Lee Yock Suan
Singapore
“The position will be clear when the regulations have been drafted. Right now we are debating it in the absence of actual wording of the regulations. The regulations will be fair, they are meant to maintain a level playing field, and we should wait for the regulations before we pass judgement. The intention is not to go after everybody.”
“I think the Member will be aware that Internet is a very dangerous place. We can have all kinds of poison letters and they will just spread like wild fire. So we must have some means to try and minimise this and make sure that everything is orderly and fair.”
“The other Members have no problem supporting the Bill, including Mr Chiam. I think the position is about 95% clear. Question put, and agreed to. Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House. The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. - [Mr Lee Yock Suan].”
“Then we will have to see the actual situation. But, as I said, the intention is to go after the popular sites, the main sites of parties and non-party political sites. If it is an individual, eg, a young man posting up his own site and saying "These are my views", we are not going to go after those people.”
“The intention is to make the rules clear for the main parties involved in the contest, in other words, the party websites. These are the areas we are mainly after.”
“I thank Mr Chiam for reminding me about his question. On listening to his speech, I was under the impression that he was asking whether this ban on opinion polls applies to the mass media. The answer is yes, it applies to all media, not just the Internet but also newspapers, TV and so on. Thank you for pointing this out.”
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“For example, I have been told that certain HDB blocks are reasonably clean in the morning after the cleaners have done their jobs. However, they are badly littered by the time the residents return from work. Besides keep-clean campaigns, there has to be stronger enforcement against littering.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the foreign worker policy has been liberalized in March this year to allow companies in the services sector to recruit workers from the traditional source for up to 10% of their workforce. Cleansing contractors can recruit foreign workers under this policy. I must, however, dispel the notion that foreign workers are a simple answer to enable the town councils to maintain cleanliness in public housing estates at lower cost. Foreign workers are subject to the levy which will be $300 per month from 1st August this year. They will also have to be provided with accommodation. In comparison, some local cleansing workers are paid only $8 to $12 per day for work from about 7.00 am to about noon. This works out to $240 to $360 per month if they work every day in the month. Besides such low pay, the cleaners also have to work harder as they are expected to service more HDB flats per worker. This is partly because of the labour shortage and partly because contractors tend to cut corners to win the cleaning contracts. The availability of workers is only one aspect of the problem and it hinges on the pay level as there are still some lowly educated, older Singaporeans who are willing to do such jobs. Two other aspects are, firstly, contract specifications, and secondly, proper supervision to ensure that cleanliness standards are met. There must also be increase in productivity through mechanisation and better work methods. Otherwise, higher manning levels must result in higher cost to the residents even if there is greater access to foreign workers. Higher conservancy costs are inevitable with our manpower constraint and rising income levels. To keep conservancy fees down, HDB residents must learn not to litter.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, in 1989, 80% of the Singaporeans who applied for permission to marry work permit holders were males. Of these male Singaporean applicants, about 70% had at least secondary education. This was higher than the 60% single male Singaporeans, aged 20 and above and with at least secondary education, in our entire population. In other words, a higher proportion of male Singaporeans with at least secondary education had applied to marry work permit holders. This is contrary to the popular notion that more lowly educated Singaporean men are applying to marry work permit holders. In comparison, of the female Singaporean applicants, about 66% had at least secondary education. This was lower than the 75% of our single female population with similar education. As may be expected, most of the applicants were young. About 70% were 30 years old or younger. FOREIGN WORKERS ENGAGED BY TOWN COUNCIL CLEANING CONTRACTORS (Liberalization in granting work permits) 9. Mr Chew Heng Ching asked the Minister for Labour if he will, in view of the tight labour market, be more liberal in granting work permits to foreign workers engaged by town council cleaning contractors.”
“There are some Advisers who feel they need bigger CCs and in fact they have built very large CCs with additional badminton courts and so on. There are others who are now currently extending their CCs by fairly large extensions. The present arrangement for them is that they have to raise the funds themselves. I appreciate that it is very difficult in the current environment with so much competition for funds for the 25th Anniversary which my colleague, Mr Chandra Das is working very hard on. But I think Members should not rush into these projects. They should take their time. The whole purpose of fund raising is to build up community spirit and get people involved. So there is no need to rush. If there is a good case to upgrade a particular CC, eg, it needs renovation, we can see whether we can do it under the maintenance vote. If you want to change the CC in a substantial way or change the financing guidelines, then I am afraid we will have to study further and consult the Minister for Finance on this.”
“Sir, I am answering this in my capacity as Deputy Chairman of the People's Association which runs the community centres. By "old CC", I presume Dr Vasoo is actually referring to what we classify as a modern CC, but one which is some years old. In fact, most of the 75 modern CCs that we have are fairly new and comparable almost to country clubs except for the golf courses and swimming pools. In fact, in terms of activities, I think they have more activities than many country clubs. I agree that with rising standards of living, we should be upgrading our CCs, especially where there are facilities which are lacking. I think it is necessary for us to study the individual cases to see whether the CCs are well used, whether the CCs are in fact run down and so on. I want to add a word of caution that we should not over-emphasise the hardware aspects, ie, the building and the equipment. More importantly, I think we should look at the software aspects, because it is the activities, the programmes and the people in the CCs who will help us to attract residents to the CCs. You can have the most modern CC but if it is not well used, then it is really a waste of public funds. Members are aware of the existing funding arrangements. For the basic facilities which include the multi-purpose hall, the community leaders have to raise $100,000 and the Government will pay for the rest. But for the so-called additional facilities, the cost sharing is dollar for dollar. This applies up to the standard of a modern CC as it is determined between the Ministry of Finance and the People's Association. The present standard is to have a built-in area of about 1,600 square metres on a piece of land which is 0.4 hectares. I think in most cases this is really adequate.”
“These include: identification of noise sources; periodic monitoring of noise levels; control of noise where practicable; health education of workers; provision of proper hearing protectors to workers; and medical monitoring of the workers. So far, 97 factories involving about 21,000 workers have implemented such Hearing Conservation Programmes.”
