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.”
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“Second, beyond moves already set in motion, we are not making further changes to quotas in other sectors and levies this year. As Singapore Business Federation Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mr Ho Meng Kit pointed out, while there is pain, it is mostly felt by businesses already at the quota ceiling. Businesses that have found ways to rely less on foreign workers are not affected. Compared to previous rounds of tightening, we are also giving employers more time to adjust, with the changes spread out over two small steps and up to 2021. Er Dr Lee Bee Wah asked if MOM can allow an employer to retain an existing foreign worker if it exceeds the new quotas. I understand why employers might want to do so. In fact, employers will be able to retain an existing S Pass or Work Permit holder until the current pass expires. At the point of work pass renewal, we will have to be fair to all employers and require them to meet the new quotas. If this were not so, employers can avoid being impacted by "stocking up" to the current quota. If an employer really wishes to retain a specific foreign worker instead of another whose work pass expires later, he should terminate the latter’s work pass to free up the quota so he can renew the former’s work pass in good time. Members have expressed concerns that some Services sub-sectors will not be able to cope and are reliant on foreign manpower because locals are unwilling to join them. There is no question in my mind: we will continue to need foreign manpower in Services. But over-reliance carries risks and is not sustainable. As their home countries develop, will all foreign workers today always be willing to take up these jobs in Singapore?”
“It was based on a relatively small sample of 1,600, with only 70 respondents identified as “underemployed”. In fact, generally, interpreting wage- or qualifications-based indicators is not straightforward. Some graduates may receive lower allowances while training for high-earning jobs, such as lawyers on training contracts. Others may have chosen to forgo a higher salary in order to invest their time and energy in their families, businesses or their passions. Senior Parliamentary Secretary Low Yen Ling will speak about our efforts to provide support for graduating students, so that they can be meaningfully employed. Ultimately, the best way to reduce the risk of underemployment is to keep the labour market tight. When the labour market is soft, most people will consider it better to have some job rather than no job. They may also become SEPs, but involuntarily. Therefore, every time we tweak labour market policies, we must always remember not to go overboard. We should avoid weakening the labour market inadvertently. This is why the decision to tighten foreign worker policy was very carefully considered. In the end, we decided we need a stronger push to restructure and be more manpower-lean. This will sustain business growth for our companies for the longer term and help to improve job quality for our workers over time. In the longer term, with these measures, it will make our labour market more resilient. Many Members spoke on this. The notable exception was Members from the Workers' Party. I wonder why, given how important this is for workers. I am really interested to know. Do you support it? In adjusting foreign worker policy, we tried to avoid sweeping changes. First, it is in the services sector where most restructuring is needed.”
“We will provide more details later this year. The workgroup had also highlighted the lack of options for SEPs to protect themselves from loss of income when they are unable to work due to illness or injury. To plug this gap, we worked with insurers to introduce Prolonged Medical Leave (PML) insurance products. NTUC Income and Gigacover have started to offer them as standalone products. Previously, there was none. We also raised awareness among taxi and platform operators to address this concern. Grab and Gojek have been progressive by recently providing free PML insurance coverage for their regular drivers. ComfortDelGro Taxi is also considering options. These are promising developments. Mr Patrick Tay and Ms Sylvia Lim raised concerns about underemployment. Mr Zainal Sapari wrote about it last year. Indeed, this is an area we should keep watch over. Internationally, the only form of underemployment which has a recognised statistical definition is time-related, defined as part-time workers who are willing and able to engage in additional hours. In Singapore, the resident time-related underemployment has been declining over the past decade. At 3.3% today, it is lower than in many other developed countries. MOM is interested in tracking other forms of underemployment, such as skills-related underemployment. But, today, there are no internationally recognised ways of doing so. We are, therefore, working closely with the International Labour Organization to develop suitable methodologies. One possibility is to use wage or qualification-based indicators, such as employed in the OTC Labour Leadership Institute study that Ms Sylvia Lim cited. However, we must be cautious about interpreting the study’s findings.”
“The numbers have not been very large. To shape contracting norms, because it is ultimately to mediate, it is better to have a contract. So, you must shape the contracting norms. We have just launched a new template. SEPs can make a request to their service buyers to put in writing the key terms of engagement and this template shows them what kinds of things you put in the key terms of engagement, to safeguard your interests. To support SEPs in adapting to technological changes, we worked with the tripartite partners and sector agencies to give them access to technical skills training through the relevant Skills frameworks. So, depending on which sector you are in, if there is a sector that has got the relevant skills framework, better make sure that your needs are also taken into account and reflected in the skills framework. We are also supporting SEP associations, such as the Singapore Coaches Association, to develop non-technical skills training, so that SEPs are equipped to start and maintain their businesses in a viable fashion. Assoc Prof Walter Theseira and Mr Chen Show Mao asked how our CPF system can better enable SEPs to save for their retirement and healthcare needs. Currently, SEPs are required to contribute to their MediSave accounts on an annual basis. They can additionally make voluntary CPF top-ups to build up their retirement savings. They can do so any time. But some SEPs face difficulties even making their MediSave contributions. So, they default. This is why we will introduce a "contribute-as-you-earn" (CAYE) scheme. It will help SEPs make small regular contributions to MediSave instead of bigger lumpsums at year-end. The Government, as the service buyer, is on track to pilot CAYE from the first quarter of 2020.”
“Up to now, the much-feared tsunami of gig work has not quite materialised, certainly not in Singapore. And even when I checked in with my counterparts abroad, not quite. A proxy for gig workers is our SEPs, even though most of them are in traditional occupations like taxi driving, real estate marketing, insurance or financial advisory. In absolute numbers, there were actually fewer SEPs in 2018 compared to 2017. Their share of the resident workforce has also been consistent for well over a decade, at 8% to 10%. So, last year, it was closer to the 8%. 4.00 pm Part of the reason is that the labour market has improved. Compared to a year ago, the share of SEPs who prefer regular employment has fallen sharply from about 20% to below 10%. Of those who are still SEPs, most did not try looking for regular work, because they might have found the jobs if they tried. The vast majority of the SEPs have told us it is their preference, and we respect it. We cannot predict how their numbers may grow in future. But it is better to be prepared. This is why we formed a tripartite workgroup to recommend ways to better support SEPs. Ms Jessica Tan asked for an update on our implementation of the Workgroup’s recommendations, which I had shared at last year’s COS debate. To reduce payment disputes, we launched the Tripartite Standard on Contracting with SEPs last year. Close to 500 businesses have adopted the Standard, covering 30,000 SEPs. We also make the Tripartite Standard Alliance for Dispute Management available to SEPs if they want mediation services and I can share with Members that, actually, the numbers have been quite modest. Maybe it is an awareness issue, but maybe the problem is not as bad as it is being described. So, we will keep monitoring this.”
