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…”
The complete record
Every one of 2,412 lines we hold for Lee Boon Yang, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 30 of 49.
“The "basic rate of pay" shall be used to calculate payment for overtime work under clause 13, work on a rest day under clause 12, and for payment on a public holiday under clause 15. The rationale for paying only the basic rate of pay for these occasions is that, under the current law, employees are already entitled to a higher rate of compensation for overtime work and work on rest day or public holiday. For example, an employer is required to pay an employee a minimum of 1.5 times the hourly rate of pay for overtime work and 2 days' pay for work on a rest day. The second new definition "gross rate of pay" refers to the total remuneration including allowances except for overtime payments, bonus payments, annual wage supplement, travelling, food and housing allowances, reimbursement of special expenses and productivity incentive payments. It shall be used as a basis for computing payment in lieu of notice of termination under clause 3, salary deduction for absence from work under clause 8, payment for public holidays under clause 15, annual leave under clause 16, sick leave with hospitalisation under clause 17, and maternity leave under clause 27. The rationale for including allowances for these payments is that employees should not suffer a cut in their normal expected income as these are benefits earned in the course of their employment and their absence from work had been sanctioned or approved by their employers. Sick leave where hospitalisation is not necessary Sir, in the case of outpatient sick leave, the Tripartite Review Committee originally proposed that allowances should also be paid.”
“The proposed amendments in this Bill will bring the provisions of the employment and industrial relations laws up-to-date. By passing this Bill, you will help to make our employment laws more responsive to the changing economic and business conditions and better suited to future developments. The House will note that this Bill covers many areas. Since the technical and minor details of the Bill have already been covered in the Explanatory Statement to the Bill, I propose to address only the key issues. New definitions and applications of rate of pay First, let me deal with the new definitions and applications of rate of pay. Clause 2 of the Bill introduces two new definitions - "basic rate of pay" and "gross rate of pay" to replace the existing "rate of pay" and "ordinary rate of pay" used in the current Employment Act for the purpose of computing statutory payments. This arose from the Tripartite Committee's recommendation to rationalise the basis for computing statutory payments to employees. The two new definitions of "basic rate of pay" and "gross rate of pay" will provide a clear and unambiguous basis for payment for overtime work, work on rest day or public holiday and payment for approved leave. This amendment will prevent unnecessary disputes between employers and employees on the types of allowances which should be included for the purpose of computing the various statutory payments. Sir, under the proposed amendment, "basic rate of pay" refers to the total remuneration excluding all allowances, overtime payment, bonus, annual wage supplement, reimbursement of special expenses and productivity incentive payments.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time." The Employment (Amendment) Bill before the House today seeks to amend the Employment Act with consequential amendments to the Industrial Relations Act. Sir, last year, a Tripartite Review Committee comprising representatives from the Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF), the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and the Goverment was set up to review the Employment Act. The Committee was chaired by the then Minister of State for Labour, Mr Goh Chee Wee. The Committee adopted the following terms of reference: (a) Review the provisions in the Employment Act which have become irrelevant and not kept pace with the changing needs of employers, workers and the economy; (b) Review the provisions in the Employment Act which cause rigidities in the labour market and hinder company restructuring; and (c) Recommend changes to the Employment Act to address the issues reviewed. After some six months of careful study and thorough discussion, the Tripartite Committee was able to make extensive recommendations to modify and improve the existing Employment Act. Subsequently, Government accepted the recommendations made by the Committee. This Employment (Amendment) Bill has incorporated the Committee's recommendations with some refinements added since the Committee completed its deliberations. The refinements are the result of the extensive feedback received by my Ministry from both employers and unions representing workers regarding the implementation of some of the proposed amendments. Consequential amendments to the Industrial Relations Act will also be needed to bring it in line with the amendments to the Employment Act.”
“Mrs Yu-Foo Yee Shoon asked the Acting Minister for Community Development if he will consider introducing amending legislation to further enhance the objectives of the Women's Charter, especially in the area of providing protection to women and strengthening family values, from experience gained over the years since the introduction of the Charter. DOMESTIC OR FAMILY VIOLENCE (Steps taken to deal with problems) 6. Dr S. Vasoo asked the Acting Minister for Community Development what steps are being taken by his Ministry to deal more effectively with the problems arising from domestic or family violence. The Acting Minister for Community Development (Mr Abdullah Tarmugi): With your permission, Sir, may I take Question Nos. 5 and 6 together as they are very closely connected?”
