Koh Poh Koon
Singapore
“In 2025, for walk-in patients, the median and 95th percentile doctor consultation waiting times were eight minutes and 72 minutes respectively. However, the Ministry of Health (MOH) does not track waiting times by peak versus off-peak hours, but it is likely that 95th percentile waiting times happened during peak hours.”
“The offences and penalties for importing, supplying or abusing SPS products are similar to those in the MDA, to ensure similar level of deterrence. Mr Speaker, with your permission, may I ask the Clerks to distribute a handout that summarises the changes in legislative penalties for key offences.”
“So, if you are a Singaporean student, you will expect that there will be some subsidies to the fees. The third question on how can the public, who may want to seek psychological care, know who is legitimate.”
“Sir, I thank the Member for his question on audiologists. In general, a qualified audiologist in Singapore needs a higher level of certification because a diploma level may not be quite enough to perform the task. So, we will look and see whether there is a way to actually find an in-between.”
“We are starting with registration to give formal recognition to those who are practising in higher risk sub-sectors in psychology and making sure that the quality, the standards and the support is given to them to deliver the care that the clients and the patients need.”
“It takes a bit of, not just system change in the providers, in the doctors and the care teams, but also, a gradual shift in the mindset of our population as well. So, it is something that we have to continue to do. There is no magic bullet to this and it is not something we can achieve overnight. 12.15 pm”
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“Madam, as I explained in my main reply, if there is an anticipated impact on the ecology of the environment, an environmental impact assessment will be conducted. In the National Parks Board (NParks)'s methodology, they will also advise on some findings regarding marine ecological profiling exercise when assessing whether a site is suitable to be used for aquaculture activities. So, it is a series of tools that we use to size up the potential impact before we decide whether a site is suitable for aquaculture activity. But even as a site is selected for aquaculture activity, there will be environmental monitoring and impact mitigation requirements on the operator to make sure that even when the farm is established, there will be ongoing measures to make sure that the impact on the environment is mitigated as much as possible. Sorry, can the Member repeat the last question again, on open-cage farming?”
“And, not least, to make sure that there is less carbon footprint incurred in our food supplies by sourcing more locally but, importantly, also to build up the appetite for local produce to grow their market here and, in the process, build a more resilient supply chain for ourselves and food security for Singapore.”
“The open-cage sea farming method will allow for quite dense stocking if it can have a certain depth of water to support that. But the hydrology and the nature of the water in which the cage is to be situated will impact the ability of that method of farming to be viable because there will be a larger impact on the environment. On the other hand, I think it does mean that there are possibly less energy requirements using an open-cage method. So, there are different considerations at play here. What we try to do is to encourage operators to practise good husbandry so that the fish can be kept safe and in a bio-secure manner. And at the same time, to ensure that their practice of growing the fish does not foul the water conditions, by using proper sustainable feeding methodology in their farming practices. The second question is whether we can engage more with the public to encourage public support for local produce. The answer is yes. In fact, we have started a series of Alliance for Action discussions with stakeholders in the ecosystem, meaning the producers of local produce, together with the off-takers, such as hotels, restaurants, caterers, supermarkets, to come on board this Alliance for Action and talk about how we can integrate the entire value chain from producers to off-takers to help the industry to grow in a more sustainable, business-centric manner. At the same time, the Alliance for Action also looks at how we can educate the public to raise consumer awareness of how they can support our local produce.”
“Madam, I thank the Member for her two clarification questions. The first one is a technical one on what type of sea farming systems, whether it is RAS, which is a closed containment type, or whether the Ministry would also support open-cage farming. As far as the position of SFA and the Ministry is concerned, we are quite agnostic to the different types of technology that can be used to perform aquaculture activities because different types of sea water and sea space could be conducive for different types of farming methodology. We leave it to the expertise of the various farm operators to decide which platform they are more comfortable with. But, of course, we do take into consideration the nature of the sensitive receptacles in the region where farming has to take place, as well as the type of water quality, in advising the operators to choose an appropriate platform that can be used to sustain their operations in a way that is sustainable for the business but, importantly, also sustainable for the marine environment. Clearly, there are advantages and disadvantages to each type of farming methodology and the Member has also pointed out that RAS, while it may have less impact on the environment, it is a lot more energy-intensive. Yet, at the same time, the advantage it affords is that it has a closed containment system that allows better oxygenation of water and a purer water quality, a more controlled environment that also has the advantage of allowing a more dense stocking of the biomass. So, there are the pros and cons. I think the operator would need to make a business case to decide whether the pros and cons will pan out for them from a business consideration as well.”
“Sir, I thank the Member for his observation that, indeed, there may be cases of those who are hesitant to step forward and report any form of discrimination that they experience. One of the things we want to prevent and encourage people who faced discrimination to come forward to report is to make sure that when they do report a case of discrimination, whether as a victim or as a fellow worker who witnessed any form of discrimination, is to make sure that, in the legislation, we put in place safeguards against retaliation against these employees or workers who raise issues of discrimination. So, there will be sufficient safeguards that we hope to put into the legislation to make sure that if any retaliatory action is taken by the employer against the employee, there will be penalties on the employers as well, just so that we can encourage those to step up to report any discrimination they face. 1.29 pm”
“So, in drafting the legislation, what we are trying to do is to have a graded approach of penalties that is more commensurate with the egregiousness of the company's offence in workplace discrimination. But companies with less than 25 in their workforce today will still have to follow TGFEP that forbids all forms of discrimination. I hope that clarifies that we are not letting smaller companies completely off the hook, but we are giving them more time to build their capabilities so that, through this process, we can build a more harmonious workplace and not a more litigious one.”
“Sir, I thank the Member for his question. When I mentioned that there are 315 complaints, I do not have the exact breakdown of the complaints by company sizes, but I would say that complaints like these do span across companies of varying sizes as well. In our thinking and deliberation of initial exemptions for companies with less than 25 employees, it was really to give them more time to build up their capabilities and ability to deal with more of these workplace grievances, so that there is also time for stakeholders to engage smaller companies to up their capabilities to put into the grievance handling processes within the companies. So, it is really more targeted towards building capacity. Having said that, smaller companies today are already subjected to TGFEP, which also stipulate that all forms of discrimination are not to be tolerated at the workplace. The only difference between the guidelines and the legislation is that the legislation allows us to have more finely calibrated penalties on the companies. The guidelines today allow MOM to take administrative measures against companies of any size which discriminate against a worker, by imposing, say, a blacklist for them to hire further foreign workers. So, there is already some pain that we can inflict on companies which undertake discriminatory practices today under TGFEP. But obviously, that is a very blunt approach and certain companies may find that such forbidding of hiring foreign workers over a case of infringement against one hiring of a Singaporean may become too overly excessive and impede the company's ability to function properly, thereby impacting the wider business operations that will impact a larger workforce within a company as well.”