“So, WSG and e2i together operate five service centres for career matching. Last year, WSG decided to bring these services to the heartlands. Do not wait for Mohamad to come to the mountain, right? Take the mountain to Mohamad. They call this programme Careers Connect On-The-Go (CCOTG) – a mobile truck that brings career matching services to different places. It helped to reach about 3,100 jobseekers from Jurong West to Tampines. We will do more to strengthen outreach. Nee Soon South – coming! I could not help it. Very sorry. In fact, I am not sure whether we have actually been to Nee Soon South already. The second area of improvement is our programmes. Take PCPs, for example, which we will need more of. We will continue to launch new PCPs. But we will also revamp existing ones to be more effective. Finally, for every successful jobseeker, there is probably another who is still searching. The change in employment situation may have come too suddenly. They need time to come to terms with it. Adjusting expectations is very much a part of this process, and some adjust faster than others. Career coachers tell me this because I meet them regularly. Quite often, there are other difficulties, such as tensions at home that are distracting them from the process. Our career coaches are there to support, to handhold these jobseekers so that they know there are help and hope. But prevention is always going to be better than cure. We should help as many as we can to stay relevant so that they need not be displaced at all. NTUC's Worker 4.0 and Training Council initiatives, therefore, deserve strong support. Besides A&G, another way in which we walk the tech journey with workers is to better support SEPs, which Ms Jessica Tan and Mr Chen Show Mao raised concerns about.”
“This means that unlike previously, the jobs available for Career Trial will include both full-time and part-time jobs. We hope that this will benefit more jobseekers with caregiving responsibilities. For employers, too, we hope it will help them become more comfortable with managing part-time work. To help more jobseekers, WSG must itself leverage technology. Last year, we introduced MyCareersFuture.sg. It gives jobseekers a smarter and more efficient tool for skills-to-job matching. Mr Patrick Tay and Mr Lim Biow Chuan will be pleased to know that Jobs Bank and MyCareersFuture have been well-utilised by both jobseekers and employers. Since its launch in April last year, the site received more than two million visits and over 1.7 million applications. More than 20,000 employers placed job postings on the Jobs Bank last year. That is why when Mr Lim Biow Chuan went to search, he said over 24,000 jobs on offer, I think. Among these postings, less than 15% were to fulfil the FCF advertising requirements. In other words, the vast majority of job postings are because the employers find it a useful channel. I would think so because why would employers waste time doing something that does not bear fruit? So, we hope the portal becomes more attractive to employers later this year, as we roll out new features. For example, employers will be able to shortlist candidates based on skills-to-job matching. This will also help the jobseekers who may not have the right experience but have relevant skills to offer. Overall, while we are encouraged by the good progress of A&G, we still have concerns about those we have not been able to help. There are three areas to work on. First, the A&G initiative is relatively new and people may not be aware of the help available.”
“They convinced the hirers to adjust their hiring criteria and training. They tried out just three applicants. At the end of the six-month programme, two had picked up the required skills and were successfully placed as Software Developers. This example shows us that, given the right support, mature PMETs can switch into new, technical and seemingly daunting roles. However, it also reminds us that the numbers are not always big. Each PCP takes much time and effort to get right and, even with the best efforts, not every jobseeker will get through. So, we need different kinds of support. Sometimes, we need to help close the salary gap between what the jobseeker hopes to get because he has legitimate financial commitments at home. But there is still a gap with what the employer is prepared to give, especially at the start. We do this through the Career Support Programme (CSP). Last year, more than 1,200 jobseekers were placed with the help of CSP. Nearly 90% had been unemployed for more than six months. As the Minister for Finance had announced, we will extend CSP by two years. Sometimes, jobseekers and employers are just unsure about each other. So, we have Career Trial, which Mr Patrick Tay and Dr Intan Azura Mokhtar asked about. Career Trial helps jobseekers and employers get to know each other better before signing on the dotted line. Last year, about 730 jobseekers obtained jobs through this scheme. This is an increase of over 40% compared to 2017. Senior Minister of State and Deputy Secretary General Heng Chee How called for more support for caregivers to re-enter the workforce through part-time work. I support his call. Although Career Trial was just enhanced last year, we will further enhance it to include part-time jobs.”
“Whether each PCP is for a thousand or just a few workers, they all add up. And as NTUC might put it, every redeployed worker matters. This is why we are troubled when we do not get the same sense of urgency in some companies. It troubles us a great deal. Sometimes, the management themselves have not figured out future directions for the business and so they cannot tell the workers how to align. At other times, the entire industry is not moving quickly enough. But WSG will keep trying to engage companies and be quick to act when they are ready. Members may have also come across feedback that some PCPs are over-subscribed while others could not get going. What are WSG’s observations? There are two. Sometimes, the work is not sufficiently attractive to our local jobseekers. The solution is to work with employers to improve job quality through job redesign and salary review. In other instances, there is interest from the jobseekers, but the employers have set too high a bar or may have relied too much on years of experience or academic qualifications to shortlist the candidates. So, they find they have no shortlist. How can WSG help? A great example is the AI Software Developer Attach-and-Train PCP offered by DigiPen. DigiPen is our partner. So, this is AI Software Developer Attach-and-Train. So, no job offered at the start, but attach-and-train, because we know there will be demand. The take-up for the programme was initially low, very miserable. Companies were looking for almost-ready candidates, such as STEM graduates already proficient in C++, a programming language. These hiring requirements immediately excluded mature jobseekers who were committed to reskill but had non-technical backgrounds. WSG and DigiPen did not give up.”
“For some jobseekers, the gap with what the employers want may still be quite wide, such as for experienced PMETs. This is why we are ramping up Professional Conversion Programmes (PCPs). There are now more than 100 PCPs in over 30 sectors. In 2018, close to 5,000 people were reskilled and employed through PCPs, an increase of over 30% compared to the year before, 2017. Most of the PCP participants do well, and they include those on Place-and-Train as well as Attach-and-Train. About nine in 10 of the PCP participants remained in employment 12 to 18 months after being placed. About two-thirds were recognised for their newly acquired skills and received higher wages than before – two-thirds. We are also not waiting for workers to become unemployed or retrenched. We started moving upstream to identify progressive employers prepared to reskill their workers and put them in new jobs instead of letting them go. Last year, about 1,300 workers benefited from such redeployment efforts. I have previously highlighted the banks’ efforts to reskill and redeploy over a thousand cashiers and tellers. Another progressive employer is Singtel. They have many desktop support staff and foresee the arrival of chatbots. So, they worked with WSG to gradually reskill 14 staff to take on new roles in network and system engineering. This includes sending staff with no prior technical experience to get certified for their new roles. As Singtel embarks on digitalisation across more business functions, it is working closely with WSG to reskill at least 70 more employees to higher-value added roles, such as Robotic Process Automation Specialists and Digital Sales and Marketing, all job titles that up to five years ago we probably would not have heard of.”
