Heng Swee Keat
Singapore
“In a world heading towards greater contest and fragmentation, amid rapid advances in science, technology and innovation, Singaporeans can play a valuable part as bridge-builders and connectors, and Singapore can be a trusted and neutral Global-Asia node of technology, innovation and enterprise.”
“The National Quantum Office has identified specific goals under the National Quantum Strategy (NQS), with resources and efforts directed towards specific quantum areas and technologies accordingly.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to thank Member Ms Denise Phua for her comments because her comments reminded me of the tagline that I always said when I was in MOE – that you can learn from anyone, anytime, anywhere. In fact, peer learning is a very important aspect of that learning.”
“But I have laid out the strong basis for my optimism that a small and open economy like Singapore can continue to thrive and secure our next bound of growth. By serving as a trusted node and connector, we can create value by facilitating connections and building new linkages in today's fractured global landscape.”
“Secondly, one other very important thing the Member must bear in mind is that AI is a very rapidly developing field and it is something which our researchers are working hard on, to look at the different techniques of AI – it is not just GenAI, but the whole range of different AI systems that are being used – and how that can be used in c…”
“Assoc Prof Jamus Lim, you do not need an invitation. You are free to provide your suggestion. After all, are you not from WP? And by the way, let me make it clear that I have heard MPs on both aisles speaking about workers, and we have a very strong presence of our union MPs here and they will be speaking even more on this.”
The complete record
Every one of 1,730 lines we hold for Heng Swee Keat, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 7 of 35.
“For example, KampungKakis, a neighbourhood buddy system to support the elderly, low-income families and vulnerable residents during the COVID-19 crisis. Volunteer kakis were the additional eyes and ears of our grassroot leader, who guided their kakis-in-need to available resources and ensured vulnerable residents received assistance. Our Social Service Agencies have also been working tirelessly to support those who need a helping hand. To support these efforts, we have the Enhanced Fundraising Programme to provide dollar-for-dollar matching for some charities. This is in addition to enhanced tax deductions for donations to charities with IPC status. I am also heartened that donations for COVID-19 related causes have remained resilient. Key donations platforms such as Community Chest, the Sayang Sayang Fund, and Giving.sg received a total of $100 million in donations from January to August this year. This is already more than the overall donations received by the Community Chest and Giving.sg throughout 2019. I encourage those who can to continue donating generously. And as Mr Ang Wei Neng suggested, companies can donate their JSS payouts to worthy causes. For instance, Lockheed Martin has donated their JSS payouts to The Invictus Fund and The Courage Fund. For those who have donated, I thank you for your contributions. Mr Speaker, Sir, it is heart-warming to see the deep reservoir of social reserves that we have grown as a cohesive and resilient nation-state. This is the spirit of SG Together in action – a community of deeds, where we support one another, combine our various strengths, and make sure no one is left behind. Let me now turn to the points made by Members on our fiscal situation. I mentioned earlier that Singapore is both a global city and a nation.”
“I agree with Dr Wan Rizal and Ms Hany Soh on being digitally inclusive, especially for our seniors. To support our seniors, IMDA launched the Seniors Go Digital movement in May 2020 to encourage seniors to equip them with digital skills. Since June, we have deployed 1,000 Digital Ambassadors, to rally the community and volunteers to support our seniors, hawkers and heartland enterprises to acquire digital skills. I am glad that as of end-September, more than 28,000 seniors have participated in at least one training programme. I also agree with Mr Melvin Yong and Ms Raeesah Khan that mental health is a rising concern, especially during this COVID-19 period. Ensuring access to mental health care is a major priority and requires our collective effort. This ensures we have happy workers. We have set up a COVID-19 Mental Wellness Taskforce to study ways to strengthen our community (mental) health services, to support new vulnerable groups that may emerge due to the pandemic. As one of the initiatives under the Singapore Together Action Networks, we have also set up the Youth Mental Well-being (YMWB) Network. This allows anyone who is interested in improving the mental health of young people to contribute, kickstart discussions and take ownership of the projects. Building a cohesive society requires the effort of not just the Government alone, but of all Singaporeans together. COVID-19 has shown how far we have come as a community, as a society, and how resilient we are as a people. Many of us have contributed and even made personal sacrifices in our fight against COVID-19. I thank all Singaporeans for doing your part. This is why we are in a more stable position today. I am glad that there continues to be many ground-up community movements to help those in need.”
“All Singaporean households, regardless of property type, have received relief in some form, with lower and middle income households receiving higher levels of support from the Care and Support Package. On average, citizen households received $1,500 of support for each household member, equivalent to about half a month of their income. More support was provided for lower income households. For households in the bottom 50% based on per capita household income, the support received was equivalent to an average of two months of their income. In addition to household transfers, we have also introduced the Community Development Council or CDC Vouchers Scheme to help households in need with their daily expenses, while supporting local hawkers and heartland merchants. There are now more than 8,000 merchants on board. As of September 2020, more than 300,000 Singaporean households have benefited from the first tranche of the CDC voucher scheme. Mr Ang Wei Neng will be pleased to note that we intend to disburse a second tranche over the next few months. Ms He Ting Ru spoke passionately about supporting the needs of young families. To ease the financial concerns that couples may have about starting a family in the near-term, we have also announced a one-off Baby Support Grant of $3,000 for each child born from 1 October 2020 to 31 September 2022. Minister Indranee has earlier addressed some of the concerns raised by Members, so I will not dwell further on this. I hope all this support has gone some way to help our households alleviate the impact brought about by COVID-19. As part of our efforts to build a cohesive society, we must also ensure that vulnerable groups are not left behind.”
“0 programme facilitated by the National Research Foundation has brought together an international team of researchers from our local universities and researchers from ETH Zurich. This joint team is working with our public agencies to develop new modelling and simulation models to support our urban planning and policy-making. A good complement of foreign students and researchers in our universities have also made good nests for innovations that are going global. For example, Pedra Technology is a deep tech medical start-up that came out of NTU’s labs. Its founders are a Korean, two Singaporeans and a UK citizen born in India. This diversity will put them in good stead to expand into these different markets. Mr Speaker, Sir, I started by speaking about how Singapore is unique in our dual identity as both a global city and a nation. As a global city competing and collaborating with other global cities, it is crucial that we remain open and at the same time, invest in our people. That way, we remain relevant and useful to the world. Singapore is a nation. We must take care of our people and build a cohesive and resilient society. Several Members spoke about the need to continue supporting our households, especially the lower income, through this crisis. Indeed, we have moved decisively to support households with an unprecedented $5.9 billion of household transfers this year. This is the largest amount we have ever disbursed in a single year. Over 2.8 million Singapore residents have benefited from some combination of our Care and Support Package, Solidarity Payment and Solidarity Utilities Credits.”
“As Ms Joan Pereira has aptly put, "a Singapore that closes its doors to the outside world is bad for all of us". As the global economy undergoes changes driven by technology and innovation, it is even more critical that we assemble the best possible team to stay useful and relevant to the world. We want to make sure that we have the best players in our team, playing to one another’s strengths, working together as a team. This is why we must remain open to the best talents from all over the world, so that we can put forth the best team and step out onto the world stage. By bringing the best to our shores, we learn from them and synthesise good ideas from around the world. Our scientific community, for example, has gained from the diversity of exceptional minds that have come to call Singapore their home. Leading researchers Prof Sir David Lane and Prof Birgit Lane have provided thought leadership that has spurred our advancements in the biomedical sciences. The late Nobel Laureate Dr Sydney Brenner was also a giant in the global scientific community, who helped us set up the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB) in 1985. Today, IMCB is a world recognised biology institution. We also send our best minds overseas to learn from others. Mr Philip Yeo, former chairman of A*STAR, started the A*STAR scholarship with the hope of grooming outstanding Singaporeans in science and technology. We have since awarded more than 1,500 scholarships to some of our best students, and many are now back in Singapore with a global network and contributing significantly in our R&D efforts. Our openness has also allowed our locals to collaborate with the best. The Cooling Singapore 2.”