“Sir, I am pleased to inform Members that the problem of noise induced deafness in Singapore is under control. Workers exposed to noise are examined annually to ensure early detection of the problem. In 1989, about 36,000 workers had been examined. The number of confirmed noise induced deafness cases peaked at about 1,700 in 1986 and had fallen to 700 in 1989. Almost all the NID cases detected were in the early stage with no significant disability. Only two workers in 1988 and six workers in 1989 had advanced deafness which is compensable under the Workmen's Compensation Act. But this does not mean that we will be complacent because noise induced deafness is a progressive illness. So although they are in the early stage, if they do not take protection, the problem will get worse. Therefore, my Ministry is continuing with these efforts to cut down on this problem, which is the most common problem of occupational disease amongst Singaporeans, in terms of numbers of people affected, although most of them, as I said, are at the early stage. What we do is to examine the noisy factories periodically to ensure that management has taken steps to protect the workers' hearing through reduction of noise, if possible, through wearing of ear protectors and so on. The factories themselves are the ones to carry out the audiometric tests and they are supposed to keep proper records of all these tests which are done regularly once a year. My Ministry's Department of Industrial Health monitors and checks these tests to make sure they are properly conducted. My Ministry will continue to identify and assess noisy factories, and encourage them to implement Hearing Conservation Programmes.”
“Out of this number, 1,130 were females and the males were only 311. That is already a sign that some of our lower educated males are being given permission to marry Malaysians and other foreigners, but mainly Malaysians. So there is hope for them as far as this policy is concerned. But there are a lot of lowly-educated Singaporean females who are also unmarried. So something has to be done to help these people. The People's Association, wearing my other hat, will be extending the Social Development Scheme to include those people who have no "0" levels, so that they too will have assistance to find suitable partners amongst Singaporeans.”
“But if you want to marry, think again, and make sure that you can qualify first. Otherwise, there could be a lot of problems, not because the Government is hard-hearted but because Singapore is a small country and we have to be selective in deciding whom we admit into Singapore. My Ministry does look at all the factors. When Members appeal to me personally in many cases, we look at not only the skills of the workers, the qualifications, but also whether they have family roots here, whether the Singaporean spouse (if he is a male) is able to support the family, and various other factors. So wherever possible, we try to see whether we can accommodate in some way, because personally I do not like to say "no" to these people either. And like you, I also meet a lot of these cases at my meet-the-people sessions. Mr Chew asked this question whether we have a quota on approvals. Lately, we seem to have become very quota-conscious. The answer is, no. There is no quota. It so happens that out of this population of workers, a certain percentage is able to meet our criteria, and this percentage at about 60-70% is already fairly liberal. I think the point he is trying to ask really is whether, with this liberalisation and to be in conformity with the Hongkong scheme, we should now see an increase in the approval rate. I think at the moment it is still too early to see any definite signs. But it does show that we have been maintaining a fairly consistent line. The rate has in fact gone up from about 50% some years ago. About 10 years ago, I think the rate was 50%. It is now about 68% or thereabouts. And of the approval cases, the majority are females. In answer to a question that Mr Chew raised the other day, I mentioned that in 1989 we approved 1,441 applications.”
“Sir, this topic is an evergreen in my Ministry's budget. Basically, the Members who have spoken ask one question: whether the Ministry is prepared to be more flexible in approving marriage applications between work permit holders and Singaporeans. My answer is, yes. We have always been flexible and we will continue to be flexible. But we must not give the wrong signals to the more than 150,000 work permit holders who may be contemplating settling down in Singapore. It is not a question of just those who have appealed to us but the wider, much larger population out there who are mostly unskilled. So unless we are prepared to, say, let all of them come in and settle down, my Ministry has to do the unpleasant job of saying 'no' to some people. I know it is very unpleasant and it is very painful. I sympathise with these people. But we must be selective in the interest of the vast majority of Singaporeans, because Singapore is a very small country. If we have to allow in people to live here, let us allow in people who are of value to us, who have adjusted to our way of life, who have the skills, qualifications and so on. If you look at the scheme to allow the Hongkong people to come in, that is a very measured kind of policy where we try and attract people who can be of value to us. So do not misunderstand that because we have relaxed on that particular aspect, therefore henceforth we are going to approve all marriage applications, because that will be the worst thing for us, considering that we have so many foreign workers here who are unskilled. These are people who basically would not have been allowed to come here and stay on a long-term basis, except that we are so short of workers. So the message to them must be: yes, you are here to work, you are welcome.”
“Sir, before moving on to this item, may I just clarify what I just said in response to Dr Arthur Beng? I did not mean that I agree to change it from one year to two years. What I mean is that we will study it. My position is to leave it to one year but if he has very good arguments then we may consider it. Concerning the points raised by Encik Abbas Abu Amin, in July 1989 the Department of Industrial Safety of my Ministry conducted a special enforcement exercise on factories employing 50 or more workers in the Jurong postal district 2262. This district accounted for about one-third of the total number of factory accidents in 1988. All the 178 factories employing 50 or more workers were inspected. The purpose of the exercise was not to catch offenders, but to ensure that all the factories took adequate safety precautions. The factories were given advanced notice to make corrections to their factories to comply with the law. During the inspection the Department also discussed with top management of the factory how safety standards in the factory could be further improved. 84 factories were found to have infringed various safety requirements. These mainly concerned proper guarding of machines and inspection of pressure vessels and lifting equipment. 26 factories were fined. The remaining 58 factories were issued with written warnings to make rectifications. They have since done so. The factories were cooperative and the exercise has improved safety standards. A similar exercise will be conducted in the Jurong postal district of 2261 next month. Similar exercises will be carried out systematically to cover other industrial estates that register high accident rates.”