“Last year, we helped over 30,000 jobseekers secure jobs, about 20% more than 2017. This includes placements from A&G programmes, as well as career matching services by WSG and NTUC's e2i. In particular, we worked closely with sector agencies to help place local PMETs in sectors with good potential for PMET jobs, namely, Infocomm and Media, Manufacturing and Professional services, Finance and Insurance, Wholesale Trade and Healthcare. Since August last year, we have also added "Built Environment" as the sixth growth sector. After all, we are not done building Singapore, so the "Built Environment" also offers good opportunities. 3.45 pm To better support retrenched workers, we set up a Taskforce for Responsible Retrenchment and Employment Facilitation led by WSG. Companies are required by law to notify the Taskforce about upcoming retrenchments. The Taskforce then steps in to provide employment assistance to affected workers. We sometimes hear questions about whether our help has reached the right people. For example, are we really able to help PMETs? Among the 30,000 jobseekers placed, more than half are PMETs, similar to their share of our workforce. What about workers who are less qualified or older? More than 9,000 jobseekers successfully placed last year had secondary-level qualifications or below. For those aged 50 and above, there were close to 9,000 jobseekers placed, a more than 20% increase compared to 2017. What about those unemployed for a long time? Over 60% of jobseekers placed were unemployed. Among them, close to half had been unemployed for more than six months. We will not forget those who have yet to find a job. It is not for want of trying.”
“For MCI, Minister S Iswaran spoke about efforts to maintain the skill relevancy of information and communications technology (ICT) professionals, as well as convert non-ICT professionals to take on entry-level ICT jobs through Tech Skills Accelerator (TeSA). The Ministry of Health (MOH), Ministry of National Development (MND) and Ministry of Transport (MOT) will also share their efforts to strengthen worker training in the healthcare, built environment and transport sectors. In every one of the 23 ITMs, sector agencies are taking the lead in driving initiatives to meet the jobs and skills needs of the sector. We have to take the sectoral approach, not one-size-fits-all, because it really depends on the unique circumstances and what the profile of their workers are. But, even then, realistically, not all workers will be like Aryani who is redeployed and upgraded as her employer adopts new technology. Some workers may find themselves having to move to new jobs. This may be in another company or industry. The Government cares deeply that such workers get help. They deserve our utmost support. We will do so through the A&G initiative. Time and again, we see such workers adapt to unexpected situations with remarkable courage and resilience. They pick themselves up, often with the help of their families, and sometimes with the help of our career coaches, as well as the unions. And when they overcome their challenges, they manage to continue growing. I have met many of them and salute every single one of them because their efforts were extraordinary. That is why my colleagues and I at MOM and WSG are determined that they will not be alone in this journey. Mr Lim Biow Chuan and Ms Jessica Tan asked how A&G has helped.”
“Just as importantly, we must walk the tech journey with workers, help them adapt and take up new opportunities. This is not the attitude everywhere in the world. Driven by fear, there is growing resistance in some places to workplace and industry transformation. In Singapore, we are in a strong position to seize the opportunities that come with technological change. There are two main reasons for this. First, our strong fundamentals give us some leeway to shape the change. Second, we have strong tripartism at work. Instead of fanning the fear, our Labour Movement is ready to embrace the change with Worker 4.0. All Labour Members led by Secretary-General Ng Chee Meng are fully on board and every Labour Member spoke about it in the Budget Debate. I am deeply mindful that this is not a given. To keep the faith with our workers, we must do everything we can to walk the tech journey with them. MOM is not alone in doing this. Other Ministries and sector agencies have, in fact, put jobs and skills at the front and centre of their workplans. This phrase "putting jobs and skills at the front and centre of our workplans" is no longer so uncommon. Just go and listen to all the sector agencies about their workplans. Their Chief Executive Officers and Managing Directors use this phrase. For example, as Minister Ong Ye Kung and Senior Minister of State Chee Hong Tat had shared, our Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) are expanding the number of work-learn programmes. The Ministry of Education (MOE) also support employers’ efforts to upskill and reskill their workers through initiatives, such as the Nanyang Polytechnic's National Centre of Excellence for Workplace Learning, because you need to build that capability and infrastructure.”
“When Prudential started developing a mobile app chatbot for financial consultants, a new role was created as someone was needed to "train" the chatbot to intelligently handle queries. Aryani’s years of experience handling financial consultants' queries made her an ideal candidate for the new role of "chatbot trainer". I have never heard of such a job before – chatbot trainer. Seizing the opportunity, she learnt from a data scientist how to train the chatbot. She has been performing well as a chatbot trainer ever since, got promoted and even started training others how to do the same. When I met her, I was given a demo and I was impressed – the chatbot that Aryani had trained even understands Singlish! The chatbot technology has been a plus for other Prudential Call Centre staff as well. Call volumes at Prudential's support centres have fallen by about 40%. As a result, customer service executives could get redeployed to new areas of growth. Those who remained no longer needed to answer routine questions. They told me it used to drive them nuts. So, now they do not have to answer the same questions over and over again. The machines can do that for them, and they could now spend more time helping callers with complex queries. This development is not unique to call centres, and certainly not Prudential. Across many other industries, whether manufacturing or healthcare, you will hear similar feedback from businesses and their employees, that new jobs are being created and existing jobs are being improved with the use of technology. Our goal in Singapore must be to enable all businesses to take full advantage of technology to create new jobs and improve job quality.”
“My response alone may take about an hour. I will speak on three areas, namely, how we will walk the tech journey with our workers, provide better assurance and support senior employment. Minister of State Zaqy Mohamad had earlier spoken about how we uplift the wages and skills of our low-wage workers. He will elaborate on partnerships with industry and the broader community. In addition to support for low-wage workers, we should also support persons with special needs and protect the safety and health of our workers. Senior Parliamentary Secretary Low Yen Ling will speak on our additional efforts to support women, fresh graduates and ex-offenders in the workforce. Let me start by sharing how we will walk the tech journey with our workers. By now, all of us expect technology to have far-reaching impact on industries and the future of work. In essence, our concerns are two-fold: whether there will be enough jobs, which is a question of quantity; and whether new and transformed jobs will be good jobs, which is a question of quality. On quantity of jobs, fundamentally, Singapore is labour-constrained. Technology is an overall plus for Singapore as it helps us sustain more economic activities with fewer people. Bear in mind that our local workforce today is not large enough to support all our manpower needs. Technology may make us more manpower-lean and need fewer people but, for the foreseeable future, it is unlikely to eradicate our manpower shortfalls. In fact, technology also creates new jobs that are potentially of better quality, which we should welcome. Take Ms Aryani Suhardi, for example, whom I met recently. For 13 years, Aryani worked as an email correspondence consultant at Prudential's call centre, handling queries from financial consultants.”
