Josephine Teo
Singapore
“The Government's risk-calibrated approach to data security in artificial intelligence (AI) systems was explained in a written reply, given on 9 January 2024, to related questions asked by Dr Tan Wu Meng and Mr Gerald Giam.”
“Access to frontier models is helpful for specific use cases, such as advanced research and cybersecurity. However, these form a small proportion of artificial intelligence (AI) demand. For most industry, Government and research uses, capable models are already available.”
“The Government tracks the development of technical standards for identifying artificial intelligence (AI)-generated content, including watermarking and digital provenance approaches, as part of broader efforts to manage AI-related risks.”
“Upon receiving a valid report of intimate image abuse, the Commissioner of Online Safety is empowered by law to direct Online Service Providers (OSPs) to disable access by Singapore users to the specified harmful online material. This direction may be extended to cover identical copies found on the platform.”
“The Government is committed to keeping children safe online. We have announced plans to extend age assurance requirements to designated social media services, including requiring platforms to keep users under 13 off their services.”
“Under the Online Safety (Relief and Accountability) Act 2025, the Commissioner of Online Safety is empowered to issue directions to platforms to remove specified harmful content, including intimate image abuse.”
The complete record
Every one of 2,900 lines we hold for Josephine Teo, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 29 of 58.
“We are not depending on the SEC alone to senior employment. We encourage progressive companies to raise the RA and REA ahead of legislative schedule. And to do so, we will introduce a Senior Worker Early Adopter Grant (EAG). Companies can get up to $250,000 each under this grant. Through the Tripartite Workgroup's public consultation and other surveys, senior workers told us they would like to reduce their work intensity gradually as they approach retirement. It makes a lot of sense. They are also more prepared to remain in the workforce if they can undertake part-time work arrangements during the re-employment phase. While the Tripartite Workgroup explored legislating the provision of part time re-employment, employers expressed serious concerns. Many employers today provide mostly full-time positions. Their work structures and processes cannot support workers on partial shifts, or job sharing of full-time positions. This explains our relatively low part-time employment rate for seniors. The Workgroup agreed on a promotional approach to give employers time to adjust. To give these efforts a bigger push, we will introduce a new Part-Time Re-employment Grant (PTRG) that provides up to $125,000 to each company that commits to providing part-time re-employment opportunities to eligible senior workers upon their request. This will benefit seniors who prefer lower work intensity, thereby encouraging them to stay in the workforce. Both the EAG and PTRG will provide support of $100 million to companies over three years. In total, we estimate that up to about 110,000 companies and 570,000 workers will benefit from the Senior Worker Support Package. Mr Chairman, let me now address the concerns of self-employed persons.”
“Yesterday, Minister Shanmugam announced that the retirement age for Home Affairs Uniformed Services will be raised from age 55 to 58 by 2030. MOM welcomes this move and will work with MHA and our tripartite partners to similarly review retirement age policies for Auxiliary Police Officers and private-sector firefighters. As outlined in the Budget, the Government will support employers to implement these changes, including creating more age-friendly workplaces. We will do so through the Senior Worker Support Package which will provide up to $1.3 billion in support over three years from 2020 to 2022. Businesses had called for continued Government support for the employment of senior workers, in particular, wage offsets similar to the Special Employment Credit (SEC). The Government has heard these calls. From 2021, through the new Senior Employment Credit, we will provide wage offsets to employers that hire senior Singaporean workers aged 55 and above. For 2021 and 2022, employers will get up to 8% of the wages paid to workers aged 55 and above. Similar to the Special Employment Credit, more support will be given for those in higher age bands. The employment rate for workers aged 55-59 has improved greatly and is now close to that of the 20-64 age group. Hence, wage offsets for the 55-59 age group will be 2% in 2021 and 1% in 2022. We will instead focus resources on the older age groups which have lower employment rates. Wage offsets for those aged 67 and above will be the highest, at 8%. Overall, companies will get $660 million in Senior Employment Credit over two years. In 2021, we will offset half of the increase in employer CPF contribution rates through the CPF Transition Offset scheme. Companies will receive about $80 million.”
“This staggered approach will moderate the impact on businesses. With these changes, employers should continue to ensure that they have fair and merit-based pay practices, in line with the Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices. Anecdotally, we have heard of firms that only raise salaries of the EP holders to meet new salary criteria, while freezing salaries of the local workers, even if the locals are better performers! This is wrong and not in the employer's best interest. Apart from the risk of having their work pass privileges cut back by MOM, such practices will undermine their efforts to retain their local employees. While we are asking a lot more of our employers, we are also providing them with fair support. Likewise, we will keep fair support to the self-employed and for Singaporeans in general to build up their retirement nest-egg. Let me outline the enhanced support for senior employment, which Mr Henry Kwek and other Members spoke about. Over the past decade, senior employment rates among locals have grown steadily. In 2018, I convened the Tripartite Workgroup on Older Workers to study ways to further support senior employment. It announced its recommendations last year, which the Government has accepted in full. The Retirement Age (RA) and the Re-employment Age (REA) will be raised to 65 and 70 respectively by 2030. To help businesses adjust, each move will be implemented in small steps with sufficient notice. In addition, the CPF contribution rates for senior workers will be raised gradually over the next decade. The first increase will take effect from 1 January 2021. This will not change. The exact timing of future moves will be decided later, but we aim to implement the full increases by 2030.”
“We will be raising it further from $1,300 to $1,400 on 1 July 2020. Most employers of foreign workers are not affected because they do not have workers earning below $1,400. Even for those that are, the extension of the Wage Credit Scheme should provide some relief. In any case, like Ms Denise Phua and Assoc Prof Walter Theseira, I hope employers and their customers do not begrudge the raising of salaries at the lower end. At the S Pass and Employment Pass (EP) levels, MOM regularly updates the salary criteria that applicants must meet to work in Singapore. These criteria take reference from salaries of locals with similar experience and seniority, to ensure that the S Pass and EP holders are of good calibre and do not undercut the wages of our local PMETs. This is why older and more experienced candidates need to command higher salaries in order to qualify for a S Pass or an EP. It keeps the competition fair. S Pass salary criteria were raised in 2019 and this year. We last raised the EP minimum qualifying salary in 2017, from $3,300 to $3,600 per month. We will be raising it from $3,600 to $3,900 per month. This increase is in line with improving wages of fresh graduates of local Autonomous Universities. The salary criteria for older and more experienced EP candidates will be raised in tandem. For example, an EP applicant in his early 40s will need to earn around double the new minimum qualifying salary of $3,900; double of $3,900. This is only fair, considering the skill-sets he or she is expected to have. It helps to ensure a level playing field for experienced local mid-career PMETs. The new salary criteria will apply to new EP applicants from 1 May 2020. However, for EP renewals, they will apply one year later, from 1 May 2021.”