“Sir, I want to assure the Member that the Committee is aware of some of these challenges at the workplaces when it comes to burden of proof. And we will take this into account when drafting the legislation. But I must say that emphasis is also on ensuring that companies have in place a proper grievance handling process and that will include documentations about how to engage with employees when a complaint surfaces. So, that can become one of the documented evidence when the adjudication needs to take place or where TADM needs to look at the dispute resolution between the employer and employee. In the instance where the employer has insufficient documentation, that may be taken against the employer. I believe that the process would be seen to be fair to both the employers and employees in this instance.”
“Sir, I thank the Member for his suggestion of engaging widely some of the other stakeholders. We will get the Committee to look at this and engage as widely as we can. On the second question of whether we can strengthen penalties under the guidelines, let me just say that when the protected characteristics of sex were included in the new legislation, it will look into how we can protect maybe women who are pregnant as well as perhaps in the postpartum period as well. Whether the specific issue of breastfeeding ought to be one of the sub-characteristics, for example, within the sex category, that is something that the Committee will deliberate on. We need to look at how we can also educate employers to ensure there is a more conducive workplace that will cater to all the diverse needs of their workers as well. Currently, there are penalties that will be included in the legislation will be graded towards the level of egregiousness of that particular offence and discrimination. And when the legislation is tabled for discussion in Parliament, it will be clearer what levels of penalties may be effected.”
“The tripartite partners will also continue working closely to educate employers and workers to help advance fair and progressive employment practices in Singapore. To Mr Louis Ng's question on protection for women who are breastfeeding, and Ms He Ting Ru's question on reasonable accommodations, these are matters that the Committee is still considering. To Mr Patrick Tay and Mr Sharael Taha's questions on the timeline, the Committee targets to complete its deliberations and release its final recommendations in the later part of this year. Thereafter, drafting of the legislation will commence and we aim for that to be ready in the second half of 2024. Mr Deputy Speaker, rooting out discrimination is a whole-of-society effort. It requires knowledge, understanding and ownership by employers, and support from employees. The Workplace Fairness Legislation will significantly strengthen our stand against discrimination, while maintaining a workplace culture that is harmonious and not litigious.”
“The Government will work closely with partners, including TAFEP and the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (ASME), to support small firms in their journey to ramp up capabilities. More details on this will be shared later. I want to encourage smaller firms to work with the partners as early as possible to strengthen their human resource (HR) practices and capabilities, as well as nurture a fair and harmonious workplace culture. As mentioned earlier, this will contribute to stronger business outcomes. Although exempted from the legislation at the start, small firms will continue to be subject to TGFEP, which prohibits all forms of workplace discrimination. Anyone who has faced any form of workplace discrimination can approach TAFEP for advice and assistance. Where there is a breach of TGFEP, TAFEP will report the case to MOM for enforcement action. We agree with Mr Liang Eng Hwa and Mr Sharael Taha that a coordinated and sustained effort by employers, employees, unions and the Government is required to educate all stakeholders and shape mindsets and attitudes. Mr Mohd Fahmi Aliman also rightly points out that complaints of workplace discrimination may be borne out of different understandings of what constitutes discrimination. Today, TAFEP works closely with employer groups, HR partners and community groups to increase awareness of fair employment practices among employers. TAFEP also offers workshops and training tools to help employers implement fair employment practices in their organisations. With the impending legislation, the tripartite partners will provide case illustrations of what may constitute discrimination and what may not, and regularly review and refresh these illustrations.”
“The legislation will work in tandem with the existing Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices (TGFEP) to cover all forms of workplace discrimination. I am heartened that Miss Rachel Ong, Mr Patrick Tay, Mr Edward Chia, Mr Sharael Taha, Mr Yip Hon Weng and Miss Cheng Li Hui share the Committee's concern over the potential impact of legislation on workplace culture. Indeed, workplace harmony is an invaluable hallmark of Singapore's employment landscape and needs to be protected, too. Therefore, the Committee's recommendations focus on resolving disputes at the source as much as possible and emphasising mediation rather than litigation. To this end, the Committee recommends requiring employers to put in place grievance handling channels and processes at their workplace to facilitate amicable dispute resolution within the firm. If that fails, mediation at the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM) will be the next step, with a focus on educating employers on fair employment practices and mending the relationship between the employer and employee where possible. Adjudication at the Employment Claims Tribunals (ECT) is the last resort. To ensure that employees who experience discrimination feel assured to come forward to report it, there will also be protection against retaliation for making a complaint of discrimination. As Ms Yeo Wan Ling, Mr Edward Chia and Mr Sharael Taha have pointed out, small firms may lack the expertise or resources to fully implement the legislated requirements from the get-go. Therefore, the Committee recommends exempting small firms with fewer than 25 employees from the legislation for a start, with a view to lowering this exemption in five years.”
“In a study trip led by myself and our tripartite partners, we learned that the UK's Equality Act has had a positive impact on the workplace, and workers look to join organisations that operate fairly and treat all workers with respect. It is clearly in the interest of both employees and employers to create more trusting and harmonious workplaces by taking a strong stand against discrimination. Thus, strengthening our framework for workplace fairness through legislation is the right thing to do, but it should be done with an eye on maintaining a workplace culture that is harmonious and not litigious. The steps have to be precise and clear, leaving little scope for subjective interpretation. This has always been one of the key objectives of the Tripartite Committee on Workplace Fairness as we formulated our recommendations. This is why we have tried to scope the recommendations more tightly and to the common and familiar forms of discrimination in the first instance. We believe it is better to take a measured first step, let our stakeholders adjust to the new rules before reviewing if more needs to be done. To Mr Seah Kian Peng's question, over the years, the number of workplace discrimination complaints has, in fact, fallen, but the Tripartite Alliance for Fair Employment Practices (TAFEP) and MOM still received about 315 complaints of discrimination a year over the last five years. The most common types of discrimination complaints received were on nationality, age, sex, race and language. The Committee has proposed that legislation provide protection against the common and familiar forms of workplace discrimination, including the characteristics I have just mentioned.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, my response will also cover the matters raised in the questions filed by Members Mr Yip Hon Weng, Miss Cheng Li Hui, Mr Louis Ng1 and Ms He Ting Ru2 which are scheduled for a subsequent Sitting. I would like to invite Members to seek clarifications today if need be. If the questions have been addressed, it may not be necessary for them to proceed with the questions for future Sittings. Sir, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has received a number of Parliamentary Questions on workplace fairness, including the upcoming legislation. I wish to thank my Parliamentary colleagues for their interest in this important issue. The proposed legislation is a significant step forward in enhancing protection for workers from workplace discrimination, as well as strengthening fair employment practices and outcomes. It builds on progressive efforts by the tripartite partners over the years to enhance workplace fairness through a range of education and enforcement efforts and will send a strong signal against workplace discrimination. This is increasingly important in view of our ageing population and our marriage and parenthood efforts. It must also assure locals that they are fairly considered for job opportunities. Employers will benefit from a more productive and engaged workforce, be better able to attract and retain talent and can continue to access a complementary foreign workforce, contributing to stronger business outcomes. In this way, the legislation will benefit workers, employers and society-at-large. This was, indeed, the experience in the United Kingdom (UK).”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, may I have your permission to answer Oral Question Nos 38 to 47 on today's Order Paper, please?”