“Mr Chairman, I thank Members for all of your cuts. Let me start by updating Members on the labour market. Overall, it improved in 2018. Total employment went up, unemployment rate remains low, and there were fewer retrenched workers. On average, workers are earning higher incomes. However, I am always mindful that there are residents who would like to work but have not found jobs, and there are also those whose jobs and wages have not improved. MOM will try our best to help everyone. What are our challenges? First, the global economic environment is more uncertain. In the fourth quarter of 2018, total employment still grew but more slowly. The unemployment rate inched up just slightly. There could be headwinds. As a result, MTI has moderated our growth forecast. Second, we have more seniors. The employment rate for seniors has risen steadily over the years. The unemployment rate among seniors is also quite low, actually lower than average. Still, not all seniors who want to, have jobs. Third, labour market performance across sectors is uneven. There has been some restructuring. But productivity growth actually slowed down in 2018 compared to 2017. The gaps in some sectors are worrying. They are not keeping up with the rest of our economy and their peers in other developed countries. In the medium to longer term, what are the prospects to improve job quality and grow wages in these sectors? That is why we are moderating foreign manpower growth in Services. It was not an easy decision. But we have to spur further efforts to restructure. This was a hot topic. Members of Parliament have given their view on this move during the Budget Debate and MTI's COS debate. I will address them later. But first, I will provide an overview of MOM's responses to all Members' cuts.”
“To support the employment of older workers, the Special Employment Credit (SEC) provides wage offsets of up to 11% to employers that hire older workers aged 55 and above and earning up to $4,000 per month. The wage offsets are automatically disbursed to employers based on their CPF contributions for eligible employees. From 2017 to June 2018, SEC has benefited about 108,000 employers hiring close to 423,000 older workers. The top three sectors with the most employers receiving SEC are Food Services, Wholesale Trade, and Retail Trade.”
“Since the launch of Adapt and Grow (A&G) initiative in 2016, more than 2,000 companies have partnered Workforce Singapore (WSG) to offer Professional Conversion Programmes (PCPs). These PCPs provide training and salary support to employers who hire and reskill mid-career jobseekers for professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMET) jobs. About eight in 10 of these companies are small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The three sectors with the most participating companies are Education, Financial Services and General Manufacturing. There are currently over 100 PCPs in about 30 sectors, and new PCPs will be introduced for jobs, such as blockchain professionals and embedded software developers. To date, close to 2,000 companies have tapped on the Career Support Programme (CSP) since the programme was introduced in October 2015. CSP provides salary support to encourage employers to hire long-term unemployed jobseekers or mature retrenched jobseekers in PMET jobs. About seven in 10 of these companies are SMEs. The three sectors with the most participating companies are Infocomm and Media, Professional Services and Wholesale Trade. The success of A&G programmes, such as PCPs and the CSP, depends on the willingness of employers to give opportunities to mid-career Singaporean workers, including those who may not have the full set of skills and experience preferred for the job, but have the potential to do the job with some effort in training or after a period of adjustment. We will press on with efforts to raise awareness among employers and work closely with the tripartite partners and economic agencies to engage companies to participate in A&G programmes.”
“If I may summarise, the process is there for good reasons and, instead of doing away with the process, I think let us instead help the deserving families to meet the requirements and to allow the Court to exercise its judgment.”
“Mr Chairman, perhaps let me explain why legal adoption is needed in the first place. It is primarily to safeguard the interest of the child and the public. Without legal adoption, there is no biological or legal nexus between a Singaporean stepparent and his foreign stepchild. That is why we require the adoption, to formally establish the parent-child relationship between them in the eyes of the law. The effect that this has is to put the legal status of the child beyond question. For the child, it clearly establishes that his adoptive parents have legal responsibilities and obligations to care for him. This is also in our public interest as there is no ambiguity. Because adoption is a serious matter, obviously, the process has to be rigorous and effort must be made to ensure that the child's welfare is safeguarded. For the adoption of foreign stepchildren which Mr Png asked about, MSF already allows for a shorter process and the Family Justice Courts will also appoint a guardian in adoption to conduct social investigation, to assess the prospective adopters' parenting capacity and the family's circumstances. So, there is already a roadmap available. Through the investigations, some prospective adopters may be assessed to be unsuitable and these adoptions cannot proceed. Others may not be able to adopt their stepchild if the natural parent does not agree to the adoption. And in these circumstances, the law already allows the Family Justice Courts to dispense with the requirement if it is the Court's judgment that adequate effort has been made and there is no reason to believe that the natural parent is contesting for the custody of the child. If the Court is satisfied after it has assessed, it can decide to dispense with the requirement.”
“If we think that society can bear more leave provisions for those who are going to be parents, I think we do it openly, we do it in a transparent fashion, we do it in a way that is honest with the employers so that they do not have to second-guess when they take on an employee whether there are these other hidden obligations that they have to fulfil.”
“Mr Chairman, to the first question as to whether all public agencies, in principle, yes. But if the Member knows of any which somehow is not in that list of 70, feel free to let me know. We will check up on it. On the question on whether parents' leave entitlements can be used for their children, here I want to just have a word of caution. I remember some years ago when I was still in the Labour Movement, NPTD at that time was doing consultation on whether we should raise the Maternity Leave benefits. So, it surprised me, but when we did the engagement with our women unionists, they were very wise and they said to me, "Sister, be careful about what we ask for because whenever we increase these leave benefits, we look different to the employers. They start seeing us differently, because they start seeing us in terms of the liability and obligations that they have towards us." So, not all of them were so keen to expand the leave benefits. So, that was a very useful exercise and I keep bearing it in mind. What the Member has asked for, I think amounts to that; you are really going to expand the leave provisions for people who are parents. Not that you cannot do that, but, by doing so, we have to ask ourselves what the employers will think of it. From having obligations to the individual as an employee, now they have obligations to the entire family. The same benefits can extend to the whole family. I think that is very expansive. And I will be very careful about this because, primarily, the leave provisions were designed to protect the individual in the event of illness.”
“And the fundamentals are that you need to have economic vibrancy, you need to have societal cohesion. These are fundamentals. And then, on top of these fundamentals, we must do our utmost to support marriage and parenthood aspirations, meaning we have to try as best as we can to make marriage and parenthood achievable, enjoyable and celebrated. Those are the things we have to focus on. We should stay the course.”
“Then, you could see that translates into a dip, as what Korea experienced in the last couple of years. And in fact, one of the "stars", if we could put it that way, of high births, Finland, often touted. In fact, since 2010, Finland has also seen a decline in the birth rates. So, before 2010, Finland's birth rate was around 1.9. By now, it has gone to below 1.5. And if we look at the TFR by rural areas versus city areas, actually it is quite across the board. In Finland's rural as well as city areas, births have declined. I think it has something to do with the sense of malaise and people feeling not confident. So, that is one type of short-term effects, if you could put it that way. There is also another factor in the short term how TFR could fluctuate. It is mathematical. Because TFR is a ratio, so it depends on what you have in the numerator and what you have in the denominator. So, I will not go too much into that. But I would say that these are short-term factors because when confidence returns, it is entirely possible that people who have put off parenthood in Finland could then decide that this is the time. Okay, we have been putting it off. And then you might see an uptick in their TFR. So, the long-term factors versus the shorter-term factors. What would be important for us is really not to be overly distracted by the year-to-year ups and downs in TFR. We pay attention to them, we look at them, and we ask ourselves why it is happening this way. But do not be overly focused on it. What we should really focus on would be the values and our societal norms, which many Members spoke about. It is important for us to firstly remember we have to strengthen the fundamentals.”