“Sir, I defer to the Member as he is a doctor and I am not. There will be an opportunity to debate this issue when the Bill comes to the House because I have to amend the Workmen's Compensation Act. It is a rather cumbersome process. In fact, when we amend this Act I am proposing that I be allowed to gazette the changes in future to the ceilings so that we can adjust the rates more frequently and not wait 10 years to make the adjustment.”
“Sir, as I explained just now, from our data, there has been hardly any case which has gone beyond one year, because normally temporary incapacity cases are relatively minor injuries. I will be surprised if they have not recovered within one year in this age of modern medical science. But as a doctor he might be able to give us better advice.”
“Sir, I realise that Members have not had time to study this table. If you look at it carefully, in fact you will find that for the major injuries which we have done nothing to, some of our rates are higher than in the other countries. So I have not adjusted all the rates, only those where I feel there are clear anomalies. In the case of total loss of hearing, I do not know whether Members feel that in fact it is tantamount to a total loss of ability to work. I do not think so, because 100% would imply that a person is no longer able to earn a living. So I think in fact the 60% is more than fair and there is no need to adjust the rate.”
“Therefore, there is no need to raise the salary ceiling of $1,250, the reason being that all workmen who face the higher risks are already covered and this ceiling applies to the lower risk category. In any case, the majority of workers who are injured and who earn above this ceiling, 95% are covered. There is also no need at present to extend the list of compensable occupational diseases in the Act. The changes will be implemented with effect from 1st May 1990. Amendments will be made to the Workmen's Compensation Act to take effect from this date. I have chosen 1st May 1990 to give the insurance companies some notice in case they have to make adjustments. Based on accident claims in 1989, my Ministry has estimated that the cost increases to the insurance industry arising from the higher compensation limits will be just about offset by the adjustments for thumb, finger and toe injuries which are common injuries. For the industry as a whole, there appears to be no reason to raise premiums arising from these revisions to the Workmen's Compensation rates. For Members' information, the total premium for workmen's compensation insurance collected in 1989 was about $60 million, less than 1% of the total salary of the affected workers. The total compensation paid under the Act in 1989 was about $28 million. I will be happy to answer queries if Members have any question on this.”
“Under the Workmen's Compensation Act, if they have to continue on medical leave beyond these periods, they will be paid two-thirds of their monthly earnings, subject to a cap of $390 per month. This ceiling of $390 was set many years ago. The Government has decided to remove this cap of $390 per month. The worker will in future be paid two-thirds of his salary without this salary cap. This will bring us in line with the practice in other countries. At present, an injured worker with temporary incapacity can qualify for up to five years medical leave with pay. The limit of five years is far too long and will be shortened to one year. In 1989, there was not a single case of a workman being given more than one year's medical leave. The corresponding limit for permanent incapacity will also be set at one year instead of six months as at present. Members might wonder why it is six months for permanent incapacity and five years for temporary incapacity. Five years is obviously too long. Six months was set because the lump-sum compensation for permanent incapacity includes also an element for loss of earnings. I think we should harmonise at one year. It is easier to remember and is consistent. My Ministry has also reviewed other aspects of the Act. The Act covers all manual workers without salary limit. So long as the worker is a manual worker, regardless of the salary, there is no limit. He is covered under the Act. As for non-manual workers there is a salary ceiling of $1,250 per month. Manual workers are the ones who face higher injury risks and they are all covered. Data shows that for injured factory workers earning above $1,250 a month, 95% are covered by the Act.”
“My Ministry has also examined the percentage loss of earning capacity for various types of injuries as specified in the First Schedule to the Act. Table 2 compares our rates with those of various developed countries (these are the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Germany) as well as with Hong Kong which is an NIE. Our rates are comparable except for thumb, finger and toe injuries which are unduly high. If you look at items 16 to 22 in the table and follow across to the other side, those figures which are highlighted, the rates are all much higher than those in the other countries. The Government has therefore decided to revise these rates. The result of these higher rates is that they create anomalies. For example, a workman who loses a thumb and several fingers of one hand is eligible for higher compensation than one who loses an entire arm. Obviously, this is something that has to be corrected as we are way out of line with all the other developed countries. We have done so by comparison with the UK standards. The proposed new rates that we have on the right hand column are those used in the UK which, as a developed country, would have fully studied this matter and provided sufficient compensation for their injured workmen. The next item concerns temporary incapacity. These are people who are injured but who do not suffer any permanent injury, either loss of a thumb or leg or whatever. Normally, they are compensated in terms of their pay. They are allowed medical leave and they are paid hospitalisation costs. Under the Employment Act, they are allowed up to 14 days of medical leave at full pay or 60 days if they are hospitalised.”
“Sir, I am pleased to inform the House that the Government has approved various adjustments to the workmen's compensation rates. I have arranged for tables (Cols. 721 - 726) to be distributed earlier highlighting the changes. I wonder if Members have copies of the tables. The tables are rather complicated. So I will try and explain them slowly. tables - TABLE SHOWING CHANGES TO THE WORKMEN'S COMPENSATION SCHEME, TABLE COMPARING PERMANENT INCAPACITY AWARDS FOR INJURIES DEEMED TO RESULT IN PERMANENT INCAPACITY (Cols. 721 - 726) If you look first at table 1, under the Workmen's Compensation Act, the compensation for death and permanent total incapacity are subject to maximum and minimum limits. For death, the maximum compensation is $45,000 and the minimum is $15,000. You can see the figures in Table 1 on the left hand column. For permanent total incapacity, they are $60,000 and $20,000 respectively. These amounts were set in 1980 based on the monthly median wage of $416 for workers covered under the Act. Since then, the median wage has increased by about 73% to $718 per month in 1989. The Government has therefore decided to increase the limits correspondingly by 73%. The new limits are: for death, $78,000 and $26,000; and for permanent total incapacity, $105,000 and $35,000. If you look at the right hand column, you will see the numbers. These are the maximum and minimum limits. In calculating the actual compensation, the Ministry will multiply the monthly salary of the worker by a certain multiplying factor which depends on the age of the worker at the time of the accident. This multiplying factor is set out in the Third Schedule of the Act and decreases as the worker gets older, because his future earning capacity and number of years of work are reduced.”