“Sir, the Appeal Court's Judgement was made in connection with the appeal by CPF Board on a divorce petition. The Appeal Court ruled that the CPF Act does not prevent a spouse, upon dissolution of marriage, to have a proprietary interest in such portion of the other spouse's CPF savings as the Court may order. It also ruled that the proprietary interest does not constitute a form of attachment, sequestration or levy on the CPF savings prohibited by section 25 of the CPF Act. The Appeal Court also affirmed that it can partition a portion of the CPF savings of a member and order a charge on that portion for the purpose of payment to the ex-spouse when the CPF member reaches the CPF withdrawal age. In addition, the Court of Appeal ruled that the current CPF Act does not prevent the ex-spouse from receiving that part of the CPF member's savings when the latter reaches the withdrawal age. Sir, the Court of Appeal's ruling takes effect automatically without any need to amend the CPF Act. However, the Government needs to amend the Act if it wants to protect CPF savings from being used for divorce settlement even when the Court decides that one spouse has proprietary interest in the other spouse's CPF savings. This is a question of policy rather than legal interpretation. My Ministry is presently studying the implications of the Court of Appeal's Judgement before deciding whether to do so. WOMEN'S CHARTER (Amendment to provide protection to women and strengthen family values) 5.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I believe the Member's supplementary question has overlapped into the question that she herself has asked. With your permission, Sir, could I proceed to answer that question first?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, among the small percentage of CPF members who have nominated beneficiaries who are not members of their immediate family, they have, in fact, nominated their relatives, ie, their uncle, aunty or nephew, to be their beneficiaries. They may have special reasons for doing so, and I do not think we should override their personal preference in such matter. Dr Kanwaljit Soin (Nominated Member): Sir, would the Minister please tell the House whether the statutory right of nomination takes precedence over the High Court's ruling because CPF monies are now considered part of matrimonial assets, and if the nomination is not in line with the division as suggested by the High Court, would the statutory right of nomination take precedence?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, currently, about 50% of the CPF members do not or fail to make nominations after their marriage. In other words, should anyone from this 50% pass away before the age of 55, the CPF savings will be transferred to the Public Trustee who will then distribute it according to the intestate law. In which case, the interest of the spouse, the children or immediate family members will be looked after because the intestate law spells out clearly how it should be distributed. Out of the remaining 50% who have nominated, about 95% of them nominate their immediate family members as beneficiary. Sir, therefore there is no widespread abuse of privilege to nominate beneficiaries to their CPF savings. I think, by and large, CPF members are very concerned and sensible about how their CPF savings should be distributed upon their death. And I do not see any reason why we should now remove this power to nominate beneficiary to a member's CPF savings.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, at present, a CPF member may nominate any person to be the beneficiary of his CPF savings upon death. If there is no nomination, upon death, his CPF savings will be distributed by the Public Trustee to the spouse, children and other family members according to existing law. The current nomination rule also provides that a nomination is automatically revoked by marriage. The intention of this is to force CPF members to re-consider their nominations in favour of their spouses or other members of their families. If the member fails to re-nominate, his CPF savings will be distributed as though there is no nomination. If we amend the Act to incorporate a minimum protection to the spouse of a CPF member by providing in law that the spouse is entitled to a portion of his CPF savings, it would erode the right of CPF members to nominate person or persons of their choice to receive their CPF savings. Sir, in 1978, an amendment similar to the Member's proposal was, in fact, incorporated in a CPF (Amendment) Bill which was subsequently referred to a Select Committee. The Select Committee received various representations from organisations and persons arguing that it was undesirable to overrule a CPF member's nomination for beneficiaries of his CPF savings. The proposal was subsequently not taken up. In view of the above, my Ministry will not amend the CPF Act as suggested by the Member. Mr Chng Hee Kok: Mr Speaker, Sir, as the promotion of family values is the cornerstone of our society's philosophy, will the Minister say that, hypothetically, it is against the country's interest should a CPF member nominate a person other than his family members, for example, he nominates his pet dog as his beneficiary under the CPF scheme that we have currently?”
“The electronics industry falls within the manufacturing sector. As a policy, all manufacturing companies are allowed to employ foreign workers up to 50% of their total workforce. The actual foreign worker ratio varies from one company to another but most electronics companies have not used up their foreign worker entitlement. Therefore, the majority of workers in the electronics industry are Singaporeans. OPEN SPACE NEAR BLOCK 609, YISHUN STREET 61 9. Mr Cheo Chai Chen asked the Minister for National Development whether there are plans for the open space near to Block 609, Yishun Street 61 and, if so, whether he will give the details.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, there is no minimum requirement to open a CPF account. In fact, we are welcoming Singaporeans who do not have a CPF account to just fill up a CPF application form. They need not even have to put in any amount for a start. But if they want to qualify for all the various top-up schemes, they will have to deposit their co-payment.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, if a member does not have a CPF account and he wants to qualify for the Pre-Medisave Top-Up Scheme, then the first thing he has to do is to open a CPF account. The next thing is to put in a co-payment of $50 to qualify for the top-up for that year. In other words, for the next three years, if a person wants to qualify for the annual top-up, he must pay $50 a year into his own CPF account.”