“Mr Chairman, I thank Mr Vikram Nair for his question. This is an important question. I could not help but overhear my colleagues' chuckle. In fact, I have been studying this for some years and perhaps, if Members allow, I could share my own reflection on this. When we think of births, we think of TFR. My observation and my reflection would be that there are really two key sets of driving forces. One key set of driving forces is longer term in nature. Births, when looked at from a longer-term perspective, really have to do with values and social norms. And these would include attitudes towards singlehood versus marriage, couplehood versus parenthood. And then within parenthood, the role played by fathers versus mothers. It would also include norms as to how many children is considered ideal in any society. And also how people prioritise parenthood versus other pursuits, such as career, caring for elders, service to the community and, very importantly of course, personal lifestyle interests. Parenting norms also matter a great deal, such as whether, like in the Scandinavian countries, it tends to be quite a relaxed attitude; or whether in an East Asian context, generally a very intensive form of parenting. These impact costs – how much people spend on children and, of course, as a result the perception of affordability. And then, as a result, for the parents, how many children they will eventually actually have because of how much they think they can afford. So, these are the longer-term driving forces, a whole set of forces at play. So, root causes. But in the shorter term, births can also be affected by other things. For example, economic uncertainty. So, if the job situation is not clear, people are anxious.”
“] Mr Chairman, we will continue to strengthen our efforts to make Singapore a Great Place for Families. In the last five years, trends in marriages and citizen births are encouraging. There were on average 33,000 citizen births each year between 2014 and 2018. In the earlier five-year periods, the annual average was lower, at 31,400 from 2009 to 2013 and 32,000 from 2004 to 2008. Marriages are also on the rise. We have significantly strengthened support for marriage and parenthood in recent years, for example, in the areas of housing, child-raising costs, preschool, and managing their work and family responsibilities. Compared to even five years ago, young parents are much better supported. While the Government strengthens its support, we also need the whole of society to make Singapore a Great Place for Families. For example, employers and co-workers can help by accommodating parents’ needs for FWAs. Community organisations can also celebrate parenthood and build networks of support among peers. We will embark on a consultation process in the coming months to listen to the needs and concerns of Singaporeans over forming families. We hope that various stakeholders will continue giving feedback and join us in making Singapore a truly Great Place for Families.”
“It starts with being able to stay active, having the opportunity to work if seniors wish to, and strengthening support for retirement adequacy. Since the 1980s, we have been putting in place measures to prepare for an ageing society. CPF has been enhanced over the years. Besides home ownership, it now helps Singaporeans save for healthcare needs and receive payouts for life in their retirement. Beyond CPF Life, the Government also introduced the Community Health Assist Scheme (CHAS), Silver Support, MediShield Life and now, CareShield Life, to help families take better care of their seniors. For older Singaporeans who may have less in MediSave, we have provided the Pioneer and Merdeka Generation Packages with a focus on keeping quality healthcare affordable to seniors. This is in addition to regular top-ups to boost retirement savings. As the recent Parliamentary Motion on Ageing with Purpose affirmed, we should continue to improve our policies to support the changing profile of seniors. For example, more seniors wish to work longer. Our employment rate of those aged 55 to 64 is already among the highest in the world and still going up. In my capacity as Manpower Minister, I set up a Tripartite Workgroup on Older Workers. Later in the debate, I will provide an update on the Workgroup's deliberations that will address Mr Gan Thiam Poh's concerns about supporting senior employment. Within our communities, we are also updating the way we care for seniors, for example, through innovative, award-winning solutions like Kampung Admiralty. My colleagues at the Ministry of Health (MOH) will share more during their COS debate. With your permission, Mr Chairman, I would like to conclude in Mandarin. (In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.”
“As Dr Lim Wee Kiak and Mr Gan Thiam Poh mentioned, it is important that citizens share a strong sense of identity and belonging to Singapore. We also agree with Prof Fatimah Lateef that it matters how we select new citizens. To this end, we conduct regular reviews of our immigration framework. We remain highly selective in granting permanent residencies and citizenships. In all cases, we consider the applicants' age, family profile, economic contributions, as well as their ability to integrate, among other factors. We look for markers of rootedness and identification with Singapore's way of life, values and norms. Family ties and length of stay provide a strong indication of this. As a result, one in four adults granted citizenship in recent years have family ties with Singaporeans; three in five have lived in Singapore for at least 10 years; and the majority of our new citizens each year are in their younger and prime working ages. We will continue to maintain a careful balance in managing immigration. Mr Chairman, our third and equally important strategy in building a sustainable population is to enable Singaporeans to age with grace and purpose. The United Nations (UN) has described population ageing as one of the defining features of our time. In Asia, Japan was the first country to age rapidly. Singapore, together with South Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan, is not far behind. Today, our life expectancy is the third highest in the world. Fortunately, more of these years are enjoyed in good health than before. Far from being resigned to this development, our approach is to help Singaporeans enjoy productive longevity, in many varied ways.”
“The Families for Life Council, for example, offers a suite of education programmes at workplaces and community touchpoints. It also organises events to encourage Singaporeans to make family life a priority. In Boon Lay Constituency, a Parents' Support Group was formed after a group of young parents met at the PA's Embracing PArenthood community celebrations. The group meets quarterly to share tips about child development, infant nutrition, and other parenting pointers. Such efforts, big or small, go a long way in making parenthood enjoyable and celebrated. We welcome more of them. In the coming months, the National Population and Talent Division (NPTD) will embark on a consultation process to listen to the needs and concerns of Singaporeans around forming families, and how the Government and the community can better support their aspirations. I also appreciate the Members' suggestions and there are many good examples. Mr Saktiandi Supaat suggested Back-Up care. So, I would like to invite all stakeholders to join us in co-creating and shaping policies. We will give more details about the consultation process soon. Mr Chairman, I have taken some time to reaffirm our commitment to supporting marriage and parenthood. Our second strategy in managing the population is to maintain a careful balance in immigrant flows. At its heart, the aim of our immigration policy is to sustain a stable citizen population that keeps our economy vibrant and our society cohesive. Similar to the past few years, we granted around 22,600 Singapore Citizenships in 2018, of which 1,600 were to children born overseas to Singaporean parents. With 32,700 Permanent Residencies granted last year, the Permanent Resident (PR) population remains stable at around 520,000.”
