Lee Boon Yang
Singapore
“6 The other guidelines are that there must be a post office sited within 5 km of every private residential estate and within 1 km of any commercial or industrial estate. MAID LEVY CONCESSION (Applications by the disabled) 32.”
“Madam, can I quickly respond to the point on assistive technology? Certainly this is an area of interest. We cannot say that we have the capability at this juncture but we will certainly look into what is possible and work with our ICT sector.”
“Nevertheless, if the spouse of the homemaker is working, he will be eligible for WIS if he satisfies the criteria. Husbands of homemakers are further eligible for tax relief.”
“Sir, I do not think it is quite correct to say that we always expect our own artists to perform for free or do public service. There are, of course, occasions where we do seek Singapore artists and arts companies to contribute to the national causes. For instance, when we went international for Singapore Season in China.”
“Ms Sylvia Lim asked the Minister for National Development (a) what checks does the Ministry or the National Environment Agency have in place to prevent mistaken payments to hawkers who cease operations due to upgrading works at hawker centers; (b) how did the mistaken payment of $18,000 to Mdm Lee Ah Muey come about; and (c) what will the…”
“While it was also true that initially the reaction or the response of the licensing authority was that foreigners should not participate in such an event at the Speakers' Corner - because there is already an existing prohibition against any foreigners taking part in any activities at the Speakers' Corner - subsequent assessment resulted i…”
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“Sir, the Skills Redevelopment Programme (SRP) is the Ministry's main programme to enhance the skills and employability of our lower skilled workers. Under the Skills Redevelopment Programme, enhanced financial incentives are provided for workers aged 40 and above. This is to encourage employers to equip older workers with certifiable skills that will enhance their employability. Individuals, including unemployed workers, can benefit from the SRP incentives through the SRP Surrogate Employer Scheme run by NTUC and the self-help groups. The SRP has shown encouraging results. As of end June this year, close to 54,000 training places have been achieved. This includes about 8,300 individuals who had enrolled in SRP training through the Surrogate Employer Scheme. There is good representation of older workers. Some 45% of SRP trainees are aged 40 and above. The Member has asked for an indication of the number of middle-aged workers who are able to find jobs after retraining. My Ministry and the NTUC initiated a survey last year. About 75% of workers who took up full-time SRP training after being retrenched were able to secure re-employment within three to six months after their training. When asked if SRP training had equipped them with relevant skills for their new jobs, close to 60% agreed or strongly agreed that it had done so. Mendaki, one of our SRP's Surrogate Employers, conducted a similar survey recently among the retrenched workers whom they had sent for full-time SRP training. All the respondents received job offers after completing the SRP courses. 70% of those who had undergone the programme were re-employed within three months after training. Close to 80% who were employed during the survey were also earning between $1,000 and $1,500 a month.”
“Mr Sin Boon Ann asked the Minister for Manpower if he will give an indication of the number of middle-aged workers aged 45 years who are able to find employment after having gone through some form of training and retraining to upgrade themselves.”
“We are going to encounter such ups and downs in our economic growth from time to time. We should not deviate from some fundamental positions just because we run into an occasional hiccup. We have had such a downturn before: in the mid-70s, in 1985/86 and, more recently, in 1998. We have not introduced unemployment insurance, if that is the concept that the hon. Member is suggesting, because we believe that that would just further decrease our competitiveness. Introducing unemployment insurance would be an additional cost factor for employers. We have always believed that our workers should save for the rainy day. We help them to save through the CPF mechanism, which will enable them to meet their mortgage commitments besides saving for old age. Over and above the CPF, many workers are also able to put aside additional savings of their own, particularly when we are talking about executives and professionals. I would like to remind the hon. Member that CPF contribution is capped at a ceiling of $6,000 of the salary. Income above $6,000 is not subject to CPF contribution at all. Therefore, there is tremendous opportunity for people in this category - the executives and professionals earning more than $6,000 - to put aside additional savings on their own so that they are better prepared for any sudden ups and downs in the economy. I think we should not, just because of this downturn, unscramble some fundamental principles and launch into new directions which may, in fact, have very long-term implications and may well affect our overall competitiveness in the future and make it even more difficult for us to turn the economy around. MIDDLE-AGED WORKERS (Number employed after retraining) 8.”
“I must emphasise, however, that the success of the programme will depend ultimately on the expectations of the mid-career trainees as well as employers' acceptance of the concept of "mid-career conversion." I would like to urge all employers to support the concept and provide opportunities for our mid-career executives and professionals to make such a career transition. Mr Speaker, Sir, given the economic and labour market conditions, my Ministry recognises that there would be more displacements among workers, including executives and professionals. We will work with our partners to expand existing programmes and introduce new programmes to help our workers in the months ahead.”
“The revamped Employment Town will help Internet-savvy executives and professionals in their search for jobs and learning opportunities, without them having to physically visit the career centre at my Ministry. The Ministry's job bank is also available on Employment Town. To expand the available job options, the website also provides links to other job banks, recruiters and employment agencies. It also provides information on training incentives and training providers. Sir, on the issue of retraining, executives and professionals are mostly degree and diploma holders who do not lack basic skills. Our training programmes have to be more focused. For example, my Ministry has worked with the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) on two Strategic Manpower Conversion Programmes (SMCP) to help executives and professionals make a career transition to the Infocomm sector. This programme, which was launched last year, provides funding support for employers who send existing employees or newly recruited staff for conversion training in information technology. The programme also has a Facilitator Scheme for individuals who have not been able to secure employment yet and hence are not able to get employers' funding support. Facilitators will assess the suitability of these candidates and register them for the conversion course. They will also help to place trainees with suitable employers upon completion of the course. To date, some 250 mid-career executives have benefited from the programme. Sir, in view of the economic situation, my Ministry hopes to work with economic agencies to roll out the scheme in other sectors and to expand the training numbers. A total of $40 million has been set aside under the Manpower Development Assistance Scheme (MDAS) for this programme.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, my Ministry has focused many of our employment assistance and training efforts at lower skilled workers. There are good reasons for doing so. According to our statistics and information, lower skilled workers are not only more vulnerable to retrenchments, but also find it more difficult to seek re-employment. If we do not help these workers upgrade their skills, many of them could also face the prospect of long term structural unemployment even after the economy and the labour market recover. This is not to say that we have forgotten about executives and professionals. They need help of a different kind. We offer employment assistance to displaced executives and professionals through our Career Centre, known as CareerLink@mom. The centre provides information on labour market trends, advice on job opportunities and training opportunities, and employment assistance for the unemployed. It helps all categories of job seekers, including executives and professionals, as long as they are Singapore citizens. The centre also works with organisations like the Singapore National Employers Federation and the Singapore Human Resource Institute to reach out to professionals and executives should they require employment assistance. Currently, 11% of the visitors to the centre are diploma or degree holders. And 23% of jobs in the CareerLink job bank are for professionals, managers and executives. Sir, last month, my Ministry also revamped our Employment Town website (http://www.employmenttown.gov.sg) so as to provide some of CareerLink's services over the Internet, online.”