“I do not think we should rush into amending the Employment Act unless we are sure that it will be a step forward. Instead of doing that, what I propose to do is to get my Ministry to draw up a set of guidelines based on the pro-rating principle because this principle has been widely accepted. We have discussed this concept with both the NTUC as well as the Singapore National Employers' Federation. I think both parties generally are in favour of this concept. The Employment Act should cover both full-timers and part-timers in practically all respects. But in so far as fringe benefits are concerned, the starting point will be that you pro-rate the benefits for part-timers according to the hours worked. Of course, we should allow some flexibility because in some cases the employers and the workers may agree amongst themselves to vary from this position. The employers may want to pay the workers higher take-home pay, for example, a higher hourly rate. There may also be other factors to be considered. So I think a set of guidelines might be the best approach. We will draw up this set of guidelines, discuss it further with employers and unions and allow it to operate for a while. If it turns out to be a good practice, we may then decide whether to amend the Employment Act accordingly. Certainly, there is a lot of scope in Singapore for promoting part-time work to help resolve our labour shortage problems. The current proportion of part-time workers in Singapore is only 2.6% or about 33,000 persons. This is very low compared to, say, Japan and other countries where the percentage is as high as 15-20%.”
“The other issue concerns part-time employment and was raised by Mr Goh Chee Wee and Dr Wong Kwei Cheong. I sense that Dr Wong feels that this problem is very urgent and wonders why after one year there are still no amendments. The point is this. I mentioned at the last Budget debate that we should not rush into amending the Employment Act unless we are sure that this is the best way of doing it. If we do it this way and if we amend it wrongly, then in fact it could be introducing further rigidities into the system. Our main purpose, after all, is to promote part-time employment. At the moment, there is a bit of ambiguity. The Employment Act is supposed to cover all workers, both full-time and part-time. But I think management, unions and workers realise that this is not a realistic situation, because the part-time workers are working shorter hours. From our studies, in fact a lot of companies already are following this practice of pro-rating that Mr Goh mentioned. In fact, the ambiguity in the Act, although undesirable, has not deterred the setting-up of more part-time jobs. It is more a question of the willingness of the employers, whether they want to take the effort to have more part-time vacancies available. That I think is the main constraining factor. It is not the Act. It is not whether we should do more to promote and encourage housewives to work. In fact, our studies show that many housewives are willing to do part-time work, provided the jobs are near their homes and provided the hours are convenient so that they can fit them into their daily routine, ie, to look after their families as well as their jobs. So these are really the practical considerations. Therefore, my approach on this issue has been to take it one step at a time, not to rush it.”
“In fact, if you look at the system in Japan where they have house unions which have promoted industrial peace, the junior executives are often the leaders of the house unions. So also in Singapore, my Ministry has taken a pragmatic approach. Where house unions are formed or where the management has given its blessing, we have allowed junior executives to be members of unions. The problem about taking a legalistic approach is that it is not easy to define what is an executive position and what is not, especially in the case of junior executives. Mr Lim has mentioned some cases where companies deliberately promote their junior staff or give them titles without actually giving them any executive or managerial responsibilities. Such cases, I think, should be resolved as far as possible through discussion and consultation between the management and the unions or workers. My Ministry will try its best to help resolve any misunderstanding, failing which the matter can be referred to the Industrial Arbitration Court where the President has the powers to decide, based on the facts, the nature of their jobs and so on, whether in fact these people are executive staff or non-executive staff. The legal position as far as arbitration is concerned is quite clear. Mr Lim asked the question whether we should amend the Act to clarify this point. I think this is something we have to study. At the moment I am not sure whether there is really a need to do this or whether we should just take a more pragmatic approach and leave the situation as it is, because it is very difficult to define what is right in one case and what is not right. But I will ask my Ministry anyway to study this matter further.”
“Sir, I would first deal with the questions by Mr Lim Boon Heng. I agree with him fully that whilst industrial relations are presently good, they can easily change if management and workers do not follow good industrial relations practices. Therefore, it is important that there should be good consultation between the two parties. There should be good communication and so forth. So I agree that it would be a good idea to draw up a code of industrial relations practice so that if the two parties consistently follow the practice, there is less likelihood of any misunderstanding deteriorating into disputes. I understand that in fact the National Productivity Council in its plan of action up till the year 2000 has recommended similarly the drawing-up of an industrial relations code of practice. I will ask my Ministry to work closely with them and with the unions and employers to see how we can progress further. The other point raised by Mr Lim concerns this question of whether junior executives should be allowed to join unions. Under the Industrial Relations Act, trade unions of non-executive staff are restrained from seeking recognition on behalf of executive or managerial staff. This is to avoid conflict of interests which may arise if executives or managers represent both the employer and its employees' trade union. I think this is important in the case of a senior management staff, for example, the Managing Director or the Personnel Manager. But it is less clear with junior executives, whether this will give rise to conflict of interests. I think it will depend to a large extent on the nature of the job of the executives and also on the state of industrial relations within the company.”
“So they are closer to the nature of shares. On the other hand, if the loan stocks are purely loan stocks, I agree that they are less risky, but the principles are a bit different and up to this point in time the Government has not approved or decided whether to allow CPF funds to be invested in this category of investment instruments which are fixed interest instruments. It is because if we allow this, then we may have to consider other similar instruments, for example, Government bonds, securities, even bank deposits. So up to now, the Government has not decided whether to allow this category of fixed interest instruments. If a decision is made to allow it, it will have major implications on the financial market as well as on the CPF Board itself. But I will ask the CPF Board and my Ministry to look into this matter.”
