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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“To ensure that our job matching services remain readily accessible to our jobseekers in the heartlands, we will maintain SGUnited Jobs and Skills Centres in all 24 HDB towns. Besides having career ambassadors deployed to the centres, we will roll out job kiosks and phone advisory services so that we can flexibly deploy career ambassadors while best meeting the needs of our jobseekers. We will also continue working with partners to provide more options for local jobseekers who are mature, long-term unemployed or persons with disabilities. We appointed Adecco as an SGUnited Jobs and Skills Placement Partner in March 2021 and have appointed two additional employment agencies, Charterhouse and Good Job Creations, this month. We will not extend the SGUnited Traineeships after it expires in March 2022. The SGUnited Traineeship programme was introduced amidst a weak labour market to provide fresh graduates with traineeship opportunities to acquire industry-relevant experience and to build up their skillsets and networks. With the economy recovering, fewer graduates are participating in the scheme. But current trainees will be supported to the end of their traineeships. 7.00 pm Sir, I will now move on to how we can drive transformation through working closely with our Tripartite Partners and industry players to provide greater support for companies and workers in their transformation journey. NTUC shares a close relationship with the Government. They champion workers' interests, as well as trust with employers and the Government to achieve win-win outcomes. Brother Heng Chee How suggested for a tripartite focus to identify priority sectors and occupations for re-skilling, especially for older workers, tapping on NTUC's Company Training Committees (CTCs).”
“Mature trainees will continue to receive training allowances of up to $3,800. However, with the recovery of the labour market, we will scale back Government funding from 90% to 70%, with the host organisations co-funding 30% of the allowance to the jobseekers. To encourage host organisations to hire the trainees earlier if they are found to be a good fit, we will allow host organisations to receive the full support quantum if the trainees were hired at least three months into the attachment. Ms Janet Ang has called on local workers to keep reskilling and to stay relevant and has highlighted CCPs as a useful way of helping our local workers to do this. I agree with her. The CCPs provide employers with substantial salary support when they hire and train mid-career hires for new job roles. Since 2016, Workforce Singapore has placed over 39,000 locals into new job roles through CCPs. We want to continue to do more. But this will require both employers and jobseekers to also do their part. I encourage employers to adopt a "plug-train-play" mindset and be prepared to train their new hires instead of expecting a perfect fit from the word go. The CCP and SGUnited Mid-Career Pathways Programme will support you. I also want to encourage jobseekers to have a more open mind to new possibilities, new opportunities and to acquire new skills. To help scale up efforts to reach out to more jobseekers, SGUnited Jobs and Skills Centres were introduced in June 2020 amidst the COVID-19 situation in all of our 24 HDB towns to provide career advisory and coaching services, as well as curate job opportunities available in the vicinity of our jobseekers.”
“We hope that this will encourage employers to give them a chance, to hire them and train them if needed, so that they can eventually form an integral part of your workforce. Mature workers may also need more help in making career transitions or re-entering employment. Through the SGUnited Mid-Career Pathways Programme, we have equipped workers with skills and opportunities to take on new employment. The company attachment programme allows employers to take a greater chance on unproven candidates, provide them with on-the-job training and evaluate their job fit. Even trainees who are not offered a job by the host organisation come out of the attachment equipped with skills, experience and industry contacts. Seventy-six percent of trainees who completed or exited their attachments found employment as at October 2021. Some mature workers who may continue to face challenges in finding permanent jobs may already have years of experience and would only require some training to take on their intended roles. Hence, we will retain the SGUnited Mid-Career Pathways Programme for mature jobseekers. This will complement the deeper reskilling provided by our existing Career Conversion Programmes, or CCPs. One such mature worker who was willing to undergo further training is Chan Wan Chuen. As a 45-year-old back-to-work mother who re-entered the workforce in 2020 after four years, she enrolled in the programme to upskill and improve her employability. I am glad to note that her positive mindset had paid off and she has transited well into her role as a Technology Assurance Domain Lead in UOB bank with her newly acquired skills in data analytics. Miss Rachel Ong and Mr Liang Eng Hwa have asked for more details on how this scheme will be extended.”
“We will continue to keep them in our toolkit of schemes, with some adjustments to their parameters. To address the issue of vulnerable workers who need additional support in the hiring process, we will extend the JGI. As noted by Mr Yip Hon Weng, the JGI has been effective in encouraging employers to expand on local hiring. It was introduced in September 2020 and has been extended twice since then to March 2022. Close to 509,000 locals were hired into new jobs by 67,000 businesses from September 2020 to August 2021. JGI-eligible employers have continued to hire from a wide pool of jobseekers, including half who were not employed at the point of hire. Therefore, we will extend the JGI by another six months from March 2022 to September 2022. But we will concentrate our resources on the more vulnerable jobseeker segments as I had mentioned earlier, namely, mature workers not in work for at least six months, persons with disabilities and ex-offenders. In the next phase of the JGI, employers of these groups of jobseekers will receive up to 40% salary support for the first six months, and up to 20% for the next six months. In line with previous JGI phases, employers should achieve local workforce growth and growth in local workforce earning at least $1,400 a month. This means that eligible employers may receive up to $21,600 per hire over a 12-month period. The JGI will continue to work in concert with other existing structural programmes. For instance, to support employment of persons with disabilities, we have introduced the Enabling Employment Credit, which Minister of State Gan Siow Huang will elaborate on. Together, these schemes ensure that persons with disabilities continue to be well-supported during the economic recovery.”
“Mr Chairman, I will continue along the lines of Upgrade, Uplift and Uphold as outlined by the Minister. I will elaborate on how we will upgrade the capabilities of our local workforce, uplift our vulnerable workers, as well as transform our migrant worker ecosystem to support their well-being and resilience. The SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package and the Jobs Growth Incentive (JGI) were introduced as extraordinary, time-bound measures to preserve human capital and expand local hiring amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The National Jobs Council's efforts saw more than 174,000 local jobseekers placed into jobs and skills opportunities as at end December 2021. The labour market is recovering steadily and unemployment rates continued their downward trend. But we are not completely out of the woods. The COVID-19 situation may yet evolve further. There are segments of the workforce, such as mature workers that we were more concerned about even before COVID-19 and they have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic. Nonetheless, we have made good progress despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Among the close to 509,000 local hires supported through the JGI from September 2020 to August 2021, about half were mature workers. Some mature jobseekers continue to face difficulties in finding permanent jobs. So, we will press on with tackling three structural issues. First, vulnerable workers who might need additional support in the hiring process; second, mature workers who might need help transiting to new job roles; and third, continuing the outreach to jobseekers requiring career matching services. In all three areas, some of the schemes launched during the pandemic have been especially useful and valuable in supporting the vulnerable jobseeker segments.”