“As Ms Jessica Tan rightly pointed out, training should be demand-led to ensure industry relevance. And Ms Foo Mee Har has just proposed an IST, Industry Skills Training. Ms Poh Li San also suggested meeting the needs of the manufacturing sector. Indeed, there is a very wide range of labour market issues – the demand for labour, the supply of labour, the changing labour profile, the way that we can more effectively match jobs and skills, and how we can develop the right skills profile and the right jobs profile to meet the needs and aspirations of our people. These are issues that we will continue to study but we will provide strong support to our workers and firms. Finally, for our senior workers, it is never too late to learn new things, or even transition to another industry. The National Silver Academy offers a wide range of subsidised courses, from Starting a Home Business to Taking Care of the Aged. With the Retirement and Re-employment Ages set to be raised by 2022, those who want to continue working can choose to do so. With these efforts, we hope that Singaporeans, regardless of age, can continue to learn and upskill so that they not only have good jobs, but experience good wage growth. These efforts to upskill our workforce will help us to stay ahead of the global curve. Coupled with openness to ideas, innovations and innovators, we secure a brighter future. As a global city, our economic competition and collaboration are with other global cities like New York, London, Frankfurt, Shanghai and Mumbai. These cities have their own hinterlands and can draw talent from millions and billions of their own nationals. In Singapore, we draw from a domestic population of about four million locals.”
“That is why we will redouble our efforts to support Singaporeans of all ages to stay well-educated, well-trained and well-skilled. This Government will spare no efforts in providing our people with the avenues to fulfil their fullest potential. We take a life-cycle approach to do this. To give every child a good start in life, we provide affordable, quality pre-school education. I agree with Mr Don Wee on the importance of uplifting our disadvantaged children. He had put it very well, that "a stitch in time saves nine". We will continue to help those who start off with less. We have programmes like KidSTART, UPLIFT and Learning Support Programme to help them. For our youths, they benefit from a good education system that equips them with the latest knowledge and skills. And just before or just after they enter the workforce, they can tap on schemes like the Global Ready Talent Programme to study and work overseas. They will gain valuable real-world skills and insights from foreign markets, to support their career aspirations. I thank Ms Hazel Poa for her point on the need to promote diversity in our education. This is in fact, something that MOE has been doing for years. However, even with excellent pre-employment education, our workers will need to be proactive about upskilling and reskilling. The new economy will require workers who are versatile and know how to build on existing skills, embrace lifelong learning, and be able to move between adjacent industry clusters. But upskilling is not the responsibility of workers alone. Companies too, must play their part. They should actively participate in the development of training programmes, redesign jobs, and encourage employees to upskill.”
“The Green Economy also presents opportunities for firms to seize early mover advantages. These opportunities range from clean energy solutions and low-carbon technologies, to innovations in the built environment, and the development of green financial tools and markets. We invested R&D in these areas early, as part of our 2020 Research, Innovation and Enterprise plans. The next step, as Miss Cheryl Chan rightly identified, is to equip our people with the know-how. Work in under way on this very important area. For example we have set up the Energy Efficiency Technology Centre to offer training programmes, on top of existing SkillsFuture courses that will train Singaporeans in sustainability sectors. Mr Speaker, Sir, the heart of our economy is our people. The objective of growing our firms is ultimately to create quality, well-paying, and sustainable jobs to benefit Singaporeans. Ms Foo Mee Har highlighted a pertinent point, that the future of work may be very different post-COVID-19. The rise of digitalisation and the gig economy will make the job market more volatile. Job types and work arrangements will also evolve, as Ms Yeo Wan Ling and Mr Louis Ng had pointed out. At the same time, Singapore is facing an ageing population. Our current old-age support ratio, defined as the number of working-age adults compared to the number of seniors aged 65 and above, is 4.3 to 1; this is the current number. By 2030, this ratio is projected to become 2.7 to 1. Put another way, each adult will need to work twice as hard to support our seniors in 2030. Or, we can work twice as smart. And of course, we will also support seniors to stay active in the workforce if they wish.”
“To support our firms, we have a range of schemes including, amongst others, the Market Readiness Assistance Grant, the Enterprise Development Grant, and the Double Tax Deduction for Internationalisation. Mr Chia's other point on how innovation can be augmented by the "two-fold engine" of technology and design, is also useful. This will help our firms differentiate themselves in this age of the online marketplace. Another way firms can differentiate themselves is to offer innovative products and services born out of cross-cluster synergies. Ms Jessica Tan and Mr Shawn Huang had insightfully observed that we need to recognise and harness adjacencies across industries and across jobs. Indeed, that is what we are doing. The 23 ITMs are now clustered into six clusters and we are seeking to look at the synergy within clusters and across clusters, as well as the impact that digitalisation has across all clusters. So, all of these will bring about the potential for systems-level innovation across our economy. So, I urge our firms to tap on platforms like the Open Innovation Platform launched by IMDA. It allows companies to crowdsource innovative solutions from over 9000 companies for their challenges. And we have seen very successful partnerships. Teho Ropes & Supplies is a local firm that provides systems solutions to the marine and offshore industries. Through the platform, it was matched with Ent-Vision, a local AI start-up. Ent-Vision tapped on its experience in supply chain and logistic solutions to build a machine-learning system for Teho that automated the labour-intensive customer quotation process. At the same time, Ent-Vision built on this newly gained domain knowledge to develop a new product and segue into the maritime sector.”
“And in fact all of these years, we have been reinventing our economy over and over again. Assoc Prof Lim mentioned the Government has spoken about technology, innovation and enterprise since 2016. Sir, I thank him for following our plans. Twenty sixteen was also when we started our Industry Transformation Maps, or ITMs. But we have a broad base of companies, numbering several hundred thousand. Uplifting all of them, along with our workers, is not a straightforward matter. Our agencies like Enterprise Singapore, and in fact, all our economic agencies and our tripartite partners have been working decisively and closely with businesses on their transformation journeys. And we have gained some headway. For instance, between 2016 to 2019, overall productivity of our economy measured by real value added per actual hour worked rose by 2.4% per year – an improvement over the 2.2% per annum growth in the preceding three years. COVID-19 has accelerated the pace of change. It has given us added impetus to help our businesses find new opportunities and take new strides. And I know businesses are doing what they can. Business owners I spoke to, tell me about how they are working to transform their operations and upskill their workers. We will double down on our efforts to support them in this journey. And this is what the next iteration of the ITMs seek to achieve. We are consulting widely across industries and firms as we refresh our ITMs – as part of our preparation for ITM 2.0, as Mr Edward Chia mentioned yesterday, and many Members have given helpful suggestions. Mr Chia raised a very good point about how supply chains are being reimagined, and how this is a good opportunity for our firms to further expand themselves into the region.”
“Since Independence, we have adopted outward oriented policies, embraced free trade and welcome foreign multinationals to base themselves here. Over time, companies like Infineon, Johnson & Johnson, and Rakuten have established regional and global operations in Singapore. They bring their know-how and business networks to Singapore, and create a vibrant ecosystem to nurture our local companies and start-ups. These foreign firms also give our companies opportunities to become part of a global value chain. For example, Zumata, a local start-up, was engaged by Sompo, a global Japanese insurance player, to automate the handling of customer queries. Sompo ended up applying their prototype solution not only in its contact centre in Singapore, but also in its Philippines outfit. Through this process, Zumata was brought into an overseas market as well. It is these kinds of synergies – between foreign and local firms, between MNCs and start-ups – that will continue to anchor Singapore as a true Global-Asia node of technology, innovation and enterprise. Mr Gan Thiam Poh had correctly reminded us that such collaborations ensure our survival and prosperity. They bring good jobs to Singapore, and ensure that new businesses continue to seed themselves in our soils. This is why we have always been relentless in encouraging our people and firms to upskill and transform themselves; to ready themselves for such new opportunities. And this is how we make sure jobs and industries are future-proof – exactly what Mr Leon Perera spoke about. Assoc Prof Jamus Lim also spoke about activating a Plan B, to get local firms to transform and go regional. The fact of the matter is that this economic transformation has been our plan all along.”