“Sir, may I suggest that the Member write to me about the particulars of this case? Let me look into it and see what are the circumstances where such training had been extended. SERVICE AND CONSERVANCY CHARGES GRANT (Extension) 8. Mr Ang Mong Seng asked the Minister for National Development whether the Special Service and Conservancy Charges (S&CC) grant as part of the Utilities Save scheme can be extended for another year in view of the current weak economic situation.”
“Sir, 1,600 people visit our CareerLink@mom Centre, which is located in the Ministry's headquarters. At CareerLink@mom, in fact, we do offer such counselling service to those who are in need. We do help them. In fact, we even go to the extent of offering individual counselling, apart from group seminars, on seeking alternative jobs and looking for training opportunities. So we do provide some individual counselling for particularly difficult cases to examine their career background and then to help them plan training programmes so that they can take on alternative jobs. We do help where we can.”
“Sir, there are of course many other private sector employment agencies apart from my Ministry's CareerLink. NTUC also offers their union members employment assistance when they need their help in this manner. In so far as SRP is concerned, I do believe that the benefits that we offer under SRP are largely for Singaporeans.”
“Sir, I emphasised in my response that we are considering this programme. The details will probably be announced, together with what the Minister for Trade and Industry has said, later on this month. It is part of the package of assistance.”
“Sir, the Member asked what are the service sectors where there are still jobs available. I could give him some examples. For instance, the retail industry, hotels, food and beverage, food services and food production and manufacturing. We found 400 jobs which are available within these sectors that I have mentioned. He asked whether the pay is much lower than in the manufacturing sector. The good news is that, in many instances, the pay is almost the same as in the manufacturing sector. In some cases, in fact, the pay is actually higher than in the manufacturing sector. It is a viable alternative for the out-of-work Singaporeans to make an attempt to take on such jobs. His third point was: what are we doing to help workers, particularly older workers, to retrain for these jobs? I mentioned in my answer to the question from Mr Ong that we are considering a programme where we will help companies to recruit these workers, that is, we will give them financial incentives to recruit these older workers and put them through a proper training programme. If you are an employer, and you are prepared to take in this group of older retrenched workers, we will help you. We will provide you with financial support for a period of time while you are training the workers. But you must come to us and say that you have a proper training programme so that you do not abuse the system. If you are prepared to put in the effort to train the older workers, we are prepared to give you some financial assistance over a period of time so that the older workers will find it easier to acquire a skill and to adjust to the new working environment and, hopefully, settle down in the new jobs.”
“Sir, most of our investment in skills upgrading and training goes to the local workers. The priority in all our retraining programmes is for local workers. I have said this many times before in this Chamber that we encourage our employers to recruit foreign workers who are already capable of doing the job, rather than to bring unskilled foreign workers to Singapore and send them for training. After all, they have such a wide choice here. We always have millions of unemployed people outside who are looking for jobs. As an employer, they should go out there to look for persons who already possess the set of skills that they need and bring them here, rather than to bring in totally unskilled workers and put them through our training programmes. I will give the Member an example. Sir, today, if they bring in an unskilled foreign construction worker, they have to pay a monthly levy of about $470. That is to discourage the contractor from bringing in an unskilled worker and sending him to our Building and Construction Authority's training school for training. If they bring in a skilled worker, we only charge a levy of $30. So, they should go out there, look for skilled construction workers, recruit them and save over $400 per worker. Do not clutter up our training centres with foreign workers.”
“But, certainly, he or she can be trained for a job in the services sector. And today, we still have quite a number of vacancies in the services sector. As I mentioned some weeks ago, in one exercise that we carried out, we managed to find employers who could offer us 400 vacancies. So workers who are retrenched from the manufacturing sector need not be deemed unemployable. They have temporarily lost their jobs. We can help them to acquire a skill to move into the services sector. We hope that they would take up this offer and come forward. We will help to retrain them so that they can take on this job and minimise the trauma or difficulties that the family would face with prolonged unemployment.”
“Sir, I agree with the Member that as the economy restructures and also with this cyclical downturn, we may see more and more workers having difficulty finding re-employment when they lose their jobs. One main reason would be that these workers may not have the skills that are required for the new jobs. Very often, it is the older workers who face this problem, ie, workers with low education, perhaps in their late 40s, who have this difficulty of finding an alternative job. Even if the economy slows down to the lower end of the estimate of about half percent for the whole year, we do not expect the retrenchment figure to exceed the number that we have experienced in 1998 when about 29,000 workers were retrenched. As to the number of workers who are at risk, I think it will be much less than in 1998. We expect our whole year retrenchment to be around 20,000, which is already much more than what it was last year, at 11,600. As to what we can do to help this group of workers, we should not think of them as totally unemployable. They may have greater difficulty looking for jobs, but I believe that even the lower educated older worker can make a contribution provided the worker himself is willing to also make an effort. As I have explained earlier on, we have many programmes that can help him to acquire a skill to take on a job in a different sector. He may not have the ability to upgrade his skills in the sector that he has been working in, for instance, in the electronics industry, where we are seeing the majority of the retrenchments taking place. He may not have the ability to upgrade his skills to do the job in the new type of manufacturing industry where he would require sophisticated computer skills to operate very sophisticated production equipment.”