“Sir, TADM does not actively track cases that are assisted on a voluntary basis, as I have said. Once they exceed the time bar, then, it is up to the parties to see if they want to proceed with some mediation by TADM, on a voluntary basis. TADM is prepared to assist them if they are both willing to still have a conversation to resolve the issue amicably. The answer is, we do not track the cases that are assisted on a voluntary basis. It is probably going to be a biased tracking anyway, for those who are prepared to proceed. In terms of the evidence where the wrongful dismissal does not have sufficient evidence, usually, as I have said, it is due to cases where the contractual terms are the reason for the termination and the claimant cannot substantiate sufficient evidence. For example, the evidence referred to would be documentary proof, it could be email correspondence. Sometimes, they are also unable to cite specific incidences in which they believe that they are wrongfully dismissed. These are the kinds of things that the TADM team look at when it assesses the ground for dismissal.”
“A large majority of the cases were either dismissed by the Magistrate or withdrawn by the claimants at the ECT – an indication that the process is working well as intended. In addition to robust in-house training on the law and the dispute resolution process, all TADM mediators undergo training by the Singapore Mediation Centre. Many of TADM's mediators have prior HR experience from varied sectors or were previously employed in the former Labour Court. TADM mediators also participate in continuing education, including studying and learning from the grounds of decisions issued by the ECT. This fosters a culture of continuous learning and ensures continuous alignment with the Courts in facilitating a fair outcome for both claimants and respondents.”
“Under the Employment Claims Act (ECA), wrongful dismissal claims must be filed within one month from the last day of employment. They must then undergo mediation at the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM). The intention is for mediation to be the first line of response, failing which claims can be adjudicated at the Employment Claims Tribunals (ECT). Each year, about 60 employees, or 6% of those seeking TADM mediation services for wrongful dismissal claims, exceeded the time limit for filing. While such claims are no longer eligible for mediation under the ECA, TADM still assists both parties to resolve the disputes if they were prepared to settle the matter amicably. For claims within the time limit, TADM assesses the facts of each claim based on the Tripartite Guidelines on Wrongful Dismissal. If TADM assesses the case to be unsubstantiated, it explains to the claimant the reasons and does not continue with the mediation process. Usually, this is because the facts as reported by the claimant showed that the employer had contractually terminated the employment in accordance with the Employment Act or the employment contract, and the employee could not cite any other facts suggesting that the termination was wrongful. Some claimants withdraw their case at this stage, after hearing TADM's assessment. Others continue their case at the ECT. TADM's approach of referring cases to ECT without mediation reduces potential burden on employers, who should not have to attend mediation for unsubstantiated claims. It also does not affect claimants' rights in any way. About 130 cases each year, or 12% of all wrongful dismissal claims, were referred to the ECT in this way. The outcomes at the ECT generally validate our mediators' assessment.”
“Between 2016 and 2020, about 20% of the affected migrant workers found new employment and about 30% chose to continue working for their current employer after the kickback issues were resolved. For the remaining workers, they chose to return home. In recent years, MOM has made use of data analytics to identify and detect unusual patterns in hiring practices to better detect cases of kickbacks. However, it is much more effective if workers come forward to report such malpractices. MOM has also utilised data mining capabilities to strengthen evidence gathering and better enable MOM to take enforcement action against errant employers. On the education and engagement front, MOM has stepped up our efforts to educate and engage migrant workers. For example, the topic on kickbacks is covered in the mandatory Settling-In Programme for first time work permit holders and MOM has published Facebook posts on identifying and reporting kickbacks which are also transmitted to migrant workers through the FWMOMCare app. Migrant workers who are asked to pay kickbacks, should immediately approach MOM for assistance. MOM will investigate and take all complaints and whistleblowing seriously. 11.31 am”
“Sir, I note that Mr Louis Ng1,2 has filed two additional oral Parliamentary Questions (PQs) and one written PQ that are scheduled for subsequent Sittings. As all the next three PQs he has filed are on the issue of kickbacks, I will be addressing all these three PQs together with this particular one, please. The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) takes stern action against employers or any other party who collect kickbacks from migrant workers as a condition or guarantee of employment. Between 2016 and 2020, MOM took enforcement action against an average of 102 errant employers for collecting kickbacks from migrant workers. On average, there were about five migrant workers affected per employer. While the amount of kickbacks paid by each migrant worker to errant employers were recorded as part of investigation, MOM does not track this data in a structured manner. The typical amount of kickbacks paid by migrant workers could range from $1,000 to $3,000. Once a kickback is being investigated, employers will not be allowed to repatriate the affected workers. To further support the migrant workers who are victims of kickbacks, MOM refers them to employment agency partners who will help to facilitate a change of employer for those who wish to continue to work in Singapore. These employment agencies are committed not to charge the affected migrant workers any fees. This would assure workers that they can continue to stay here to earn an income when they report their employers for the collection of kickbacks. MOM will also require the accused to return the kickbacks collected to these affected workers.”
“Sir, thus far, MOM and our tripartite partners, the Singapore National Employers Federation and the National Trades Union Congress, have not come across disputes arising from employers not adhering to tripartite advisories on the health protocols for COVID-19. Employees whose employers insist on MCs for sick leave for COVID-19 infection should refer their employers to covid.gov.sg or approach the Ministry for further guidance and assistance.”
“Sir, as I have replied, the kickback offences, the penalty today is significant and the Courts have enough leeway to actually mete out harsher sentences if they want to. But yet, at the same time, that has not been exercised to the maximum. So, I think we should allow the Courts to make the judicial assessment of what the maximum fine should be because there is a lot of headroom for them to use under the current law. As for the extension of the Retention Scheme, as I have said, we are working with the trade associations because there is an implementation mechanism. If we can open it to more sectors, obviously, we can consider that. But you need a receptacle – somebody must want to take the responsibility. So far, we have been talking to trade associations within the process and the marine sectors, who were prepared to do so.”