“Yes, certainly. Dormitory residents who feel that they have been told otherwise could either approach our Assurance, Care and Engagement officers who are on the ground, engaging with the dormitory operators, or they could access the feedback channel through the FWMOMCare app, which all workers are able to access and download, and then, they can contact MOM directly to investigate any cases in which they had been prohibited.”
“Madam, let me just share two pieces of information. The first is that, between the recent years 2018 and 2022, in fact, there were no active complaints received from any worker related to beds, bed boards or mattresses in dormitories. But the Member was asking whether MOM does proactive checks – in fact, we do. Between 2018 and 2022, MOM investigated a total of 19 cases on issues related to beds, bed boards or mattresses at the dormitories. At that point in time, it involved only dormitories that are governed by the Foreign Employee Dormitories Act, which was only recently enhanced on 1 April. At that time, the inspection was for larger dormitories to purpose-built dormitories. And I would say that all these inspections were proactive, but none of the cases that were investigated – as I said in my earlier answer of 19 cases being investigated – were related to the prohibition of the usage of mattresses or bed boards. In fact, those cases were investigated because of two scenarios. One, the migrant workers themselves discarded or misplaced the mattresses or the bed boards because some of them have preferences to sleep on a harder surface or prefer to not use a mattress, because it could be a little bit warm. The other situation that arose was because the bed spaces were unoccupied and so the bed boards were not placed there. But having engaged the operators, they are aware of what they need to provide to workers when the beds are occupied. I just want to reassure the Member that there were actually no cases in which workers were denied the use of mattresses when they chose to do so.”
“Mdm Deputy Speaker, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) does not prohibit the use of mattresses in migrant worker dormitories. All dormitory operators are required to provide each dormitory resident with a bed, which should include a bed frame and a bed board or mattress.”
“We have seen some early success of this, where some of our fish farms, for example, are taking on more productive methods using recirculating aquaculture systems: floating on the sea, rather than just using the seawater as it is, but filtering and actually creating a more conducive environment within the tanks for the fish to be grown in a more dense manner, yet kept in a very safe and very humane way to allow the tonnage to be much more intense. By using a recirculating aquaculture system, for example, the productivity and the yield can be up to 10 or 15 times more than an sea open cage. And I think if more of our farms adopt such productive technologies, we will be closer to hitting our "30 by 30" target. Today, we have three egg farms and a fourth one on the way. We are able to probably close the gap and meet 30% of our egg requirements in Singapore. But for vegetables and fish, we do need more Singaporeans to support consumption, so that we can ramp up. And the Alliances for Action (AfA) that we have just announced will, hopefully, be able to shape our consumers and our B2B relationship with our farms to increase off-take and increase consumption, so that together, we build ourselves towards that resilience we desire.”
“Thank you, Mr Chairman. I thank Miss Chan for asking this important question that I am sure must be on the minds of many Singaporeans, after we have gone through the disruptions of some of our supplies during COVID-19. First, I must say that our "30 by 30" goal, is a stretch target. Today, we import 90% of the food we consume, so we do have a lot of headroom that we need to make up for. Unfortunately, the two years of COVID-19 disruption has also caused many of our farm projects to be delayed, especially those who are in the midst of trying to start their construction in the midst of COVID-19. Delays in raw materials, delay in supplies, curtailment of work by foreign workers unable to work because of COVID-19 – all these have caused at least about one to two years of delay in the implementation plan. But when you talk to the farming community, they are committed to try and increase the production, and increase our food resilience. As I said in my speech, what is important also is to make sure that as they produce more, Singaporeans are prepared to consume more of local produce. There must be a demand for the produce. Many of our farmers actually can produce more, but they have hesitancy doing so, not knowing whether the market can absorb the produce. Which is why I think it is important for all of us to buy our collective insurance – we need to support more local produce, so that you give a signal and encouragement to our farmers to do more production. In reaching our "30 by 30" target – which is a stretch goal, as I said – but it is also a journey. I think we are trying our very best, resourcing our farmers with funding, helping them with technology adoption.”
“Sir, I thank Ms Poh Li San for asking for some more details about the CFRP and the Centre of Excellence that we sited in NUS. While NUS may serve as a host for this new set-up, it will be an institution that will involve other institutions of higher learning (IHLs), other research institutions from NTU and the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) institutions as well. Plus, there will be an executive committee that comprises some of the experts in this related fields that provide insights and opinions on how best to scale up and grow this particular organisation. So, with the involvement of more industry partners as well as other IHLs, there will be opportunities then for students in these institutions to involve in some of the R&D work. That is how we build up the talent pipeline. Connections with other international bodies of excellence would then also create another network where we can bring expertise from overseas to scale up and boost the expertise on R&D.”
“We will continue to strengthen our resilience against existential threats by reimagining our coastlines as we explore new coastal protection measures, improving our drainage infrastructure to withstand more intense rainfall, and building a more food resilient Singapore. Whether it is mitigating the effects of climate change or strengthening our food resilience, each and every one of us has a role to play. My Ministry will work in partnership with all Singaporeans to build a more resilient Singapore.”
“00 pm Beyond sea level rises, climate change will also bring about increased and more intense rainfall, as we experienced in the last two days. Ms Nadia Samdin, Ms Poh Li San and Mr Edward Chia asked about drainage and coastal protection infrastructure plans. Mr Edward Chia also asked about how these will be financed. Since 2011, the Government has invested around $2 billion on drainage improvement works. We have set aside another $1.4 billion to carry out further improvements to the drainage system from 2021 to 2025. Drainage improvement works in 25 locations are currently ongoing, including the expansion of the Bukit Timah Canal. PUB is exploring solutions that address the combined effects of sea level rise and intense rainfall and will continue to collaborate with agencies to co-create multi-functional drainage solutions. One funding source is the Coastal and Flood Protection Fund, set up in 2020 with an initial injection of $5 billion. But the cost to expand our drainage to cater for every extreme rainfall event is prohibitive. We must therefore strengthen our community resilience and collective response to how we deal with floods. I encourage everyone to stay updated on PUB's flood alerts. Please sign on to their Telegram alert system if you have not done so, and for property owners and developers to ensure that the flood protection measures in your own developments remain effective. Mr Chairman, as a small city-state with no natural resources, we must adapt and evolve to the constant changes around us.”