“Sir, I think employers are quite amenable to this suggestion. We have teams that go out to talk to employers who come to us and tell us that they have difficulty and they may have to lay off workers. I understand that, at least in the unionised sector, there are already about 30,000 workers who are on such alternative-to-retrenchment programmes, either voluntary pay-cut or shorter work-week or some other form of adjustment, including sending workers who are due for retrenchment or who are facing retrenchment to full-time Skills Redevelopment Programmes. In general, I would say that employers are cooperative and they will try to help wherever possible. But, as I have said in my answer, there will always be those companies which are facing such enormous difficulties that they have no recourse but to let people go. We will step in to help those workers who are released to find alternative jobs. But it also means that these retrenched workers have to be more realistic and they have to be prepared to take on jobs in different sectors. They may be required to take on jobs which they have not done before. It is here where we will step in to help them to acquire the new skills that they need to do those jobs.”
“If we make it difficult for companies to meet their skilled manpower needs, our attractiveness as an open business-friendly location will diminish. Closing the door to global talents now will send a wrong signal to the people whom we are trying to attract, and it will do us harm in the long term. We will help local workers with upgrading and skills conversion programmes which I have mentioned earlier on in my reply to the hon. Member's first question. These programmes will be broadened and enhanced to help, in particular, the older workers. The best way to help in a downturn is to arm our people with the skills which they will need to remain employable in a changing job market.”
“In the final analysis, the success of our efforts will also depend on the willingness of unemployed workers to upgrade their skills and to adapt to a more difficult job market. With regard to his other question, let me explain that our foreign manpower policy is to maintain a controlled and revolving pool of unskilled foreign workers while facilitating the recruitment of global talents and professionals. Hence, for unskilled foreign workers on work permits, we have control mechanisms, such as the foreign worker levy and dependency ceiling, to ensure that employers do not become over-reliant on foreign workers at the expense of local workers. However, even in an economic downturn, as my colleague, the Minister for Trade and Industry, had already touched upon, we cannot totally deny employers access to foreign workers or require them to fill vacancies with only local workers. This is because there are companies with genuine needs for foreign workers to perform jobs that locals do not have the skills for, or jobs which many local workers are not prepared to do. Direct intervention beyond the broad controls will only result in hardship for these companies. This could prompt them to relocate to neighbouring countries where it is easier to recruit workers at much lower wages. As a consequence, instead of saving jobs for Singaporeans, we will end up losing more jobs. In the case of highly skilled workers, we should not prevent employers from recruiting the global talents that they need. Even as we ride the downturn, we must bear in mind that the availability of skilled workers will be the key to future success in competition. Talents will be critical for our long-term viability.”
“Firstly, we will work with the NTUC, the Productivity and Standards Board, and other organisations to train even more workers. This will not only enhance the employability and capabilities of workers, but will also enable employers to seize opportunities when the economy recovers. We will deepen and broaden existing initiatives, including the SRP and the Strategic Manpower Conversion Programme (SMCP), and also introduce new programmes. Just last month, for example, we launched the National IT Literacy Training Programme to help workers acquire basic computer and Internet skills which will enhance their employment prospects. Where appropriate, we will provide additional incentives to make training more affordable to employers and employees or to those who are unemployed during these difficult times. Secondly, we will encourage more companies not to downsize too quickly but to try alternatives to retrenchments. Affected companies can put their workers on voluntary pay-cut, shorter work-weeks or make use of the SRP to send redundant workers for full-time skills upgrading. We recognise, however, that some companies would have no choice but to retrench workers. If necessary, we will organise job fairs and other employment facilitation events as we had done two years ago in 1998, during the economic crisis. It will be harder for older and less educated retrenched workers to find new jobs, especially in totally new sectors or industries. To help them make the transition, we are considering a traineeship programme to help older workers. The idea is to help employers to recruit such retrenched workers to ease the transition to a new industry sector and work environment.”
“Sir, to help the lower skilled workers raise their skill level, the Ministry has been working with NTUC to extend the reach of the Skills Redevelopment Programme (SRP). Last year, some 20,000 workers were trained under the SRP. This was about 40% higher than the figure achieved in 1999. Mr Ong asked about the effectiveness of such programmes. In a survey conducted last year, 70% of employers reported that workers who underwent the Skills Redevelopment Programme training had become more productive in their jobs, while 80% indicated that their workers had become more employable. 70% of workers felt more confident of handling more complex job responsibilities and seeking re-employment after the SRP training. Among the unemployed workers who underwent SRP training, three out of four managed to find a new job within three to six months after training. In July last year, my Ministry also set up a career centre, CareerLink@mom, to provide Singaporeans with better access to employment and training opportunities. We receive about 1,600 visits each month. More than two-thirds of the visitors who had responded to the centre's first three quarterly surveys indicated that they were better informed about job choices and training opportunities after using the services at the centre. Among those who were actively looking for a job, more than 20% had found employment within three months, some through the centre's assistance, and others through their own efforts. Sir, in the coming months, more employers and workers will be affected by the economic downturn as well as the restructuring which is taking place in some sectors. We will help affected employers and workers.”