“Other jobs performed by technicians and engineers will be equally transformed by automation and digitalisation. 3.00 pm Our educational institutions already work closely with industries to ensure their students have the right training. From 2017 to 2019, there was an annual average intake of 7,400 Polytechnic students in related courses. For mid-career persons, we have PCPs for BIM Professionals, Marine Engineers, Marine Technicians, and Process Construction and Maintenance Professionals. I am aware that affected businesses may still be worried they cannot find people. It is unlikely that locals will change their minds if work conditions do not improve. But as long as employers are willing to make changes, we will help you. The SkillsFuture Work-Study Programme can help you identify suitable Polytechnic and ITE graduates and help to defray training costs. You can also consider mid-career workers. I have outlined the enhanced support for employers under the Mid-Career Support Package. I urge employers to get in touch with WSG or the relevant trade associations. For example, in the last three years, trade associations and chambers (TCAs) have helped more than 4,500 SMEs recruit mid-career PMETs through the P-Max programme – one programme alone. Besides quotas, we regularly review other measures to control the foreign workforce. To ensure that firms do not hire locals on token salaries just so that they can hire more foreign workers, only workers that are paid above a threshold each month can be counted towards a firm's S Pass and Work Permit DRCs. We call this the Local Qualifying Salary, LQS. We have been regularly updating the LQS to ensure that it keeps pace with rising local wages at the lower end. We last raised the LQS threshold from $1,200 to $1,300 in July 2019.”
“In other words, these employers would need to hire more locals if they want to continue their operations in Singapore. MOM will also prosecute employers and key personnel who make false declarations on fair consideration. One employer has been charged so far. If found guilty, the penalties are up to two years of imprisonment and fines of up to $20,000. We will continue to remain vigilant against discriminatory employers and take firm action against those who try to circumvent our fair hiring requirements. But we cannot do this alone. Workers who come across workplace discrimination should surface it to MOM or TAFEP. Employers should review employment practices to weed out discriminatory practices. Employer organisations should call out members with errant practices that tarnish their sectors. Besides the assurance of fair hiring, our people want the assurance that they compete on a level playing field. Fair-minded Singaporeans do not expect to be given a free pass but they do expect fair competition, and rightly so. As announced by Deputy Prime Minister Heng, we will implement cuts to S Pass quotas for the construction, marine shipyard and process sectors in 2021 and 2023. As he explained, S Passes should not be a means by which enterprises hire low-cost foreigners when qualified locals are available. Miss Cheng Li Hui asked what jobs were available in these sectors and what we were doing to train locals for them. In construction, for example, there is growing demand for PMETs skilled in Building Information Modelling (BIM), to use advanced software to visualise and manage building projects. Many draughtsmen who previously made technical drawings are now taking on more complex BIM roles.”
“But it also means that having served notice to these employers, MOM will not hesitate to put them on the FCF Watchlist if their workforce profiles deteriorate. Nationality bias is only one form of discrimination. I agree with Mr Lim Biow Chuan that we should take firm action against all forms of discrimination. This is why I announced earlier this year stiffer penalties for discrimination by age, gender, nationality or mental health condition. Employers that violate the Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices will be barred from hiring new foreign workers or renewing existing ones for a minimum of 12 months, up to a maximum of 24 months. In January 2020, MOM released the details of five employers that were penalised under this new framework. We have taken action against another 18 more, bringing the total to 23 employers sanctioned under the new penalty framework in just over two months. In one case, a 51-year-old applying to be a receptionist was told that she was "too old". That means me too. MOM discovered that the firm had a policy where only candidates younger than 45, female and Chinese, would be invited for interview. So, we have acted against this employer. We will also hold culpable key decision makers responsible, whether it is the chief executive officer (CEO), the chief human resources officer (CHRO) or line managers. We are prepared to name them publicly and revoke their work passes if they are foreigners. Some people may feel that the penalties are still not enough. A 24-month debarment is actually quite painful. Most of the work passes will expire during this period but none can be renewed. Neither can the employer hire new foreign workers.”
“For example, I cannot tell you what the algorithm is. That would not be wise. We also actively follow up on leads provided by whistle-blowers. Members will appreciate that this is a laborious exercise. Sometimes, disgruntled employees or competitors send us on a wild goose chase. Employers may also use delay tactics to frustrate us. Nonetheless, if we uncover evidence that an employer had pre-selected a foreign candidate and did not give fair consideration to qualified local applicants, we will reject the EP application and ban the employer from hiring or renewing foreign workers. Under the FCF, MOM has also proactively identified employers suspected of nationality-bias in their hiring. We look out for employers with exceptionally high share of foreign PMETs compared to their industry peers or high concentrations of single nationalities. These employers are put on an FCF Watchlist, where all of the EP applications will be scrutinised or withheld. Among other Members of Parliament, Mr Patrick Tay and Mr Chong Kee Hiong asked for an update of these efforts. I informed Parliament last year that MOM had put about 600 firms through the FCF Watchlist. We have since cast our net wider and scrutinised about 1,000 firms. To date, a total of 3,000 EP applications have been rejected or withheld by MOM, or withdrawn by the employers. In addition, firms under the FCF have hired more than 4,400 Singaporean PMETs over the same period. Our objective is not just to penalise errant employers. We want them to improve. This is why we reached out to another 350 employers whose workforce profiles give us cause for concern, so that they take additional steps to strengthen local hiring.”
“Taken together with the SkillsFuture Enterprise Credit and the enhanced Productivity Solutions Grant, we are providing a very significant boost – about $1 billion – to the employment prospects of Singaporeans, especially those in their 40s and 50s. They are a clear commitment to ensure Singaporeans have fair opportunities to progress at every stage of their working lives. At the same time, we will need employers to uphold the culture of fairness at the workplace. This means taking care to ensure there is no discrimination of any kind. In Singapore, where the workforce includes foreigners, we are particularly watchful about discrimination against locals. Under the Fair Consideration Framework, or FCF, we require employers to advertise on MyCareersFuture.sg before submitting Employment Pass (EP) applications. This is to ensure fair hiring and guard against job openings being restricted to "closed circles of friends". Mr Murali Pillai pointed out that job positions with salary of $15,000 and above are currently exempted from the FCF job advertising requirement. This threshold was last updated in July 2018, when we also required smaller firms with at least 10 employees to advertise. From 1 May 2020, MOM will expand the advertising requirement to include positions paying up to $20,000. Positions that are more senior remain exempted as they are more likely to be market-sensitive. As for intra-company transfers, which Mr Patrick Tay asked about, they need to meet strict criteria to qualify. As a result, they have constituted a very small share of EP applicants. I will take this opportunity to remind employers not to treat the advertising requirement as a paper exercise. MOM has started to use data analytics to scrutinise EP applications. I cannot tell you too much about it.”
“Senior Minister of State Heng Chee How will be pleased to know that the enhanced employers support extends to workers above age 60. Depending on the duration of training, this means employers will get salary support of up to one year in most cases. This is not even including the Senior Employment Credit, which I will talk more about later. Beyond these two pillars, the Government is providing another two pillars of support for employers to implement business and workforce transformation plans. That is the reason for the $10,000 SkillsFuture Enterprise Credit which MTI has highlighted. Through the enhanced Productivity Solutions Grant (PSG), we will also provide up to 70% funding for companies to engage job re-design consultants. This is important for ensuring that jobs become more attractive, especially to mid-career individuals and seniors. Most of the remaining 30% out-of-pocket expenses can be paid off using the new SkillsFuture Enterprise Credit. In other words, costs will be very minimal, for SMEs in particular. Mr Douglas Foo and Mr Gan Thiam Poh were understandably concerned that employers may no longer be short of training funds but training time. For companies with a clear plan to transform their business, MOM will consider supporting them with transitionary manpower. Others may take advantage of the current downtime to increase training hours. Through the five pillars of the SkillsFuture Mid-Career Support Package, we will be investing close to $750 million in the re-skilling and placement of mid-career workers over the next five years.”