“This is particularly so for low-income CPF members where their families may have to incur cost and wait a long time for the shares to be distributed. Sir, to save CPF members the trouble and cost, clause 5 of the Bill introduces a new section 26A to extend the nomination provision to cover the disposal of shares or class of shares that the Minister may designate. If any nominees are unable to receive the shares, the CPF Board will also be empowered to sell the shares and pay the nominees their proceeds. The Government has decided that only ST `A' shares and other similar shares sold by the Government under the national share ownership scheme will be designated for disposal in this way. This is because such shares had been treated differently right from the start. For instance, ST `A' shares were bought only with CPF savings without requiring CPF members to meet the criteria of the CPF Basic or Enhanced Investment Schemes. CPF members also did not need to open an Investment Account to buy the shares. Furthermore, the ST `A' shares are held under a block account with the Central Depository Pte Ltd (CDP), and not in the individual names of members. As for ST `B' shares and other securities bought with CPF savings under the CPF Investment Schemes, they will continue to be disposed of as estates of the deceased, as is the current practice. Sir, I beg to move. Question proposed.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, under the Revised Minimum Sum Scheme, CPF members who do not have sufficient CPF savings to set aside the full Minimum Sum at age 55 are required to top up the shortfall with future CPF contributions. They do so when they subsequently apply for withdrawal on or after every third anniversary. Clause 3 of the Bill introduces section 18A to allow CPF members to transfer their Ordinary Account savings to top up their Retirement Accounts at any time after age 55. Members will recall that the Minister for Finance had approved the payment of an additional 1.25% interest above the normal CPF interest for savings in the Special Account. This was implemented on 1st July 1995. Clause 3 of the Bill will enable members to take advantage of the higher interest rate payable on savings in the Retirement Account, thus further enhancing their old-age savings. Sir, about 1.4 million CPF members had bought Singapore Telecom (ST) `A' shares with their CPF savings under the national share ownership scheme. Of these, about one million of them did not buy any other shares with their CPF savings. Other than the ST `A' shares, many older CPF members may possess no other shares. Existing CPF nomination rules cover only the distribution of cash savings in the CPF account of a deceased CPF member, and not shares bought with CPF savings. As a result, such shares belonging to a deceased CPF member will be disposed of as the estate of the deceased. This estate will be distributed in accordance with the will of the deceased or, in the absence of a will, the intestate succession law. Where the ST `A' shares form the entire non-cash estate, disposing the shares by either way will be tedious and not cost-effective.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time." Under the current Central Provident Fund Act, the Government may credit a cash grant only to the Ordinary Account of a CPF member. Sir, the Prime Minister has, during the Parliament sitting of 7th July 1995, announced the Pre-Medisave Top-Up Scheme for all Singapore citizens aged 61 and above on 1st of April 1995. The intention of this scheme is for the Government to make grants ranging from $300 to $1,050 to older Singaporeans who retired before or soon after the CPF Medisave Scheme was announced in April 1984. This will help older Singaporeans build up their Medisave savings to meet increased medical expenditure in old age. It is, therefore, necessary to amend the Act to allow cash grants to be paid directly to the Medisave Account. Clause 2 of the Bill seeks to do this by allowing cash grants to be credited to any CPF account as the Minister may direct. Sir, the existing section 14(2) of the CPF Act provides that cash grants may only be withdrawn if it is explicitly provided for under regulations made under section 77. However, not all CPF withdrawal regulations are made under this section. For instance, regulations on MediShield are made under section 57. Thus, cash grants paid by the Government under the Pre-Medisave Top-Up Scheme cannot be withdrawn for MediShield under regulations made under section 57. To rectify this, clause 2 of the Bill amends section 14(2) to allow any cash grant to be withdrawn in accordance with provisions of the Act or any regulations made under the Act.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I do agree that in the long run we should always try to compete by way of having higher quality workers, more skilful workers, and by offering a better quality service. But the fact of the case is that today, as it stands, the airline industry in particular faces tremendous competition and the competitors that SIA has to face are not subject to the same regulation of having to employ their cabin crew right up to the age of 60. So if we were to enforce this requirement on SIA right now, it will be unnecessarily hampering SIA's ability to compete successfully in the international market. 1.30 pm”
“For example, we have approved a cosmetic company's application to exempt its Beauty Advisors from the Act in view of the company's need to employ young sales personnel to promote their products. My Ministry will scrutinise all such applications carefully to ensure that employers are not deliberately using youthfulness as a ploy to get around the fundamental objective of the Retirement Age Act. On Dr Soin's third question, Sir, I wish to point out that the Ministry takes into consideration a wide range of factors including the nature of the businesses, requirements of the jobs, safety of the workers, employment practices and industry norms. This is to ensure that exemptions are granted only when there are strong and valid grounds for the Ministry to do so. Exemptions granted to companies will therefore not undermine the spirit and intent of the law.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, while the basic objective of the Retirement Age Act is to provide opportunities for Singaporeans and Permanent Residents to work up to 60 and beyond, the implementation of the law must not undermine the operational efficiency and competitiveness of companies. The airline industry is a highly competitive industry. It is common among airlines, particularly those in the Asia-Pacific region, to adopt a business strategy which projects a youthful and dynamic image to maintain and enhance their competitiveness. This strategy includes the deployment of younger personnel to provide in-flight passenger services and the maintenance of a newer fleet of aircraft. To ensure that the Retirement Age Act does not undermine the competitiveness of our airline industry and ultimately the interest of all airline employees, cabin crew has been exempted from the Act on an industry-wide basis. The exemption is applicable to both male and female cabin crew engaged by airlines in Singapore to provide in-flight passenger services. In the case of SIA, the company has also applied to the Ministry for the exemption of its Passenger Relations Officers who provide liaison services to passengers in Changi Airport VIP lounges. For the same reasons mentioned earlier, we have also exempted them from the Act. In granting the exemptions, the Ministry has also encouraged companies to, as far as possible, retain and re-deploy exempted employees to other suitable positions within the company upon their retirement. Regarding Dr Soin's second question, Sir, I would like to assure her that MOL will consider youthfulness as a ground for exemption only when there is a clear need for the company to project a youthful image to help promote its products or services.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, existing CPF withdrawal rules allow foreign workers, except West Malaysians, to withdraw their CPF savings when they leave Singapore at the end of their employment. As for West Malaysians, they are allowed to withdraw their CPF savings at age 50, if they have not worked in Singapore for the two years prior to their application for withdrawal. Hence, foreigners, unlike Singaporean workers, need not wait till the age of 55 to withdraw their CPF savings. The Ministry has no intention to change these withdrawal rules for foreigners with CPF savings who will be exempted from mandatory CPF contributions on or before 31st December 1998. The exemption from CPF contributions does not affect savings already accumulated in their CPF accounts. MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT (Ex-gratia payment) 4. Mr Ling How Doong asked the Prime Minister if he will name the 47 Members of Parliament who will receive the ex-gratia payment and how many of them were Cabinet Ministers, Ministers of State, Parliamentary Secretaries and Political Secretaries.”