“But they would reconnect later in the evening to complete time-sensitive tasks, such as confirming sales orders taken in other time zones, and they do not mind doing it at all because it does not take very long. So, we hope many more employers will make the effort to promote more sustainable work practices, for the sake of their employees and for their own business viability in the longer run. Finally, with the trend of later marriages and births, the Government will be reviewing our assistance to couples who face difficulties conceiving and who wish to undergo assisted reproduction technology treatments. Members, including Mr Ong Teng Koon, Mr Saktiandi Supaat and Mr Vikram Nair, have given suggestions on further measures to strengthen support for marriage and parenthood. I agree we can do more. However, porting over practices in other countries wholesale may not yield the desired results. South Korea, for example, poured much resources to emulate the Nordic countries. But its TFR has not improved and fell to 0.98 last year. I think for South Korea, this is the lowest they have on record. Our efforts over the last five years are significant, even if they may take more time to bear fruit. We also need deeper changes of mindsets to reduce stresses in parenting. Ultimately, marriage and parenthood are personal decisions, shaped by the values that each person holds dear, but they are also influenced in no small part by social norms, our families, employers and the wider society. There are strong cultural and societal factors at play. Like Mr Saktiandi Supaat and Mr Alex Yam have pointed out, no single stakeholder can fully address these on its own. In this regard, I am encouraged to see how various community stakeholders have stepped up.”
“Senior Parliamentary Secretary Low Yen Ling will share more at MOM's COS debate. 3.00 pm But overall, I am encouraged that more companies are taking progressive steps to support their employees' caregiving needs. One such example is M Tech, a small and medium enterprise (SME) which specialises in cybersecurity and network performance solutions. I visited M Tech this week. As many of their employees are young parents who may also be caring for elders in the family, M Tech decided to offer FWAs to staff who need them. This was made possible by IT tools which enable staff to work remotely and still be effective. I met Petrine, a product manager who was able to telecommute when her children were down with chickenpox, and when her mother was hospitalised. M Tech was initially concerned about the investment needed to enable mobile working but later found that the benefits were well worth it. For example, it is better able to attract and retain employees who are productive and committed to their work, such as Petrine, who has been with M Tech for 11 years. Beyond workplace flexibility, there are deeper issues of workplace culture. Some Singaporeans, indeed, work very long hours, leaving little time for dating or family life. Having fewer hours to rest and recharge not only affects employees' health and well-being, but also the time that they have with their loved ones. As the nature of work evolves, there is value for organisations to adopt new ways of working that achieve good business outcomes while giving staff enough downtime to recharge. M Tech employees, for example, may get off work early, whether to attend courses or to pick up their children from childcare.”
“I should also add that parents would be more likely to benefit from FWAs. We introduced the Tripartite Standard on FWAs in October 2017, and also launched the enhanced Work-Life Grant last July, to better support the adoption of FWAs. The grant has received more than 340 applications in just five months. More workplaces are now supportive of FWAs. Around 53% of employers now offer at least one formal FWA. This could be flexi-time, flexi-place, flexi-load, and this is up from 47% in 2014. This is, in fact, a significant turning point I have been waiting for. The tide is shifting and I am hopeful FWAs will become much more commonplace henceforth. Nevertheless, I am aware that young Singaporeans still have concerns, which Mr Desmond Choo also raised. Parents have raised concerns about financial costs, such as preschool fees. ECDA is reviewing the preschool subsidy framework, to make quality preschool more affordable for parents. The Ministry for Social and Family Development (MSF) will provide an update on this during its COS debate. Parents may also feel the need to keep up with other parents’ intensive efforts in education, for example. MOE, too, is concerned. To help our students discover more joy and develop stronger intrinsic motivation to learn, MOE is reducing the frequency and stakes of school-based assessments. Students' class and level positions will not be reflected in report books to minimise unhealthy comparisons among students based on their academic performance. MSF has also started the Baby Bonus Parenting Resources Portal to boost confidence in parenting through sharing of tips by experts on raising happy and healthy children. Next, as Ms Rahayu Mahzam pointed out, the workplace environment is critical.”
“Fourth, throughout their parenthood journey and as their family commitments increase, the couple now has stronger support to manage their work and family responsibilities today. They enjoy enhanced parental leave provisions, which enable fathers to play a more active role. With up to eight weeks of leave, a father now has access to double the amount of leave in his child’s first year, compared to just five years ago. The take-up of Paternity Leave has been encouraging, increasing from 37% in 2014 to 53% for recent cohorts. We have also increased paid childcare leave over the years. Today, each parent with children below age seven has six days of childcare leave per year, and two days of childcare leave per year while their children are still in primary school. Mr Louis Ng gave suggestions on further increasing leave for parents to care for their children, while Mr Desmond Choo suggested legislating FWAs. We will keep reviewing the scope to expand leave provisions but, as Mr Douglas Foo reminded us, we should be careful about mandating businesses to do more as it would impact business viability and put jobs at risk. Given the recent enhancements, I hope Members will agree to give companies some time to adjust before further moves. In the meantime, promotional efforts should continue. That is why we introduced a Tripartite Standard last year to encourage employers to provide unpaid leave when their employees have unexpected care needs, including multiple or preterm births, or family members or children who are hospitalised. I must thank Mr Louis Ng for giving us the idea. About 450 employers with over 224,000 staff combined, have adopted this Standard. This includes the Public Service with over 70 agencies. We will continue to encourage adoption of the Standard.”
“Thank you. Mr Chairman, firstly, a couple can now own their first home sooner. Flats with shorter waiting times – about two to three years, compared to three to four years for typical Build-To-Order flats – are now available to them. The first batch was launched in November 2018. Those who may have urgent housing needs or location preferences, can choose to buy a resale flat and receive up to $120,000 in housing grants, which is $40,000 more than what a couple would have received in 2014. First-timers buying a new flat in non-mature estates can service their housing loans using less than a quarter of their combined monthly incomes, often with little or no cash because they draw on their CPF savings instead. Second, parents now benefit from greater support for child-raising costs. When their first child is born, they receive up to $18,000 through the MediSave Grant for Newborns, Baby Bonus Cash Gift, and the Child Development Account (CDA). This is $3,000 more than the maximum a couple would get in 2014. They will also receive a CDA First Step of $3,000 deposited by the Government, without having to save into the CDA first, which helps to lighten their load at the start of their parenthood journey. Third, in their child's preschool years, the couple would find it easier to enrol their child in an affordable and good quality preschool. The Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) has increased the number of full-day preschool places nationwide by over 50% since 2014. There are 170,000 full-day preschool places today. By 2023, this will increase to about 200,000, and two-thirds of preschoolers will be enrolled in Government-supported preschools.”
“In the same year, an international non-governmental organisation, "Save The Children", also ranked Singapore as the best country for children to grow up in. The Government has also progressively enhanced our Marriage and Parenthood Package. Mr Gan Thiam Poh and Mr Desmond Choo had asked about the progress and adequacy of our current measures. Mr Chairman, Sir, may I have your permission to distribute a table showing the key marriage and parenthood benefits that a young couple can receive today, compared to five years ago?”