“We can therefore complement our team of full-time career coaches by building up a pool of volunteer career advisors. Career advisors will receive training to provide sector and occupation-specific career advice and outline career options. Career Advisors will also be equipped with in-depth knowledge of resources and channels of support such as the Adapt and Grow programmes. In short, we hope that the career advisors can help to boost the confidence of their mid-career peers in charting the way forward. At the same time, as the institutes of higher learning ramp up Train and Place programmes, they will also need to be better at providing career advice to mid-career individuals. MOM and MOE will work together to consolidate our resources and boost our collective capabilities in empowering individuals to take charge of their careers. In terms of support to employers, the priority is to bring down the cost of recruiting and training for mid-career jobseekers. We must also keep up the pace of business transformation and job re-design. From 1 April, we will boost salary support for all workers aged 40 and above enrolled in Place and Train programmes from 70% to 90%. This pillar comes on top of very generous funding already available for the training components. Essentially, the Government will underwrite almost the entire salary and training costs of mid-career recruits for the period of training. Further, we will provide a new incentive for employers who hire workers aged 40 and above, through any Place and Train or Train and Place programme. This pillar comes on top of the salary support during the training period. It will cover 20% of the new hire's monthly salary for half a year, capped at $6,000 in total.”
“Through SkillsFuture Advice workshops, more than 100,000 Singaporeans have gained a deeper understanding of their skills and how they can keep abreast of industry developments to stay relevant in their careers. About three years ago, we roped in the private sector. Two best-in-class operators with good track records in other countries were appointed to supplement Government efforts in career-matching. Sector agencies are also involved. Last year, for example, MAS and the Institute of Banking and Finance released a joint study on the impact of automation and data analytics on 121 job roles in financial services. I know that Mr Patrick Tay read this publication from cover to cover. Amongst several outcomes, the Technology in Finance Immersion Programme was launched. Mr Henry Kwek and Mr Leon Perera will be reassured to know that other agencies are conducting similar studies to help with workforce and career planning. Workforce Singapore (WSG) has also intensified support to jobseekers through a suite of high-touch career coaching programmes. The Career Recharger module equips discouraged jobseekers with a positive mindset for their job search journeys. The Career Catalyst module offers one-on-one coaching to help jobseekers uncover their strengths and career options. The Career 360 module helps jobseekers access networks to widen their job opportunities. In this regard, peer support can be very useful. There is untapped potential in our professional communities where many seasoned professionals have rich experiences to share. They are plugged into the challenges and opportunities in their respective fields, have established networks and may themselves have navigated career transitions.”
“Bear in mind that many courses are already heavily subsidised by the Government, up to 90% in some instances. This additional top-up will mean even lower out-of-pocket expenses. At the same time, besides "Place-and-Train" programmes, we will ramp up "Train-and-Place" programmes. These programmes do not require employer commitment upfront. But, as long as the programmes are well designed to plug skills-in-demand, participants have a good chance of getting job placements after they are trained. At MOE's COS debate, Senior Minister of State Chee Hong Tat will share more details. I hope it will persuade Ms Lim that actually you do not touch CPF. Even the Institutes of Higher Learning will be able to offer very good opportunities to help mid-careers progress. For "Place-and-Train" programmes, all trainees receive full salaries or allowances. For example, during the nine months of the PCP, Shah Jehan, whom I cited earlier, received full salary from his employer – 90% of which was subsidised by the Government. In other words, although we do not have unemployment insurance in Singapore, we have programmes that provide income support to unemployed persons who are prepared to undergo reskilling, which maximises their chances of returning to work. To empower mid-career individuals, another important pillar is our career advisory system. This is the scaffolding and hand-holding that I spoke about in response to Ms Sylvia Lim's points during the Budget debate. Today, this capability resides in several agencies. 2.45 pm WSG and NTUC's e2i have been offering employment and training assistance for well over a decade. Since the SkillsFuture movement was launched, the five Community Development Councils (CDCs) have also been mobilised.”
“To Mr Patrick Tay's question, in the last two years, over 2,000 PMETs were reskilled and redeployed within the same companies, well before they became redundant. To Ms Sylvia Lim's question, capacity is rarely the issue. Nonetheless, to support more mid-career individuals who may be affected by the faster pace of business transformation, we will expand capacity in such programmes. A good example is the TeSA Mid-Career Advance programme announced earlier by Minister Iswaran. In particular, for workers in their 40s and older – like Shah Jehan and Low Kok Chuen – we aim to double annual placements to around 5,500 by 2025. This is the first pillar of the Mid-Career Support Package. Even then, Members of Parliament, like Mr Ong Teng Koon, are rightly concerned about employer commitment becoming the bottleneck. Indeed, when programme capacity is not fully taken up, it is often because employers are hesitant. Especially when prospects are uncertain, employers might hold back and wait for better conditions or a candidate with better match. On the other hand, employers continue to tell MOM their frustrations that mid-career jobseekers shun certain occupations or industries. Jobseekers may lack awareness of the opportunities or confidence in their abilities to adapt to new work environments. Some employers also need to improve job quality to make them more attractive. Therefore, beyond expanding the capacity of reskilling programmes, the Mid-Career Support Package must empower individuals and enable employers. One key pillar of the Mid-Career Support Package is the additional top-up of SkillsFuture Credits. This aims to empower persons in their 40s and 50s to refresh their skills to complement their employers' training investments.”
“One particular group we have been thinking about are Singaporeans in their 40s and 50s. They, too, deserve fair opportunities to progress in their careers. We recognise that it is a daunting task for anyone in the middle of their careers to reskill for new jobs. This was highlighted by Mr Liang Eng Hwa, Ms Jessica Tan and other Members of Parliament. In response, the Government has put together the SkillsFuture Mid-Career Support Package. Let me take a step back to outline the thinking behind the package and what we aim to achieve. Mid-career individuals generally hope that their time invested in training leads to a job. That is why many programmes are "Place-and-Train" – a jobseeker first secures placement with the employer or attachment with a host company on the strength of his existing work experience and undergoes additional training to close the skills gap to fully meet job requirements. Most participants on such programmes start their training only after they have been placed with an employer or a host company. Forty-nine-year-old Shah Jehan Haniffa and 61-year-old Low Kok Chuen are two examples. Despite limited experience in the logistics industry, Shah Jehan secured a job with ST Logistics through the PCP for Logistics Executives. Low Kok Chuen decided to start work again after two years in retirement and enter a new industry. Delphic Manufacturing Solution saw his potential and hired him through the PCP for Technical Sales Engineers or Managers. Since 2016, "Place-and-Train" programmes have benefited nearly 14,500 Singaporeans. Today, we have no shortage of such programmes. For PCPs alone, we have around 100 across around 30 sectors. We have also started moving upstream.”