“And if they have any difficulty trying to do so, my Ministry will assist them. CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE (Article 5(2A)) 7. Assoc. Prof. Walter Woon asked the Prime Minister if he will say when the Government intends to bring Article 5(2A) of the Constitution into operation.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, in a large factory, the opportunity for direct interaction between management and workers would be much less. Hence, in order to provide a mechanism for management and workers of larger factories to deal with safety and health issues, the Factories Act requires factories in which 50 or more persons are employed, to form safety committees for the purpose of promoting the safety and health of the workers employed in such factories. Such committees must meet at least once a month. The law also requires that such a committee comprises a chairman, a secretary and representatives of both employees and the management. The chairman and the secretary are appointed from the management representatives. To enable the committee to function effectively, the law stipulates that the number of representatives in the committee (including the chairman and secretary) is not less than six, three from the employees and three from the management. Sir, in factories which employ less than 50 workers, there should be more opportunities for direct interaction between management and workers. Such factories can adequately ensure the safety and health of their workers through their managers and supervisors interacting directly with the workers without having to go through a safety committee. Furthermore, some factories may be so small as to have practical difficulty to form meaningful safety committees. My Ministry has no intention to require factories with less than 50 employees to form safety committees. Nevertheless, my Ministry continues to monitor closely industrial safety and health in such factories and should the need arise, we will review the law. Furthermore, we encourage small factories to form safety committees on their own.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, as I said, we are reviewing the foreign worker policy. We will consider all these factors and this is one option that will be considered. SAFETY COMMITTEES (Establishment in companies with less than 50 workers) 6. Mrs Yu-Foo Yee Shoon asked the Minister for Labour whether his Ministry will consider introducing amending legislation to encourage companies with less than 50 workers each to establish safety committees as present legislation requires only companies with 50 or more workers each to set up such committees.”
“I am aware that higher wages and ample employment opportunities in Malaysia have made it less attractive for Malaysian workers to work in Singapore, and that Malaysian wages are closer to Singapore wages compared to wages in the home countries of NTS workers. We will take this into consideration in our review.”
“Sir, my Ministry is of the view that we should not open the manufacturing and service sectors to foreign workers from non-traditional sources (NTS). These sectors have been allowed to recruit foreign workers from Malaysia to supplement local workers. Experience shows that Malaysian workers, being from a traditional source, are less likely to create social problems as Malaysian employment practices and social norms are fairly similar to ours. While employers now have to put in greater effort to recruit Malaysian workers compared to a few years ago, because Malaysian wages have risen, the number of Malaysians coming to work in Singapore is still increasing. Compared to the construction and marine sectors, the manufacturing and service sectors have also less difficulty in attracting local and Malaysian workers as the working environment is much better. Sir, allowing NTS workers into the manufacturing and service sectors can result in a big increase in the number of NTS workers in Singapore. This will aggravate the social problems caused by such workers and make it more difficult to manage the NTS worker population. Instead of allowing NTS workers into the manufacturing and service sectors, we should examine whether we can make it easier for these sectors to attract more workers from our traditional source. My Ministry is presently reviewing the foreign worker policy to see how we can do so. For a start, last year, we raised the dependency ceiling for the manufacturing sector from 45% to 50% and for the service sector from 20% to 25%.”
“The land adjacent to the hot spring site in Sembawang was acquired by Government in 1985 for MINDEF's use. The land is needed for RSAF's airbase development. Even with the land acquisition, MINDEF has allowed the hot spring to continue to be tapped by F & N through underground piping so long as various security conditions are adhered to. However, we understand the extraction of the water has now ceased. FLOODING AT YISHUN BUS INTERCHANGE 4. Mr Cheo Chai Chen asked the Minister for Communications whether he is aware that during heavy rains, the Yishun Bus Interchange is flooded and what remedial action is being taken by his Ministry.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, every eligible male Singaporean is called up for full-time National Service. Full-time National Servicemen are deployed to the SAF, Police or Civil Defence which are all part of our Total Defence system. About 8% serve in the Police Force. Of those deployed to the Police Force, about 3% to 4% join as regulars after their full-time National Service. Taking our Total Defence system as a whole, the ethnic composition of the NSF corresponds to the ethnic profile of the population. However, each individual's service does not necessarily follow the overall ethnic profile. Currently, there are proportionately more Malays in the Police and Civil Defence than in the SAF. This reflects the operational and security requirements of each Force as well as the educational qualifications, physical attributes and vocational aptitudes of the National Servicemen. MEDISAVE (Contribution by taxi vocational licence holder) The following Question stood in the name of Dr Wang Kai Yuen- 14. To ask the Minister for Health what is the rationale for requesting a taxi vocational licence holder to contribute to Medisave if he already has a full-time job and only possesses the vocational licence as a contingency measure against unemployment.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I have explained on 18th March 1993 the reason why CPF has allowed the use of CPF savings for full-time courses. It was a special exception. We are not making a judgment to say that in the case of a full-time course it would not be consumption. It is in fact just as consumptive as paying fees for part-time courses. But the fact is that the CPF education loan scheme is an exception made in order to assist parents who need to pay for the expenditure of their children to enrol in tertiary institutions. If they choose not to take educational loans which are today widely available, they can then call upon their CPF savings to meet the expenses of their children. In the process, we felt that having allowed a CPF member to use his CPF savings for his children's education, and if he wants to do so for himself on the basis of a full-time study, we should allow him to have the opportunity to do so. MEDICAL CHECK-UPS FOR SENIOR CITIZENS 10. Mr John De Payva asked the Minister for Health if his Ministry has any long-term plan to conduct bi-yearly medical check-ups for senior citizens above 65 years of age in view of our ageing population.”
