. RESPONSE TO LEASE BUYBACK SCHEME 7. Assoc. Prof. Paulin Tay Straughan asked the Minister for National Development (a) what is the public response to the Lease Buyback Scheme since September 2009; (b) how many elderly homeowners downgraded from larger apartments to studio apartments in the last four years; and (c) whether these options are sufficient to help elderly homeowners unlock the value of their residential property to facilitate financial needs for retirement. The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for National Development (Dr Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman) (for the Minister for National Development): Mr Speaker, Sir, the Lease Buyback Scheme (LBS) was introduced in March last year. As at 30th April 2010, HDB has received 552 applications for the scheme, 229 cases have been approved while another 166 cases are being processed.”
“My question is on re-employment of older workers for the Minister. As we talked about this subject in this House yesterday, the concern seemed to be that with the law coming in, employers may try to get rid of their older workers earlier so as not to have to meet up with the requirements under the law. If that happens, then the employment rate for workers, as they approach 60 or 62 years old, ie, those in their 50s, actually goes down, either through people being let off or being placed on contracts that are not renewed. I would like to ask the Minister whether the Ministry would be monitoring this kind of statistics very carefully, and if necessary, to take stronger measures in these areas to ensure that the employment rate is sustained throughout the years that a worker approaches 62 and then to link up with the re-employment Act. Secondly, I would like to ask the Minister whether he would agree that in many western countries and economies, as they see their workforce age and retire, far from wanting to get rid of their older workers now, they have a huge skill- and experience-shortage, which they feel deeply and are now figuring ways of how to get the older and retired workers back to work, and whether this is something that would also happen in Singapore, and which we should then emphasis to employers.”
“The going was far from easy, given the economic forces that play, but the labour movement is never deterred by hard work if that makes a real difference. We are encouraged by the example and perseverance of many low-wage workers across different industries who have since upgraded their jobs, their skills and they pay. Moving forward, we must make sure that the foreign groups are given the help they need through SPUR, WTS and other schemes to stay employable amid the outsourcing and flexible arrangements and to share in the productivity gains. The groups, firstly, low-wage workers on contract of service with companies. Second, lower-wage workers who belong outsourcing companies by providers. Buyers of such services may not see their role to train them. The outsourcing providers may not focus on training of low-wage workers as they service multiple clients over multiple sites and the varied duration of contracts. Third, lower-wage freelancing workers who do not belong to companies and thus may fall in between traditional arrangements that cater to companies. I would like to ask the MOM how it intends to maximise the enrolment of low-wage and contract workers in the above three categories into the various training support schemes. What additional resources will be committed towards outreach efforts for these groups? What target outcomes will be set for their training and upgrading, and how can we better assure that such workers also get their fair share of the productivity drive? Low-wage, casual and contract workers”
“Sir, faced with an increasingly volatile, unpredictable and fiercely competitive operating environment, many companies have switched to a flexible just-in-time workforce. This workforce comprises a small core and a significant flexible component of part-timers, temps and freelancers, trainees, contract and casual workers. In this way, they seek to match supply and demand of manpower and drive down costs. Another response from companies is to outsource what they deem to be non-core work. Official statistics confirm the growth of such a non-traditional workforce. With the drive towards higher productivity, more companies can be expected to outsource and also enlarge their flexible workforce as they focus even more on cost savings. The labour movement firmly believes that outsourcing and value-for-money can and must be achieved on a sustainable basis. Cost savings for companies need not and must not be at the expense of workers, especially lower-wage workers. It must come out of better productivity backed by better designed jobs, better trained workers, better organisation of work and better use of technology. For this reason, the labour movement pushed hard with the job re-creation programme and the best sourcing initiative over the past six years, and also reached out to lower-wage and contract workers through the Unit for Casual and Contract Workers (UCCW). Unions representing such workers also pay special attention to their interests during collective bargaining. The NTUC e2i helped train and upgrade thousands of low-wage workers. These programmes combined fair buying on the one hand with improved job value on the other so that both buyers and workers win.”