“Sir, let me first explain to Members of the House why the shares held by these banks are in the names of their nominees. The reason is for purposes of control because we are allowing members to use their CPF funds. So when they receive dividends, for example, or when they sell their shares, the money has to go back to their CPF accounts. So normally when they buy through their banks, the banks will buy all these shares in the names of the bank's nominees. But in practice the banks already keep registers of the individual members' accounts. For example, if there were a rights issue, then the members themselves would in fact be applying, deciding whether they want to take up the rights, whether it is the rights for new shares or whatever. The point that the Member has raised concerns excess rights. I presume the excess rights are more than those taken up by the existing investors. The situation he mentioned is something which I will have to ask the CPF Board to look into because I am not very familiar with how they treat that kind of excess rights issue. But in general when a rights issue is available, I think members of the public who are shareholders as well as CPF members who have shares are entitled to certain rights. So it is up to them whether they want to exercise those rights. And if they do, then the banks which are acting on their behalf will apply for them according to their ratios, ie, the ratio of the new shares to existing shares. The other issue raised by the Member concerns loan stocks, for example, of companies that qualify for trustee status. The CPF Board has already allowed some kind of loan stocks to qualify. These are convertible loan stocks. In other words, these are loan stocks which can eventually be converted to shares.”
“Sir, the problem with Dr Lee is that he keeps harking back to the old days. We are living in 1990. The world has changed. The communist system has crumbled. He should not behave like a Rip van Winkle, always bringing us back to the old days, not realising what has happened and the improvements that have come about because of our laws. At least he has admitted that we have all benefitted from this development.”
“Sir, I would like to ask Dr Lee Siew-Choh to substantiate his statement that independent unions have been pressurised into joining the NTUC. I think he must not come here and just make general statements like that. The other point is industrial peace at whose expense. At nobody's expense. In actual fact, because of industrial peace, we have enjoyed tremendous economic growth over the years and everybody has benefitted, including Dr Lee himself.”
“He and the other union leaders have to prove their worth to union members or they would not be elected at the NTUC Triennial General Meeting.”
“The end result will be high unemployment and misery. The iron rice bowl is the hallmark of the communist system. Under that system, it is impossible to sack a worker even if he is redundant and totally unproductive. That system has failed. Dr Lee Siew-Choh claimed that the Employment Act provides no protection for workers. That is completely untrue. Under section 14 of the Act where an employee considers that he has been dismissed without just cause or excuse he may appeal to the Minister for reinstatement. If the Minister is satisfied that his complaint is valid, he can order the employer to reinstate him or pay him adequate compensation. This arrangement has worked well in practice. I have ordered, for example, compensation or reinstatement of workers who were wrongly dismissed. The Act also provides for payment of retrenchment benefits although the quantum is left for negotiation between the contracting parties. It should be noted that the Employment Act, like similar Acts elsewhere, provides the minimum statutory benefits. It is up to the unions and workers to negotiate for better terms which are thus seen to be coming from the employer. This provides for a stronger employer/employee nexus. Section 17 of the Act specifically safeguards the right of employees to join and participate in unions either as officials or members. It does not say that the union has to be affiliated to the NTUC. The NTUC has succeeded in organising the vast majority of the unionised workers of Singapore because it has helped bring about a better life for all Singaporean workers. The fact that the Secretary-General of the NTUC is also our Second Deputy Prime Minister means that unions have a very strong voice in Singapore at the highest level of decision making, namely, the Cabinet.”
“For those who have purchased approved annuities the amount will be determined by the terms of their annuity plans. For a married couple who are both CPF members, the minimum sum will likewise be raised from $46,400 to $47,400 and the monthly withdrawal amount from #355 to $365 per month. The new minimum sum of $31,600 will also apply to the approved investment scheme and the CPF education scheme from 1st April 1990. I think I have covered all the points raised on CPF. I will next turn to the comments made by Dr Lee Siew-Choh concerning the Employment Act. Listening to Dr Lee, I found myself wondering whether it was Dr Lee speaking or Mr J.B. Jeyaretnam speaking. I think many of us recall the heated debate we used to have in this House on similar issues. If new Members are interested in this drama, they can look up the Hansard, for example March 1982, on the debate of my Ministry's budget. The issues raised are not new. Contrary to what Dr Lee has said, the Employment Act is a balanced piece of legislation which has worked well for Singapore. It sets out the rights and obligations of the parties to the contract of service not only of employers but also of employees. It is well accepted by both workers and employers and has provided a sound basis for industrial peace and cooperation. The result has been many years of rapid economic growth since 1968 when the Act was enacted, leading to better jobs and a rising standard of living for all Singaporeans. The acid test of any legislation is whether it works in practice and benefits the nation. It is no use having the best written laws which spell out iron-clad job security and benefits for workers if the result is to force companies into bankruptcy and scare away potential investors.”
“The other point I want to remind Members is that CPF contributions are exempt from tax. With a lower cap on CPF, members will enjoy less tax-exempt CPF savings which they can invest in properties, shares and so forth and put aside for their old age. I think many high-income earners were painfully aware of this when the cap was recently placed on bonuses. The CPF scheme already allows CPF members considerable freedom and responsibility to manage their savings. I prefer to stay with the CPF scheme as it is. Mr Lim Boon Heng asked yesterday whether the Board is reviewing the minimum sum amount to allow for inflation. The Minister for Finance has announced in the Budget Statement that inflation last year was 2.4%. The minimum sum of $30,000 has been set based on 1986 real value. Therefore, with inflation over the years, we have to make small adjustments yearly or biennially to compensate for the inflation and to preserve the value of that sum for old age of CPF members. Therefore, with effect from 1st April this year, the sum will be increased by $700, equivalent to 2.4%, from $30,900 to $31,600. With the adjustment, CPF members who reach 55 years of age on or after 1st April 1990, will be required to set aside $31,600 in their minimum sum accounts. Those who own properties can, however, pledge their properties up to this value in lieu of cash. The amount that members can withdraw monthly from their minimum sum accounts from age 60 will also be raised by 2.4% from $237 to $243 per month. This will come into effect on 1st April 1995 when the cohort of members who reach 55 on 1st April this year reaches 60 years of age. This withdrawal rate will apply to the minimum sum accounts in the CPF or with approved banks.”