“In summary, let me reassure Members that we remain determined to support our firms and workers through this period. While we have made a shift to prepare our firms and workers for recovery, we recognise that the COVID-19 situation remains uncertain. We will continue to monitor the situation closely, and provide additional support where necessary. Mr Speaker, Sir, even as we battle the immediate fallout caused by COVID-19, we must not lose sight of our longer-term nation-building efforts. In my Ministerial Statement last week, I sketched out the broad strokes of our economic strategy. I am glad that many Members have contributed many useful ideas. Mr Liang Eng Hwa puts it well. "The crisis has hurt us as a country. But we should also capitalise on this crisis to write another exceptional chapter of the Singapore story." Unlike other countries, Singapore is both a city and a nation. Cities are nodes sitting at the cross-roads of many flows – goods, capital, people, and ideas. They are open and outward-looking. Nations are communities with a common identity and destiny. They look out for and care for one another. Singapore is a global city – open to new and exciting flows. But we are also a nation – we have to make a living for ourselves, stay united and defend our independence. Managing this unique dual identity is critical to our success. We have to stay open to the world while forging our own identity, stay globally connected while remaining independent, and embrace diversity while being socially cohesive. These seemingly conflicting objectives are not choices, but necessities for us. And they will always define us as a country, and guide how we manage our economy and society. This dual identity has shaped our economic journey.”
“Besides the Progressive Wage Model, we also have the Workfare Income Supplement, or WIS, which Mr Fahmi Aliman mentioned. This boosts the wages of our workers who earn below $2,300 monthly with an income supplement of up to 30% through cash and CPF payouts. PWM and WIS must be seen as an integrated package. Take 65 year-old Auntie Geok, for example. She works as a cleaner and earns $1,500 each month, thanks to the PWM. On top of that, she receives Workfare payments at $333 per month. Taken together, she has a monthly income of at least $1,800. Auntie Geok also benefits from the one-off Workfare Special Payment of $3,000 this year, to help tide through this difficult COVID-19 period. Besides our at-risk and vulnerable workers, we are aware that COVID-19 has affected the livelihoods of many Singaporeans at large. For those who faced job or income loss, we provide relief through the COVID-19 Support Grant, or CSG. I thank Mr Xie Yao Quan and Mr Ang Wei Neng for their suggestions on the CSG. We have designed our schemes to ensure support is targeted towards those who are most in need. As with any eligibility criteria, there will be exceptions along the margins. For individuals with extenuating circumstances, we exercise flexibility when we consider their appeals. We have also extended the CSG till 31 December 2020. As suggested by Mr Leon Perera, in our recent extension of CSG, we have required applicants to actively participate in job search or attend training. Given the continuing impact of COVID-19 on jobs, we are studying how best to support our workers in this crisis, and how to link support to job search and reskilling, so as to better protect the welfare of our workers.”
“By the end of this month, over 195,000 of them would have received three payouts, amounting to $9,000. The three payouts were sized to cover affected self-employed persons till end-December 2020. The Government is studying how to continue supporting this group of workers beyond 2020. But like other support schemes, we will need to taper towards normalcy. We will provide an update before the end of the year. Another group we are watching out for is our lower wage workers. I agree with Miss Cheryl Chan that we need to extend holistic support to uplift our low wage workers. Indeed, many of them are in frontline service jobs which have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic and safe management measures. For those who are retrenched, we will support them under the SG United Jobs and Skills initiative. So far, we have facilitated the placement of 17,000 non-PMET workers into new jobs. This is more than 50% of the 30,000 placements facilitated as at end-August. As mentioned at my Ministerial Statement last week, we will expand PWM to more sectors over time to benefit our low-wage workers, while making sure that businesses can absorb this change. I agree with Senior Minister of State, Zaqy Mohammed and NTUC Deputy Secretary-General, Dr Koh Poh Koon for their cogent explanation on the strengths of the Progressive Wage Model. Indeed, we should avoid a blunt approach, especially when we are in the midst of battling this crisis. Let us focus on supporting our workers and businesses especially SMEs. I commend our tripartite partners for agreeing to form a Tripartite Workgroup on Lower Wage Workers to study how to expand the PWM to more sectors and push for greater productivity growth. I fully support this tripartite partnership and look forward to their recommendations.”
“Members have also highlighted concerns over a few groups of workers who are at higher risk of income loss or who face difficulties finding a job during this period. I share these concerns. We are fully committed to supporting them. The first group is our mid-career professionals. I agree with Mr Yip Hon Weng that we must intensify our efforts to help our retrenched mid-career workers reskill and find new employment. This is why we introduced additional support for them via the SkillsFuture Mid-Career Support Package and the SG United Jobs and Skills package. I also encourage our mid-career jobseeker to stay resilient and adaptable. As Mr Vikram Nair pointed out, "creative destruction" is inevitable. Some jobs may never return. Changing industry and potentially taking a pay cut for now is certainly painful, but will put you on a better footing in the post-COVID-19 economy. At the same time, I urge companies to be receptive towards hiring mid-career workers. They have much to offer with their wealth of experience. With the JGI, eligible companies will also receive higher Government funding, at up to 50% of the salary of each new local hire aged 40 and above. Ms Denise Phua will be pleased to know that this same 50% support is also available to employers who hire persons with disabilities, regardless of age. I also agree with Mr Murali Pillai's idea to extend the 50% JGI support to ex-offenders. I have asked MOM to take this up. They will announce more details in due course. Another group of concern is our self-employed workers, as Mr Dennis Tan and others have highlighted. This was why we introduced the Self-Employed Person Income Relief Scheme, or SIRS, to provide relief to those with less means and family support.”
“As Minister of State Alvin Tan mentioned yesterday, the Government is finalising a set of measures to support nightlife businesses. These measures will be announced next week. I agree with Mr Saktiandi Supaat that as firms recover, we need to taper the support carefully to avoid a cliff effect. In addition to the extensions of financing schemes and payment moratoriums, customised restructuring schemes will also be available for those who need more tailored support. We will continue to monitor the situation and adjust where needed. Taken together, these measures will help our firms recover, in a more targeted and efficient manner. Given the scale of this crisis, we may not be able to save every business and every job, but we will support every worker. We launched the SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package earlier this year to create opportunities in jobs, traineeships and skills training. The National Jobs Council has curated 117,500 opportunities as of end-August. We are working on the next bound of tripartite efforts to develop more opportunities. I will share more details tomorrow. Mr Xie Yao Quan asked if we could accelerate job matching for our displaced workers. Indeed, we have been working to speed this up through multiple channels. There is now an SGUnited Jobs and Skills Centre in every HDB town. We have also held multiple career fairs at locations islandwide. As a result, we have seen a steady increase in placements. From July to August, more than 9,000 individuals were placed into training or job opportunities, bringing the total number of placements to over 33,000. Of these, close to 30,000 were jobs. In this period of restructuring and recovery, I urge both employers and jobseekers to keep an open mind and be willing to adapt and adjust.”