“Sir, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in March 2001 was 2.4%. This was lower than the 2.9% in December 2000. However, the improvement in unemployment is expected to be short-lived as the economic slowdown has triggered a sharp increase in retrenchments and a drop in job vacancies. The number of workers retrenched rose sharply to 3,248 in the first quarter of this year from the quarterly average of 1,900 registered in the last three quarters of 2000. Retrenchment in the second quarter is expected to be higher, based on notifications by companies to my Ministry in recent months. At the same time, job vacancies fell significantly from 26,182 in March 2000 to 19,755 in March this year. Vacancy rate, ie, the number of vacancies, expressed as a percentage of total manpower demand, also fell from 2.7% in March 2000 to 1.9% in March this year. Sir, the seasonally adjusted job vacancies to unemployed persons ratio fell to 0.76 (ie, there are only 76 job openings for every 100 job seekers) in March of this year from a higher level of 1.14 in September 2000. Today, there are simply fewer jobs than there are job seekers. Also, the entry of this year's cohort of tertiary graduates into the labour market around this time is likely to aggravate the labour market situation. They are going to find it a little bit harder to find the jobs that they want. While the labour market is softening, jobs are still being created. There are still unfilled vacancies in the job market, especially in the services sector. My Ministry has expanded existing employment assistance and training programmes, and will also initiate new programmes to fill these vacancies. Let me give two examples.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, with your permission, may I take Question Nos. 6 and 7 together, because they are in some way related?”
“Even though the flower trade is very much a brick-and-mortar business, the company has developed an online flower wholesale business and is beginning to transform itself into a click-and-mortar operation. About 165 SMEs have taken this third step. We hope to see more SMEs gearing themselves up for the fast emerging New Economy. Let me now move on to funding of the people sector to increase access to IT and Singapore ONE. I can assure Members that there is adequate funding support for initiatives to bridge the digital divide. IDA has committed to spend up to $25 million for e-lifestyle programmes by 2003. We have received another $5 million in corporate sponsorships for this purpose. Many community groups and private organisations have also stepped forward to contribute towards the movement to transform Singapore into an Information Society. DEPOSITS BY EMPLOYERS FOR EMPLOYING FOREIGN MAIDS (Forfeiture) 7. Mr Kenneth Chen Koon Lap asked the Minister for Manpower whether he will review the law on forfeiting of deposits by employers when their maids run away, as it is physically not possible for employers to prevent their maids from doing so.”
“Toh See Kiat asked the Minister for Communications and Information Technology whether the Government has any plans to (a) help small and medium-sized enterprises implement e-Commerce; and (b) provide funding for the people sector to increase access to information technology and Singapore ONE. The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Communications and Information Technology (Assoc. Prof. Yaacob Ibrahim) (for the Minister for Communications and Information Technology): Sir, PSB and IDA work closely to help SMEs adopt e-commerce in three steps under the Jumpstart Programme and e-Business Industry Development Scheme. The first step to e-commerce is to help SMEs which have limited resources and in-house expertise in IT to get an initial taste of e-commerce. Under PSB's Jumpstart Programme, we help SMEs to take advantage of ready-made solutions offered by the Application Service Providers, and join one of the e-market-places. So far, PSB estimates that about 19,000 SMEs have taken this first step towards e-commerce. Next, to help initiated SMEs conduct more of their business transactions on the Net, we encourage the development of industry specific e-market-places under the e-Business Industry Development Scheme (e-BIDS) jointly promoted by PSB and IDA. These vertical portals are customised to meet the needs of the suppliers and customers in the respective sectors. Recent examples of these special purpose e-market places are Kafe 123 (an e-market place for the coffee shop trade) and Asia Furniture Hub (a portal to enable Singapore based furniture businesses to transact globally). So far, close to 2,000 SMEs have taken this second step. The third step to e-commerce is to help some of the SMEs to re-invent their business with e-commerce. One example is Far East Flora.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the aim of the Lifelong Learning Endowment Fund (LLEF) is to support the acquisition of skills by Singaporeans so that they will become more employable. In rolling out our Lifelong Learning Endowment Fund programme, we will try to reach out to as many Singaporeans as possible, especially the lower skilled or lower income Singaporeans who face the greatest difficulties adapting to changes in the economy and labour market. This would include the unemployed and retirees who wish to rejoin the workforce. We will adopt a targeted approach in helping these groups of Singaporeans. We will work with employers, trade unions, community organisations and individuals to determine the areas of greatest priorities and design specific programmes to address these needs. The unemployed and retirees can apply to participate in these programmes. Over the past few years, we have intro- duced programmes under the Skills Re-development Programme to help these Singaporeans. We plan to use the Lifelong Learning Endowment Fund to expand on these existing programmes or to introduce new programmes. One example is the National IT Literacy Programme, which is currently under development. IT is fast becoming an essential basic employability skill needed at the workplace. We will be adopting both the employer-based and community-based approaches for the National IT Literacy Programme. This means that aside from workers who are co-sponsored by their employers, individual Singaporeans, including unemployed or self-employed Singaporeans, retirees and housewives will also benefit from the training incentives given under the programme. SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED ENTERPRISES (Implementation of e-Commerce) 6. Assoc. Prof.”
“Mr Hawazi Daipi asked the Minister for Manpower if he will consider allowing the unemployed and retirees to use the Lifelong Learning Endowment Fund in order to be relevant for re-employment.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, in 1999, the National Wages Council recommended the adoption of a monthly variable component to further enhance the flexibility of our wage structure. Since then the Singapore National Employers' Federation, National Trades Union Congress and my Ministry have jointly formulated a set of tripartite guidelines and also conducted briefings, workshops and seminars to help promote the implementation of the monthly variable component. In its 2000-2001 wage guidelines, the National Wages Council specifically recommended that, with economic recovery, companies granting wage increases of more than 3% should set aside at least 3% of the wage increase as the monthly variable component; while companies granting wage increase of up to 3% should set aside the entire wage increase as the monthly variable component. We have achieved positive results in the unionised sector. A recent survey by my Ministry on the monthly variable component implementation in the private sector shows that 29% of the unionised companies have implemented the monthly variable component as at end of 2000. On average, these companies set aside some 2.69 percentage points of their wage increases as a monthly variable component. However, the non-unionised sector has yet to adopt this measure. Only 2.4% of non-unionised companies have implemented the monthly variable component as at end of 2000. Sir, given the usefulness of the monthly variable component in helping companies to enhance cost competitiveness in a business downturn and in preserving jobs for the workers, my Ministry will continue to work closely with the employers and trade unions to step up the implementation of the monthly variable component. LIFELONG LEARNING ENDOWMENT FUND (Use by unemployed and retirees) 5.”