“Sir, my reasons for not allowing the CPF education loan scheme to be extended to part-time courses apply even if the course is offered by NUS or NTU or one of the polytechnics in Singapore. Currently, we will only allow CPF savings to be used for tuition fees if the student is on a full-time course enroled in any of the tertiary institutions in Singapore. We do not intend to make a change in this regard.”
“That is why I said that under the CPF investment scheme, if you invest wisely and prudently, you should see an appreciation of your assets over time, whereas in the case of using CPF for education, the savings would have been consumed immediately and whether you can recover by way of higher income or not is yet left to be seen.”
“Sir, it is not the purpose of the Ministry to scan the wide variety of part-time courses available and to decide which is better for a particular CPF member. This should be left to individuals to make the decision themselves and it is up to them to put aside sufficient non-CPF savings so that they can meet the expenses for the part-time courses. If she were to ask me, I would say that our criterion is that if he is prepared to undertake a full-time course, with all the discipline and rigours of a full-time course, we are prepared to let him use his CPF to meet the educational expenses under the current education loan scheme. Mr Low Thia Khiang: Sir, does the Minister agree that even with the CPF investment scheme, there is no guarantee that the asset will be increased? It depends on the shares.”
“Whereas in the case of people buying shares, if they invest wisely, they would see the shares appreciating over time and they would be able to build up their CPF savings to meet their expenses in their old age. That is the difference between encouraging people who have savings to invest through the CPF investment scheme and not supporting requests for use of CPF to pay for part-time tuition fees.”
“Sir, in my main answer, I said that a person can plan his part-time course in advance. So if a person does not have sufficient money today to enrol in a part-time course, whether it is for a degree or diploma, there is no difficulty for him to defer for a short period of time and build up enough personal savings so that he can carry on with his education. In fact, today, thousands of Singaporeans are doing it without any difficulty, as evidenced by the number of people who are already taking up such part-time studies. None have had to appeal to CPF directly to use their CPF because they have been able to save sufficient money over a period of time to take up such courses. So I do not think there is a need to make a special exception in this instance to allow such people to use their CPF, although if we do so, of course, it would be more convenient. But my point is that since people can plan their part-time courses, we encourage them to plan, and the fact that they have to put aside some savings of their own in order to do the course, it would provide better motivation and incentive for them to complete their courses and to do well in those courses so that they can see rising income as a result of higher educational attainment. As to whether we in fact have the right priority, I think the Member has to understand that the CPF investment scheme is aimed at helping CPF members to build up their assets. Whereas money that is spent for education is consumed. Whether in fact that would lead to a direct increase in income in proportion to the consumption of CPF savings is yet to be seen.”
“Sir, my Ministry, together with the Ministry of Trade and Industry, has been very supportive of the call for workers to undergo training and retraining. In my view, workers who need to upgrade their skills today have many opportunities to undergo skill upgrading courses with support from their employers and also the Skills Development Fund. There are ample opportunities and training spaces available for workers who need to upgrade their skills through part-time training courses. The Skills Development Fund is looking at various ways and means of increasing the number of training places available for such workers. So there is really no necessity to make CPF available for paying the fees for part-time degree courses in this context.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the CPF Education Scheme enables CPF members to use their CPF savings to pay for their own or their children's tuition fees for full-time courses conducted by local universities and polytechnics. The CPF Education Scheme is a loan scheme. Hence, a member who borrows CPF savings under the scheme must repay the amount borrowed plus interest in cash. In most cases, part-time degree courses are meant for working adults. Part-time students can also plan in advance their studies and hence put aside sufficient savings to meet their expenses. They should be able to pay the part-time course fees with their own savings, instead of borrowing from their CPF savings. My Ministry has therefore no intention of extending the Scheme to allow the use of CPF for paying tuition fees of part-time degree courses.”
“But more importantly, and I think this is a very significant point which I urge the Member to consider, foreign workers taking on a second job at very low wages would adversely affect unskilled Singaporeans who depend on the lower-end jobs for a living. It would also impede our effort to encourage more Singaporeans to work part time. Earlier on, in response to Dr Lee Tsao Yuan, I pointed out that part-time work is one solution for working mothers. And if we allow foreign workers to take on these part-time jobs, we are just simply depriving Singaporeans of an opportunity to do part-time work. Allowing them to moonlight legally could also deprive a large number of less educated Singaporeans from finding part-time employment. They would also compete for jobs with the group of economically inactive Singaporeans who have an intention of seeking jobs after taking a short period off from working. On balance, I think it will be unwise and it would not be in our interest to allow foreign workers who are here for a specific job to moonlight legally.”