“This is unlike the dormitory setting where our dormitory-dwelling migrant workers whose fixed place of residence is in a communal setting, making a potential re-ignition of the cases in the dormitories a health risk for many workers. Having said that, I must put on record our grateful thanks to our migrant workers for their patience, cooperation and support during this pandemic. I want to assure our migrant workers that, in line with the progressive adjustment of the Safe Management Measures for our general community, MOM will calibrate measures to allow more workers to visit the community while ensuring that the risk of COVID-19 is contained. Sir, taking good care of our migrant workers is a continual effort and MOM will continue to partner stakeholders, such as NGOs and employers, to build a better ecosystem for our migrant workers who have contributed so much to Singapore. I thank the Member for his Motion. I want to wish his daughter a happy birthday as well.”
“With COVID-19 still circulating in Singapore and the recent Omicron wave, we must not lift these rules in the dormitories too quickly and risk a re-ignition of cases which will unwind all the gains that we have so painstakingly made in the last two years. As dormitories are communal settings where transmissions can occur rapidly, MOM’s strategy is, therefore, to take a careful and calibrated approach to progressively allow more migrant workers to visit the community while actively working to make sure that their well-being is taken care of. First, we have allowed a range of social and recreation activities within the dormitories, subject to group size restrictions and safe management measures. Second, migrant workers can now visit any Recreation Centre daily. We are also working with Recreation Centre operators and community partners, as well as NGOs, to introduce programmes and new offerings to make the Recreation Centre visits much more engaging. Third, from 18 December 2021, 3,000 vaccinated migrant workers per day are allowed on community visits on weekdays and 6,000 per day on weekends as well as public holidays. While the visit slots are not fully utilised even today, we are prepared to adjust the quota to allow even more migrant workers to visit the community as the COVID-19 situation improves further. While the Member highlighted that full-time NSFs similarly stay and work in a communal setting but can remain part of the community, the key difference here is that NSFs would be able to return to their own homes, separate homes, and be quarantined when necessary.”
“As a safeguard, employers cannot compel their employees to work on their rest days, unless under exceptional circumstances. Migrant workers who are forced to do so should approach MOM for assistance and we will investigate. We share the Member’s concern on the importance of workplace safety. Fatigue and overworking can affect a worker’s safety at work. This is why the Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Council promotes the protection of workers to prevent fatigue through its Total WSH programme, WSH Council guidelines and platforms, such as the annual National WSH Campaign. Last year’s National WSH Campaign emphasised Care Time for workers to take care of their safety and health. Simple actions, such as regular exercise, constantly being hydrated and having adequate sleep, can improve one’s physical and mental health and allow workers to be more alert to unsafe acts or conditions at their workplaces. Lastly, the Member has asked to allow all vaccinated and boosted migrant workers in dormitories to enter the general community as long as they comply with the current safe management measures and testing regimes. We are very mindful that social and recreation activities are important to the well-being of migrant workers. At the same time, we are also responsible for safeguarding their health and reducing disruption to their lives and work. The good health outcomes of our workers residing in dormitories were achieved through the steadfast support and significant efforts from all our stakeholders – dormitory operators, employers and the workers themselves as well as many of the NGOs.”
“We should not introduce rigidity into this process by anchoring on an arbitrary salary point or increment rates. Employers and workers should have the flexibility to negotiate employment terms with consideration of various factors, including the worker’s skills and training, and the prevailing market conditions. Besides ensuring employment standards, we agree with the Member that all employees, including migrant workers, should have sufficient rest to ensure their well-being and safety. Last year, MOM announced our intention to implement, by end-2022, the requirement for migrant domestic workers to be given at least one rest day per month that cannot be compensated away. Migrant domestic workers work and live in their employers’ homes. Hence, having a mandatory rest day that cannot be compensated away, will provide migrant domestic workers with mental respite and also more opportunities to form a network of support outside of the households. Let me correct the Member's misperception and, that is, for migrant workers, there are protections under the Employment Act on the maximum hours that employees can work per week and per day, as well as the maximum number of overtime hours per month. These protections apply to all employees, including migrant workers and local employees. Employers are also required to grant all employees, including migrant workers, at least one rest day without pay per week, unless there is a prior written agreement between the employer and the employee to work on the rest day. The employee must also be provided monetary compensation for working on his rest day. If work is done on the rest day at the employer's request, the employee must be compensated at twice his regular rate of pay.”
“This is currently allowed in all business sectors. The Retention Scheme in the construction sector is an additional effort to retain workers whose employment has been terminated and who wish to continue working in Singapore. Under the Retention Scheme, the Singapore Contractors Association Limited (SCAL) takes over the upkeep and maintenance of these workers and matches them to another employer in the construction sector. Since its implementation in September 2021, about 430 workers have been enrolled in the scheme. We are in discussions with SCAL on extending the Retention Scheme for a few more months, to support the industry in retaining experienced workers. At the same time, as we had announced in November last year, we are working with the respective trade associations and chambers (TACs) to implement the Retention Scheme in the Marine and Process sectors as well. The TACs have been preparing for this implementation and, hopefully, would be ready soon. We will provide an update on these in due course. While these Retention Schemes play a part in ameliorating the manpower challenges faced by the industry today, the fundamental solution is to safely increase the inflow of new workers into Singapore. MOM has, therefore, been facilitating various industry initiatives to progressively allow more Construction, Marine and Process (CMP) sector workers into Singapore safely. Subject to the public health situation, we will continue these efforts to bring in workers safely to support the needs of the industry. The Member also suggested salary controls for workers who transfer to a new employer. Salary is one of many factors that workers and employers may consider when negotiating a new employment.”
“This indicates that the current maximum in terms of fine or imprisonment term for the collection of kickbacks has been sufficient for the Courts to impose sentences that reflect the gravity of offences in all previous cases. On top of the fines and imprisonment terms meted out, the Courts are also obligated to order the offender to pay a sum which is equal to the amount of the sum or other benefit that the offender had deducted or received. Besides the strict penalties, MOM also actively enforces against employers, unlicensed agents or employment agencies, who collected kickbacks from migrant workers. In recent years, MOM made use of data analytics to identify and detect unusual patterns in hiring practices more quickly and accurately. This has helped MOM to proactively detect cases of employment kickbacks, in addition to complaints that we receive directly. Migrant workers who are pressurised into giving kickbacks should step forward and report the matter to MOM. Our FAST Team officers were deployed to dormitories or to reach out to the NGOs, many of whom are very active in the dormitories today, such as the Migrant Workers Centre. We share the Member’s view that migrant workers who are treated unfairly should be allowed to change employers. Migrant workers with valid employment claims, including those who have been forced to pay kickbacks, are permitted to transfer to another employer and continue working here in Singapore. This is an important safeguard for migrant workers who have been unfairly treated. In addition, measures are in place to facilitate the retention of experienced Work Permit holders in Singapore. Workers can transfer to a new employer at the end of their contract, without the need for the current employer’s consent.”