“Incidentally, Medisave is under the purview of the Acting Minister for Health. I will not extend the CPF into other areas unless it is for the benefit of CPF members. Looking back, I am convinced that the CPF scheme is better with the various changes that have been made than if it had been frozen as a purely savings scheme. This does not mean that there is no further room for improvement of the scheme. Mr Chng Hee Kok has proposed that we should place a cap on CPF savings. I think in the article in Petir he suggested a ceiling of $150,000. Let me briefly explain to Members how the long-term rate of 40% has been derived. This rate is projected on the basis that for a young worker starting work today and he continues working until the age of 60, the retirement age, he will then have by age 60 fully paid for a home commensurate with his income; secondly, sufficient Medisave funds for his old age needs; and thirdly, adequate cash balance to live on at 20-40% of his last drawn pay. Therefore, by saving at the long-term rate of 40%, a CPF member would be building up his own pension fund as it were corresponding to his own income level. Instead of a flat quantum ceiling which applies to all CPF members, the 40% rate effectively places a cap on each member corresponding to his own income. This is preferable and more appropriate. A fixed cap of, say, $150,000 would be too high for many CPF members and too low for others. For the high income groups, there are already two other limits. Firstly, there is the cap of $6,000 on ordinary monthly salary beyond which no CPF is payable. The second cap was introduced recently by the CPF Board and that is the cap on additional wages. Therefore, high income earners already contribute at less than the full CPF rate on their entire salary.”
“Sir, yesterday before we broke off, we had covered all the items under this amendment except for two items, namely, that on CPF and the review of the Employment Act. I will deal with CPF first. I agree with Mr Lim Boon Heng and Mr Chng Hee Kok that as far as possible CPF should stick to its basic objectives. That is why there was so much debate concerning CPF for Education. Basically, CPF is a compulsory savings scheme to provide for members' old age needs. Over the years, the scheme has been broadened to allow members to invest in a home, other properties, trustee shares, gold and local tertiary education besides paying for hospitalisation through Medisave. Mr Lim Boon Heng has given us a timely reminder that CPF is meant for CPF members' old age needs, not for current consumption. The CPF schemes generally do meet this fundamental objective. Investment in property is likely to appreciate over the long term given our land constraint. The education scheme is a loan scheme and so the fund taken out has to be repaid to the member's account. There is a 40% limit on investment in shares and gold and only money above the minimum sum is allowed to be invested up to this limit of 40%. On the whole, these schemes have benefited CPF members, for example, through home ownership and better returns on their funds. They also enjoy tax exemption on their CPF savings. For CPF members to benefit fully from the CPF schemes, they should manage their savings carefully, both before and after the CPF withdrawal age of 55. If they are able to take advantage of the investment opportunities, fine. If not, they should leave their money with the CPF where it is guaranteed. They should also realise that Medisave is for their old-age needs and not spend it too quickly.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to report that the Committee of Supply has made further progress on the Main and Development Estimates for the financial year 1990/91, and ask leave to sit again tomorrow.”
“Yes, Sir. The Chairman: Moment of Interruption. Thereupon Mr Speaker left the Chair of the Committee and took the Chair of the House.”
“I think it may be a bit too early and so we have to wait and see.”
“Otherwise the Government may have to resort to legislation and that will be a less flexible approach. Dr Wong Kwei Cheong has talked about the female labour force participation rate. The situation is in fact quite encouraging. The rate has gone up from about 45% in 1985 to 48.4% last year. This rate is comparable to that in Japan and Hong Kong and higher than in South Korea and Taiwan. So we are not doing too badly. The Government has taken various measures to encourage our married women to continue working or to return to work. This includes, firstly, subsidising the setting-up and running of child care centres at the rate of $100 per child per month. The number of such centres has increased from 101 in 1987 to 176 in 1989. Secondly, we allow the liberal entry of foreign maids with tax relief for working mothers. Thirdly, we have allowed mothers to work part-time and take extended unpaid leave in the public sector. Fourthly, my Ministry is clarifying the position of part-time workers under the Employment Act. I will have more to say about this when we come to part-time employment later. Dr Wong asked whether we should cut the CPF rate for women above 40 years old. I do not think we should do so. The figures show that in fact the participation rate of women between the ages of 40 and 44 has gone up from 45.5% in 1987 to 50.2% in 1989. There are about 70,000 women aged 40 and above who are already working and enjoying the full CPF rate. Any cut in the CPF rate will affect this group of people. So I am not in favour of a cut in the CPF rate. As regards the lower rate for the older workers above 55 and whether it has encouraged more older workers to carry on working, unfortunately I do not have data to show the trends.”
“Therefore, there is only one way forward for us and that is to achieve growth through higher productivity and upgrading to higher value-added and technology-intensive industries. We must make the best use of our scarce human resources through training and retraining, raising of the retirement age, promoting of part-time work and flexiwork and so forth. At the same time, we should not cling on to the low value-added labour-intensive activities. As a small country, we must be outward-looking and invest overseas to take advantage of the abundant labour resources in neighbouring countries. Just like Hong Kong has done by investing in China, we should be looking at neighbouring locations, eg Batam or Johor or even further afield, to try and take advantage of their comparative advantages in those locations. They have much more abundant labour resources than we have. So it is better for us to move the investments, the jobs, to the locations where the workers are than admit so many foreign workers into Singapore. Both Dr Wang Kai Yuen and Dr Ow Chin Hock have asked about the raising of the retirement age. I am happy to report that in the unionised sector, amongst unionised companies, progress has been encouraging. For example, in the second half of last year, between July and December last year, 68% of the collective agreements certified by the Industrial Arbitration Court provided for a higher retirement age than 55 years. This compares very favourably with the 35% in the same period of 1988. Although good progress has been made in the unionised companies, non-unionised companies have however been slow to respond. I would therefore appeal to all employers to support this national effort.”