“We have other higher expenses for the coming financial year, including higher agency fee to be paid to the CPF Board for collecting the foreign workers levy on our behalf. Sir, Mr Imram also asked whether the Ministry will, in fact, legitimise foreign workers working part-time or moonlighting instead of cracking down on them. Foreign workers are allowed to come to Singapore on the basis that there is an eligible employer with a full-time job for them. We do not issue work permits to foreigners for part-time work. For instance, in the construction sector, employers have to show proof that they have sufficient contracts in hand to justify bringing in non-traditional source workers. By approving work permits for specific employers, we are able to hold the employer directly responsible for the employment, welfare and eventual repatriation of the foreign worker. If a foreign worker is allowed to work for multiple employers, we would lose this element of accountability, eg, which employer should provide medical benefits to the foreign worker. If one employer terminates or dismisses the worker, what happens to the other employer? In the case of a non-traditional source worker, which employer should furnish security bond and be responsible for repatriation of the foreign workers? These are the problems that should be considered. As there are more than 300,000 foreign workers in Singapore, there would be adverse consequences if employers' accountability towards their foreign workers is not clearly established. The Member's suggestion may also not necessarily benefit foreign workers. Some employers may well contract out their foreign workers to take on a second job and in the process underpay them for their main job.”
“In order to improve the situation and to curb the rising incidence of illegal workers, my Ministry will amend the Employment of Foreign Workers Act. We will make principal contractors in the construction sector responsible for illegal foreign workers found at their worksites, even if such illegal workers were brought in by the sub-contractors. This will compel principal contractors to tighten security at their worksite to prevent the entry and employment of illegal workers in those sites. Sir, the present penalty for employers who are convicted for the first time is a fine equivalent to 2-4 years' of foreign workers levy and/or imprisonment up to one year. My Ministry has successfully appealed to the courts to impose deterrent sentences in the form of heavier fines on errant employers. Employers who blatantly employ illegal foreign workers should be forewarned. We will not hesitate to appeal to the courts to impose jail sentences even on the first offence. And if these measures still do not deter irresponsible employers from breaking the law, my Ministry will consider even heavier penalties for more effective deterrence. Sir, Encik Imram has also asked whether the increase in the Ministry's Other Operating Expenditure, I believe it should be under code SK 2000, is the result of additional cost for enforcement against illegal workers. Code SK 2000 refers to Other Operating Expenditure for the Work Permit regulation programme. The programme covers Other Operating Expenditure (OOE) for both the Work Permit and Employment Department and the Labour Inspectorate. The increase of 19% is not entirely due to the increase in efforts to enforce against illegal workers.”
“Sir, the Member also asked whether my Ministry has any plan to review the dependency ceiling for foreign workers in the service sector. In fact, we have done so. On 1st December last year, we raised the dependency ceiling for the service sector from 20% to 25%. In the case of small service establishments with only 2 to 10 local workers, they are, in fact, allowed to employ foreign workers beyond the 25% limit, subject to a maximum of 33%. With this adjustment, I think it will meet the requirements of most of the service sector companies. Sir, I now turn to the question of illegal workers which was raised by both Mr Othman and Mr Imram. My Ministry is very concerned with the increasing incidence of illegal workers in Singapore. The problem is most rampant at construction sites. We view the matter very seriously as many contractors employ illegal workers deliberately to evade paying the foreign workers levy. In 1994, my Ministry detected illegal employment at 42 construction sites. Out of the 42 cases, we found 39 contractors were involved in employing illegal foreign workers. And these 39 contractors, in fact, can qualify for additional work permit holders legitimately under the current dependency ratio. In fact, if they had chosen to apply for additional foreign workers, they would have been given approval. But they did not do so. They employed illegal workers, which demonstrated that they were doing so clearly in order to cheat the foreign workers levy system. They have therefore chosen to flout the law intentionally. My Ministry has also observed that most worksites have inadequate security and poor or no access control with no system of identifying the workers who are allowed to gain access to the worksites.”
“Sir, first, I will respond to Mr Othman's point about why there is a need to raise the levy for foreign domestic workers. With regard to the levy for foreign domestic workers, an increase is necessary at this juncture to moderate the rapid growth in demand for foreign domestic workers. The last time we adjusted the levy for foreign domestic workers was in early l992, at which time we had only a little more than 65,000 foreign domestic workers in Singapore. Now, we already have more than 80,000 such foreign domestic workers here. Also, this revision, which will take effect on 1st April 1995, is only for a 10% increase in the levy or $30 per month. This revision is actually a very modest adjustment compared to the cumulative wage gain enjoyed by Singaporeans over the past two years. I think, on average, over the past two years, Singaporeans have enjoyed wage gains well in excess of $200 per month. The rapid wage gains had diminished the dampening effect of the last levy revision and led to a very strong increase in demand for foreign domestic workers in 1993 and 1994. In order to moderate this demand, we have no option but to make an adjustment to the levy. What are the alternatives available? Families can always make other arrangements with their relatives or their in-laws. They can send older children to child care centres. There are child minders in the neighbourhoods whose services could be hired to keep an eye on the children, or the children could be left with the child minders. There are, in fact, many other options. In fact, the vast majority of Singaporeans do not actually use foreign domestic workers as the source of service to look after their children.”
“Sir, let me reassure the Member and the employers that there is no intention to compel them to employ older workers beyond the age of 55, if they should hire any such workers at the present moment. Because when we introduced the Retirement Age Act, we had provided an exemption from all provisions of the Act for workers who had already retired at the age of 55 or above on 1st July 1993. In other words, any employer who today employs a person who is aged 55 or above does not have to keep the same worker to the prevailing retirement age.”
“Sir, the February 1995 survey also revealed that 72% of the retrenched workers had actively sought re-employment while 28% were not seeking re-employment for a variety of reasons. And out of those 72% who were actively seeking re-employment, 74% were successful. So three-quarters of those who were retrenched and were looking for jobs got jobs, while 26% were still looking for new jobs at the time of the survey. As the survey was conducted soon after retrenchment, we are very hopeful that over a period of time, even the 26% would be able to find jobs. Sir, the survey also found out that 60% of re-employed persons suffered a pay cut in their new jobs; 20% received the same salary and the remaining 20%, in fact, enjoyed higher pay.”