“For example, some participants raised issues like, how would we retain the scenic views and the convenient access to the beaches that we enjoy while, at the same, looking at how we protect our coastlines, including the coastal nature parks. I would like to reassure Ms Nadia Samdin that we will continue to work closely with our stakeholders on topics, such as coastal protection and other topics like marine litter. Last year, we published Singapore's first National Action Strategy on Marine Litter in consultation with our people, public and private sectors. In addition to trade-offs, coastal protection is a long-term endeavour and requires new technologies and innovations, as Ms Poh Li San and Prof Koh Lian Pin had pointed out. I am pleased to announce that we will launch a new dedicated Coastal Protection and Flood Management Research Programme (CFRP), funded by the National Research Foundation, to strengthen long-term coastal protection and inland flood management capabilities in Singapore. The CFRP will provide $125 million to foster research and collaboration across academia and the industry. This will establish a vibrant R&D ecosystem to support the development of innovative coastal protection and flood management solutions. I agree with Prof Koh Lian Pin that we should work with industry and consider solutions that they can offer. The CFRP’s applied research and living lab components will support the test-bedding of inter-disciplinary urban flood solutions and equip our industries with the capability to develop and eventually export the next generation of coastal and flood protection solutions. The CFRP will be anchored by a Centre of Excellence, hosted by National University of Singapore (NUS). More details will be provided later this year. 12.”
“Next, I will touch on coastal and flood protection, which Dr Lim Wee Kiak, Mr Edward Chia, Ms Nadia Samdin as well as Ms Poh Li San asked about. Singapore is a low-lying island. Thirty percent of our land area is less than five metres above the mean sea level. With climate change, the Centre for Climate Research Singapore estimates that the mean sea level around Singapore could increase by up to one metre by 2100. This will affect many stretches of our coastline. Combined with the effects of more sudden and extreme rainfall as well as storm surges, we can expect greater risks to the community, our infrastructure, and our livelihood. PUB, our national coastal protection agency, has been making steady progress and will periodically refine our coastal protection plans. To Mr Edward Chia's question, since May 2021, we have progressively launched several studies to understand the characteristics of Singapore's coastlines and develop targeted coastal protection measures. PUB will commence the next site-specific study for the Sungei Kadut and the Lim Chu Kang area in the second half of this year. I agree with Dr Lim Wee Kiak and Ms Nadia Samdin that these present opportunities to shape climate resilience efforts with the public. In conjunction with the Forward Singapore exercise, PUB started the Our Coastal Conversation series, and conducted two dialogue sessions for the City-East Coast area in October 2022. Participants from diverse backgrounds, corporates, community groups, NGOs and even schools, participated in the dialogue and raised interesting perspectives on the trade-offs that we would need to make to tackle the effects of climate change.”
“Since SFA approved the sale of cultured meat in 2020, a global first, we have seen a steady increase in applications for the sale of novel foods. Most recently, SFA gave regulatory approval to GOOD Meat for the use of serum-free media in the production of cultivated meat. We will set aside $23 million, under the Singapore Food Story R&D Programme 2.0, the national R&D programme for food, to build new food safety capabilities to cater to developments in the novel foods space. SFA will support research projects to develop new methodologies which aim to provide more timely assessments, including toxicity and allergenicity assessments for novel and alternative proteins. I thank Ms Nadia Samdin for her suggestions to enhance our food safety framework to encourage industry to maintain good food safety standards, including our home-based businesses and food sold through online platforms. Home-based food businesses are not licensed by SFA as they pose relatively low food safety risks due to their small scale. They are still subjected though to prevailing food safety regulations and should comply with SFA's regulations and guidelines on proper food handling practices. In January, a new Singapore Standard was launched to guide food e-commerce players on their roles and responsibilities related to food safety. The guidelines were co-developed with a wide range of stakeholders, from food e-commerce platforms to food delivery platforms as well as supermarket retailers. Food safety is a joint responsibility. I am heartened to see strong industry support in committing towards best practices in providing food safety information to consumers and improving traceability and recall along the food e-commerce chain.”
“Many consumers have readily embraced alternatives, for example, by buying thawed frozen chickens from Australia and Thailand, or by switching to other protein types, such as fish and eggs. To further strengthen our food resilience, we are pressing ahead with our "30 by 30" goal of building our agri-food industry’s capability to produce 30% of our nutritional needs locally and sustainably by 2030. To ensure the continuous growth of local agriculture, the next key step is to grow demand for local produce. In February, a new Alliance for Action (AfA) on "Demand Offtake and Consumer Education" was formed, as part of the ForwardSG conversation, including representatives from farming, food processing, hospitality and F&B sectors. AfA will look into demand and supply aggregation of local produce and build greater mindshare for local produce through consumer education. Recommendations from AfA will strengthen our food supply resilience. The development of our agriculture industry depends on the support from Singaporeans for our local produce. (In English): Ms Nadia Samdin asked how SFA will innovate to bolster its food safety capabilities. SFA is developing Whole Genome Sequencing analytics to better identify the causes of foodborne diseases, and to help prevent outbreaks. We will strengthen SFA's use of data analytics to identify food establishments with higher risks of food safety lapses, enabling our officers to conduct more targeted inspections and educate poorer performing food establishments to tighten their food safety practices. We will also invest in deep technology to ensure that our food safety regime keeps pace with industry innovation. Dr Lim Week Kiak about progress in novel foods.”
“I am glad to announce that for Nitec and Higher Nitec graduates as well as in-service employees, a new Work-Study Diploma in Agriculture and Aquaculture Technology will be launched by ITE next month. This will provide them with engineering skills to operate new agriculture and aquaculture systems, knowledge about food crops cultivation and fish farm management. We will, therefore, have training programmes for different segments of the workforce to meet the agri-food industry's manpower needs. As we encourage our local farms to produce more, there must be sufficient demand for our local produce. I thank Ms Hany Soh for her suggestion for Government to demonstrate support for local produce in food procurement. I agree that this is an area we should study further. In February, a new Alliance for Action (AfA) on "Demand Offtake and Consumer Education" was formed, as part of the Forward Singapore conversation. The AfA includes key members of our local food ecosystem, such as representatives from farms, off-takers, such as supermarkets and trade associations representing the hotels, the retailers, as well as the catering associations, supported by various agencies, like Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and Enterprise Singapore. Together, they will explore solutions to help the hotel, restaurants and catering sector, as well as our local consumers, embrace local produce. I look forward to hearing their ground up recommendations that will further develop our local agricultural industry. Sir, in Mandarin, please. (In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Food is an existential concern for Singapore as we import more than 90% of our food supply. Over the past two years, we have experienced first-hand the effects of disruption to our food supply chain.”