“Broadly, the firms fall into three categories. First, those that will see greater demand in the post-COVID-19 economy. I encourage these firms to make full use of the suite of capability development grants to expand and grow. The JGI will also support them to hire more locals. The second category are firms in sectors that are suffering a temporary drop in demand now but will eventually recover. We will help them recover faster and emerge stronger. For the tourism sector, the SingapoRediscovers Vouchers will help encourage domestic consumption. For the aviation sector, the Enhanced Aviation Support Package will help firms retain core capabilities to position for recovery. I share Mr Sharael Taha's view that being an air hub is strategic to our economy. For the arts and sports sectors, Minister Edwin Tong has just shared further details of the Arts and Culture, and Sports Resilience Packages. I hope these will alleviate Mr Darryl David's concerns for the sector. However, there could also be cases where a firm's potential failure due to this crisis would significantly impact Singapore's competitiveness or national security. In such instances, we cannot preclude the possibility of Government taking some action to ensure these strategic capabilities are preserved. The exact form of support will depend on the circumstances. But the bar for any Government action will be high. The Government will also exercise prudence and ensure public funds are well used. The third category are firms where the outlook remains bleak as there are fundamental changes in their operating environments. They will need to reinvent themselves and pivot into new products and sectors.”
“At the start of the crisis, no one could predict how severe the virus situation would become and how badly our economy would be affected. COVID-19 is both a health and economic crisis. It has caused both a simultaneous supply and demand shock as trade links were disrupted and consumer demand plunged. In the face of an unprecedented crisis, our priority was to flow support to as many affected people and businesses, and as quickly as possible. The Jobs Support Scheme, or JSS, is one example of this support. Let me assure Mr Louis Chua that the current design of the JSS already tilts this support towards SMEs, as wage costs forms a greater share of their business costs. SMEs, on average, receive more than five times as much JSS support per dollar of revenue compared to the average JSS recipient. Together with other schemes, we have committed about $100 billion, or 20% of our GDP, over five support packages. Our schemes and programmes have dampened the adverse economic impact of COVID-19. As I mentioned in my Ministerial Statement last week, our measures are expected to avert a 5.6% loss in real GDP this year and save an average of 155,000 jobs each year in 2020 and 2021. They have also kept our unemployment rate in check and reduced long-term scarring on our economy. As the COVID-19 situation in Singapore stabilises, the next pressing task is to help our economy recover. Our support must therefore evolve from "resuscitate" to "rejuvenate". To do so, we must shift from a focus on job retention to a greater emphasis on creating jobs. This was why I announced the tapering of the JSS and introduced the Jobs Growth Incentive, or JGI. We are also pivoting from broad-based relief to more targeted support, to better cater to the needs of our sectors and firms.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, let me start by thanking Members for the thoughtful debate. Members have raised many useful points over more than 12 hours of the debate. So, if I take 20% of your time, there would be still be 80% of the points that will not be addressed. But my respective Ministry colleagues will review them. Keeping the pandemic under control remains our top priority. As I shared last week, we are in a stable position. Cases of infection have dropped. We have a plan to further re-open our economy safely. But we must stay vigilant, to stay ahead of this virus. Our economy is also showing early signs of recovery. GDP in the third quarter of this year picked up after the sharp contraction in the previous quarter. However, compared to the same quarter last year, GDP still contracted by 7%. The International Monetary Fund or IMF's latest projections for global growth in 2020 is -4.4%, a less severe contraction than the June forecast of -5.2%. But the IMF also warned that recovery is prone to setbacks. Although it seems we have turned the corner, we are not out of the woods. Major risks remain. The virus continues to spread globally. Just last week, the World Health Organization recorded the largest one-day rise in cases, with an increase of more than 338,000 cases globally. Our economic trajectory also hinges on how other countries manage the pandemic and reopen their economies. And even if our GDP growth figures rebound, the jobs situation will remain challenging for some time. It is, therefore, critical that we support our workers and businesses through this crisis. Several Members shared their views on the COVID-19 support measures. Let me set out the considerations behind our support during this crisis and into the next six months.”
“Since its introduction at the Unity Budget in February, the Jobs Support Scheme (JSS) has supported the wages of over two million local workers in 150,000 businesses. I am heartened that the majority of employers are using the JSS as intended, to retain and pay wages to their local workers. However, we are aware that a small minority of employers have attempted to game, abuse or defraud the Government for JSS payouts that they are not eligible for. For instance, in order to increase their JSS payouts, some of these employers have made CPF contributions for non-genuine employees or have increased CPF contributions without any actual wage increase. To guard against such cases, the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS), which is the scheme administrator, has instituted a robust anti-gaming framework, leveraging data from various sources as well as information from whistleblowers. Based on this framework, IRAS has identified 2,200 employers for further administrative review. Such employers had their July JSS payouts temporarily withheld and were required to provide documentations to verify the authenticity and accuracy of CPF contributions made. Once verified, the JSS will be paid out to them as soon as possible. We will continue to take this risk-based approach for future JSS payouts. To date, IRAS has received documents from and completed the review of about half of the cases. Four employers have been referred to the Police for further investigations. Investigations are still ongoing. We take a very serious view of employers who attempt to game, abuse or defraud the JSS. Employers who attempt to do so will be severely dealt with. Offenders can be charged under Section 420 of the Penal Code and may face up to 10 years of imprisonment and a fine.”
“MSF has also exercised more flexibility when considering ComCare applications during this period, to ensure affected Singaporeans and their families, can get help.”
“The COVID-19 relief schemes, such as the COVID-19 Support Grant and the SEP Income Relief Scheme (SIRS) are intended to provide support to those who have been adversely affected by the current economic uncertainty and have less means. To ensure that schemes prioritise those who are in greater need of support, the Government uses a range of eligibility criteria, including the Annual Value (AV) of one’s property of residence. The current AV threshold of $21,000 covers all HDB flats and a good number of lower-value private properties. While there is no perfect way of assessing a person's financial situation, a person living in a high-value property with his family is in general more likely to be supported by family resources, even if the individual does not own the property. Nevertheless, we will consider appeals by those who face extenuating circumstances on a case-by-case basis. To help Singaporeans cope with the impact of COVID-19, we have also provided broad-based help to families, including those who are living in larger property types. For example, the Solidarity Payment and Care and Support – Cash schemes did not have AV as a criterion. In addition, as suggested by the Member, the Care and Support -Cash scheme includes an additional payout for our seniors, including those of the Pioneer Generation (PG) and Merdeka Generation (MG). PG and MG seniors also continue to receive additional lifelong healthcare benefits. These benefits include annual MediSave top-ups, special MediShield Life premium subsidies, and additional outpatient care subsidies. Together, they provide our PG and MG seniors a greater peace of mind over their healthcare costs. Those who require further financial support may seek help through the MSF Social Service Offices (SSOs).”
“The objective of the Jobs Support Scheme (JSS) is to support employers in retaining local employees in the face of the severe and widespread economic impact brought about by COVID-19. Given the severity of the shock and its wide impact across the economy, the JSS was designed to flow help to businesses fast. Profitability of businesses during the crisis was not a criterion for the payout. In practice, as businesses would not have filed their income tax returns, information on profitability was also not available to Government during the unfolding crisis. However, to better target help and for fiscal prudence, JSS support was tiered according to the severity of the economic shock facing broad sectors. For example, the aviation and travel sectors which had suffered a near complete loss of revenue, were accorded the highest tier of 75% support. We have made further refinements to the tiering for the extension of the JSS announced in August. For example, firms in the biomedical sciences and financial services sectors, which have been managing well, would see their support level fall to 10% for the period September – December 2020 and thereafter to zero. Given the design intent of the JSS, we do not intend to instruct firms that report profits to return their JSS payouts, whether in whole or in part. But we have and will continue to encourage firms that do not need the payout to do so voluntarily. As at 24 September 2020, over 700 firms have declined and/or returned JSS payouts. Alternatively, firms can also make use of the JSS scheme to hire more local workers, or to accelerate their transformation efforts.”