“Sir, the retrenchment we are experiencing reflects a structural change in employment. Economic activities that are land and labour intensive will continue to relocate to neighbouring countries as we upgrade to a higher valued-added and capital intensive economy. But despite increasing retrenchments over the last few years, in fact more new jobs are also being created at the same time. In 1994, total employment in Singapore increased to 72,100 compared to 70,787 in 1993. With strong economic growth and tight labour market, most of the retrenched workers were able to find re-employment. This is reflected in the low unemployment rate of 2% in 1994. The bulk of the retrenched workers were from the manufacturing sector, mainly electrical and electronic industries, as companies restructure to achieve higher skilled and value-added operations. The manufacturing sector accounted for 74% of the workers retrenched in 1994. The commerce sector formed 16%; and the financial and business services sector, 4%; transport and communications sector accounted for only 3% of the workers retrenched. About 69% of the retrenched workers were in production and related work prior to retrenchment. Clerical, sale and service workers accounted for 16% of the total number retrenched. Professional, technical and administrative workers formed another 15%. Sir, an MOL survey in February 1995, covering 633 workers from seven companies which undertook major retrenchment exercise in the last quarter of 1994, showed that majority of the workers who were re-employed remained in the same occupational group, that means, those production operators who were retrenched would end up looking for another job as production operators.”
“Sir, the CPF is structured to ensure that its members put aside sufficient savings for home ownership, Medisave and old age retirement needs. It is not the objective of CPF to meet all the needs, especially those of members in the higher income group. That is why employees do not contribute CPF on salaries beyond the $6,000 ceiling. Those in the higher income group will have to use their own savings to meet whatever non-basic needs that they may have. For instance, many high income CPF members who own private properties, costing much more than HDB flats, are actually using cash on top of their CPF savings to pay for their mortgage loans. Likewise, they should use their non-CPF savings to buy mortgage reducing insurance for their private properties from one of the many insurance companies which provides such service.”
“By allowing CPF members who are HDB home owners to use their CPF savings for this purpose, we have enabled every HDB home owner to benefit from the asset enhancement programme. On their own, without the use of CPF savings, many HDB flat owners may not be able to participate fully in this programme. Furthermore, the HDB upgrading exercise is not likely to be repeated at frequent intervals. In the current exercise, only flats which are more than 17 years old are upgraded. Sir, notwithstanding this exception, HDB home owners are still not allowed to use their CPF savings for personal renovation or upgrading works to their flats. We are therefore unable to expand the use of CPF savings to the HUDC home owners to upgrade their flats. And I understand that the Ministry of National Development is not planning to include HUDC flats in the HDB upgrading programme. I think we should look at HUDC flats as more like private properties. For a start, they were sold to people who may have exceeded the income eligibility to purchase HDB flats. The owners, including those who have already formed the equivalent of management corporations to administer their own estates, should pay any upgrading works out of their non-CPF savings. Sir, I believe I have addressed all the points raised.”
“Mr Othman also asked whether workers would continue to be allowed to withdraw from their Minimum Sum account or their Retirement Account a monthly payment after they retire at the age of 60 instead of the prevailing retirement age. When we revised the existing Minimum Sum scheme, we decided that the age at which employees are allowed to start withdrawing from their Minimum Sum should be pegged to the prevailing retirement age. This is logical because as long as the employee continues to be working he does not need to draw from his retirement account to support himself because he will be earning a monthly salary and he can carry on as before. He only needs to depend on his Minimum Sum when he finally retires completely. That is why we have decided to peg the withdrawal of the monthly amount from the Retirement Account to the prevailing retirement age. 1.15 pm The Retirement Age Act also provides for exemption of employees who are in occupations where age is a bona fide occupational requirement. If such employees are already exempted from the provisions of the Retirement Age Act, then we will allow them to continue to withdraw their monthly payment from their Retirement Account at the age of 60. Sir, I now respond to Mr Leong Horn Kee who asked whether CPF savings can be used for the upgrading programme for HUDC estates. My Ministry's policy has always been to disallow the use of CPF savings for renovating or upgrading properties, whether it is HDB or private property. An exception has been made for the nation-wide HDB upgrading programme. This is a Government-initiated programme to rejuvenate old HDB estates and to enhance the assets of our citizens.”
“The higher cost of retaining older workers is mainly due to our seniority-based wage system and rising medical cost for older workers and to some extent lower work capacity due to ageing. To ensure that Singapore remain internationally competitive, there is a need to help employers to reduce the cost of retaining older workers. My Ministry is studying various measures, including a further reduction in CPF contribution and adjustment in wages and benefits for workers beyond the age of 60. While employees will be given the opportunity to continue working beyond the age of 60, we must also ensure that cost competitiveness of our economy is not adversely affected. I agree with Mr Stephen Lee that uncompetitive cost due to an ageing workforce will certainly have an effect on our economic viability and our competitiveness. If this is not properly addressed, it could, in future, jeopardise employment opportunities and prospects for all workers. It may therefore be necessary for workers and their unions to accept a further reduction in CPF contribution and even adjustments to wages and benefits in order to remain gainfully employed beyond the age of 60. Mr Othman Haron Eusofe also asked whether the CPF interest rate for the Special Account will be revised. The interest rate for the Special Account will be revised with effect from 1st July with an additional payment of 1.25% above the interest rate in the Ordinary Account. Since this 1.25% is comparable to what long term investment in the market would on average yield above the savings deposit rate, we have no plan at this juncture to revise this rate.”