“For example, by developing superior fingerlings with traits, such as faster growth rates and higher Omega-3 content and reducing fish mortality from common fish diseases. SFA's Marine Aquaculture Centre, located on St John's Island, will serve as the anchor research campus of AquaPolis. We will undertake two new initiatives. First, we will enhance its facilities with upgrades, such as the installation of recirculating aquaculture systems for research in intensive farming within closed environments, to cater to evolving R&D needs. Second, we will also embark on a study to review how our future research facilities can be better integrated with aquaculture infrastructure, such as jetties and hatcheries. In the steady state, our Singapore Aquaculture Plan will comprise three distinct centres, as you can see on the slide: the West Johor Strait, the East Johor Strait and AquaPolis in the Southern Waters. This will provide critical diversification of our aquaculture production across three different sites and ensures our aquaculture sector expands in a climate-resilient manner. The enhanced research capabilities and facilities will also be better integrated with aquaculture infrastructure. Miss Cheryl Chan asked about plans to build the manpower pipeline for our farming industry. For students, Republic Polytechnic has broadened the scope of their Diploma in Biotechnology to include a specialisation in Food and Agro-technologies. For mid-career professionals, SFA partnered with Workforce Singapore and Republic Polytechnic in 2022 to launch a Career Conversion Programme to equip them with the knowledge and skills as Agri-tech Specialists or Agri-tech Operators.”
“Miss Cheryl Chan asked how lessons from other countries with established aquaculture industries can be applied to our context. We plan to conduct a joint study trip this year with industry and academia, to countries with advanced aquaculture production, to understand how they have managed to grow their commercial aquaculture sectors without negatively impacting marine biodiversity. SFA will also dedicate significant resources and work closely with industry and academics to enhance our understanding of the effects of aquaculture on our local marine environment. For example, SFA is collaborating with NUS and the Barramundi Group to study the impact of aquaculture on the marine environment and marine life surrounding St John’s Island. The study will conduct reef surveys and measure water and sediment quality prospectively over a period of time, to better understand in real-time, how aquaculture practices and farming activities could potentially affect these environmental parameters. We will adopt relevant practices from our overseas learning trip and detailed insights gained from our own local studies to suit our Singapore context. To further support Singapore's ambitions in leading aquaculture research and innovation, we will enhance our R&D facilities to attract more companies and researchers to base themselves here. In November 2022, we launched AquaPolis to transform the aquaculture research landscape. The brain trust of AquaPolis will comprise scientists from various research institutions, including the National University of Singapore (NUS), Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory and many others. They will work on addressing real world aquaculture challenges to enhance the productivity of farms and quality of fish farmed in Singapore.”
“A multi-disciplinary consultancy study will holistically plan the development of LCK and the adjoining West Johor Strait. For example, we are exploring siting our fish hatcheries and other key infrastructural and processing facilities on land, to provide support to both land-based and sea-based fish farms. We will also incorporate upcoming regional studies for coastal protection measures at the LCK coastline, to enable our farms to be climate resilient. Some of these ideas will be showcased in the LCK Master Plan exhibition, which SFA will launch in the second half of 2023. I hope Members will look out for the exhibition when it is finally launched. In the East Johor Strait shown on the slide, which is separated by the Causeway from the West Johor Strait, we have a distinct and separate cluster of fish farms, supported by key aquaculture facilities. The separation of the fish farms into two distinct clusters is especially important to enhance fish resiliency in the face of climate change, which may result in harmful algal blooms as has happened in the past before. Miss Cheryl Chan and Prof Koh Lian Pin asked how aquaculture would contribute to our "30 by 30" goal. Prof Koh Lian Pin also asked how we would ensure that the development of aquaculture in sea spaces is environmentally sustainable. We have identified fish production as one of our priority areas. It is a nutritious source of protein that can be grown efficiently. This is why we launched the Singapore Aquaculture Plan last year, to transform the sector in three ways. First, to increase and optimise spaces for farming. Secondly, to help the industry adopt technology and better farm practices. And thirdly, to invest in research and innovation.”
“We are making good progress in master planning Lim Chu Kang, where we will transform the region into a high-tech agri-food zone. We intend to reap synergies between land-based farms in the Lim Chu Kang region and sea-based farming in the adjacent West Johor Strait. Mr Chairman, may I have your permission to display a slide on the LED screens please?”
“The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) will continue to accredit more import sources and facilitate the industry's further diversification through sourcing trips and business networking sessions. Having new sources for food imports will strengthen our resilience but only if the companies put in place robust business continuity plans (BCPs), continue to diversify sources at the company level and maintain warm links with multiple import sources. This would help them to pivot more easily when needed and protect their businesses during supply disruptions. Dr Lim Wee Kiak will be happy to note that the industry is adapting and working with SFA to review their BCPs and diversify their supplies. While Singapore imports most of our food and is a price-taker, consumers too can exercise flexibility in their food choices when supply disruptions occur and pivot to other alternatives. We saw how Singaporeans readily switched to frozen chicken when Malaysian fresh chicken imports were disrupted last year. I want to assure Dr Lim Wee Kiak that Government is pressing with our "30 by 30" goal of building Singapore's capability and capacity to sustainably produce 30% of our nutritional needs locally by 2030. Last year, we announced the enhancement of our Agri-Food Cluster Transformation Fund to offer farms a higher co-funding quantum to a wider range of food types such as fruited vegetables and mushrooms. I am glad to announce that SFA will launch the first land tender for this wider range of food types in the later half of this year. This will provide consumers with more food choices that are produced locally. SFA will provide more details when the tender is launched. To build up even more industry capacity, we will need to optimise our limited agriculture spaces.”