“Mr Ahmad Mohd Magad asked the Minister for Manpower whether he can provide an update on the progress of companies which have incorporated a monthly variable component in their wage system and what the Government intends to do to accelerate the pace of implementation by more companies.”
“Sir, apart from the conciliation service provided by the Ministry of Manpower, the Tripartite Committee on Union Representation of Executives set up in 1999 has also recommended that junior and middle level executives without substantial managerial responsibilities be allowed to join and be represented by rank-and-file unions on an individual basis for retrenchment, dismissal and other related issues. The recommendation has been accepted by the Government and the Industrial Relations Act will be amended accordingly. In its study, the Tripartite Committee also examined whether the scope of coverage of the Employment Act should be expanded to cover executives. The Committee noted that executives, by and large, are able to negotiate for their own terms of employment and hence do not need the protection of the law. Their employment problems arose from retrenchment and dismissal. Allowing executives limited representation by rank-and-file unions on issues of retrenchment and dismissal would provide executives with an additional avenue to address their employment problems without giving rise to conflict of interest or undermining management effectiveness. The Committee therefore felt that the scope of coverage of the Employment Act need not be expanded at this juncture, and that my Ministry should monitor developments and carry out a review at a later stage. Since there are mechanisms available for executives to address their employment problems, including their representation by the rank-and-file unions on retrenchment and dismissal issues on an individual basis, their interests are already adequately served. MONTHLY VARIABLE COMPONENT IN WAGE SYSTEM (Progress of implementation) 4.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the number of executives and managers who approached my Ministry for assistance in connection with their employment disputes with their employers is as follows: In 1998, 354; in 1999, 282; and in the year 2000, 157. Most of these disputes were related to claims for compensation arising from the termination of services for reasons such as redundancy, work performance or on other grounds. Executives and managers are not covered by the Employment Act. Nevertheless, the Ministry took up their claims with employers and provided conciliation service with the view to resolving such disputes amicably. Last year, 157 cases involving executives and managers, together with 14 cases carried forward from the previous year, were dealt with. Of these cases, some 35% were resolved amicably through conciliation. 14% of the claimants withdrew their claims before conciliation meetings were held as they had either resolved their disputes with their employer directly, or they had found a new job and decided not to pursue their claims. Some 12% of the claimants failed to attend the conciliation meetings arranged by the Ministry and hence their cases were closed. The remaining 39% decided to withdraw their claims after conciliation for various reasons, such as their companies were in a state of insolvency, their claims were weak or invalid, or the offers by their employers were not acceptable. So, in general, employers are reasonable in dealing with their executives on employment issues and would accept the Ministry's recommendations for an amicable settlement. In situations where the executives' claims could not be resolved amicably through conciliation, they would be advised to pursue their claims further through legal action.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, my Ministry intends to amend the Factories Act to cover other workplaces besides factories. This will be done progressively. Hence, workplaces with more safety and health risks such as health care and catering establishments would be covered first. Office premises would be included in the later phase as the work activities carried out in offices are much less hazardous compared to these workplaces. The amendments will be introduced later this year. It will also impose a duty on employers to implement preventive measures and monitoring regimes to protect the safety and health of employees at all workplaces. FOOT-AND-MOUTH DISEASE (Additional precautionary measures) 8. Mr Noris Ong Chin Guan asked the Minister for National Development, in view of the foot-and-mouth disease in Europe, if his Ministry intends to take additional precautionary measures to prevent a rebound of the epidemic to Singapore.”
“Sir, the Member has raised a totally different issue, but I will try and address it, because the contribution for Medisave account by the self-employed is mandatory. It is a requirement. They have to contribute in order to renew the vocational licence, whether he is a taxi driver or a hawker. This is to ensure that our self-employed, particularly this group of self-employed, also put aside sufficient savings to meet their old-age requirements for healthcare expenses. On top of that, if they choose to contribute voluntarily to the rest of the CPF accounts, they are welcome to do so and they enjoy the same benefits, which I have outlined to Mr Chiam a moment ago. I think we should not mix the two streams of savings. We should encourage the self-employed to continue to contribute a small amount from his trade income for his Medisave requirement. There should be no difficulty, because the contribution is actually a percentage of his trade income. It is not an arbitrary figure decided by the Central Provident Fund Board. What he contributes, whether it is 6%, 7% or 8%, is based on his trade income. If his trade income is low, his contribution rate will be equally low. It is proportional. So it is not an unreasonable request on him. It is a request which I think every self-employed should be able to comply. LEGISLATION ON OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY (Review) 7. Mr Yeo Guat Kwang asked the Minister for Manpower, in view of the fact that only half of the existing workforce is covered by the Factories Act, whether the Ministry will review legislation on occupational health and safety to extend its coverage to ensure that all workers, including knowledge workers of the new economy, are adequately protected at work.”
“Sir, I think it is wrong for Mr Chiam to imply that there is no benefit for a self-employed to contribute voluntarily to his CPF account. The advantages of such contribution are quite obvious. One is tax exemption on the CPF contribution. Second, the guaranteed minimum interest the CPF Board will pay. So, he cannot say that there are no advantages. There is a trade off. You get tax exemption and guaranteed minimum interest. And the trade off is that you abide by the CPF withdrawal rules. Sir, we cannot operate a CPF system on the basis of a savings bank. If a self-employed wants to save some money and withdraw as and when he needs the money, then it is best for him, with his surplus income, to put that money in a savings bank, whether it is the POSBank or some other banks, and withdraw those savings when he needs them, rather than put it in the CPF. The CPF is a place for long-term savings for a person's old-age needs. It is not a place for you to put money aside for a few months and then take out as and when you feel that there is a greater need for those savings.”