“Thank you, Sir. Sir, I thank the Member for sharing his concerns and suggestions on how we can create a fairer and more inclusive Singapore for our migrant workers. Indeed, migrant workers have and will continue to contribute immensely to Singapore’s development. They are welcomed members of our society. And MOM is committed to ensure that our migrant workers are treated fairly and that their employment rights and well-being are safeguarded during their time here in Singapore. MOM agrees with the Member that the collection of employment kickbacks is a serious offence as it shifts the burden of employment costs from employers to workers and increases the debt burden on the migrant workers. Thus, MOM undertakes a multi-pronged approach to detect and deter the collection of employment kickbacks from migrant workers. Under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act (EFMA), accused persons, upon conviction, may be sentenced to imprisonment for up to two years or a fine of up to $30,000, or both – per charge. Those who abet the collection of kickbacks will face the same penalties. To the Member’s suggestion to increase the penalties for kickback offences to match the maximum penalty for bribery cases, I would like to highlight that accused persons can be charged on a per-worker basis. For instance, in 2018, an employer was fined a total of $120,000 for 10 charges for collecting kickbacks from migrant workers. This, in fact, is higher than the $100,000 penalty suggested by the Member. Substantial fines of $7,000 to $12,000 per charge or short imprisonment terms have been imposed by the Courts. These sentences have not approached the maximum fine or imprisonment term set out under the EFMA currently.”
“There is an urgent need for the population to take action and participate in improving their health as we emerge from COVID-19. Sir, I urge all Singaporeans to play an active role in their own health journey by making sensible lifestyle choices and informed decisions. MOH, together with relevant stakeholders, will also continually refine our approach to preventive health to bring about a healthier Singapore.”
“As of end December 2021, HPB has reached more than 1.24 million workers, with more than 213,000 workers participating in both virtual and face-to-face programme sessions. Today, doctors are supported by the National Electronic Health Records to access their patients' records for patient management. Singaporeans have access to own consolidated health records and eligibility for screening subsidies through Health Hub to empower self-management. We will also certainly leverage on technology and analytics to transform citizens' experience in health promotion programmes, moving from a "one-size-fits-all" approach to a more precise and personalised approach. LumiHealth, an example that the Member has quoted, was launched in 2020, is one such intervention that has empowered individuals to take charge of their health through precise and personalised insights and recommendations. The programme has encouraged participants to be more active, with their daily exercise minutes increased by over 39% when compared to the month before they started on the programme. Sir, MOH conducts regular population health surveys and is able to examine health behaviours and outcomes of the different population segments. These reports are actually publicly available via the MOH website. While we have made progress over the years, the latest National Population Health Survey 2020 saw an increase in the prevalence of hypertension and hyperlipidemia and a reduction in the prevalence of Singaporeans with sufficient total physical activity and screening participation, partly due to the COVID-19 disruptions. There is a need to double up the preventive health efforts as we seek to regain the momentum and improvements that were lost due to the impact of COVID-19.”
“In fact, a Care Coordinator from Changi General Hospital serves as an "account manager" to help coordinate the health journey of the participant and helps transmit data, helps to coordinate the programme between the GP, the coach and the dietician. This entire process will be data-driven such that the GPs and the coaches have a shared view of the progress, participation and target goals that the individual has achieved. Suitable incentives and gamification can eventually be built into this process to further encourage and ingrain healthier habits. The "Health Up!" integrated approach aims to build an ecosystem within the community and centre around the individual so that this, hopefully, provides stronger support to encourage more upstream preventive health. MOH is also moving upstream to promote healthy lifestyle by adopting a life-course approach. Healthy habits start young – prevention is better than cure. HPB works with MOE and the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) to provide school health promotion initiatives and healthier food options for students in preschools and our schools. For the general adult population, our health promotion efforts include public education to increase health literacy and awareness of modifiable lifestyle risk factors for chronic diseases with health messages. Together with MOM and other partners, HPB also aims to improve the health of working adults by transforming workplace clusters into Healthy Workplace Ecosystems (HWEs) through partnering developers and key industry partners to deliver customised programmes to mature workers in seven priority sectors and the gig economy workers. Programmes are also offered directly to companies, including SMEs and mid- to large-sized companies and organisations.”
“Over the years, we have built a strong foundation in various key domains across different agencies: health promotion under HPB, health screening and chronic disease management by our GP clinics and polyclinics as well as our Healthcare Clusters, promoting sports and active lifestyle by Active SG and encouraging citizens to remain active in our Community Clubs and interest groups Having built up all these key pieces, we now move to enhance the delivery of evidence-based preventive health to the population by integrating them together. For example, the "Health Up!" initiative in Tampines, an initiative led by SingHealth polyclinics, in partnership with agencies, such as HPB, Changi General Hospital, Tampines GRC and SportSG, is a very good example of how the different stakeholders have come together to provide a holistic and structured health journey for residents by increasing awareness of healthy lifestyle habits and promoting appropriate screening for disease. With this integrative approach, a resident who undergoes health screening by the GP to determine the health parameters that needed improvement – could be his BMI, could be his blood control targets – can be subsequently assessed by a fitness coach under Active SG to customise a fitness regime targeting these particular goals. A structured exercise regime which also connects the resident with the Community Sports Club builds a network of peer support, friendships, peer groups, that eventually enables a sustained active lifestyle. Dietary counselling is also provided where needed.”
“All adult Singaporeans are eligible for means-tested subsidies at both CHAS GP clinics and polyclinics for recommended vaccinations under the the National Adult Immunisation Schedule (NAIS). MediSave can also be used for any approved NAIS vaccinations, which means that co-payment could, in fact, be zero. And this includes influenza vaccination for our elderly. MOH also uses other touchpoints to increase adoption of these important vaccinations. For example, the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine that Mr Leon Perera talked about was actually introduced as a part of the school health programme in 2019 – a few years ago now. And all cohorts of Secondary 1 female students are offered the fully subsidised HPV vaccine in their respective schools. Fully subsidised means it is free. This is in addition to fully subsidised vaccinations provided as part of the immunisation schedule delivered in schools via HPB's School Health Service. MOH has also been working with our primary care partners to increase vaccination uptake, especially among seniors, for influenza and pneumococcal vaccinations. Seniors are also able to learn more about the importance of vaccinations through interactive health workshops conducted within the community and through online platforms. Tackling preventive health requires an "integrated" as well as a "life-course" approach.”