“MOM’s responses centre on the belief that there must be fairness at work, for both individuals and employers. This is essential to maintaining cohesiveness in an open economy – to give our workers fair chances to progress, and our businesses fair support to succeed. I will be speaking on four areas: fair opportunities, fair hiring, fair competition and fair support. Many Members of Parliament also asked that we offer more help to self-employed persons (SEP) who have been hard hit. I share their concerns and will announce more measures to support our freelancers. Minister of State Zaqy will elaborate on how we can give fair support for lower wage workers and employers of persons with disabilities. He will cover foreign workers, as well as their employers. Senior Parliamentary Secretary Yen Ling will elaborate on how we are providing fair opportunities for women, as well as fair support for foreign domestic workers and their employers. Let me first start with fair opportunities. Our aim is to give every Singaporean every opportunity to progress at every stage of their working lives. Last year, we placed more than 31,000 local jobseekers in jobs through the Adapt and Grow initiative, similar to the number in 2018. More than half were aged 40 and above. Nearly one-third of placements were aged 50 and above. The share was even higher for rank-and-file workers. In fact, since 2016, the Adapt and Grow initiative, which includes the Career Support Programme, has helped over 100,000 jobseekers get placed. But we are mindful: the work is never done. Therefore, Workforce Singapore (WSG) continues to enhance its service and programme offerings. For example, MyCareersFuture.sg has new features to help employers identify suitable candidates.”
“Mr Chairman, let me start by updating Members on the labour market in 2019. Despite the economic headwinds, employment growth was better than expected. Retrenchments remained low. Singapore citizens continued to earn higher incomes in the recent five years. In fact, if we look back over a longer period since 2015, the employment outcomes for our people have been very positive overall. We have provided a handout to Members. It is in the folder that has been distributed. However, the outlook for 2020 has become very uncertain. Given the COVID-19 outbreak, it would be unrealistic to expect employment growth of the last few years. It will also be a challenge for unemployment to remain in the relatively low range of recent years. These unfavourable conditions demand a united response from all of us. Our first priority is to prevent large-scale job losses. Particularly for those earning lower salaries, we should also prevent a scaling back or reversal of wage increases. This is why the biggest bulk – 60% of the Stabilisation and Support Package announced by Deputy Prime Minister Heng – goes towards Jobs Support and Wage Credits. Beyond immediate relief, we must not neglect future challenges. In the longer term, we need businesses to transform and keep creating good jobs. We want wages at the lower end to move up more. We also need to help Singaporeans adapt to changing job requirements brought about by technology. The resident workforce will not expand as much as before and we have more seniors. We will need to help both businesses and our people make the best of the opportunities available. At the same time, we must address their anxieties and be sure to walk this journey together.”
“Work pass holders are meant to be transient. Persons who wish to stay in Singapore for the long-term must meet stringent criteria. Work permit holders (WPHs) are much less likely to meet the criteria than Employment or S Pass holders. As marriage to a Singapore citizen (SC) or permanent resident (PR) does not confer an automatic right of stay, it is better to have conveyed a clear signal in certain cases by not permitting the marriage in the first place. That said, in the last five years, about 8 in 10 WPHs have been granted approval to marry an SC or PR.”
“Under the Employment Act, employers are required to issue Key Employment Terms (KETs) in writing to all employees within 14 days from the start of employment. Employers who fail to issue KETs or issue an incomplete set of KETs may be subject to an administrative penalty of a fine up to $400 for each breach. Uncooperative employers will also be directed to rectify the breaches and failure to abide by the direction will be a criminal offence. A 2019 survey by MOM found that 98% of employees worked in private establishments that issued written KETs. This is consistent with our enforcement findings. The Ministry also ensures that the employment rights of workers are protected even if they are not given KETs by their employers. For work permit holders, employers will be required to pay minimally the salary that was declared in the In-Principle Approval letter and provide the statutory benefits as prescribed under the Employment Act. In resolving disputes, the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management and the Employment Claims Tribunals will draw adverse inference against employers who do not comply with our employment laws, such as failing to issue complete KETs in writing. MOM will continue to strengthen our enforcement and education of legislative requirements for KETs through mass media, WorkRight initiatives and targeted outreach to employers and workers.”
“When there is a dispute involving salary reduction from the amount stated in the In-Principle Approval letter, the onus is on the employer to show that he obtained the work permit holder's (WPH) written agreement and notified the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) beforehand. If the employer fails to prove either of the two requirements, the original declared salary holds and the employer will be required to make good any salary shortfall, regardless of reason for the salary reduction. In addition, MOM will also impose a fine of up to $10,000 per worker on the employer. The requirement for employers to obtain their workers' written agreement ensures that the WPH can refuse to give his consent. WPHs whose contracts are terminated by their employer for refusing to provide consent should seek help from MOM. MOM allows such WPHs to find a new employer and we work with the Migrant Workers’ Centre to facilitate the process. The suggestion by the Member to make employers declare the reason for the salary reduction when notifying MOM is redundant. Even if the employer did so, he would still need to obtain the written agreement of the WPH. In addition, it could have potentially unintended consequences, such as causing the worker to believe that the mere fact of notifying MOM regularises the salary reduction, even if the worker did not give his consent.”
“The Government has studied the barriers to fathers using their paternity leave, which can be taken within a year of the child's birth, through focus group discussions and interviews with fathers from a range of backgrounds. Our research showed that most fathers are keen to use their paternity leave and play a bigger role in child-raising. Across different types of jobs and companies, the key factor affecting fathers' utilisation of paternity leave is workplace support. This includes whether supervisors are adequately assuring that using paternity leave will not affect fathers' career prospects and that colleagues are willing to cover fathers' duties in their absence. The influence of workplace norms on paternity leave take-up is similar to other East Asian societies, such as South Korea and Japan, where take-up rates of paternity leave are less than 10%.1 Even though workplace norms take time to change, we have seen encouraging progress. Our paternity leave take-up rate has risen from 25% in 20132 to 53% in recent cohorts. In the public sector, the majority of fathers (84%) take paternity leave. Even in Nordic countries where paternity leave has been implemented much earlier, the take-up rates are around 70% to 80%.3 More employers in Singapore are also adopting the Tripartite Standards on Flexible Work Arrangements and Unpaid Leave for Unexpected Care Needs, to support their employees in managing their work and family responsibilities. A whole-of-society effort is needed for fathers to feel supported in taking time-off from work to spend time with their children. We will continue to work with employers and other community partners such as the Centre for Fathering to provide better support for parents and promote greater paternal involvement in child raising.”
“Mr Chairman, with regard to PRs, I think the important thing is that the PR population has been quite stable. It has been about half a million; we have basically kept it at that level. There will always be a certain number that may take awhile before they decide to become citizens. If they leave Singapore and do not return for a long period of time, then their re-entry permits could be cancelled. As they become citizens, the length of time they take to become citizens does not matter. Some take a shorter time; some take a longer time. Sometimes, it is a matter of thinking about it themselves, because it is hard to eventually make that transition. In some cases, they move faster. I think the important thing is that we have kept the PR population stable. Then, to the Member's other question. I think this is with regard to integration as to what do the new citizens themselves say about the challenges of integration. The practical thing will be that social habits are different. Singapore has high density living, and most will live in public housing, very close to their neighbours. That is why a lot of the emphasis on integration is carried out through the People's Association, which has the ability to reach to a large number of citizens. This includes new as well as long-time citizens. The other is a very interesting observation is almost certainly, that second generation citizens acquire the features of local life very quickly. And it is through the second generation that they themselves become naturalised. I think this is not unique to Singapore. It is true of many different countries.”