“Sir, self-employed persons are not required to contribute to the CPF beyond the Medisave component. Those who wish to make additional contributions do so voluntarily. Such contributions are subject to prevailing CPF withdrawal rules. The Government encourages the self-employed to contribute to the Central Provident Fund as they also need to save for their old age. Self-employed can claim tax relief on these contributions and enjoy a minimum guaranteed tax-free return of 2.5% per annum. I understand the difficulties faced by some self-employed persons. However, releasing the CPF savings to meet immediate financial needs would defeat the purpose of such savings. We need to take a long term view. The most sustainable way for people in financial difficulties is to get a job to support themselves and their families. Self-employed whose businesses or trades are not doing well may want to consider taking a job for the time being. My Ministry will help the unemployed to look for new jobs. For Singaporeans suffering financial hardship, the Ministry of Education has a scheme to help pay the educational expenses of school-going children in their families. The Ministry of Health operates the Medifund to help those who have difficulties paying their medical bills incurred at public hospitals. For the needy, whose savings are running out and who lack family support, there are also community assistance programmes administered by the Ministry of Community Development and Sports, Community Development Councils, the National Council of Social Service, self-help groups and other voluntary welfare organisations. These are part of the Government and community support available to those who are facing difficulties.”
“I understand that the Head is up to 2.08 pm.”
“Sir, we have not come to the end of this Head. Can I take two minutes, with your indulgence, to respond to a point raised by Mr Chiam?”
“We will ratify ILO Conventions taking into consideration our economic circumstances and national interest. I would also like to point out to the Members that not all ILO Conventions are ratified by every member state. For example, the United States has to-date ratified only 13 Conventions, including only two out of the eight core Conventions. We have ratified 20 Conventions, including two of the eight core Conventions. So in comparison, we are not doing too badly. And the point that he made about the impression that the workers are being oppressed in Singapore is a totally wrong and unfounded impression. We will continue to study the ILO Conventions and seek to ratify those that do not conflict with our national and workers' interests. When we do so, we will consult the National Trades Union Congress and also the Singapore National Employers' Federation.”
“No CPF contributions are required for that portion of the salary above $6,000. Only the portion below $6,000 attracts CPF contributions. Therefore, those people who are earning more than $6,000 per month should have more personal savings apart from what is already saved in the CPF accounts. Their CPF savings will also represent a smaller proportion of their total savings available to them. So it is therefore not unreasonable to expect those living in private properties who want to carry out home renovations to do so with their personal savings, rather than to tap on their CPF savings. The Member also mentioned that some of these are older people living in private properties, condominiums and landed properties, and some of them may well be retirees. Let me point out that if they are retirees, they would have withdrawn most of their CPF from age 55 onwards, and if they have invested the CPF, or if they have put them aside carefully, then certainly they would have sufficient funds left to renovate or upgrade their properties. Anyway, they would have very little CPF left in their CPF accounts, except for the Minimum Sum. That would not be of much help even if we allow the retirees to use the money to upgrade their properties. Mr Thomas asked about ratification of ILO Conventions. Let me point out that we have ratified two of the eight core conventions. These are the Convention 98 on the Right to Organise a Collective Bargaining and Convention 29 on Forced Labour. Last year, we announced that we will ratify Convention 182 on the Worst Form of Child Labour. We have no problem complying with this latest of the core Conventions on the Worst Form of Child Labour and we will proceed to ratify this Convention in June this year at the International Labour Conference.”
“Sir, let me reiterate that the primary objective of the CPF is to provide for the members' old age. We have always not allowed the use of CPF savings for upgrading or renovating properties, whether it is HDB flats or otherwise. An exception was made for the nation-wide HDB Main Upgrading Programme because this is basically a Government initiated programme to rejuvenate old public housing estates and also to enhance the assets of citizens. Because the cost of upgrading is much larger than the payments made by the home owners themselves in the course of the Main Upgrading Programme, the home owners receive a sizeable subsidy from the Government. Hence, it is unlikely that the upgraded flats' market value will fall below to a point where they are unable to recover what they have invested through their CPF. In the case of the privately initiated refurbishment or upgrading, whether it is HDB or private residential estates, such as condominiums, the owner has to bear the full cost of such renovation or refurbishment. Therefore, if we allow them to withdraw from their CPF, you will find that the amount to be withdrawn is going to be much larger than what is required for the share of the Main Upgrading Programme. Furthermore, it will also be very difficult to regulate the frequency of upgrading and renovation as well as to spell out exactly the conditions under which CPF can be used for such upgrading. So we are concerned that the liberal use of CPF savings for flat upgrading, or renovating private residential properties, will result in premature withdrawal of a member's old age savings. Furthermore, I also want to point out that people living in a private housing estate are generally in the upper income bracket. On the other hand, CPF contributions have got a cap.”
“By liberalising the CPF system, we have encouraged members to make their own investment decision. In the process, some would make bad decisions, but they have to accept the cost for making such bad decisions. We believe that over time, prudent investments will enable more CPF members to enhance their old age savings, and that this is something that has got to be acquired. People have to learn how to manage their savings, whether it is their own cash savings or their CPF savings. The Board itself will provide more information to CPF members so that they can be better informed with regard to investing their savings. Mr Chiam asked whether we are giving adequate recognition to the workers' movement ---”
“Hence, I would like to reiterate that although the net fund inflow has been declining, there is no cause for alarm. It is not a sign of impending crisis or inability of the Central Provident Fund Board to meet its obligations, but rather a reflection of the ageing workforce and also the restructuring of the CPF system, with more investment options for the members. Mr Thomas also expressed concern whether the social security net is adequate or not. I think we have used the CPF as a very effective mechanism to ensure that our workers are prepared for any sudden economic downturn, not only just by way of adjusting the CPF contribution rate but also ensuring that there are savings for the rainy days. We will continue to use the CPF as a principal means of social safety net by encouraging workers to save as much as they can when they are in employment. Of course, the most important thing here is to ensure that the workers stay employed and keep our unemployment rate low, so that nearly all Singaporeans can have jobs if they want. The fact that we are discussing about foreign workers - there are more than 500,000 foreign workers in Singapore and even if you discount the 140,000 foreign domestic workers, you have 360,000 foreign workers in the economic sector - means there are jobs aplenty for Singaporeans if they want to take on these jobs. I think creating employment is the best social safety net as it ensures that all Singaporeans who are able to work have the skills for the job are able to make a positive contribution to the economy. That is much more important than considering other options. With regard to CPF investments, yes, some CPF members have lost money; others have also gained.”