“And between 2004 and 2008, this average was 1,000 overseas citizen births. Recent marriage numbers have also remained high. In fact, the average number of marriages in the past five years was significantly higher than the past decade. Juxtaposed against these developments is another set of forces at play. Most young Singaporeans still want to marry and have children, which Mr Vikram Nair would be glad to know. From our 2016 Marriage and Parenthood Survey, more than eight in 10 single millennials indicated they intended to marry, and more than nine in 10 married couples said they wanted two or more children. However, they are also taking longer to find the right partner and starting families later. The surge in the number of young Singaporeans entering the prime child-bearing age may be followed by a surge in births, but at a later stage. We believe this explains recent drops in Singapore's TFR to 1.16 in 2017 and 1.14 last year. But, given the positive marriage trends, I remain hopeful that there could be an uptick in TFR when the children of the Baby Boomers start having babies themselves. For family to remain the bedrock of society, which Mr Alex Yam spoke passionately about, we must actively lean against the wind to make marriage and parenthood achievable, enjoyable and celebrated. There are still many things in Singapore that are favourable to child-raising. Last year, Singapore was ranked first in the World Bank's inaugural Human Capital Index. And what that means is that as far as the World Bank is concerned, for a child born in any of the 157 countries that they surveyed, Singapore would be where their human capital potential is most likely to be optimised.”
“Mr Chairman, I thank the Members who have spoken. Their views and suggestions are well appreciated. In my response, I will provide an update of our population strategies and measures to support Marriage and Parenthood. Dr Lim Wee Kiak asked how we will build a sustainable and vibrant Singapore for all ages in light of our demographic challenges. We are doing so through three broad strategies. Our first and foremost strategy in managing the population is to ensure that there is always a new generation of Singaporeans to carry our legacy forward. We want Singapore to be a Great Place for Families, where young couples sense the strong support for marriage and parenthood from society and the state. How are we doing on this front? In addressing this question, it is useful to take a step back. When we consider developments over longer time periods, there are some reasons to be optimistic. The average number of citizen births in the last five years is higher than the previous five-year periods. From 2014 to 2018, the average was 33,000 citizen births annually. From 2009 to 2013, the average was lower at 31,400 citizen births annually. If we go back to an even earlier period, between 2004 and 2008, the annual average was 32,000 births. So, for the most recent five-year period, we are talking about 33,000 citizen births on average annually. The five years before that, it was 31,400; and the five years before that, it was 32,000. So, it is clearly higher. On top of this, many Singaporeans are living overseas, so we welcomed about 1,500 citizen babies born overseas annually over the past five years. This average is also higher than that of the previous five-year periods. From 2009 to 2013, there was an average of about 1,400 overseas citizen births annually.”
“Moving forward, we need to think about the foundations that we would be laying for our children, our grandchildren and the next generations, so that when they look back in history, they, too, will be able to see that women in Singapore continue to have great opportunities for progress. (In English): Deputy Speaker, I support the Budget.”
“Many women in their 50s and 60s helped their husbands to support their families when they were younger, so that their husbands were able to work with peace of mind. These women made great contributions to our economy and social development during the early post-Independence period. Many of these senior women chose to leave the workforce in order to care for their children and also their elderly parents. As a result, they sacrificed the opportunities to save for their retirement needs and, compared to other citizens, their savings are relatively lower. This one-off Bicentennial Bonus clearly acknowledges the contributions and sacrifices that these women have made for society. More than 300,000 Singaporeans aged between 50 to 64 will benefit from this bonus, and 60% of them are women. The Government is adopting a multi-pronged approach in this Budget to support Singaporeans, especially older women, such as the MGP and CPF top-ups, to pay tribute to these women and to ensure that they enjoy peace of mind in old age. Deputy Speaker, Sir, Singapore is commemorating our Bicentennial this year. As we reflect on the modern development of our country, we should also draw on precious lessons from the past so that we can progress to greater heights. During the early years of nation-building, our mothers, grandmothers and mothers-in-law went through a lot of hardship. Most of them were not able to complete their education. Instead, they had to enter the workforce or shouldered the huge responsibilities of looking after their families. The sacrifices and commitments they made laid a solid foundation for Singapore to achieve great success so that we can enjoy the great opportunities that we enjoy now.”
“Six in 10 of the 300,000 citizens who will benefit from the top-up are women in their 50s and 60s. Six in 10. This one-off top-up of up to $1,000 to their CPF Special or Retirement Accounts would go some way in supporting them in their old age. This is why I welcome the Bicentennial Bonus. But it is also worth noting that the Government's care and support for older women go well beyond one-time gestures like top-ups. Today, the life expectancy of women in Singapore is 85 years old. It is a fact that we live longer and will possibly outlive our loved ones. Many schemes introduced by the Government do, in fact, benefit women more. For instance, more than 65% of recipients of Silver Support are women who had low earnings throughout their lives. Similarly, in time to come, more of the benefits of the PGP will be enjoyed by women. For Budget 2019, further measures, such as the MGP and CareShield Life Incentive, will help to ensure that older women are taken care of. Many initiatives like CHAS enhancements and new nursing homes will help older women as we age – ourselves, our mothers, our sisters and everyone we, as women, very often and are now having to care for. Many programmes in the community, too, benefit older women, such as health screenings organised by the grassroots volunteers in partnership with other VWOs. We do not usually apply the gender lens when debating our Budget, but when we do, it is clear that every Budget benefits women in significant ways. And they all add up to a lot of support for women. Mr Deputy Speaker, with your permission, may I say something in Mandarin? (In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] As the saying goes, "Women play a very important role as the other pillar of the world".”