“Mr Chairman, the short answer to Mr Ng is yes. We do actually study and we study them holistically too. The Marriage and Parenthood Support measures, they do work in concert with one another and they have to work within the context of each country. And I think in our case, what is even more relevant is to reach out to the young people themselves and ask them what is it that they are looking for. And they have been consistent in telling us: help us with housing, help us with pre-school, help us with healthcare, and very importantly, help us to achieve more flexible work arrangements. So, we will look at all good suggestions in the context of what our young people want.”
“Let me just highlight one new initiative. As part of the Singapore Together movement, we are inviting Singaporeans to help craft the content for the Singapore Citizenship Journey – a compulsory programme for all who seek to take up Singapore citizenship. I am happy that many have stepped forward. This will complement our existing efforts. For example, the People's Association appoints Integration and Naturalisation Champions to help new citizens and PRs settle into their neighbourhoods. They organise chit-chat sessions, interest groups and learning journeys to nudge newcomers to make new friends and get involved in the community. We continue to welcome Singaporeans' views on how we help newcomers to better integrate into our society. As we start the new decade, the Government remains committed to working with Singaporeans and to keep Singaporeans at the heart of our population policies. Mr Pritam Singh asked for an update on our population outlook. We reviewed this two years ago. As I informed the House then, our total population in 2030 – at the end of this decade – is likely to be significantly below 6.9 million. This remains the case today. Mr Chairman, on population matters, there are no easy solutions but the Government will do its best to chart the way forward that keeps our society cohesive and our economy vibrant. We will always have Singaporeans' best interests at heart, now and in the future, and we will never stop progressing as one united people. Smart Nation Benefits to Citizens and Businesses”
“For many years now, we have taken in a carefully controlled number of new citizens each year to keep the citizen population stable over the long term. As immigrants are mostly from younger age groups, this also helps to moderate our pace of ageing. The Government has kept the pace of immigration calibrated, in line with our commitments. Over the past five years, we granted about 22,100 new Singapore citizenships on average each year. We also granted about 31,700 Permanent Residencies on average each year. We have kept the total size of the PR population at around half a million for many years now. It is not easy to become a new citizen or PR. Many applications are rejected. We have high expectations of those who join our community. Newcomers who want to make Singapore their home have the responsibility to adapt to our way of life, and must continue to contribute to our society and economy. One good example is Mr Trieu Dang Huy, who works as a senior projects executive at Singapore Airlines. He has lived in Singapore for 14 years and became a Singapore Citizen last year. When Mr Trieu first moved here, he took it upon himself to learn English, Mandarin and Singlish, so much so that when he speaks now, it is hard to tell that he was originally from Vietnam. Mr Trieu met his wife while studying at NUS. Together, they believe it is important to contribute to society and donate blood regularly. They also have a young son who is Singaporean. Members of this House would know of other examples. Mr Pritam Singh and Dr Lim Wee Kiak asked how we can ensure that newcomers make an effort to to integrate into our society. The National Integration Council is doing a lot of commendable work on this front in the community, workplaces and schools.”
“Let me elaborate. "Making It Easy". We will introduce new tools and guides to facilitate the adoption of flexible work arrangements and work-life harmony initiatives by employers and employees. "Making It Known". We will increase the recognition of employers who adopt flexible work arrangements and work-life initiatives. Senior Parliamentary Secretary Low Yen Ling will provide more details on these moves at MOM's Committee of Supply debate. "Making It Accepted". We will work together to shift societal norms and the mindsets of employers, employees and individuals in the larger community. MCCY will provide support through Our Singapore Fund, for Singaporeans who wish to organise meaningful projects that encourage these shifts. I hope these efforts will rally Singaporeans to work together, towards a more family-friendly society. Supporting marriage and parenthood is the Government's top priority for the population. Our policies and enhancements over the years attest to that. However, I agree with Mr Alex Yam that beyond policy, a whole-of-society approach is needed to build a family-friendly Singapore. For instance, when we see parents with young children struggling with their prams in public spaces, do we step forward to lend a helping hand? When a colleague goes on paternity leave, do we say supportive words of encouragement or do we cast aspersions on this necessity? Quite often, it is societal values, workplace and cultural norms that determine whether raising a family is achievable, enjoyable and celebrated. 2.45 pm Let me turn now to immigration matters, which Dr Lim Wee Kiak raised. This is a delicate issue in many places around the world. With current birth rates and as our society ages, our citizen population will likely decline.”
“Instead of imposing higher obligations on all, we will provide greater support to businesses that are able to do more, such as supporting them in implementing flexible work arrangements (FWAs). After all, working parents have consistently given us feedback that flexible work arrangements are key in supporting them to manage work and family commitments. I should add that when companies implement flexible work arrangements, other employees who are not parents also benefit. They tend to feel a greater sense of fairness. For example, if some do not have young children but have elderly parents who, from time to time, have medical appointments that they also need to take them to. As it turns out, a focus on promoting flexible work arrangements was also the preference of the Citizens’ Panel convened last year. The Panel brought together 55 fellow Singaporeans of diverse backgrounds to develop ways to improve work-life harmony in Singapore. I was heartened by their enthusiasm and commitment to build a future Singapore that would be more supportive of work-life harmony. The Panel recommended thoughtful solutions, such as promoting flexible work arrangements and introducing more progressive HR practices. These would help employees, especially those with more care-giving responsibilities, to better juggle their family life and work. Ms Sun Xueling and Mr Desmond Choo will be glad to know that both younger and older Singaporeans in the Panel called for wider societal change to address social norms that affect work-life harmony and for shifts in workplace practices. The Government and tripartite partners fully support the Panel’s intent to create conditions for better work-life harmony, and will do so by "making it easy", "making it known" and "making it accepted".”
“In addition, each parent receives six days of paid childcare leave annually until their child turns seven, and two days of paid childcare leave until the child turns 12. We announced the three-year Public Sector pilot on Unpaid Infant Care Leave in 2017. The pilot enables public officers to take up to four weeks of Unpaid Infant Care Leave in the first year after their child’s birth. This benefit has been well-received by parents who need it. Their supervisors and colleagues have also been supportive and feel that it has not affected their teams’ productivity. As such, we will formalise it as a permanent HR leave provision within the Public Service. We hope that more private companies will be encouraged by the Public Service’s positive experience, and initiate similar support to their employees. There have been calls from time to time, including from Mr Louis Ng, to further enhance leave schemes for parents. We will continuously review all support measures for parenthood. We had prioritised housing, pre-school and healthcare because these were what young families said mattered most. Of course, when conditions allow, young families would welcome more paid leave being mandated. However, it would be unwise for us to ignore the impact on employers. While the public sector is in a position to do more than current legislation requires, we cannot assume the same for all businesses, especially SMEs which are the single largest group of employers and already facing manpower constraints. In the face of economic uncertainties and the pressure for businesses to transform, tripartite partners are also mindful not to add further to employers' burdens.”