“Sir, that is in fact already being done by the Government through the budget provisions for MCD, MCI, Health and so on, for training of workers through the NPB, VITB and so on. It is in fact true that these funds, which are paid by our employers when they want to employ foreign workers, go into the Consolidated Fund and from there the Government then decides which are the best uses for that money and it goes to the various channels. And our workers are benefitting from that levy. Dr Ow Chin Hock has raised a few other points concerning the labour market situation and asked whether we have labour supply projections. I think it is common knowledge that the local workforce is growing very slowly and in fact will grow even more slowly over the years. The projection is that the local workforce will grow only at the rate of 1-2% per annum, partly because of the low birth rates and also the ageing of the population as more of the older workers retire. If we have productivity growth of 3-4% per annum, our long-term sustainable GDP growth rate is about 4-6%. We have been able to grow at a higher rate than this because of our admission of large numbers of foreign workers. However, this situation cannot go on indefinitely. That is why my Ministry is trying very hard to keep the problem under control. Otherwise, as mentioned by various Members, there will be enormous social and economic costs, not least in terms of lower wages for our Singaporean workers. As Dr Ow has mentioned, unless productivity increases, every one percentage point increase in the GDP will require about 12,000 additional workers. So if we are not able to supply those persons locally, it means having to admit more foreign workers.”
“Mr Chiam has again raised this point about the channelling of the levy collection towards higher wages for local workers. This was the same point that he raised some time back, I think a couple of years back, and I explained to him that if there were no foreign worker levy, in fact the employers would just employ more and more cheap foreign workers at the expense of our own local workers. The effect will be to depress local wages. If you were to exempt the levy, there is nothing to compel the employers to pay the local workers more. In fact, they will just pay the workers less because the alternative is to get the foreign worker. So I do not understand his logic on how we can channel this levy collection to raise the wages of local workers.”
“Garments, woodworking, electronics and shipyards are generally all very dependent on foreign workers although the situation varies from company to company. Coming now to the comments from Mr Chiam See Tong, I fully agree with him that there is an important need for us to control the foreign worker population in Singapore. In fact, my fear is that the number will keep growing and that is why we have to impose the dependency level controls as well as the foreign worker levy. Earlier today Members were debating on the marriage restriction policy and why the Government is so hard-hearted about this policy. The fact is that because of our labour shortage, we have so many foreign workers here who would normally not be here. In fact, one of the basic social costs of this large population of foreign workers is that many of them want to marry Singaporeans and settle down in Singapore. To protect the interest of Singaporeans, the Government has to be selective in those whom we admit and those whom unfortunately we have to reject. The basic point is that the labour shortage has led to this influx of foreign workers, mostly unskilled, and in turn it has led to this need to control their marriages and this has caused problems to those families whom we have to turn down. But the Government has to decide whether it wants to control the problems or not. If you want to control it, then you must bite the bullet as it were and just say 'no' to some cases. The Government has tried to be as flexible as possible whilst, at the same time, not giving the wrong message to the foreign workers that it will be easy for them to settle down in Singapore through marriage with Singaporeans.”
“Advanced notice has been given to employers to regularise their employment situation or face the tougher penalties which will include heavier fines and mandatory jail for the second and subsequent convictions. Several Members have also commented on the quota system. I would like to inform Members here that the Government has not made a decision yet whether to implement a quota system for work permits. What I mentioned at the press conference was that looking at the situation, there is really no economic reason why a quota system should not work in respect of work permits if it works in respect of cars. Granted human beings are not cars, but the economic reasons are similar. My Ministry will observe carefully what happens to the quota system for cars, study carefully, consult the unions and the employers, before we decide on whether we should implement a quota system for work permits. I note that the Chairman, GPC for Labour, and also Dr Ow Chin Hock and a few other Members, except Mr Choo Wee Khiang, have supported the quota system. Mr Lim Boon Heng also supported the increase in levy which is necessary for us to control the foreign worker population in Singapore. I would now like to turn to some of the points raised by Dr Ow Chin Hock. I do not have the specific data that he has requested for. However, it is a fact that the foreign worker population has been growing rapidly over the past three years since the upturn from the recession. That is why the foreign worker levy has had to be raised repeatedly to dampen the demand for foreign workers. Already foreign workers make up almost a quarter of the manufacturing workforce and more than that in the construction and domestic maid sectors.”
“This point was mentioned Dr Wang Kai Yuen. I have mentioned this at the press conference and I say again today that we will look at this flexibly. We realise that for companies with less than 10 workers 10% is less than one, but at the same time I am concerned that there are many small employers, tens of thousands of them. So if each one employs only one foreign worker, we will immediately have additional tens of thousands of foreign workers. My Ministry will monitor the situation closely before considering further adjustments, if necessary. The other controls on foreign workers remain in place to minimise their social and economic costs. I am glad even the Opposition Member, Mr Chiam See Tong, is fully in support of this Government policy in so far as it is very important for us to minimise the social cost of foreign workers. As Members know, there are the foreign worker levy and the dependency controls. Employers will be allowed to recruit some foreign workers. However, these workers should not cost less than local workers. Employers should still find it to their advantage to automate and upgrade their operations, reduce their labour requirements and optimise the use of local labour resources, including older Singaporeans and housewives. One result of the tight labour market and our work permit controls has been that more employers have resorted to illegal employment of foreign workers. Some of them do this because they have difficulties recruiting local workers; others simply to evade levy. The Government has therefore decided to relax the work permit policy and at the same time tighten up enforcement against illegal employment of foreign workers.”