“Their stories serve to remind us that, we too, should strive to continue laying strong foundations for our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, so that when they look back in history in time to come, they will be able to see how women have continued to progress and played a pivotal role in our country's development. During the COS debate, MOM will outline measures to further support women in our workforce. Besides these outstanding women and many others who contributed in the workforce or through their involvement in the social sectors, there is one particular group which is not often mentioned and I would like to talk about them. These are the many housewives and homemakers who toil to care for their families so that their husbands can work, comforted in the knowledge that someone is tending to the needs at home, caring for elderly parents and other relatives and raising the children to be upright citizens. Being a housewife was the default choice for many women long ago. There were few other options until after Independence, when girls were given good access to education and women could also advance in the workplace. However, even today, when women have more choices, many dedicate their lives to their families by staying home to personally care for them. Some of our homemakers left the workforce years ago and are now in their 50s and 60s. We do not say it often enough, but their sacrifices did not just make a difference to their families, they also made a difference to our nation-building. The Bicentennial Bonus CPF top-up is a tribute to these women, as Mdm Rahayu Mahzam also noted. It recognises that they had fewer years to build up their retirement savings.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, we do not usually in this House apply a gender lens in our Budget Debates. But several announcements this year have particular significance to women which I wish to highlight. It happens that this is our Bicentennial year. Many Members have noted that. When we look back at history, it is clear that women contributed as much as men to building up modern Singapore. Take Mdm Hajjah Fatimah, for example. Not many of us would have heard the name. But Mdm Hajjah was a tradeswoman and philanthropist who came to Singapore in the 1800s. Mdm Hajjah built houses for the poor and donated money and land to build a mosque for her community. Another example is Mdm Hedwig Anuar. Just eight years after starting her career as a librarian in 1952, Mdm Anuar became the first Singaporean to be appointed as the Director of the National Library. Her leadership laid solid foundations for the modern library system that Singaporeans still enjoy and it benefited generations of avid readers. There is also Mdm Mary Quintal, one of the first 10 women in Singapore to begin police training in 1949. She excelled in a field which was traditionally dominated by men. Today, our Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is headed by a woman. Then, there is Mdm Gloria Lim, an expert on fungi, who became the first woman to be named Dean of the Faculty of Science at the University of Singapore, and later on, as the first Foundation Director at the National Institute of Education when it was set up in 1991. Our women Pioneers set solid foundations for the generations after them, so that we can all advance and progress in society. Over the next few months, the Singapore Bicentennial Office will be working with our community partners to breathe these stories and many more to life.”
“Investigation on the validity of a work injury claim starts after we have received an incident report from the employee or his representatives. In 2018, 70% of the claims by S Pass and Work Permit holders were determined to be valid or not, within one month. For the remaining claims, determining validity took a longer time because of delays due to various parties. Common reasons for delays include incomplete information provided by the injured employee, difficulty in locating and getting witnesses to come forward, and having to wait for medical assessments of whether an injury occurred or not, in cases where injuries were not visible. For cases that took more than six months, they are mainly due to fraudulent claims investigation. These cases are complex and we want to conclusively establish whether they were work injuries, rather than prematurely ruling them as valid or invalid.”
“Table 1 shows the number and percentage of self-employed persons (SEPs) receiving Workfare Income Supplement (WIS) in each of the four WIS age bands, and Table 2 shows the average annual WIS payout received by SEPs for work done in 2014 to 2017. Information on WIS-SEP recipients for 2018 is not available yet as the SEPs can only be assessed for WIS eligibility and receive annual WIS payment after they have declared their net trade income for 2018 and made the required MediSave contributions by 31 December 2020.”
“In December 2018, there were about 268,000 Central Provident Fund (CPF) members aged 65 and above who received retirement payouts from either the CPF LIFE or Retirement Sum Scheme. About half of these recipients are females. Among the 76% of members who are property owners, 17% own private property, 54% own 4-room-and-larger Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats while 29% own 3-room-and-under HDB flats. Of those who received payouts, 74% had monthly payouts under $500. The average monthly payouts differs greatly across the generations; the average monthly payout for CPF members aged 65 to 69 is more than double that of members aged 80 to 87. In addition to CPF payouts, members may receive additional retirement support from the Government through the Silver Support scheme. This provides them with an average income supplement of about $600 per quarter, which is in addition to the other forms of Government support such as the Workfare Income Supplement, GST vouchers and ComCare. With increased labour force participation and improvements to the CPF system made in the past decade, we expect younger cohorts to have higher CPF payouts. For example, about six in 10 active members turning age 55 in 2017 have at least the CPF Basic Retirement Sum (BRS) in their Retirement Accounts. The BRS of $83,000 at age 55 in 2017 will give members a monthly payout of about $700 to $750 for life. The Member also asked about sharing of CPF microdata. CPF Board aims to strike a balance between the interests of external researchers with the need to safeguard members’ privacy. It is open to collaborating on research projects that can better inform the development of retirement adequacy policy.”
“Mr Speaker, to the Member's first question, yes, the target group has not changed. It remains the same. On sibling income, I should give a little bit of background as to why we used per capita household income. The whole idea is that if people are living in the same household, it is more reasonable to expect that they are providing mutual support to each other. There are, of course, other ways of measuring a person's level of support. You could, for example, include their family members who do not live in the same household. But having considered the different options and assessed which one of it is more intrusive to establish, we finally settled on using the household income. I accept the fact that within the same household, the level of support may not be identical. So, for those who are non-family members, in other words, for example, they are unrelated people living in the same household, we do not include their income. But if they are related, including siblings, their incomes are included. However, if on a case-by-case basis, there is reason for us to consider otherwise, then we will also assess them.”
“Mr Speaker, the Silver Support Scheme targets support at the bottom 20% of elderly Singaporeans aged 65 and above. Coverage may, however, extend to include up to the next 10% of elderly. Eligible elderly receive cash payouts of between $300 and $750 every quarter, according to the type of HDB flat they live in. Recipients living in smaller flat types receive higher payouts. The median quarterly payout has been $600, corresponding to the payout quantum for eligible elderly living in a 3-room HDB flat. The automatic means-test assessment is done annually to take into account changes in circumstances of the elderly, to ensure Silver Support reaches those with lesser means as the Scheme was intended to do. In 2016, about 143,000 elderly received Silver Support payouts. Of these elderly, 33,000 no longer received Silver Support in 2019. About 14,000 had passed away while 18,000 had seen their household incomes rise above the eligibility threshold. At the same time, 42,000 elderly who were not receiving Silver Support in 2016 were assessed to be eligible for Silver Support by 2019. So, there is a net growth. Overall, the number of elderly eligible for Silver Support and the total annual amount paid out to recipients have been increasing each year. Right now, the Silver Support total payouts annually is about more than $330 million. The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) will review the Silver Support Scheme from time to time to ensure that it continues to provide meaningful support to the elderly who had low incomes throughout their lives and who now have little or no family support. We will also continue to assess appeals from those who have missed the income criteria on a case-by-case basis.”
“Mr Speaker, there is no internationally accepted conventions on estimating job creation or losses due to new technologies and automation, as the effect is both direct and indirect. However, in our national manpower statistics, we do monitor employment numbers, which have continued to grow even as technology and automation are transforming industries. In 2018, total employment increased by about 40,000 and that is excluding foreign domestic workers, with particularly strong growth in the technology intensive Infocomm and Media sector.”
“Mr Speaker, we do not take action against them for being retailers registered outside Singapore. We are saying that if they carry out activities that are against our rules, let us know if you observe such incidents happening. Our enforcement officers cannot be in every household that is installing furniture. We rely very much on information. Of course, whenever the information is received, we also have to do our due diligence and to follow up quickly.”
“Mr Speaker, I can give the assurance to the Member as well as the furniture retailers that we take this seriously. Every year, we take several hundred employers, several hundred of such illegal workers to task. It is not enforcement action in theory. Enforcement action is actually carried out. If there is any reason to suspect that such overseas retailers are indeed flouting the rules, please help us by letting us know so that we can take action.”