“Mr Chairman, as a low-lying tropical island state that imports most of our food, food security, sea level rise and inland flooding are critical concerns. We are making strong efforts to strengthen our resilience on these fronts. Food security is an existential concern for Singapore. We import more than 90% of the food we consume, making it impossible for us to insulate ourselves completely from global food supply and price shocks. Over the past two years, we have experienced first-hand the effects of supply chain disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, geopolitical disruptions and developments elsewhere as well as policy decisions taken by foreign governments. But this does not mean that we are completely at the mercy of such external factors. We can shore up our resilience if we work together as a nation – with Government, industry and consumers each playing our part. Mr Gan Thiam Poh asked about lessons learnt during the COVID-19 pandemic pertaining to food resilience. Dr Lim Wee Kiak similarly wanted to know how our importers and consumers can become more resilient towards food supply shocks. We take a multi-pronged approach. A core strategy is import source diversification for our key food items. We have increased our number of food supply sources from 172 countries and regions in 2019 to 183 countries today. We have accredited Indonesia as a new source of chilled, frozen and processed chicken meat. So we now have 25 accredited countries for chicken imports. We have also approved Brunei as a new source of eggs, and we now have 17 countries accredited to export hen shell eggs to Singapore, up from just 12 in 2019.”
“Mr Chairman, we understand the employers may be concerned about the impact of business costs, as the Member has raised. Therefore, the increase in employer's contribution rates is at a gradual pace, not exceeding one percentage point a year. And we are doing this at an early time to give employers ample notice so that they can adjust and manage the impact on business costs. To mitigate the rise in business costs due to the increase in CPF contribution rates in 2024, we will provide the CPF Transition Offset as we said earlier, so that this will help mitigate some of the cost pressures they face. We also expect business-cost increase arising from the increase in the CPF contribution rate for senior workers to be modest due to the lower percentage-point increase, compared to the previous increase in 2022 and 2023. So, the offset will certainly help in this current tranche of increase that we are planning to do. All these offsets that we give for the increase in CPF contribution rate is on top of all the other schemes that we have been giving to support employment of older workers, like the Senior Employment Credit (SEC) and the Part-time Re-employment Grant (PTRG). All these will help to ameliorate the cost impact on any older workers that the company employs.”
“Sir, very quickly on the clarification on platform workers and whether they are covered by the workplace fairness legislation that is being planned. The answer is no, because workplace fairness legislation only covers employer-employee relationships. I did spend a significant part of my speech earlier to say why we are not classifying platform workers as employees – to maintain the flexibility that both parties desire. But having said that, as I said in my speech before, the Tripartite Guidelines for Fair Employment Practices will scope in a clearer statement to say that any discrimination, even of contracted workers, will be deemed to be in violation of the Tripartite Guidelines for Fair Employment Practices. MOM can investigate and impose administrative penalties on these platform companies if they do discriminate. The other thing which I hope perhaps Members will realise is that it is not in the interest of the companies to discriminate against workers who opt in for CPF simply because the scheme we are trying to propose here is that by 2024, those who are below 30 years old will be mandatorily required to contribute to CPF. Which means that henceforth, as a cohort, all younger workers born after 1995, whichever timepoint they choose to enter platform work – by the time, they are 40 years old or 50 years old – so long as they are born after 1995, platform companies will need to contribute CPF for them. In other words, over time, the bulk of the workers available for platform work will need mandatory CPF. Therefore, it is not in the company's interest to disadvantage those in this larger group of workforce that will then constrain their ability to get labour.”
“But ultimately, what is important is to make sure our senior workers continue to upskill themselves. They must ultimately have the skills that the industry needs in order to be able to access employment opportunities. So, it is a whole suite of efforts that we do from all angles and some of the things that we are doing with the tripartite partners are also going to be helpful, helping them to do structured career planning, making employers and HR professionals attuned to the need to look at job redesign. Having a conversation with the workers before they reach retirement age in their 40s and 50s to start planning for the next step of their career so that even as they enter their 50s and 60s, they understand what the company wants and there is a concerted effort from the employer, the HR side as well as the workers to develop skills that are relevant to the company's longer-term objectives. So, it is a whole suite of efforts and I think at this moment we are all moving in the correct direction. Let us continue to push on with what we are doing now and, hopefully, with the trajectory that we are seeing, the senior employment rate will continue to hit even higher levels in the next few years to come. And as I said before in my speech, despite the pandemic and economic crisis, our senior employment rate has actually gone up and not declined. So, that is something encouraging that we want to pursue.”
“Mr Chairman, I thank Mr Desmond Choo for the question. As he mentioned and as I shared in my speech earlier, we do have quite a good employment rate for our senior workers compared to OECD countries and other advanced Asian economies. In looking at whether we should set a target for senior worker employment, it is important to realise that every senior worker, every senior in fact, in Singapore has different aspirations in life. Some prefer to take care of their grandchildren, and some may want to do more of things that they had not been able to do when they were younger. It is very hard for us to set a hard target and force everyone to continue in employment against their wishes. This is with the background that we are really not doing too badly compared to other advanced economies. What we are trying to do here then, in response to the Member's second question, which is related, is to create an enabling framework to allow as many senior workers as possible to remain in employment, if that is their aspiration to do so. So, by progressively raising re-employment ages and retirement ages to give them the legal protection to remain in employment should they choose to do, making sure there are fair employment practices and a legal framework to prevent discrimination against ageism. That again also helps to protect them and allows their aspirations to be realised. And then some of these other measures, whether it is the Senior Employment Credit (SEC), whether it is the Part-Time Re-employment Grant (PTRG) that helps to reduce friction if employers feel that cost may be a consideration, we want to take away as many of those worries as possible from the employer side, to give them an extra leg-up to be able to get employment opportunities.”
“Mr Abdul Samad would be glad to hear that by the time we complete the full increase around 2030, those aged 55 to 60 will have their CPF contribution rates equalised to that of younger workers. A 55-year-old member today can expect monthly retirement payouts to be boosted by about 10%. We will also continue to support employers with the CPF Transition Offset. I want to thank our tripartite partners for their support and consensus for this very important move. These recommendations are necessary for senior workers who continue working to enter their retirement with more confidence. Mr Chairman, we have put in place measures to uplift our platform workers and senior workers. We will need to work closely with stakeholders to implement the initiatives I have shared about and will count on support from fellow Singaporeans to mutually reinforce an inclusive and strengthened workforce where no one is left behind. Because as my sisters and brothers from the unions would say – every worker matters.”
“Applications for the Part-time Re-employment Grant will reopen in April, which is next month. I hope that employers will leverage the resources provided through these schemes to put in place progressive practices. Our tripartite partners have also been working with companies to improve senior workers' employability. SNEF introduced a guidebook to help employers conduct structured career planning and NTUC is working with employers to adopt structured career planning through their Company Training Committees (CTCs). Structured career planning provides employers with a process to proactively map out future business needs, identify skills that senior workers need to develop to grow with the company and support them in acquiring those skills. This not only protects our senior workers' employability and extends their career longevity but also helps employers retain an experienced pool of workers amidst a tight labour market. As Mr Abdul Samad, Mr Heng Chee How and Mr Mohd Fahmi Aliman pointed out, retirement adequacy is another key area that we support senior workers on. As Deputy Prime Minister Wong has announced at the Budget, we are committed to raising the CPF contribution rates for senior workers. We have implemented the Tripartite Workgroup on Older Workers' (TWG-OW) recommendation to increase senior workers' CPF contribution rates in 2022 and 2023 and will continue to do so in 2024 to strengthen their retirement adequacy. With this, we will have completed the scheduled increase in CPF contribution rates for workers aged 65 to 70. For those between 55 and 65, we will press on ahead.”