“But, alas, in real life, changing mindset and health-seeking beliefs is not something that policy or clinical protocols alone can change. For example, the national Screen for Life (SFL) programme was introduced across more than 1,100 CHAS GP clinics to provide easy access to affordable and appropriate screening for eligible persons for cardiovascular disease risk factors, such as diabetes, high blood pressure and high blood cholesterol, and also certain cancers, like cancers of the breast, cervix and colon/rectum. Eligible individuals pay no more than $5 for screening under SFL and MediSave can be used for approved screenings, including colonoscopy screening for colon cancer. In fact, based on the National Population Health Survey (NPHS) done in 2020, despite efforts to make screening accessible and affordable for all, cancer screening uptake rates remained between only 40% and 50% for each of these three cancers: cervical, breast and colorectal. This illustrates the point that despite efforts to reduce the cost barrier to screening, more still needs to be done to address the individual’s perceptions, their barriers, their fears, to undergo screening. We have to do more to nudge them to undertake screening. Vaccination is an important component of preventive health interventions, a point that Mr Leon Perera also made. In fact, all recommended vaccinations under the National Childhood Immunisation Schedule (NCIS) are free for Singaporean children at polyclinics and CHAS GP clinics under the Vaccination and Child Development Screening Subsidies (VCDSS) as part of the Government's efforts to support marriage and parenthood and to encourage vaccinations on a cohort basis. So, Mr Leon Perera's call for free vaccination is already, in effect, being done.”
“In comments made during the Ministerial panel on Primary Care at the session of the WHO Regional Committee for the Western Pacific held in October 2021, Minister Ong also shared that MOH was looking to change the system focus from acute hospital care back to preventive care provided in the community and primary care settings, which would result in a very good quality system that is also sustainable. Since then, we have been engaged in dialogues and in-depth discussions with our GP leaders and many in our Healthcare Cluster leadership. One of the things we discussed is on the possibility of a capitation model, to transform our primary care providers' way of engaging with our patients. So, MOH's big push to revamp preventive care in recent months is really no big secret. And we thank Mr Leon Perera for weighing in, and supporting this move, including providing some useful suggestions. Over the weekend, in fact, at the topping-out ceremony of the Woodlands Health Campus, Minister Ong Ye Kung said that he would be announcing a national programme focusing on preventive care at the coming Committee of Supply. So, I hope Mr Leon Perera and the Workers' Party Members will give it their full support at the Committee of Supply. Mr Leon Perera suggested more subsidies and incentives to promote screening. His underlying assumption is that if we make things cheaper, in fact, make it free, the take-up rate will improve. But actually, having sat across the table with many patients, advising them on health screening, in preventive health, the hardest hurdle to overcome is the mindset and health beliefs of the individual. We all know what is good for us, health-wise. Every doctor counsels and wants his patients to go and do the right things for his own health.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, Mr Leon Perera spoke about rethinking preventive health. I thank him for the suggestions that he has made. These are useful improvements that MOH will consider, but I would not describe them as a rethink of preventive health. In fact, improving preventive health has been on the agenda of MOH for many years now. In 2016, MOH put forth the Action Plan for Primary Care 2.0, to anchor the role of GPs in chronic disease management, a point which Mr Leon Perera has made, to make GPs the anchor. This, in fact, set the stage for the formation of Primary Care Networks (PCN) to strengthen the doctor-patient relationship in the management of chronic diseases. The Community Health Assist Scheme (CHAS) was also enhanced to support the financing. In 2017, MOH announced our "three Beyonds" strategy: Beyond healthcare to health; Beyond hospital to community; and Beyond quality to value. Minister Gan Kim Yong, in his Committee of Supply 2017 speech, emphasised the importance of focusing on early interventions and healthy lifestyle choices to go "Beyond Healthcare to Health". And he further gave the example of how one front of the war on diabetes would be fought via healthy living and prevention, encouraging the population to stay active and eat healthy to reduce the risk of diabetes. At the MOH Workplan Seminar last year – which was his first public speech as Minister for Health – Minister Ong Ye Kung focused his speech on preventive care, emphasising how interventions should move and have moved upstream to tackle lifestyle risk factors for chronic diseases.”
“The most effective has been tobacco tax. Several economic studies have reached a consensus that for every 10% increase in real price, there will be about a 3% to 5% decrease in overall tobacco consumption, a 3.5% reduction in young people taking up smoking and a total of about 7% reduction of kids taking up smoking as well. But it was last increased in 2018. So, with inflation and income increases, the tax burden gets eroded over time and we will have to continue to work with MOF to review the tobacco tax rate.”
“The most effective has been tobacco tax. Several economic studies have reached a consensus that for every 10% increase in real price, there will be about a 3% to 5% decrease in overall tobacco consumption, a 3.5% reduction in young people taking up smoking and a total of about 3% to 5% reduction of new young people taking up smoking as well. But it was last increased in 2018. So, with inflation and income increases, the tax burden gets eroded over time and we will have to continue to work with MOF to review the tobacco tax rate. [Please refer to “Number of Singaporeans Who Have Given Up Smoking in Past Two Years and Proposal to Consider Total Ban on Sale of Tobacco Products”, Official Report, 11 January 2022, Vol 95, Issue No 45, Oral Answers to Questions section.] [(proc text) Written statement by Dr Koh Poh Koon circulated with leave of the Speaker in accordance with Standing Order No 29(5): (proc text)] I wish to make the following factual correction to the reply given during the address of Question Nos 10 to 14 at the Sitting of 11 January 2022. My reply should read as follows:”
“We will need to do more to enforce the current ban, to push back against the tide of popularity and increasing use. If vaping becomes entrenched amongst the younger population, it undoes all the progress we made on curbing smoking and will take an enormous effort over many years to curb its use. Although New Zealand has announced a cohort smoking ban, it promotes vaping as an alternative to smoking. So, over time, the habit may well shift from smoking to vaping, which in itself is still harmful. Third, the challenge with a cohort ban is in enforcement. For such a ban to be effective, we would need to introduce laws to penalise older persons who are not subject to the ban but for abetting offences such as supplying tobacco products to the affected cohorts. A similar proposal was discussed in Parliament in 2016 when amendments to the Tobacco (Control of Advertisements and Sale) Act were introduced and MOH explained the challenge of implementation and enforcement then. Nevertheless, we remain open to the idea. New Zealand’s announced ban will be the first time a country will be implementing such a ban at the national level. We will study how New Zealand implements the ban, its effectiveness and how their experience could be applied here to Singapore. My Ministry will continue to enhance our approach to tobacco control, through public education, provision of smoking cessation services, legislation and taxation. We will also study new measures to further reduce access to tobacco products and tackle vaping, particularly among our youths. 1.35 pm”
“This aims to denormalise tobacco use among youth below the age of 21, restrict their access to tobacco products in their social circles and hence, reduce the likelihood of smoking initiation. It has contributed to a decline in smoking among younger adults aged 18 to 29 years, from 9.8% in 2017 to 8.8% in 2020. The Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Health Promotion Board (HPB) will be piloting a new smoking cessation programme where eligible individuals will be offered subsidised Nicotine Replacement Therapy that is complemented with counselling in public healthcare institutions. Smokers who are looking for support to quit can also join HPB's I Quit Programme. It offers smokers a range of smoking cessation interventions, such as phone or face-to-face counselling, or frequent nudges via text messages to encourage participants to sustain their behaviours. There have been several questions raised by Members of Parliament on New Zealand's recently announced cohort smoking ban. It is an attractive proposal, in that it prevents young people from taking up smoking while not putting too many restrictions on older smokers. Then, of course, as the years go by, more and more cohorts are smoking free. MOH is open to studying such a policy. But we need to take into account a few considerations. First, in Singapore's case, young people are generally not taking up smoking, unlike the youths in many other countries. Our youths today no longer see smoking as glamorous and are aware of its harms. Second, our bigger challenge amongst the young people here are e-cigarettes, which are still tobacco products and harmful to the users, despite its fruity flavours. It is, therefore, outrightly banned here in Singapore. But with e-commerce, they still find their way here.”