“All Singapore Citizens by descent or registration who are 21 years old and above before the Solidarity Payment was paid out on 14 April 2020, need to have taken the Oath of Renunciation, Allegiance and Loyalty. Of all Singaporeans turning 21 this year, 1,320 need to complete their Oath to be eligible for the Solidarity Payment. Of the above, 306 Singaporeans had completed their Oath before the Solidarity Payment was made, and received the Solidarity Payment together with all other Singaporeans. The payments were made between 14 April and 13 May, depending on the mode of payment. A further 392 subsequently completed their Oath, informed MOF, and have received their Solidarity Payment, as of September 2020. Of the remaining, 410 have not completed their Oath. They have until their 22nd birthday to do so, and to inform MOF. They will then receive the Solidarity Payment in about a month after informing MOF.”
“The policy intent for Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty (ABSD) is to moderate demand, and to ensure a stable and sustainable residential property market. This in turn will help both existing and aspiring homeowners by keeping price increases in line with economic fundamentals. ABSD is applicable on the second and subsequent residential property purchases of all Singaporeans. This applies regardless of whether they dispose of their first property subsequently. This is because even if the first property is eventually disposed of, the purchase of the second property adds to the demand for residential properties at the time of purchase. We have made one exception, namely for Singaporean married couples. A Singaporean married couple may need to change home due to changing family needs, such as when they have children or when their children are growing up. It is in this context that we have an ABSD concession for Singaporean married couples buying a second property. Under the concession, we allow Singapore married couples to claim a refund of the ABSD paid on their second property, provided they sell their first property within 6 months after the purchase of a completed property, or the TOP date of an uncompleted property. This ABSD concession is not available to other groups of property buyers, as our overall key objective remains to moderate the demand for residential properties including that for second residential property of Singaporeans. Buyers who do not wish to incur the higher ABSD on second residential properties may wish to consider selling their first property before purchasing their second property.”
“The Ministry of Manpower has advised employers to adhere to the Tripartite Advisory, and use clear and objective criteria in the selection of employees and conduct the retrenchment responsibly and sensitively. Third, we continue to support job creation and ensure that our workers are ready for these new opportunities. This is done through our Industry Transformation Maps (ITMs) efforts and the SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package which offers jobs, traineeships and training opportunities. The National Jobs Council, chaired by SM Tharman, is working hard through agencies to implement this package. The Jobs Growth Incentive also aims to encourage companies to frontload their hiring, while our SkillsFuture movement encourages and supports our workers in upskilling and transforming themselves for a post-COVID world. And this is our approach to supporting jobs for Singaporeans across the board, not just in Government-linked companies, and not just for the immediate term through this crisis but also for the longer term, to ensure that employment can be sustained beyond COVID-19.”
“As Members of the House are aware, GIC and Temasek operate independently from the Government. The Government maintains an arm’s-length relationship with these investment entities, and neither directs nor influences their commercial or operational decisions. The same applies for the portfolio companies they invest in, whether in Singapore or otherwise. This is an important governance principle that we have carefully safeguarded over the years, which has helped to instill strong commercial discipline in the way they manage their investments. Since the start of COVID-19, the Government has been doing all it can to support jobs for Singaporeans. Our measures apply to all jobs in Singapore, including those in the investee companies. Our efforts to support jobs does not only happen when retrenchment occurs. There are three key prongs to our approach. First, we work with our tripartite partners to stave off job losses. The Tripartite Advisory on Managing Excess Manpower and Responsible Retrenchment (Tripartite Advisory) emphasises retrenchment as a last resort, only after employers have exhausted other alternatives such as redeployment and flexible work arrangements. The Government also intervened aggressively upstream to protect jobs when COVID-19 happened, by introducing the Jobs Support Scheme (JSS) to support companies in their wage costs. Since the launch of JSS, over $16 billion of payouts have been disbursed, benefitting over two million local workers. COVID-19 is an unprecedented crisis. Even with our best efforts, retrenchments may be inevitable in some companies. Hence, the second prong of our approach is to work closely with our tripartite partners to ensure that retrenchments are conducted responsibly.”
“In addition, as agencies' senior management play an important role in setting the right tone on grants governance and adherence to guidelines, MOF has briefed all Permanent Secretaries, Heads of Government Agencies, and Directors of Finance. We will continue our active engagements with grant practitioners and the internal audit community on the rules and good practices. Finally, the new framework also aims to promote simpler and consistent ways of administering grants, so that our citizens and businesses, especially the SMEs can benefit when they need to apply for different grants. MOF will continue to monitor the implementation of the grants governance framework, and look out for further practical ways to improve it.”
“The new Grants Governance Framework sets out clear rules and provides guidance on the entire grants management process. It systematically covers the different stages of the grant life-cycle – from grant design, approval and disbursement, to monitoring and anomaly detection. Emphasis is placed on the importance of proper planning and risk management, so as to ensure effective use of public funds and to safeguard against fraud and abuse. The rules are supplemented by a good practice guide that provides helpful examples and practical advice. These measures aim to raise the standard of grants administration across all agencies. This new framework brings together in one document the guidelines on grants administration that were previously in different documents. The framework also addresses the gaps identified through a multi-agency review of grants management which was completed last year, as well as learning points from the thematic audits of our grant schemes undertaken by the Auditor-General's Office. For example, we have strengthened the supervisory measures for third-party grants administrators and the use of intermediaries. MOF has taken steps to ensure consistent implementation across agencies. We have communicated the new framework widely and at different levels. For instance, MOF consulted various stakeholders involved in operations, internal audit, and finance across many agencies in developing the framework. This ensures that the rules and guidelines are written in a way that the agencies understand easily, so that they are clear on how to implement them. Agencies also subject their grants to regular audits as part of overall governance to ensure compliance with the rules.”
“Mr Speaker, to give Members some time to consider my Statement, I would like to adjourn the debate. Mr Speaker, I beg to move, "That the debate be now adjourned." [(proc text) Question put, and agreed to. (proc text)]”
“Mr Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order No 44, I beg to move, "That the Ministerial Statement made by me be considered by Parliament." [(proc text) Question proposed. (proc text)]”
“The post-COVID era will be a very different world. We will constantly refine our economic strategies to keep up with the times, innovate and maintain our competitive advantage. No matter how challenging the situations will be, we will put the interests and welfare of Singaporeans first. I believe that as long as we stay united, we will be able to overcome our immediate difficulties and usher in a better future. (In English): Mr Speaker, our people and businesses are in the thick of battling COVID-19. We have adapted together, and I am glad that many continue to give their utmost in this difficult situation, and do their best for their families and communities. I have shared with this House and our people a stocktake of where we are, and where we are headed. I give you our commitment that we will continue to support our workers and businesses in this difficult time. We have worked out the steps to further re-open safely in the coming months. We have refreshed our economic strategy for a post-COVID-19 world, to remake Singapore as a Global-Asia node of technology, innovation, and enterprise, achieve inclusive growth and build resilience and sustainability, so as to achieve better lives and opportunities for our people. Given the great uncertainty ahead, we have to remain vigilant, work in close partnership, and continue to adapt as we plan and move ahead. Work on Budget 2021 is underway. I encourage each of you to share with us your perspectives and ideas, and to do your part to build our future as part of our Singapore Together movement. Together, we will overcome this crisis and emerge stronger. [Applause.]”