“It is only about 4%. So it is consistent with the figure of 5% of the women who do part-time work nationally, as I have mentioned earlier on. However, other than Government, which is the largest employer, and some large companies, it would not be practical to expect all private sector companies, particularly the small and medium-sized ones, to do the same. Women who wish to take care of their young children full-time may thus have to temporarily leave the job market and consider new employment opportunities available when their family responsibilities are reduced. May I now turn to the subject of retirement age which was addressed by both Mr Othman and Mr Stephen Lee. The Retirement Age Act came into operation in July 1993. The Act provides for a statutory minimum retirement, which is aged 60. In introducing the Bill in Parliament, I announced that this minimum retirement age would be raised to 67 in seven to 10 years' time. Yesterday, Mr Othman informed this Chamber that the older workers preferred to carry on working if they are healthy. This is a very positive feedback and it goes to show that the Retirement Age Act will, in fact, be useful and relevant to mature workers. My Ministry is currently studying various options to raise the retirement age to 67. A gradual step-by-step increase of the retirement age to 67 by the year 2003 is the most practical approach. It will enable employers and employees to have sufficient time to make the necessary adjustments. In looking at how the retirement age could be further raised, we also have to address the issue of cost to the employers, which was raised by both Mr Othman and Mr Stephen Lee. Raising the retirement age would certainly increase employers' cost and may undermine their competitiveness.”
“However, women tend to withdraw from the labour force after marriage to devote time to their families. This has resulted in a significant fall in the female labour participation rate after the age of 30. Our survey shows that 95% of working women work full-time while the balance work part-time. The proportion of women working part-time is low compared to those in other countries, such as Japan, the United States and the United Kingdom. In recent years, there has been a growing trend for females aged 45 and above to re-enter the labour market. In 1994, for example, the female labour force participation rate for those in the 45-49 age group was 49.7%, up from 32.1% for the same age group in 1983. Females within this age group are able to re-enter the job market to work full-time or part-time as they may have less household responsibilities. Their higher participation rate is also due to the fact that they are increasingly better educated and are able to take advantage of the numerous job opportunities created by our expanding economy. Ideally, women can be granted no-pay leave to provide full-time mothering to their young children and to re-enter the labour market when their children are older and in school. I have been informed that PSD, which is one of the organisations that took the lead in trying to help women to take time off to meet their family requirement by way of offering no-pay leave or part-time work, has got a favourable response from their female employees. The PSD has told me that in the civil service and statutory boards, the take-up rate by women for no-pay leave is 21%. That means almost one in five women who are eligible for no-pay leave does avail herself of this facility. On the other hand, the part-time work response has not been as good.”
“However, the quantum of percentage for workers who have reached the salary ceiling may be lower than that for the younger workers. This is mainly due to our seniority based wage system where some older employees who are already paid according to or more than their job's worth may not be able to enjoy the same level of wage increase as younger workers. Employers are understandably reluctant to make adjustment to maximum salary to avoid undermining the cost competitiveness of their operation. There are important lessons to be learnt from this. Our workers should constantly be encouraged to take training seriously and to upgrade themselves so that even mature workers can take on higher value-added jobs and continue to enjoy good wage increases. Also, in reviewing salary ranges, employers and trade unions should place less emphasis on seniority. This will help to ensure that wages could better reflect the value of the job. Sir, as the issue of wages is very much under the purview of the NWC, which comprises better representatives from the unions, management and Government, it would be more appropriate for this subject to be discussed at NWC deliberations. Sir, I now turn to the Nominated Member, Dr Lee Tsao Yuan, who spoke about the difficulties faced by women who have to balance the needs of family and home with that of a career. I agree that this is indeed a difficult task. But overall, our female labour participation rate has been quite healthy. In 1994, it was almost 51%. This is comparable to levels in most developed countries, including Japan, which is 50.3%, and the United States which is 55.7%. Better education has, in fact, enabled more women to take on higher paying jobs.”
“If the employer fails to comply with the requirement, they can always seek the assistance of the Ministry of Labour to intervene. We provide free service to all workers, local or foreign, to settle grievances against their employers. Sir, in addition, I would like to point out that work permit holders are accorded medical services at Government hospitals and polyclinics at the same charges as Singapore citizens. There is no discrimination against them in the charges that are levied for service at these Government hospitals. May I now turn to Mr Koo Tsai Kee who spoke on the plight of mature workers who may not be able to enjoy wage increase once they have reached the salary ceiling. Since 1986, the NWC has moved away from issuing quantitative guidelines and has instead focused on qualitative recommendations. The main purpose is to provide greater flexibility for unions and companies to negotiate on appropriate wage increases and bonuses linked more closely to company and individual performance. The NWC guidelines help unions in their negotiations for wage increases for their members, including those who have reached the maximum of their salary scale. Such collective agreements are usually for two or three years' duration and the terms and conditions of employment in the agreement are subject to review. Unions are free to negotiate for wage adjustments to salary ranges and annual increments for workers who have reached their salary ceiling. In fact, this has been the practice whenever collective agreements are reviewed before renewal. Based on my Ministry's conciliation of wage negotiations or NWC guidelines and collective agreement renewal, unions generally are able to secure wage increase through expansion of salary ranges.”