“Sir, smoking and second-hand smoke exposure are associated with at least 11 major medical conditions that accounted for about $180 million of healthcare cost in 2019. Our consistent policy approach has been to reduce our smoking rates and encourage smokers to quit. We do not have comparable figures of the smoking quit rate in the past two years as requested by Dr Lim Wee Kiak. But our tobacco control measures have been successful. It has progressively reduced smoking prevalence rates from 11.8% in 2017 to 10.1% in 2020. The most effective has been tobacco tax. Several economic studies have reached a consensus that for every 10% increase in real price, there will be about a 3% to 5% decrease in overall tobacco consumption, a 3.5% reduction in young people taking up smoking and a total of about 3% to 5% reduction of new young people taking up smoking as well. [Please refer to " Clarification by Senior Minister of State for Health ", Official Report, 11 January 2022, Vol 95, Issue No 45, Corrections by Written Statement section.] But it was last increased in 2018. So, with inflation and income increases, the tax burden gets eroded over time and we will have to continue to work with the Ministry of Finance (MOF) to review the tobacco tax rate. In 2020, standardised packaging and enhanced graphic health warnings were required for all tobacco products sold here in Singapore to reduce the attractiveness of cigarettes. It is, however, still too early to evaluate the effectiveness of this measure. We also progressively raised the minimum legal age for smoking from 19 years in 2019 to 21 years in January 2021.”
“Mr Speaker, with your permission, can I take Question Nos 10 to 14 together, please?”
“They are quite familiar with the setting, they are quite familiar with the standards that are to be expected on a day-to-day basis and they again, form another channel of feedback to the relevant authorities and to the NGOs as well, if standards were to drop. The final one is that MWC runs a hotline where all foreign workers who face challenges and they cannot get through to the employers or to anyone else, can call this hotline where they can directly give feedback to MWC as well as the ambassadors who speak their native languages to collate all the feedback. So, I think there is no shortage of feedback. Clearly, some of these things, if there were language barriers, we need to look into that. In this case, I think they were very much newly arrived workers, they may not be exactly familiar with many of these resources opened to them. This is where we need to communicate to them that there are avenues they can seek redress from. We will also take this chance to impress on all employers that it is their responsibility and their obligation to make sure that they provide food of decent quality and hygiene standard that their workers can consume. If there are investigations that show that employers have actually violated any of these obligations, we will take them to task.”
“Sir, I do not know how the Member can get the feedback from these workers for years and years when they all just arrived in July this year. So, I am not sure whether such a claim is absolutely correct that this complaint has been going on for years and years. These workers have been here for less than four months. Regulations that apply to dorm caterers, yes, I think it is a standard that we apply across to all catering, whether it is to the dorms or for other public consumption. Regarding feedback for standards of food hygiene, there are various avenues in which the workers can feed back. First, we have now the FWMOMCare app, which is an app that all foreign workers can download onto their smart phones. Through this app, they can feedback directly to MOM, to ACE, for example, on any issues relating to their dorm conditions, including food. So, that is something through which workers have direct access to our agencies. The second thing is that there are volunteer groups, NGOs who are in regular contact with our workers – what we call Friends of ACE – when they are organising activities, when they interact with the workers, this is again another channel of feedback. I must say our NGOs are very, very much pro-workers. They will not hesitate to tell us when there is any feedback that they receive regarding sub-standard accommodation or food. The third is that the Migrant Workers' Centre (MWC) has established a network of what we call Migrant Worker Ambassadors who are scattered throughout all the different dormitories. These are foreign workers themselves, staying in the dormitories, who have been here in Singapore for many years; some of them, even for a decade.”
“Members would also have read from our previous announcement that from today, 1 November onwards, only work pass holders who are fully vaccinated will be allowed to enter Singapore for work. This would be an adjustment that we are making from today onwards, in line with our endemic posture to make sure that anybody who is applying for a work pass, we make sure that they are vaccinated before allowing them to come in. So, this is a gap that will gradually narrow over time. We are now digesting the group of people who came in just before that, who may then have a certain vaccination gap that we need to fill.”
“In fact, the Embassy came in only on 14 October, for example, to also provide some of these supplies like masks, hand sanitisers. These were useful as a psychological boost for our workers; but by themselves, they would not be able to address the medical needs. So, it is quite clear from the sequence of events, the team was on the ground early on to try and manage the medical situation. As to the second question of why there were so many so-called unvaccinated workers coming to Singapore, you must remember that this happened when the workers came in three, four months ago. The earlier batches came in at about mid-July and then, another bulk of them came in at around August. At that time, we were still in the "zero COVID-19" situation. We were trying to contain the numbers., but we had imposed Not to Land (NTL) on some of the high-risk countries. For low-risk countries, we did not impose NTL for them. China is one of those countries where they have very low COVID-19 numbers and we did not impose NTL on China workers coming in at that time. At that time also, our dorms were not into the endemic posture, and so, even if the workers turned out not to be vaccinated, there was a way to keep them safe. But in this process, by October, we were transiting to more of an endemic posture. Those workers, who came in earlier on when we were still pursuing a zero-COVID-19 type of strategy, were therefore caught in that transition if their vaccination status was not up to the mark in terms of personal protection. That is why we are encouraging both the workers and employers to get this thing sorted out as soon as possible and for those who are yet to be vaccinated, to get them vaccinated.”