“Sir, Mr Thomas Thomas raised several questions on the CPF. He asked what would be the impact of the negative cash flow - fewer contributors, as part of the ageing population. Let me say that there is no cause for alarm. Over the last five years, the Central Provident Fund has experienced positive cash flow, although the net inflow has been dropping. It has been dropping not because of a crisis or because of losses. In fact, the Central Provident Fund system is fully funded by the members themselves. It is a system where the payout for the members, when they reach 55, is drawn from all the savings that they have been setting aside during their working life. So there is really no cross-generation subsidy or overlap. Today's retirees or senior citizens, when they reach age 55 and draw on their CPF, are actually drawing on the savings that they put aside and not drawing on somebody else's accumulated savings. Hence, there is no need to be concerned even if CPF Board should show a decline in the net fund inflow. Another reason why the net fund inflow is declining is that the population is ageing and, as Mr Thomas pointed out, there are now more older workers, and also because the Government has liberalised the use of CPF. So members can now withdraw nearly all of their CPF savings to invest, whether it is purchasing shares or investing in insurance policies or some other forms of investment. We must therefore expect a higher rate of withdrawal from CPF, unlike in the past where all the CPF money could not be withdrawn until you reach age 55. Today, even before age 55, the member is able to withdraw the money not just for housing or medical needs, but also for their investments.”
“Can the Minister perhaps give an indication of when this can be done?”
“Yes. Mr Chiam See Tong: So 500,000 is the total. Therefore, the total number of foreign workers in Singapore is only about 500,000. Sir, I have got a cut on restoration of CPF. The Asian crisis hit Singapore in July 1997. The Government formed a Committee to recommend cost-cutting measures. Among the cost-cutting measures recommended was a 10 percentage cut in the employer's component of the workers' CPF. This is a very drastic measure to take. The Government sought this route to save the economy of the nation. The workers sacrificed their wages. As a result, costs were lowered and this made it possible for the economy to pick up and also for the country to achieve a 9.9% growth last year. I think the workers want to know how much in total they have sacrificed in terms of their wages, and how much of the profits made by the industrial sector are as a result of their sacrifices made, and how much of those profits made by businesses have gone to the Government in terms of taxes. Sir, the workers' movement must surely deserve some kind of a reward for their excellent work they have done to persuade the workers to accept a huge 10 percentage cut in their CPF. I would like to ask the Government to give, as a reward, a one-time grant to the labour movement in appreciation of the sacrifices of the workers to help the Singapore economy to pick up during the last two years of recession. The grant could be a one-time grant and be used for training the workers, in addition to what has already been given. The full restoration of CPF has still not been implemented. The restoration has only reached 16 percentage points of the employer's component of CPF. I hope the full restoration to the 20% CPF can be done quickly.”
“I think we have discussed this issue before, whether we can allow commercial companies to recruit women from the neighbouring countries and to deploy them to work as domestic workers in the homes of Singaporeans. There are several issues here. We have considered this idea on a number of occasions, whether or not we should allow such services to be offered. But there are problems like, for instance, who will be held accountable for housing this additional group of foreign workers, and the propensity for abuse when you allow employers, employment agencies or a company to recruit large numbers of these foreign women to come to Singapore to do this kind of work. On balance, we decided that we should retain our present arrangement whereby the women from the neighbouring countries who do this domestic work are assigned to a specific household where they are provided accommodation. We can hold the employer responsible and we can ensure that the foreign domestic worker's welfare is not jeopardised. Sir, I think I have covered most of the points. 1.15 pm”
“We have allowed them to use the workers who are doing process construction work to also carry out process maintenance because, essentially, they are workers with the same set of skills. So instead of having two different sets of workers, one to do construction and the other to do maintenance under manufacturing, we have merged the two schemes, so that the petrochemical plant can depend on just the same group of foreign workers to do both construction and maintenance. In this way, we are responding and we will continue to look at the needs of other sectors that warrant special adjustment. If Members look at it in this way that there is an overall framework to regulate foreign workers, both using dependency ceiling and levy, then I hope they understand why the levy remains an important tool to moderate the demand. And in the case of the foreign domestic workers, the demand has continued to go up, notwithstanding the economic downturn. Over the years, we have increased the number of foreign domestic workers dramatically. We started out with hardly any in 1978. Today, we have more than 140,000 of them. I believe that we will continue to have to use the levy as a mechanism to regulate the demand. And as I have said recently on a number of occasions, the foreign workers levy, including the foreign domestic workers levy, will be reviewed later this year, after we have a better feel of how the economy is responding to the changes around us. Last but not least, I think Mr Loh Meng See mentioned the point about allowing management corporations of condominiums, for instance, to recruit foreign domestic workers.”