“HDB has launched more than 3,600 BTO flats with shorter waiting times. The wait of about two and a half years is shorter than the usual three to four years. Couples can also more easily own a flat with the Enhanced CPF Housing Grant (EHG). First-timer families now receive up to $80,000 in grants when purchasing a new HDB flat, and up to $160,000 when purchasing an HDB resale flat. Since its inception, about 1,000 first-timer families have benefited from the Enhanced Housing Grant. In addition, the income ceiling was raised. More couples are able to purchase subsidised HDB flats and Executive Condominiums. Third, we improved the affordability of healthcare for children, and fertility treatments. By the end of this year, every Singaporean child will enjoy subsidies for all nationally recommended childhood vaccinations and developmental screenings, at polyclinics as well as CHAS GP clinics. The Minister for Health will share more details at MOH's Committee of Supply debate. We have also enhanced Government co-funding for assisted conception procedures, to better support couples who need them. These enhancements reinforce our strong support for marriage and parenthood in Singapore. They have also been well-received by many Singaporeans. Ms Rahayu Mahzam was concerned that many Singaporeans find it a challenge to balance work and family. Mr Christopher de Souza asked whether there would be further enhancements based on feedback received. We have been working on ways to help families achieve better harmony in work and life, including whether to have longer leave for parents. At present, working couples have a combined total of 20 weeks of paid parental leave and two weeks of unpaid leave in their child’s first year.”
“Mr Chairman, Mr Christopher de Souza and Mr Desmond Choo asked how these enhancements have benefited young Singaporean families. Let me elaborate on three major moves. First, couples can now more easily enrol their child in an affordable and good quality pre-school. We have increased the amount of pre-school subsidies, and made them available to even more families. Today, after subsidies, a working couple who earn a combined $5,000 a month, pays $130 per month per child for full-day childcare at an Anchor Operator pre-school. This is about a third of what they would have paid previously. To ensure that quality pre-schools are accessible to all families, we have kept fees affordable at all Government-supported pre-schools; fee caps for Partner Operator preschools will also come down next year. In addition, ECDA has been growing the number of pre-school places. By around 2025, eight in 10 pre-schoolers can have a place in a Government-supported preschool, up from just over five in 10 today. In the medium term, we aim to make full-day childcare at Government-supported pre-schools as affordable as the cost of Primary school plus afterschool student care. This is not even including the means-tested pre-school subsidies, which will allow low- and middle income families to pay even less. At the same time, we will ensure good quality learning and care across all pre-schools. These are significant steps that we are taking, to ensure that we continue to give every Singaporean child a good start in life. Second, housing is now more affordable for newly married couples. We have heard couples’ feedback on the importance of getting their own home before starting a family. We have made it faster for them to get a BTO flat.”
“With your permission, Mr Chairman, may I ask the Clerks to distribute a booklet showing the key marriage and parenthood benefits today?”
“So, to Ms Sun Xueling's question, it is not incompatible – your overseas ambitions and raising a family – this can be done. Similarly, the average number of citizen marriages in the last five years is higher than previous five-year periods. I hope these positive trends will continue as more young Singaporeans enter their prime marriage and parenthood ages. But we will need to continue tackling the factors that shape marriage and parenthood decisions – together, not just as a Government, but as one Singapore. At the Committee of Supply debate last year, I indicated that we would embark on a consultation process, to better understand Singaporeans’ needs and concerns around forming families. The aim was to move beyond feedback and suggestions, to work with fellow Singaporeans on practical ways to address marriage and parenthood issues. This is what the Singapore Together movement is all about. We are heartened that many Singaporeans stepped forward to take part. We launched a series of online polls, inviting Singaporeans to give suggestions on how to better support young families. As Mr Christopher de Souza and Ms Sun Xueling mentioned, Singaporeans believe that making Singapore a great place for families requires partnerships across society. At home, most Singaporeans viewed parenting as a shared responsibility between spouses. At the workplace, Singaporeans felt that having supportive bosses and understanding colleagues were critical factors that enabled them to meet their work and family commitments. Respondents also raised concerns about the cost of having children. We have listened carefully to their views. Last year, we announced significant enhancements to support young families.”
“Thank you, Mr Chairman. I appreciate the views and suggestions of Members on matters concerning our population. Our policies aim to help Singapore maintain a stable population, to keep our society cohesive, our economy vibrant, and our nation strong. Population policies are not just for today, but tomorrow. We are always thinking about future generations of Singaporeans. I will focus on two areas: first, making Singapore a great place for families; second, integrating immigrants into our Singapore community. We aim, first and foremost, to support young Singaporeans to get married and become parents. Similar to most developed economies, our total fertility rate is below replacement – at 1.14 for last year and the year before. Globally, many countries are like Singapore, where birth rates have been declining since the 1970s. Some Nordic countries that had previously reversed the decline, have seen birth rates falling again in recent years. However, there are some positive signs in Singapore. The average number of citizen births in the last five years is higher than previous five-year periods. From 2015 to 2019, we had around 33,000 births annually. This is higher than the average from 2010 to 2014, of around 32,000 births annually. I believe Mr Alex Yam, Mr Desmond Choo, Mr Christopher de Souza, Mr Louis Ng, Ms Rahayu Mahzam and also Ms Sun Xueling, perhaps Mr Pritam Singh as well, all contributed to this. Thank you very much. Please keep going. On top of this, as some Singaporeans live overseas, we welcomed about 1,600 Singaporean babies born overseas each year, over the past five years. This is also higher than the average in previous five-year periods.”
“So, within the public sector, the utilisation already surpasses some of the Nordic countries. What can we do? I think a change of norms, which is something I see happening to a very large extent. You see very many more fathers are involved in the raising of their children. Can we encourage employers to be even more supportive? The answer is yes. If I may just make an observation. This is I think the fifth time the Member has asked the question about paternity leave in as many months. So, we are happy to answer the Member's slightly different questions. I hope that the Member is equally happy with our slightly different answers. During the the Committee of Supply (COS) debate, where we get a chance to deal with marriage and parenthood in a more comprehensive manner, we can have a fuller exchange. So, I seek the Member's indulgence for us to take the rest of his questions together in the COS debate.”
“Mr Speaker, I thank the Member for his supplementary questions. The figure of 65%, if I recall correctly, is within a certain period of reporting. What happens is that you need the employers to have submitted the claims in order for the true picture to emerge. So, usually, fathers have one year after the child's birth to take leave and employers have three months after the fathers take leave to submit the claims. So, I would take that 65% in context. The Member asked about the experience in other countries. It is actually very interesting. I still recall visiting Denmark, one of the Nordic countries that is very well-known for its family-friendly policies as well as, overall, very strong support for parenthood. If my memory serves me right, I was myself quite surprised that their paternity leave utilisation was just about 70%, not higher than that. So, I asked my counterpart to explain to me why this was so. I recall quite distinctly being told that even in a country like Denmark, there are certain sectors where it is just not considered at the workplace to be very acceptable for the man to go on paternity leave. That is the reason why, even for them, the paternity leave is not closer to 100%. It is quite the case also for a country like South Korea. Paternity leave utilisation is around 3%, very low. What these countries' experiences suggest to us is that workplace norms, how accepting the co-workers and also the employers are for paternity leave utilisation, that is still something that is being worked on. In the Singapore context, actually we have been making very good progress. Today, the paternity leave utilisation is about 53%, that is not too bad. Within the public sector, the utilisation rate is even higher, about 84%.”
“MOM also allows such workers to be transferred to a new employer.”