“Mr Speaker, I thank Mr Desmond Choo for these two questions. On the first question relating to why the NGOs were not brought in earlier, let me explain that when the surge in cases occurred, the topmost priority in the minds of our ACE officers who went in on 9 and 10 October was to augment the dorm operators, the topmost priority was really to do the processing and to do the triaging of those who may have need for medical care. On 9 October, a mobile clinical team was deployed onsite to help cope with the load of increased number of residents who might need medical attention or seek consultation. So, the priority there was very clear. It is about making sure that our team on the ground focused on what is the most urgent need and that was to take care of the medical conditions – make sure they are well, make sure they are safe medically, first. The next priority then was to ensure that we can stitch the logistics together and make sure there is enough conveyancing capacity to bring these workers to the necessary isolation facilities. That situation with COVID-19 cases going up in the dorm, it would not be appropriate to allow NGOs to be exposed to the risk of infection in a dorm like this. Because the work then was about medical care, was about conveyancing. It is not necessarily something that the NGOs have the capability to provide as well. Therefore, that is the reason why in the first few days, our ACE officers were working with resources we have with the dorm operators to make sure that these important needs are met. When the situation had calmed down – after 13 October, by that night, as I said, 70% had been conveyed; and by the next morning, by 14 October, all the rest of the backlog had been cleared – this was when the rest of the NGOs came in.”
“That, again, offers another outlet for them to access services, to also have the necessary interactions that they need at the recreation centres, on top of the community visits that we are liberalising.”
“So, we do make sure that our ACE officers are prioritised in terms of going to the dormitories that need help rather than have them spread thin over all the many places. In a way, it is about risk-strategising and prioritisation. At this moment, we are working with what we have. When there is a need to, if there is a real major surge in demand that we need to augment our numbers, we will look at increasing the number of ACE officers that we need to deploy. The second question pertains to how much more we can do in liberalising community visits for our dormitory workers. I must say that our dormitory workers have been very, very patient and they have actually gone through a lot in the last one and a half years or so. In the past month or so, we have started a community pilot: visits for workers to go into the community. We started with about 500 and then, with the success of that pilot, you will see in today's newspaper that an announcement has been made over the weekend. Minister Tan See Leng himself visited one of the Hindu temples with many of our migrant workers. And we are going to increase that number to 3,000 workers a week, especially with this festivity of Deepavali coming along, many of them will be looking forward to community visits as well. Progressively, as we stabilise the dormitory recovery process, as the community also gets adjusted to Home Recovery Programme, as we move more and more into the endemic state, I believe that we can gradually reopen with a lot more numbers to allow our workers to access more community facilities. We are also liberalising the number of times our vaccinated workers in the dormitories can go to the recreation centres as well. So, there are less restrictions going to recreation centres.”
“Sir, the Member asked two questions. The first one is on whether we have enough ACE officers to cover the number of dormitories we have. The reality is that we have 1,300 dormitories, big and small. There will never be enough to go around on a regular basis, to plant people in all 1,300 dormitories. How we go about doing this is to leverage the partnership we have with our stakeholders: the dormitory operators, the employers and, of course, we have volunteers within the migrant worker community, the friends of ACE, where they are also ambassadors, where they are migrant workers themselves who have been here for some time. They are trained and equipped with some of the basic knowledge to share information with their fellow workers, to help spread the message and also to help to collate feedback and channel this upwards to all of us. So, in a way, it is about leveraging the multiplier effect of everyone pitching their hands in and working together. As the Member will appreciate, to have operations within 1,300 dormitories, big and small, with different phases perhaps of infection, of liberalisation of going to the community or going to work. The work necessary to coordinate across all the different stakeholders as well as to ensure that when a case is detected; documentation of the COVID-19-positive result; churning out a nominal roll, a name list; communicating the need for conveyance and then for the team to arrange for the necessary transportation; having also the receiving party at the other end, at the dormitory recovery facilities (DRFs) or the centralised recovery facilities (CRFs), for example, is a necessary complex process that involves quite a bit of communication and coordination.”
“On the dormitory operator's part, they struggled to cope with the surge in numbers. On ACE's part, we stepped in but did not put in sufficient resources in time to resolve the problem. Following the incident, all parties have diligently addressed the issues, restored calm to the dormitory and to the workers. We have also conducted a thorough review and tightened up the processes, especially for escalating and calling in more resources to deal with a surge in cases that need to be conveyed. ACE has also tightened up coordination and communication with dormitory operators and employers when handling mass testing exercises and a surge in cases. Investigations into failures to fulfil regulatory obligations, for example, in food safety and hygiene issues, are ongoing. All parties across our more than 1,300 dormitories, whether it is dormitory operators, employers and ACE officers on the ground, play important roles to support the recovery of our migrant workers. More than 17,000 migrant workers have recovered under the Dormitory Recovery Programme with the support and hard work of all these partners. We will learn from this episode and continue to strengthen the partnership with all stakeholders and community partners to ensure the well-being of our migrant workers as we transit into endemicity.”
“We also call on workers who are not vaccinated or not verified – if they are vaccinated overseas – to complete their vaccination or verification as soon as possible as this will protect them from serious illnesses. MOM and sector agencies will monitor this progress. We also saw many of our partners coming in to support the workers after the incident on 13 October. We are very grateful and encouraged by the outpouring of support by the Chinese business community, the Chinese Embassy, NGOs like HealthServe, Migrant Workers' Centre and the wider community. This is testimony to the civic-mindedness and big-heartedness of our community here in Singapore. Thank you so much for your help! This is similar to how, at the height of the pandemic last year, MOM worked with the High Commissions of India and of Bangladesh, as well as various NGOs to support our migrant workers, including celebrating festive occasions with them. We thank all parties for their contributions and donations, and we will continue to work together to care for our migrant workers. Workers also raised concerns about the quality and hygiene standards of food provided by Sembcorp Marine. We take this very seriously and have asked the employer to address the complaints. The employer has reported that they have made improvements to the food and the feedback from the workers has been positive. The Ministry will not hesitate to take actions against any errant employer who fails to ensure workers' access to safe food. The Singapore Food Agency is also investigating the food safety practices of this particular caterer. Sir, in summary, there were shortcomings by all parties. On the employer's part, workers were upset and had raised issues about food quality and hygiene.”