“Ms Jessica Tan also asked how many enterprises have taken up both schemes and the roles those senior workers took on. The Senior Employment Credit (SEC) has in fact benefited almost 100,000 employers that hired over 461,000 senior workers since it was introduced. At the same time, more than 5,700 employers successfully applied for the Part-time Re-employment Grant (PTRG) and committed to implementing progressive senior employment policies, which we expect to benefit over 45,000 senior workers. Employers from a wide variety of sectors have benefited from both schemes, such as wholesale and retail trade, accommodation and food service activities, and manufacturing. These employers offer a range of job roles. Mr Leslie Basil Danker is one of our senior workers who has been with the renowned Raffles Hotel Singapore for 51 years. He has been a beneficiary of the Part-time Re-employment Grant. Since starting out with the maintenance department in 1972, Mr Danker has taken on various event management roles and supervisory responsibilities. Today, he is the mentor resident historian of Raffles Hotel, working on a part-time basis. This arrangement allowed him to wind down and spend more time with his family while continuing to share the hotel's rich history with guests through guided tours. Perhaps some of you might be on his guided tour one of these days. His detailed knowledge of the hotel's roots came to the fore during the hotel's landmark restoration process from 2017 to 2019, where he worked closely with engineers, architects and interior designers for the undertaking of the renovation. This is an excellent example of how the Part-time Re-employment Grant has benefited both the senior worker and the employer.”
“As a result, our senior resident employment rate has remained healthy and even increased despite the recent economic turbulence. We will continue to strengthen support for our senior workers. We have raised the statutory retirement and re-employment ages to 63 and 68 respectively this year. This supports senior workers to continue working longer, if they wish to. We will also extend the Senior Employment Credit (SEC) until 2025 to support employers who hire senior workers. Under the SEC, employers that hire Singaporean workers aged 60 and above and earning up to $4,000 per month can expect up to 8% of wage offsets. These wage offsets will be automatically disbursed to employers who qualify. In response to Mr Desmond Choo's question, I am happy to announce that the Part-time Re-employment Grant (PTRG) will be extended to 2025. This grant will increase the availability of part-time re-employment to senior workers in participating companies. To receive up to $125,000 in grant support, employers have to offer part-time re-employment, implement flexible work arrangements (FWAs) at the workplace and adopt structured career planning for their mature and senior employees aged 45 and above. This will help more senior workers to stay in employment, develop the skills needed to grow with the company, and extend their career longevity. Senior workers themselves, too, play a key role to make this process a success. I encourage them to be open and proactive in embracing new opportunities, and ready to upskill and pivot to new job roles as they emerge. (In English): I want to thank Mr Desmond Choo, Mr Heng Chee How, Mr Liang Eng Hwa and Mr Sharael Taha for their support for these efforts that will benefit senior workers.”
“Specific to Ms Denise Phua's question on the support for arts and sports SEPs, the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) will share more about their initiatives to better support their professional needs in their Committee of Supply (COS) debates. Next, I would like to focus on our efforts to support our mature workers. With better health and life expectancy, more seniors are capable of remaining in productive employment and supporting their own retirement. Hence, over the last few years, we have put in place structures and policies to support senior workers who wish to work longer to do so and to achieve stronger retirement adequacy as they do so. Through these efforts, our senior resident employment rate has remained healthy and even increased despite the economic turbulence in the past few years of the pandemic. Between 2019 and 2022, the employment rate rose from 67.6% to 70.6% for seniors aged 55 to 64 and from 44.6% to 47.5% for seniors aged 65 to 69. This places our employment rate at 11th and fourth respectively when compared with the OECD countries. This is comparable to other Asian countries such as South Korea. We will seize this momentum and continue to strengthen support for our senior workers who wish to continue working. Sir, allow me to continue the rest of my speech in Mandarin. (In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Mr Yip Hon Weng has asked about how the Government can ensure that our senior workers can continue to contribute to the economy. Over many years, we have put in place policies to support senior workers to continue to work for longer if they wish to do so, and build towards stronger retirement adequacy.”
“We will provide further updates once the TWG has completed its work in a few months. Mr Chairman, strengthening protections for platform workers will require a whole-of-community effort. These decisive moves are necessary for a more inclusive society. Everyone has a part to play to safeguard the interests of platform workers today so that they can be better prepared in the face of future economic uncertainties. 4.45 pm Platform workers themselves will need to set aside savings for their component of CPF contributions. They will in turn receive contributions from platform companies who tap on them for labour. Singaporeans, as consumers, are willing to bear some increases in costs to platform services, knowing that their contributions will make a difference to enhance protections for platform workers. The Government will implement the recommendations in stages over the next few years and provide transitional support to allay the impact to the platform ecosystem and to consumers. This is how we build a social compact and engender a more inclusive society. As Ms Denise Phua and Mr Saktiandi Supaat pointed out, there are other groups of SEPs who have greater control over their own business models and are not subject to similar levels of management control as platform workers, but who also face unique challenges over the course of their work. We will continue to review if there is a need to go beyond encouraging SEPs to make voluntary contributions to their CPF accounts, taking into account the needs and challenges of SEPs as well as the nature and context of their work arrangements. As a diverse group with different needs, support to SEPs is usually tailored to the needs of the sectors they function in.”
“A Tripartite Workgroup (TWG), comprising our tripartite partners, representatives from the Platform Companies and also existing Platform Worker associations, is currently in discussions to determine how a representative body can formally seek mandate to represent Platform Workers collectively, through a framework that is backed by law. This tripartite set-up was a deliberate move. The TWG was designed as an avenue for tripartite partners to co-create this framework. Through this process, they develop shared ownership of the eventual framework but more importantly, they build mutual trust. This is fundamental to fostering harmonious industrial relations in the platform space, which has been a core strength in our Singapore’s labour landscape. And we need to cultivate this same spirit of tripartism in the platform ecosystem. The discussions are making good progress and the tripartite partners have been guided by three key principles. First, stakeholders agree to uphold the spirit of tripartism, which has achieved good outcomes for businesses and workers, and can also help the platform sector evolve sustainably, to benefit both Platform Companies and Platform Workers. Second, stakeholders recognise that while the current representation framework in the employment space works well and is a useful reference, the platform space is different from regular employment and the representation model will need to be adapted accordingly. Third, stakeholders agree that the representation framework should be flexible enough such that individual representatives of Platform Workers and Platform Companies have the maximum space to negotiate and find win-win outcomes that are fair to all parties. Exercising good sense and goodwill is key to this endeavour.”