“Fortunately, the Government has already started on industry transformation with the setting up of the Future Economy Council and introduced the Industry Transformation Maps for the various sectors. We have also established the Emerging Stronger Taskforce to refresh our economic strategy to prepare for the post-COVID era. We have also established the Alliances for Action to try out new ideas. We also need to further consolidate Singapore's position as a Global-Asia node of technology, innovation, and enterprise . We must invest in economic resilience and sustainability as a source of competitive advantage to prepare for a sustainable low-carbon future. Singapore must also foster inclusive growth. Our workers need to have skills to stay relevant. We will expand the Progressive Wage Model to more sectors over time, introduce job redesign and raise the skills of our workers to benefit more groups of lower-wage workers. And in time, we will slow down the growth of foreign workers in these sectors. In the Ministerial Statement I made in August, I have provided an additional $8 billion to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. Together with the four Budgets announced earlier, we have promised as much as $100 billion to help our people and businesses to tide over this difficult time. Besides having to meet huge expenditures, our tax revenue is also facing substantial pressure due to economic slowdown globally. Despite this, our guiding principle is prudence, not austerity, when planning our finances. We will continue to invest resources in families, healthcare and infrastructure to enhance the quality of life of our people. A thriving economy not only enables Singaporeans to realise their aspirations but also ensures that the Government has sufficient resources to meet their needs.”
“] The COVID-19 situation in Singapore has stabilised. The key to controlling the pandemic is Singaporeans working together. We must remain vigilant and continue to cooperate in disease prevention and comply with the safe distancing measures. Testing, tracing, development and production of vaccines as well as the progress of controlling the pandemic in other countries will determine when we can safely reopen all our economic activities. At present, the pace of recovery varies across sectors. Hence, we will continue to provide assistance to Singaporeans and businesses from now till the next financial year or beyond. I understand that many businesses are still facing liquidity problems. I will extend the Temporary Bridging Loan Programme until September 2021, at reduced levels. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) will also extend the MAS Singapore Dollar Facility for Enterprise Singapore Loans to help businesses continue to access credit. In addition, we will extend the Enhanced Training Support Package to June 2021 to provide course fee subsidies to hardest-hit sectors such as aviation and tourism. We understand that the uncertainty brought about by the pandemic has caused many young families to postpone their parenthood plans. Hence, we will provide eligible couples with a one-off additional support to help them reduce their child-rearing burden. The Government has started to draw up the Budget for 2021. We will continue to work closely with businesses, workers and community organisations to chart the way forward for Singapore. In order to create more quality jobs for our people, we need a flourishing economy.”
“What is within our control is how we use our fiscal resources well to respond to this crisis and to prepare for the future. We have dedicated close to $100 billion to support our people and businesses through this difficult period. As we do so, we must be careful not to spend in a way that squanders what generations before us have painstakingly built up. Our guiding principle is prudence, not austerity. We will continue to invest decisively in our national priorities, with a deep commitment to leave behind a better future for our children. There is much work to be done to transform our economy, and to build a fair and inclusive society, a sustainable and liveable city, and a safe and secure Singapore. We will have to find ways to fund these sustainably – higher taxes, and more effective spending. These are difficult choices, but we must meet them head-on. We will pay for our recurrent needs, like healthcare spending, with recurrent revenues, such as taxes. We will also maintain a disciplined and judicious use of borrowing, reserving its use for long-term infrastructure whose benefits are spread across many generations. Our Past Reserves have been critical in our fight against COVID-19. Governments around the world have committed trillions of dollars in response to COVID-19, and their debt levels have risen to record highs. Such debt will take generations to pay off. We have avoided this outcome because successive generations have built up strong reserves ahead of this crisis. We must have the discipline to start earning, saving, and investing for the future again. COVID-19 is not our first crisis and certainly will not be the last. Mr Speaker, Sir, before I conclude, allow me to say a few words in Mandarin. (In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.”
“We are now in the middle of the financial year and are in a better position to revise the overall revenue estimates. Hence, I am presenting the revised revenue estimates to Parliament, which will also take into account the revenue forgone arising from measures in the Fortitude Budget. The revised estimates will reflect a $1.5 billion draw on Past Reserves resulting from these measures, such as the Foreign Worker Levy waiver, for which the President had given in-principle approval. There is no additional draw for this latest support package itself. When I briefed the President and the Council of Presidential Advisers in August, I thanked them for their earlier support and approval for the use of Past Reserves to fund our response to COVID-19. In total, we are dedicating close to $100 billion to support our people and businesses. We are starting this new term of Government from a most challenging fiscal position. For this financial year, we already expect operating revenues to be 16% lower than initial estimates presented at the Unity Budget in February 2020. Revenue collections are expected to fall across all categories of revenue. For example, compared to the estimates at the start of the year, we expect GST collections to be down by 14%. We expect our revenue position to be weak for a number of years, as the effects of COVID-19 on the global economy linger and our economy slows. At the same time, our expenditure will rise as we continue to provide support for our people and businesses. In short, the Government is bearing a substantial part of the economy-wide adjustment during this crisis, through reduced revenues and substantial transfers to households and businesses. This challenging fiscal position is a result of a global pandemic that no one could have predicted.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I have set out a set of interlocking strategies that will enable us to build back better and emerge stronger from this crisis. These strategies strengthen both our economy and our social compact. The key to achieving our objectives is working together. In our system, tripartism – between the Government, businesses and the Labour Movement – has been a tremendous source of strength. Our Emerging Stronger Taskforce's Alliances for Action are a new form of collaborative partnership – nimble, action-focused partnerships that involve people from a wide spectrum of society, while putting ideas into action quickly. This will further strengthen our capacity for economic transformation and change. By working together, our businesses will be better positioned to capture new opportunities in Asia, digitalisation, innovation and to build a more resilient and sustainable economy. Our people will be better placed to take on these new opportunities and bounce back from setbacks. We can then emerge from this pandemic stronger as an economy, as a society and as one people. As I announced in my August's Ministerial Statement, the continued support for our fight against COVID-19 will cost a further $8 billion this financial year. The additional measures I have spoken on today remain within this and earlier voted sums. I will fund the additional expenditure by reallocating monies from other areas with reduced spending, such as development projects that have been delayed due to COVID-19. The proposed reallocations are indicated in the Supplementary Estimates presented to Parliament today. When I announced the Fortitude Budget just after the start of the financial year, the economic situation and overall revenue picture were highly uncertain.”
“Under our Zero Waste Masterplan, we will promote the circular economy and support businesses to turn "trash to treasure", namely, to recycle or transform waste into useful inputs for production. Harnessing the circular economy model, JTC is working with companies on Jurong Island to build a more sustainable Jurong Island. We are increasing our deployment of renewable energy sources, such as solar energy, at both the national and industry level. And we will invest in new capabilities and solutions, such as hydrogen and carbon capture, utilisation and storage to complement our existing R&D efforts. In time, we hope that these promising technologies can become commercially viable decarbonisation pathways in future. Even as we transform our existing industries, we are seeking new business opportunities in the green economy, given our region's growing needs for sustainable development. We will establish ourselves as a carbon services hub in Asia. Efforts to limit the growth of carbon emissions will increase the demand for engineering, legal and consultancy services related to carbon. The Alliance for Action for Sustainability is market-testing some concepts and business opportunities. Finance is also an important enabler of green growth. We are developing financing solutions and markets in Singapore to help firms finance their adoption of more sustainable practices under MAS' Green Finance Action Plan. Taken together, our moves to strengthen our economic resilience and sustainability serve a dual purpose. They strengthen our economy so that we can bounce back quickly and better from shocks, while adding to our value proposition as a vital global node in Asia. In turn, all these initiatives will create many new opportunities and valuable jobs for our people.”