“In the case of the point raised by Mr Yeo Guat Kwang on the two-tier foreign workers levy - the skilled workers on a lower levy at $30 and a higher levy for the unskilled workers - we will continue to use this in order to encourage more employers to recruit skilled workers who can do a bigger and better job; therefore, resulting in a lower demand for actual number of foreign workers. We will leave it to the employers when they employ skilled workers on the lower levy to set their wages for the skilled workers. It is a policy of Government that we do not interfere in the labour market to determine wages. Wages are on a "willing buyer, willing seller" basis, and we leave the setting of wages, both for local and foreign workers to market forces to determine. However, our experience is that, in fact, the skilled foreign workers generally do receive a higher salary than the unskilled foreign workers. So the lower levy therefore has resulted in employers paying their skilled workers a higher wage, which is in line with what we have in mind. Mr Yeo also asked whether we can review the sectoral approach in locating the foreign workers. The answer is yes, we do that. From time to time, we do make adjustment to our overall sectoral approach for allocating foreign workers to accommodate the special needs of certain industries. For instance, now that we are promoting the construction industry to use more off-site fabrication, we will be looking at how we can assist those who are undertaking such off-site fabrication work to have access to foreign workers. We have also looked at the process in the petrochemical and pharmaceutical plants - these are the process engineering companies - to see how we can better manage the pool of foreign workers in this industry.”
“And there are also rules about how many people you can put in rented accommodation, whether it is in a room, house or apartment. The Building Control Authority will regularly check if there are employers who are abusing this provision and overcrowding their foreign workers. They will also check the worksite housing provided for the construction workers to ensure that this complies with all the sanitary and other environmental requirements. Nevertheless, we will continue to study this issue, because having more than 500,000 foreign workers in our midst is a tremendous challenge, in terms of accommodating them. While some foreign workers are accommodated on the worksite, increasingly, worksites are organised in such a way that it is very difficult to accommodate them. So they have to look for off-site accommodation. My Ministry is working closely with the Ministry of National Development to identify more areas of land which can be set aside for housing foreign workers. And we are encouraging the private sector to come forward to invest in such short-term housing for foreign workers. This will provide much better accommodation. Already, some companies have invested and developed such dormitory housing. There are several of these scattered around the island, and they are available to employers who want to place their workers in such dormitory housing. Several Members have asked about the foreign workers levy. As I have explained, it is a key feature of our foreign workers policy to use the levy as a means of regulating the demand. We will continue to use the foreign workers levy to regulate the demand.”
“Several Members have spoken about the foreign workers levy. That is one of the key measures that we have in hand to moderate the demand for foreign workers. Without the foreign workers levy, we will have a greater number of foreign workers here in Singapore. The demand is almost insatiable, in a sense, because today we have more than 140,000 foreign domestic workers. And without the foreign workers levy, for instance, we are going to have a higher number because the income level of Singaporeans has continued to go up, notwithstanding the economic crisis. In fact, during the economic downturn in 1998, the number of foreign domestic workers continued to increase by about 5% over the year, although the increase was at a slower rate compared to previous years. So we use a mixture of dependency ceiling and foreign workers levy to regulate and to control the demand for foreign workers. Several Members have, in fact, spoken about the accommodation for foreign workers. I think this would be mainly the foreign workers in the economic sectors, such as those in the construction industry and the manufacturing sector. For those who are in the households of their employer, the foreign domestic workers, of course, are provided with accommodation in the homes of the employer. Accommodation is therefore not a problem. But for those in the economic sectors, one of the undertakings of the employer, when they bring in the foreign worker, is to provide suitable accommodation. And we have a certain standard about the kind of accommodation which must be provided on the worksite, for instance, so that foreign construction workers are entitled to reasonable housing standards if they are placed in worksites. Alternatively, the employers will have to provide rented accommodation.”
“However, we are aware that some agents may not abide by all the rules and regulations that are imposed on them. We monitor their operations closely, so that in case we detect any violation, we will certainly act against them. Under the Employment Agents Act, we can revoke their licence, even forfeit the security deposit that they have placed with us if we detect evidence that they have acted against the interest of the employer in Singapore, or acted against the interest of the foreign workers whom they have brought in. Mr Thomas also made the point that some foreign workers come in and work under certain terms and conditions, including those who come here on employment passes, and they should be better informed. If they come in on specific terms of employment and if they feel that the employer had somehow changed those terms and conditions of employment, they can always turn to my Ministry for assistance. We offer the services of the special Foreign Workers Unit to help workers who face such difficulties. And I said earlier on, we deal with about 400-odd appeals a month, and if there are any such workers who feel that their employer is trying to take advantage of them by changing the terms and conditions of employment, we will be very pleased to assist them. Sir, I think I have responded to Mr Loh Meng See's point just now about getting employers to redesign jobs to make sure that we do not become overly dependent. As for the Member for Kampong Glam, he feels his residents' unhappiness with the congregation of the foreign workers in various parts of Kampong Glam. I agree with him that this is a problem. That is why we are trying to manage the number of foreign workers in Singapore. We use a variety of measures.”
“The reason is that once the work permit is cancelled, the employer has an obligation to repatriate the foreign worker, failing which he will face forfeiture of the security bond, which is $5,000, if he does not successfully repatriate the foreign worker after cancelling the work permit. So you will find that the measures that are put in place, in fact, help to expedite the repatriation of the foreign worker, and also provide a reasonable protection for the foreign worker. It prevents employers from abandoning their foreign worker by willy-nilly just cancelling the work permit and not informing the foreign worker. They have a very short window, after the work permit has been cancelled, to repatriate the worker and to produce evidence of the repatriation, so that the security bond can be cancelled. Mr Thomas Thomas made the point that some of our employment agents are exploitative. They just bring in the foreign workers and collect the money from them. Can we bypass the employment agents? We have to understand the role of the employment agents. They serve as an intermediary. There are people in Singapore who want to employ foreign workers, whether it is a company or an employer of a domestic worker. How do they go about getting the kind of person that they want and where from? It is very difficult for many employers, especially if we talk about employers of domestic workers, on their own to recruit a foreign worker. Some people have been able to do this, because they have contacts and friends overseas and so on and so forth. But for the vast majority, they would not know where to start on their own. So they go to an agent. The agent actually fulfills a useful role as an intermediary to bring foreign workers into Singapore.”