“The Ministry has reviewed the possibility of disallowing employers from making downward salary revision entirely, and consulted relevant stakeholders, including the Singapore National Employers Federation, Association of Small and Medium Enterprises and the Migrant Workers' Centre. Through our consultations, the tripartite partners recognise that there is a need to retain the flexibility to renegotiate employment terms, including making salary revisions to reflect the demonstrated performance of the worker. Disallowing downward revisions of salary entirely will leave the employer with no other option except to terminate the employment of a non-performing worker. Furthermore, the tripartite partners have an understanding that in certain situations, such as an economic downturn, businesses will reach an agreement with their workers on wage flexibility instead of retrenching the workers. Such approaches that cut costs to save jobs would no longer be possible if the Member's suggestion is adopted. Given the feedback from the tripartite partners, the Ministry has decided to retain the flexibility for employers to revise the salaries of their foreign workers. We will continue to focus on protecting the interests of foreign workers by strongly enforcing against employers who reduce their workers' salaries without their agreement. When there are disputes involving salary reduction, the onus is on the employers to declare and substantiate their reasons for the salary reduction. The Ministry of Manpower's (MOM's) actions against errant employers include requiring them to make good any salary shortfall to the workers and imposing a fine of up to $10,000 per worker. In 2019, we imposed a total of $488,000 in administrative financial penalties on 68 employers.”
“I apologise, but very quickly, let me just summarise. Actually, there are many of these things that are backroom. Retail outlets – same. Stocktaking – the customer does not care about you taking stock, taking note of inventory. So, we have gone far beyond automation. There are so many more things that we can do. And credit to the businesses – they are much more creative. I just want to share that with the Member. I hope that, as the leader of your professional association, you can consider trying out these ideas, too.”
“You extrude the noodles, then you cook it in a big pot of water and then you —”
“Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. Can I provide a quick response to Ms Irene Quay? I understand where the Member is coming from, but can I just say that at today's stage of development for Singapore, especially when it comes to seeking productivity improvements and finding manpower savings in the services sector, we have gone far beyond the idea of simply automating things. It is a much more sophisticated approach towards becoming more manpower-lean. I shared earlier the examples of hotels. Not all of them have to do with automation at all. Even in some areas where automation can play a part, it does not mean that we are asking companies in the services sector to automate human interaction or automate the customer experience. I give Members an example. In manufacturing, I visited a company making noodles. They make hokkien noodles that we eat, they make kuay teow that we also eat. So, I asked them, "Where are you finding business opportunities?" And they told me that one of the things that they discovered was that in F&B outlets, quite often, two staff spend two hours everyday doing one thing: portioning out noodles that were delivered to the outlet in three-kilogramme packs into smaller portions of 150 grams. Why? Because at peak hours, when the customers start arriving in the restaurant in droves, you have no more time to do portioning. You must be able to cook very quickly. So, what do the restaurants do? They get two workers standing there – maybe around 10 o'clock, nine o'clock – and for two hours, they do nothing but portioning out the noodles. So, he said, "This is a business opportunity for me." The outlet has got a lot of manpower constraints, but actually this portioning can be done by the machine. Hokkien noodles are produced using the extrusion method.”
“In Workforce Singapore as well as e2i, quite apart from doing job matching, we are very mindful that sometimes just getting jobseekers to a place where they are receptive to the different opportunities, that is also a very important part of the work. One significant barrier – I think much more so than the lack of funds for training – is that there is a concern about moving into new occupations or sectors that individuals are unfamiliar with. So, how can we provide the scaffolding and the handholding to help people to make those transitions? That is very much a part of the effort. But the Member is right. There is the MOM COS debate coming up next week and we can speak more about that.”
“Mr Lim Swee Say earlier talked about the importance of AI. I think it is AI plus many other domains where we want to make sure that our businesses will be able to develop a competitive edge in. So, that is the most important foundation for ensuring good employment outcomes – PMETs and non PMETs. The second, which is also very important, is to maintain a sense of motivation on the part of individuals to keep upskilling. For this, I find the attitudes of Singaporeans very commendable. Most people are very aware of it and they are personally invested in it. In fact, I think that is the reason why there have been so many calls consistently, "Please top up our SkillsFuture Credits" and so on. Third, it is important to keep promoting Fair Employment, promotion of Fair Employment, letting businesses know that they have to keep recruitment open and to consider all candidates fairly and not discriminate against anyone, particularly our locals, particularly those who are not necessarily so young anymore. I think that is also another very important part of the effort. So, you have the three things that are necessary. Then, at the same time, we also need to ensure that there is continued Government support for reskilling and job creation. Those pieces, you need to have in place. Will there be individuals who still find difficulty? I acknowledge there will always be. Mr Liang Eng Hwa, earlier in his opening speech to kick off the debate, highlighted how difficult it is to go through transition, the sense of insecurity, perhaps a sense of not being able to navigate. Ms Jessica Tan talked about it, too. We are very cognisant of it.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, I am very conscious of the concerns that some of our mid-career professionals have expressed. I understand their anxieties and they matter very much to me. Not long ago, MOM published a report which shows over the last 10 years what the employment outcomes have been for PMETs. We looked at it, at the level of all local PMETs. We looked at it also at the level of all citizen PMETs. So, it is quite a comprehensive report and it is publicly available. It was also quite well reported in the media. We do not take the improved employment outcomes of our citizens for granted. It is not a given. We have to work very hard for it. In fact, in the last Parliament Sitting – actually, I think it was the same Parliament Sitting that Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat delivered the Budget Statement – Mr Pritam Singh had filed a question specifically on how we are helping these PMETs enter into areas of job growth, enter into occupations that they may have been unfamiliar with. The results that we have so far are quite encouraging. How will the situation evolve? Our approach in handling this challenge is to go at it from different angles. First, it is really important to sustain the momentum of job creation. If the engine for job creation goes flat, all bets are off. Which is why, in terms of how we think for enterprise growth, enterprise transformation, because ultimately it is businesses that create jobs. We are very mindful to help make sure that they can upkeep a certain momentum. We are very focused on that. So, the first thing to do is that we must always keep creating jobs and not just any jobs, but good jobs. That is the first thing. What that means is that you need to keep ensuring that the business environment is pro-business.”
“Almost overnight, even if they are mature workers who were struggling to pick up digital tools, had found ways to hang out and engage in discussions virtually with their younger colleagues. Kudos to the companies that are proactively considering such sensible measures not just to cut costs, but to save jobs as well. Mr Deputy Speaker, next week, I will say more about support for self-employed persons and how we can tackle medium-term challenges through the SkillsFuture Mid-career Support Package and the Senior Worker Support Package. This is our commitment to Singaporeans in their 40s and 50s – that they, too, can have an extended runway; and that everyone, at every stage of life, will get the fair chance they deserve to grow and progress at work. After all, every worker matters. Mr Deputy Speaker, I support the Budget. [Applause.]”
“It is one thing to ask if her employees would like to volunteer for no-pay leave; it is quite another to force it upon them. As the employer had stopped paying salaries, it would also not have been fair to expect her foreign workers to stay in Singapore with limited means of supporting themselves. Instead of seeking levy waivers, MOM advised her that it would be more appropriate to repatriate the foreign workers responsibly and to reapply for Work Permits in future when business picks up. In fact, the Tripartite Advisory on Managing Excess Manpower and Responsible Retrenchment recommends other options besides no-pay leave and layoffs. This could include redeployment to other work areas, shorter work weeks, job sharing or adjustments to certain wage components. These options would at least maintain most, if not all of the workers' past incomes. For employers with excess foreign workers, SBF will also administer a temporary scheme to help the workers to be transferred to employers with manpower shortages. This will help employers whose Chinese workers have not gotten approval to return to Singapore and also cannot hire new Chinese workers because we have suspended approvals. I am heartened to see that businesses are paying attention. In their own ways, they are responding to these challenging times in the spirit of SG together. Some are asking their workers to clear their annual leave or time-off. Others are exploring shorter work-weeks while sending their workers for skills upgrading. NTUC Health Co-operative shared with me that this virus situation has sparked a viral interest amongst its workers in leveraging technology for alternative work arrangements.”