“At the same time, this also made the company less vulnerable to worker shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic. One key way to enhance our resilience and to grow is to produce essential supplies locally, which can be used both for local consumption and export. One example is medical supplies, such as masks and test kits. Another example is food. We set ourselves the ambitious "30 by 30" goal of producing 30% of our nutritional needs locally by 2030, up from less than 10% today. Our agri-food sector will enhance our resilience to food supply disruptions. The technology developed in support of this strategy, such as in seeds and alternative proteins, can be exported. We can grow these capabilities, building on our strengths in R&D and our standing as a trusted hub. Singapore is already the global R&D centre for AgriProtein, one of the world's leading insect protein companies. The R&D team develops technologies to upcycle food waste into sustainable animal feed solutions. As we grapple with climate change, environmental sustainability is an important aspect of our economic resilience for a low-carbon and resource-constrained future. Here again is an opportunity for the green sector to be a growth industry in its own right and to power our economy. First, we are transforming our industries to build a sustainable economy. We will continue to invest in research into energy and resource efficiency technologies and encourage adoption of these technologies through various incentives under EDB, EMA, BCA and NEA. Going forward, we will further promote the decarbonisation of the economy and pursue initiatives for a more sustainable economy.”
“I have covered the first and second moves in this next phase of our industry transformation journey. Our third move is to invest in our economic resilience and sustainability as a source of growth and competitive advantage. Economic resilience is not a new idea for Singapore. We have achieved resilience through a diversified economic structure, with multiple engines of growth. No one industry accounts for much more than 20% of our GDP, so we do not put all our eggs in one basket. We thus entered the COVID-19 pandemic on a relatively strong footing. We were able to ensure sufficient medical supplies and essential goods for our public and healthcare workers because we had a strategic national stockpile in place, supported by a combination of local production of essential supplies, and a diverse network of trading partners. Nonetheless, COVID-19 exposed vulnerabilities around the world. Beyond essential goods, critical inputs for industrial production and access to workers were cut off due to global work stoppages and travel bans. Demand also ground to a halt in many industries. We must therefore act now to improve our economic resilience. In doing this, we may have to creatively combine the efficiency of having things ready "just in time" with the resilience of building buffers "just in case". Will this drive for resilience come at the expense of growth and efficiency? Not necessarily so. For example, firms that embrace technology raise not only productivity, but also resilience. Lingjack, a manufacturer of fire extinguishers, automated its labour-intensive production lines in 2017. With over 90% of its production lines automated, Lingjack achieved efficiency gains of up to 40%.”
“This will also mean that business costs will go up, which will add to the difficulty of businesses during this time. But COVID-19 has highlighted why it is critical, for long-term survival, for firms to be more manpower-lean, productive and have jobs that are attractive to our locals. We will have to explore solutions and the Government will provide support for the transition. It is a continuing journey to improve the job market for our more vulnerable workers. Beyond incentives, we need to shift culture and employer mindsets. But if we focus on the strengths of our workers and adopt flexibility in job design and redesign, we can customise creative solutions for different groups of workers. For example, we know that some workers find it hard to travel far for work. At the same time, some of the shops in our heartlands may find it difficult to find workers. By putting these job openings together, and placing them at potential touchpoints like Social Services Offices, Community Centres, MyCareersFuture portal, and SGUnited Jobs and Skills Centres, we can facilitate job matches for these workers. I have asked Minister of State Low Yen Ling, who is also Chairperson of the Mayors' Committee, to look into how we can better help our displaced mature professionals, and how we can make better use of micro-jobs to bring job opportunities closer to the heartlands. More details will be announced later. Given the scale of structural changes in the global economy, we need to redesign jobs and reskill workers, across all our ITMs, in significant ways. We need to be innovative in pursuing this and work in close partnerships between employers, workers and our unions. It will take time and effort, but if done well, will usher in a more dynamic and inclusive economy.”
“For example, mature and older workers are eligible for higher wage support in our career conversion programmes, as well as higher course fee subsidies. I announced some of these earlier this year as part of our SkillsFuture Mid-Career Support Package. Our lower income workers also get additional support for skills upgrading via the Workfare Skills Support scheme. This has been implemented in July 2020 to better support acquisition of skills and qualifications that are more likely to lead to higher wages. The Progressive Wage Model, or PWM, is an important labour policy innovation. PWM is more than a sector-based minimum wage. It is a four-in-one framework comprising a Job Ladder, Skills Ladder, Productivity Ladder and Wage Ladder. These four upgrading ladders are mutually reinforcing. By offering a proper career ladder, skills upgrading ladder, productivity improvement ladder and wage enhancement ladder, our four-in-one PWM transforms jobs that are traditionally less attractive to our locals. We will expand PWM to more sectors over time, while making sure that businesses in those sectors can absorb this change. Companies that voluntarily pay progressive wages and provide advancement pathways for lower income workers will also be recognised with a PWM Mark. In doing so, we will raise skill levels and create more and better jobs. And in time, we will slow down the future growth of the foreign workforce in these sectors. We may still be battling the downturn, but will be actively looking to identify the next few sectors where we can use the four-in-one PWM framework to redesign jobs and raise skills levels, and expand PWM to benefit more groups of lower wage workers as soon as conditions allow.”
“Singaporeans, growing up in a multi-cultural society, have an edge in building relationships with people around the world, especially in a more fragmented post-COVID landscape. Let us build on this. I have covered how we will grow skills across the workforce to keep our workers competitive. The second way to ensure inclusive growth is to help vulnerable and lower wage workers raise their skills and secure good jobs. I had a good discussion recently with career coaches and union leaders, to better understand the challenges experienced by different groups of jobseekers. Each worker also faced different challenges. For some, it was a skills gap issue. For others, it was an issue of expectations – trying to find a job which matched their earlier salary. For yet others, especially mid-career and mature executives, employers were concerned about whether they could adapt. These are all important issues that we need to tackle together, urgently. For example, our lower income workers have been particularly hard hit by COVID-19. Many of these workers face a twin challenge, as they are also in sectors that will be affected by longer-term structural changes in the economy, such as retail or F&B. Some are also in the gig economy. Our middle income and middle-aged workers also have heavy family responsibilities and commitments, but face the challenges of a rapidly evolving labour market. For all these workers, there is even more urgency to upskill and transition into jobs with good long-term prospects. In the design of our support schemes, we have been deliberate in channelling additional support to vulnerable groups, to help them access opportunities and stay in good jobs.”
“For example, through NTUC’s Company Training Committees, our Professional Conversion Programmes, or PCPs, and TechSkills Accelerator Company-Led Training programme for ICT jobs. These have had good outcomes. For example, about nine in 10 of PCP employees remained in employment 24 months after being placed, and about seven in 10 saw a wage increase after starting their new jobs. As part of this whole-of-society movement to build skills, companies too, need better skills! Skills to develop their workers, and redesign skills-based jobs to move beyond paper-based qualifications. We will continue our work through our ITMs, together with our unions, to drive these changes in each firm and in each sector. And finally, individuals have a key part to play in taking charge of their own learning. Our schools provide a good foundation. We are increasing the digital skills content in our schools and Institutes of Higher Learning to prepare our young for a digital future. But learning does not stop after leaving school. We spend more years outside of school than in school. We all need to learn through life. In the process, we can enrich our lives, and our society at large. Even as we level up the skills of every worker at every age, we still need to bring in global talent to complement our Singapore talent. By building on complementary strengths, we can build cutting-edge capabilities in our workforce and our firms and plug into global networks. This will ultimately benefit all Singaporean workers. We will continue to update our foreign workforce policies carefully, such as our Employment Pass and S Pass rules, to achieve this synergy. Let us all play our part in building a strong, skilled workforce together.”