“In addition, ACE officers, together with the employer and dormitory operator, engaged the workers and assured them that their feedback would be looked into and there would be timely conveyance of infected individuals. The workers calmed down and returned to their rooms. ACE also deployed a mobile clinical team to the dormitory to augment the existing medical services that were already available to the residents at Westlite Jalan Tukang Dormitory through the regional medical centres and telemedicine. All those who wanted to seek medical attention were seen by the medical team on site on the same day. This helped to reduce the waiting time and allay much of the fears and anxieties that the workers experienced. The situation has been calm in the dormitory since 13 October. Over the following days and weeks, ACE officers, together with the employer and dormitory operator, continued to be at the dormitory every day to engage the workers. In fact, over the last two weeks, ACE has introduced more videos and infographics to better explain Singapore’s strategy for dealing with COVID-19 and the recovery process in our dormitories, in view that the newly-arrived workers at the dormitory were used to a different COVID-19 management strategy in their home country. In particular, there are now videos of migrant workers sharing their recovery journey and assuring their fellow migrant workers, as well as videos of doctors answering common questions from migrant workers in their own native languages. So, I urge employers and dormitory operators to do more to help our workers adjust to the new normal, communicate changes that will affect workers’ well-being and actively address potential knowledge gaps of their workers and residents.”
“On 10 October, there were 174 newly detected Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and Antigen Rapid Test (ART) positive cases. However, the dormitory operator had difficulty processing the sudden surge of workers that needed to be conveyed. The next day, on 11 October, some key members of the dormitory staff did not come to work as they themselves had tested positive. The Assurance, Care and Engagement Group or ACE officers on the ground stepped in on that day to assist the operator. In response to the sharp increase in the number of COVID-19 cases on 10 October, Sembcorp Marine and ACE carried out a mass testing exercise on 12 October at the worksite and dormitory which yielded another 278 COVID-19-positive cases that needed to be conveyed from the dormitory to a CRF if they were vaccinated, or to another appropriate isolation facility if they were unvaccinated. This happened while the team was trying to process the previous surge, and the dormitory operator struggled to process the high volume. While ACE officers tried to assist the operator between 11 and 12 October, it, too, did not put in enough resources during this time to triage, process and convey the COVID-19-positive workers before the second surge on 13 October. Sir, following the incident on 13 October, ACE took swift actions since that afternoon to stabilise the situation. First, we doubled the number of officers to manage the conveyance of all infected workers from the dormitory such that, by the evening of 13 October, about 70% of the workers needing conveyance had been sent to the appropriate recovery or isolation facilities. By the next day, on 14 October, the backlog was cleared.”
“The small minority who developed symptoms continued to have access to medical support through daily sick parades at our regional medical centres or telemedicine consultations which are available 24/7. Mobile Clinical Teams may also be deployed to DRFs or CRFs with high report sick rate to augment access to primary care. In fact, fewer than 0.2% needed to be admitted to the hospital. The workers appreciate the convenience of dormitory recovery since they can return quickly to their rooms on discharge and resume work very rapidly. Let me now give an account of the events at Westlite Jalan Tukang Dormitory. This dormitory has about 3,000 residents. About half of them are employed by Sembcorp Marine and almost all of them are newly arrived workers from China in the last three to four months. These workers were offered vaccination under our national vaccination programme, with a small number taking it up. The employer has since clarified that these workers had been vaccinated in their home country before arriving in Singapore. The vaccination status of these workers needed to be verified through a serology test and WHO-EUL vaccination documentation before we can register them as being vaccinated in Singapore. MOM has been working with the employer to expedite the verification. Progress has been made. To date, about 60% of the Sembcorp Marine workers have been verified to have received WHO-EUL-approved vaccines, while a number have not been vaccinated with WHO-EUL vaccines and we encourage them to be vaccinated in Singapore for their own protection. Following the implementation of the Dormitory Recovery Programme on 2 October, the dormitory operator began adjusting to these new protocols.”
“Let me first explain the healthcare and recovery protocol for the dormitory residents to set the context. In line with the shift to the Home Recovery Programme in our community, the dormitories have phased in a Dormitory Recovery Programme since 2 October in the transition towards "living with COVID-19". Ninety-eight percent of dormitory residents are fully vaccinated and most are below the age of 60. A vast majority of recent infections are asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic. Forty-five larger dormitories now have dedicated blocks or rooms set aside within their compounds as Dormitory Recovery Facilities (DRFs). COVID-19-positive vaccinated workers who are asymptomatic or only mildly symptomatic can recuperate and be monitored in DRFs while being segregated from other workers. Additionally, we have set up three Centralised Recovery Facilities (CRFs) in the larger dormitories to cater for workers who do not have access to the 45 DRFs. The 45 DRFs and three CRFs together have a total of 11,000 recovery beds. We will expand these recovery capacities if needed. We have also aligned testing protocols in the DRFs and CRFs with the rest of our community. Workers who test negative on their supervised Antigen Rapid Tests (ARTs) after 72 hours of isolation can be discharged. Workers are given thermometers and oximeters to monitor themselves three times a day and report these numbers. A recovery buddy is designated in each room to help with the dissemination of information and to monitor the health of fellow migrant workers. The dormitory operator also checks on them regularly. So far, over 17,000 workers have gone through the Dormitory Recovery Programme and have safely recovered. The majority were discharged by Day 7 and about half of them were discharged by Day 4.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, several Members have filed questions relating to the situation at Westlite Jalan Tukang Dormitory and with your permission, Sir, may I ask to take Question Nos 31 to 39 together, please?”
“I thank the Member. I think this is well taken. The committee will take into consideration all these suggestions and points that have been raised. We will come up with a set of guidelines. Hopefully, with legislation, they will protect the employees better.”
“Sir, let me assure and reassure the Member that the Employment Act today protects employees against dismissals without just cause or excuse. If the employee does feel discriminated against because of whistle-blowing, then the employee should approach MOM or TAFEP for guidance and we can render any assistance that is needed to further investigate the allegations of such issues against whistle-blowing. And we will take into consideration when we take any enforcement action against the employer for targeting the employee for whistle-blowing. To reassure the Member as well, TAFEP, in their experience in dealing with such cases, these incidences are actually very rare and far in between. But having said that, anyone who feels that they have been targeted because of whistle-blowing, please let MOM and TAFEP know.”