“Although we want to help companies ride out the current economic uncertainties smoothly, we also hope that companies will sustain their transformation efforts and thereby reduce reliance on foreign workers. Second, we must, first and foremost, ensure that all Singaporeans can keep their jobs. Hence, from the long-term point of view, companies must quicken the pace of transformation, improve productivity and create more jobs to attract Singaporeans. As a whole, our measures must take into account two sets of considerations: reducing business costs in the short term, and keeping up with transformation efforts over the longer term. I am heartened to see that many companies are planning to use this lull period to send their employees for training. I think these companies have an eye on the future, because once the economy picks up, they will be in the forefront of the starting line and raring to go, and they would be able to take their businesses to greater heights. (In English): Mr Deputy Speaker, in the meantime, even with all the help provided, I acknowledge that some businesses may still have to manage excess manpower. Is there a right way of doing it? Yes, but let me tell Members of one wrong way. An employer claimed she was recently told by MOM to lay off employees much against her own wishes. This sounded really odd to me. Well, it turns out the employer did not tell the full story. In fact, she had decided to shut operations temporarily and told her workers to go on no-pay leave until further notice. It is unfortunate if she has to close even with Jobs Support and Wage Credits. But asking the workers to bear the uncertainty of waiting for her business to restart makes matters worse. For those workers without savings, they will need other jobs to pay their bills.”
“At present, it does not appear that the lack of funds is a significant barrier. As Ms Sylvia Lim herself has also acknowledged, we are redoubling support to both employers and individuals. The employers can now access SkillsFuture Enterprise Credits up to $10,000 while the employees themselves have SkillsFuture Credit top-ups. I suggest that we focus on these initiatives instead of putting at risk the Retirement Savings of our people. At the same time, focus on issues that matter to mid-career persons, which Mr Liang Eng Hwa, Ms Jessica Tan and several Labour Members of Parliament talked about. Mr Deputy Speaker, with your permission, I will say a few words in Mandarin. (In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Mr Deputy Speaker, of the $4 billion Stability and Support Package in this year's Budget, 60% of the funds will be used to help Singaporeans retain their jobs. It demonstrates the Government’s resolve to help businesses and workers ride out the challenges amidst economic uncertainties. Focusing on helping Singaporeans retain their jobs and providing Wage Credit so that businesses can maintain the momentum of transformation will have a profound impact on our economy when it recovers. Amidst economic uncertainties, some businesses that employ foreign workers might ask, why does MOM not reduce or even waive foreign worker levies? The fact is that since 2016, levies have not been raised for the vast majority of sectors. Apart from that, levies are waived for employees under Leave of Absence, Stay-Home Notice or Quarantine Order. We do not intend to reduce or waive the Foreign Worker Levy across the board because of two key reasons. First, as the saying goes, those who do not plan for the future will find trouble on their doorstep.”
“In contrast, Singapore has consistently had full employment. Willingness to pay for unemployment insurance is not the same as most people do not expect to need it and also have other buffers, for example, a working spouse or child. While we keep an open mind on unemployment insurance, we should also be aware of its serious downsides, such as reducing employers' willingness to pay retrenchment benefits. Studies have also found that unemployment benefits can have the unintended consequence of reducing motivation to find work. Our current approach of focusing on employment support has shown encouraging results and is likely to be more sustainable. As Mr Lim Swee Say has pointed out, Singapore's way of managing the opportunities and challenges of globalisation has produced not just economic growth but, more importantly, employment and wage growth. As long as jobs are still being created, our focus on employment support helps both individuals and businesses. We will continue to provide short-term financial relief to the needy. Programmes like Adapt and Grow and SkillsFuture help workers reskill and seize better opportunities in the longer term. This approach has the full support of the unions and employers which other countries find harder to do. As to the question of using CPF monies to fund reskilling, the key question is whether the lack of training funds is the main barrier to career transitions. The Government directly subsidises a very wide range of training programmes, up to 90% in some instances. To fund the unsubsidised portion of reskilling or self-improvement courses, Singaporeans have access to workplace sponsorships and schemes, such as SkillsFuture, Mid-Career Enhanced Subsidy and Workfare Training Support.”
“Lyf at Funan replaced the usual laundry services with a hipster corner where guests can chill out while the washing machine does its job. These transformations have not always been easy. But they also show how important it is for us to stay the course and not give up too easily. Productivity has improved greatly in some sectors, but not fully caught up with the best in the world. Instead of levy reductions or waivers, we have put together a multi-agency support package worth more than $15 million that also involves our tripartite partners, for businesses in the tourism sector to use the downtime for more training and transformation. Likewise, for other sectors, we should try our best to position ourselves for the future even when the chips are down. This is exactly why we have focused on Jobs Support and Wage Credits, so that businesses and their people can continue with operations and press on with restructuring with help from the Enterprise Transformation Package. At this juncture, allow me to commend the tremendous efforts of NTUC in support of these aims. Starting with Secretary-General Ng Chee Meng, Labour Members of Parliament have outlined specific initiatives like CTCs and the Jobs Security Council. MOM, MOE and MTI and all the lead agencies for the relevant sectors will certainly work closely with unions in the spirit of SG Together to make it a success for businesses in terms of their transformation for the benefit of all workers. Ms Sylvia Lim asked whether these efforts will be enough and whether unemployment insurance will be needed. This is not a new suggestion. In fact, we had discussed this in Parliament extensively in May 2017. Countries with unemployment insurance typically have persistently high unemployment.”
“As in many sectors, he cited the unappealing nature of work and asked for "flexibility". In contrast, my visit to Copthorne King's Singapore Hotel last Friday was a breath of fresh air. Our main purpose had been to understand how the hotel was coping with the sharp fall in occupancy due to the COVID-19 situation. General Manager Kung Teong Wah, however, took delight to also outline the many ways in which work had been redesigned to raise productivity, easier and more satisfying for his employees. For example, housekeepers no longer waste time knocking on doors to figure out which room was ready to be cleaned and are instead notified through a mobile app. The mobile app is linked to an in-room control unit which also turns off electrical power when guests have left the room and alerts facilities managers when light bulbs or other amenities need fixing. Bedding was changed so that it takes 20% less time to tidy up each room. A new vacuuming system has halved the time to get the job done. Cross-training of staff to handle expanded job roles have led to manpower savings, better wages and increased job satisfaction. Even the cleaner I met, 58-year-old Pari, is happy that the washroom renovations and upgrading of cleaning solutions will help him to work more years. As a matter of fact, in the last few years, I have witnessed the resolve and creativity of hoteliers to overcome their manpower constraints. Yotel at Orchard Road allows guests to check in themselves easily and get items delivered by a friendly robot. Andaz Hotel no longer has a team of confectioners in its kitchen. Instead, it keeps customers happy with supplies from Tiong Bahru Bakery and cleverly brands this as part of the heritage experience for guests.”