“First, skills. To take on good jobs and enjoy the fruits of growth, our workers need the right skills for the job. We have a strong base of human capital developed through our education system. But there are big changes upon us. There is stiffer global competition. With deep technological changes, skills are going obsolete faster. We will therefore need extensive upskilling and continual reskilling of our workforce, to equip our workers to continue to get good jobs. We want to do so for every worker at every age. We are investing significantly. This year, we have set aside about $3 billion for the SGUnited Jobs and Skills package to provide immediate employment and training support for our workers. This is on top of the close to $5 billion set aside over three years for our longer term structural measures, to support workers of all ages to upskill and access new job opportunities. Firms and training providers have a major part to play. I urge all firms to make full use of the schemes for developing our people. We have a suite of leadership development programmes for Singaporeans at various stages of their careers, such as the Global Ready Talent Programme and the SkillsFuture Leadership Development Initiative. Companies on the Human Capital Partnership, or HCP Programme, which recognises fair and progressive employers, have also benefited, as the HCP mark endorses them as employers of choice. We will work closely with industry and training providers, to make sure that the skills workers learn are useful. Skills upgrading is most effective when the training is relevant to the company’s needs and jobseekers have certainty in the value of the training.”
“Ministers Indranee Rajah and Edwin Tong are leading our efforts on our Singapore IP Strategy 2030, and will share details at World IP Day. A major effort will be to integrate the work of the Future Economy Council and our RIE plan, so as to accelerate our transformation into an innovation-led economy, powered by technology. In this way, our businesses can be more competitive and our workers can have better job prospects. An example of how we will scale up the translation of ideas and technology into business improvements is through the use of innovation platforms that bring industry and researchers to work together on specific challenges. We are also promoting the Open Innovation Network, an online platform which brings problem owners and problem solvers together to create industry-led solutions. Since 2017, a total of close to $13 million in grant and prize monies has been awarded to firms with viable solutions to deploy and scale their ideas under Enterprise Singapore’s Gov-PACT and IMDA’s Open Innovation Platform. This year, we have taken this further, with two rounds of National Innovation Challenges. We hope to see the outcome of these in the coming months. To summarise, we are making good progress in our move to position Singapore as a Global-Asia node of technology, innovation and enterprise. By enhancing our connectivity and making innovation pervasive, we can better meet the challenges of a post-COVID world, and create good jobs and a brighter future for all Singaporeans. Our aim is not just to grow a vibrant, innovative economy, but an inclusive economy, where growth uplifts all Singaporeans. To achieve inclusive growth, our workers need to have the skills to stay relevant and we need to provide holistic support to uplift our vulnerable workers.”
“The experience of businesses shows that digitalisation is a strategic capability to unlock growth, evolve their models to harness digital possibilities and to integrate processes such as logistics, payment and marketing. We will press on with our ITM work, which helps businesses big and small, to transform holistically, bringing together the different aspects needed to upgrade. A key priority for us now is to build on this momentum and bring digitalisation to our heartlands. Senior Minister of State Sim Ann and Minister of State Low Yen Ling will be announcing further plans for heartland enterprises in the coming days. I have spoken on seizing new opportunities through physical and digital connectivity. Beyond being an effective and trusted broker for trade and digital flows, we must be a key node where new ideas are born and nurtured into globally-competitive enterprises. Today, we have a business-friendly environment, strong rule of law, a skilled and diverse workforce, advanced infrastructure and a globally-competitive eco-system of financial and professional services. We must continue to build on these complementary strengths built up over the years. We will be unveiling a new five-year Research, Innovation and Enterprise, or RIE plan in December. The plan will build on earlier investments and enhance research to support areas of national priority, such as early childhood development, lifelong learning and keeping our seniors healthy. We will expand our transformation of the manufacturing, aviation and maritime industries, and deepen our capabilities as a Smart Nation and sustainable society. We will also position Singapore as a global intellectual property, or IP, centre in Asia.”
“We will accelerate the build-up of digital capabilities, which will be a game-changer for Singapore’s connectivity with Asia and the world. Digital payments and data facilitate physical trade. It makes the exchange of varied goods and services more efficient, opens up new possibilities, and strengthens our value proposition as a trading node. Within Singapore, the Alliance on Supply Chain Digitalisation is exploring options and bringing together key players across the supply chain in this venture. We have also concluded Digital Economy Agreements with Australia, Chile and New Zealand, and have ongoing talks with South Korea. These agreements establish common frameworks and rules for digital trade, enabling our businesses, especially SMEs, to access international markets more easily. These moves to enhance Singapore’s digital connectivity will open up new markets and opportunities for our businesses. As part of our ITM work, we are helping firms to make full use of digital technology. COVID-19 has accelerated the digitalisation and transformation of many businesses, big and small. Since January this year, enterprises have embarked on over 27,000 projects to improve their productivity and build new capabilities through the Productivity Solutions Grant and the Enterprise Development Grant schemes. During my dialogue with businesses on Friday, I met the founder of Seonggong, a restaurant group with brands such as Seorae Korean BBQ. Seonggong used digital technology to revamp its operations, from accounting to ordering to procurement. So much so that increased sales from online deliveries have more than offset losses from their dine-in business, by 10%.”
“The Multi-Ministry Taskforce is studying this carefully as part of our broader re-opening plans and the Minister for Transport will share more in his Ministerial Statement tomorrow. Our maritime trade has to date remained resilient to COVID-19, and we will accelerate moves to strengthen our position. Notwithstanding the 13.5% drop in global trade on a year-on-year basis in the first half of 2020, container throughput at Singapore's ports fell by a milder 1.1% over the same period. At the same time, firms are more prepared to diversify their operating bases to increase resilience. So, we must press on with improving transhipment capabilities, inking trade facilitation agreements and anchoring key shipping routes through Singapore. The first few berths of Tuas Port are on track to be operational by 2021. The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership is slated to be signed this year, connecting a trade region of 15 countries accounting for about 30% of the global population and GDP. Moving ahead, we will further strengthen our value proposition through greater regional cooperation, and by building up a leading trade and logistics eco-system. Southeast Asia can benefit from the greater premium on supply chain resilience through regional cooperation. For example, the Iskandar Malaysia and Batam, Bintan, Karimun region presents good opportunities for companies to cluster the full value chain of complementary activities from research and development, to regional headquarters and manufacturing. To support our ambitions, we will significantly strengthen our entire trade and logistics ecosystem, deepening capabilities in our port, airport and beyond. We will enhance our infrastructure for Singapore to handle larger flows of food, pharmaceuticals, electronics and e-commerce.”
“Our resilience can be a source of growth, at many levels – for our individuals, industries, nation, and the world. Let me start with the first key move, which is to remake ourselves as a Global-Asia node of technology, innovation and enterprise. COVID-19 has changed travel patterns, sharpened the fragmentation of supply chains and accelerated digitalisation in different markets. It has heightened emphasis on resilience as companies and countries review their operations. Asia, in particular Southeast Asia, will continue to grow as one of the key global engines. We must deepen and broaden links to build up Singapore’s role at the heart of Asia’s growth, while forging connectivity with other key markets. A role that we have played in our long history as a trading port and which we will renew in two ways: one, rebuild and grow our physical connectivity – in travel and trade; and, two, enhance and expand our digital connectivity. Our air hub has been badly affected by COVID-19 and we are sparing no effort to rebuild it. Compared with last year, passenger traffic has fallen by more than 98% in August, with daily passenger volume of about 3,000, down sharply from 190,000 previously. When global passenger traffic resumes, as it surely will, the Changi Air Hub will resume its role at the Global-Asia node, together with all the related sectors such as tourism, manufacturing and logistics. Accordingly, we must re-establish our position by reopening our borders gradually, positioning Singapore as a safe destination, levelling up capabilities and refreshing our infrastructure. We are committed to revive our air hub and restore our air connectivity.”