“This relationship must be premised on Singapore’s unique approach of tripartism that encourages consultation, open communication and conciliation. The ability for Platform Workers to represent themselves and negotiate for their interests is critical as the industry continues to evolve and business models continue to change. In other countries like the UK and Spain for instance, unions have entered into collective agreements with platform companies to negotiate better working conditions, in areas such as earnings, grievance handling and safety. In Singapore, currently, there are associations that represent these Platform Workers, but they are not formally recognised within our industrial relations framework and therefore they lack the mandate to negotiate on their behalf. While other jurisdictions have taken the approach of allowing platform workers to unionise in the same way that employees do, we recognise that the platform sector is distinct from traditional employment sectors. For instance, unlike employees, Platform Workers multi-home on different App platforms and are more geographically dispersed and transient in the time that they use to work or receive work. This has implications on how they can organise themselves and how their representatives are chosen. The platform economy is also dynamic. Business models can evolve very rapidly and this has implications on what both parties can negotiate on. Therefore, the representation framework has to be suited to the needs and characteristics of the platform sector.”
“Take for example a median income Platform Worker who turns 30 in 2024 and opts in from the start for the CPF contributions. Based on our estimates, he can use about $450,000 in CPF savings by age 65 for his housing and retirement needs. In my engagements with Platform Workers, they also raised concerns about Platform Companies discriminating against those who opted for CPF, by assigning less jobs to them, a point that some Members raised as well. The Tripartite Committee on Workplace Fairness has, in its recently released interim report, recommended that the Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices (TGFEP) be enhanced to provide clarity that intermediaries, including Platform Companies, should treat workers fairly, including contracted workers, like Platform Workers. What this means is that Platform Companies must not discriminate when assigning work and MOM will investigate any unfair practices. So, this is the assurance we want to give to all the workers out there if you have this concern. While the impact of discrimination on earnings has been top of mind for many Platform Workers, in my engagements with them, many also raised concerns about issues such as working conditions, earnings, safety at work and timely dispute resolution with customers. A prevalent sentiment amongst many of them, is that they are often not accorded due recognition on their feedback and concerns. Addressing these issues requires a balanced relationship between the Platform Workers and the Platform Companies. Platform Workers should be provided a clear representative voice to surface their concerns to maintain industrial peace and harmony within the platform ecosystem.”
“And to Mr Liang Eng Hwa’s appeal for the Government to support Platform Workers with reemployment and reskilling, I want to assure him that regardless of how long Platform Workers decide to stay in platform work, we will support those who wish to transit to other sectors, through the Career Conversion Programmes (CCPs) which provide salary and training support to employers to reskill new workers, and the Jobs and Skills Centres, which provide career coaching and advice, both of which Minister had mentioned earlier on in his speech. Once the CPF contribution rates of Platform Workers have been fully aligned with that of employees, we will also permanently increase Workfare payments for these Platform Workers to match those of employees. This means that eligible Platform Workers could receive up to $4,200 per year, an increase from $2,800 per year today, with 40% of these given in cash compared to the 10% today. Their increase in Workfare payments will be fully in cash. From the second half of 2024, all Platform Workers eligible for WIS will also start to receive monthly instead of yearly WIS payments. We will be able to do so by then, as Platform Workers’ CPF contributions will be made more regularly, instead of the current arrangements in which they receive WIS only on a yearly basis after they declare their Net Trade Income at the end of each year and made the required MediSave contributions. So, as a result of a more regular contribution, we will be able to have a mechanism to give WIS more regularly as well. The above measures will mitigate the concerns in take-home pay while ensuring Platform Workers receive a significant boost to their retirement savings.”
“Like employees, Platform Workers who earn between $50 and $500 a month will also be able to receive CPF contributions from the Platform Companies without having to make CPF contributions on their own. Companies, workers and consumers all recognised the need for more protections for Platform Workers during our engagements with them. But there were concerns about the cost impact of these recommendations. Ms Hazel Poa will be happy to note that the Government intends to phase in the additional CPF contributions evenly across five years, at around 2.5 percentage points per year for the Platform Workers and about 3.5 percentage points per year for Platform Companies. This will help to address their concerns and smoothen the transition. We will calibrate this further if necessary. Platform Workers are likely to see an increase in their total earnings after factoring in additional CPF contributions from Platform Companies. But at the same time, I know that some Platform Workers are concerned about the impact of the CPF changes on their take-home pay. This is why we will provide transitional support targeted at the lower-income Platform Workers earning up to $2,500 a month who see an increase in their CPF contribution rates, as Deputy Prime Minister announced during the Budget. I hope this addresses the concerns from Ms Hazel Poa, Mr Liang Eng Hwa, Mr Saktiandi Supaat and Ms Yeo Wan Ling. In addition, Platform Workers who align their CPF contributions to employees earlier will receive stronger support. In the first year, we will offset 75% of the additional contribution the Platform Worker makes to the Ordinary and Special Accounts. The offset will taper down gradually over the next three years of the phase-in period for CPF contribution.”
“This caught him off guard and he felt it would have been less of a concern for him if he had a job that provided CPF contributions. Once the Committee’s recommendations on CPF have been implemented, Platform Workers like Hamza will be able to tap on the additional CPF contributions to the Ordinary Account to pay for their housing loans instead of using cash. We hope that this will help to relieve the stress felt by many younger Platform Workers on servicing their housing loans. Older Platform Workers born before 1995 can opt in for CPF contributions. To Ms Hazel Poa’s question, the decision to opt in would not be reversible. Platform Workers today have a concession to opt in for CPF, which is a choice that employees do not have. Staying committed to these CPF contributions and allowing the earnings to accumulate interest over time is what will help these workers develop housing and retirement adequacy. Furthermore, in discussions with Platform Companies, it would be complex and add to compliance cost if Platform Workers are allowed to opt out after opting in. This is the feedback we get from the implementation discussions we have with these companies. We strongly recommend that older cohorts of Platform Workers opt in, as they can similarly benefit from having additional contributions by the Platform Companies to build up their retirement nest egg. In fact, with the additional CPF contributions from Platform Companies, Platform Workers aged above 65 will be able to receive the same level of CPF contributions as employees of the same age, without having to make additional CPF contributions themselves.”