“Sir, a lot of issues have been raised on this cut. I will deal with them one at a time in the order that they have been raised. Firstly, measures to control the foreign workers. I am happy to note that the GPC for Labour in its press statement sometime ago and most MPs who have spoken on this issue welcome the relaxation of the work permit policy (for example, Mr Chng Hee Kok, Mr Philip Tan, Mr Lew Syn Pau and Dr John Chen). Others who had reservations and urged caution nevertheless understood the need for the relaxation (for example, Mr Othman Eusofe and Mr Peh Chin Hua). The Chairman for the GPC for Labour also expressed understanding of the reasons for this relaxation today, although he has cautioned that we should not become overly dependent on foreign workers at the expense of our local workers. I fully agree with him. Let me assure hon. Members, the unions and Singaporean workers that the relaxation has been decided by the Government only after very careful deliberation. It will be carried out cautiously to safeguard the interests of Singaporean workers while easing the labour shortage faced by the hitherto non-approved sectors. As Members have mentioned, the labour market in Singapore is very tight indeed. The unemployment rate is at a record low level. Considering this situation and the appeals of Members, the Government has decided to progressively allow the hitherto non-approved sectors also to recruit foreign workers. This liberalisation of the work permit policy has to be carried out gradually to avoid a sudden surge in demand for foreign workers. That is why my Ministry has started with a lower dependency level of 10% initially for the service sector. The 10% dependency level will be implemented flexibly for small employers with less than 10 workers.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, we look mainly at the qualifications of the work permit holder, ie, whether he or she has skills or qualifications which are of use to Singapore. We also look at the total situation, eg, whether the intending spouse in Singapore is able to support the work permit holder. As explained in Parliament last year, we have also adjusted the criteria to be consistent with the relaxation in the immigration policy for Hong Kong people. So long as the Singaporean spouses meet the same criteria we approve them on the same basis as the Hong Kong people. MAIN AND DEVELOPMENT ESTIMATES OF SINGAPORE FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR 1ST APRIL, 1990 TO 31ST MARCH, 1991 Order read for consideration in Committee of Supply [4th Allotted Day]. [Mr Speaker in the Chair] Head M (cont.) - Resumption of Debate on Question [16th March, 1990], "That the sum to be allocated for Head M be reduced by $10 in respect of Code MC 1500 of the Main Estimates." - [Mr Goh Chee Wee]. Question again proposed.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, in 1989, a total of 2,261 work permit holders comprising 466 males and 1,795 females applied to contract marriage with Singaporeans. A total of 1,441 applications were granted approval in 1989, comprising applications by 311 male and 1,130 female work permit holders. This total is equivalent to about two-thirds of the applications received during the year.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, my Ministry is in the final stage of reviewing the Workmen's Compensation Scheme. Amongst other items, the maximum amount of compensation payable under the Workmen's Compensation Act will be revised, taking into consideration wage increases over the years since the previous revision in 1980. DEREGULATION OF PETROL AND DIESEL PUMP PRICES 6. Dr Lee Siew-Choh asked the Minister for Trade and Industry whether the objective of the Government in deregulating petrol and diesel pump prices, i.e. to promote competition among the six oil companies operating in Singapore to bring benefits to motorists and consumers, has been achieved, and, if so, with what results.”
“This tax concession will soften the impact of the levy increase on working wives. The question by the Member for Changi is similar to the requests by various employers to be included in the tax concession on the foreign maid levy for working wives. The details are still being finalised for announcement in the Budget. I would like to inform the House that the tax concession is not meant to help all employers who need foreign maids. It has been granted in recognition of the fact that hiring foreign maids encourages women, especially those with marketable skills and qualifications, to continue working and to have children. This objective has to be considered in deciding the final details of the tax concession. ESPIONAGE IN MALAYSIA (Allegation of Singaporeans' involvement) 10. Dr Lee Siew-Choh asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs whether he will make a statement concerning the allegation that Singaporeans had been involved in espionage in Malaysia.”
“An unskilled foreigner could be hired as a maid or as a factory worker. If the housewife who employs the maid does not go out to work, then the maid has not made a contribution to our economic growth except what she consumes here, unlike the factory worker. Such situations result in a leakage of our foreign exchange reserves. If the maid displaces the housewife into the job market, then effectively and indirectly we would have increased our workforce by importing an additional foreign worker. If maids are priced too cheaply, even housewives with low skills will be inclined to hire maids to look after their families and take up low paid jobs. The increased pool of unskilled workers will depress local wages and attract labour-intensive, low value-added industries. The number of maids therefore has to be controlled as part of the total pool of foreign workers. Maids also pose various social problems. For example, some foreign maids want to marry Singaporeans and settle here but are not allowed to do so. We can well envisage the total impact on our society if we were to have a whole army of maids here. No developed country admits foreign maids as liberally as we do. The Government has been relaxed towards the employment of foreign maids because it recognises that hiring them encourages our women, especially those with higher skills and qualifications, to continue working and bring up their families. With the levy adjustments, the maid levy will still be $50 less than the foreign worker levy. Employers are allowed to deduct the cost of hiring foreign workers against their taxable income. Similarly, married women who need maids to continue working are allowed to deduct from their taxable income twice the maid levy which approximates the cost of hiring the maid.”
“The Government liberalised work permit controls in 1978 to allow the import of maids from non-traditional sources like the Philippines and Sri Lanka. Before that, Singaporeans who could afford maids had to recruit them locally or from Malaysia at relatively high wages. Since 1978, the number of foreign maids has shot up from several thousand to nearly 50,000 today. Foreign maids constitute more than a quarter of the total foreign workforce in Singapore. Foreign maids come from low-wage countries and some are prepared to work for as little as $150 per month, which is still higher than what they can earn back home. Without the levy, the number of maids could easily double or even quadruple. For example, the number of maids could mushroom to more than 200,000 if every mother who is working today decides to hire a maid. The ultimate number could be even higher considering that there are about 600,000 families in Singapore, the vast majority of whom are managing without a maid. If maids are so readily available at very low cost, the existing methods of family support and domestic help will rapidly disappear and Singaporeans will become ever more dependent on foreign maids. Alternatives such as child care centres and part-time work will not develop. The Government has to moderate the growing demand for maids and other foreign workers to minimise their long-term social and economic costs. It does so through the levy as a pricing mechanism as well as by administrative controls. When the demand continues to grow as at present, the levy has to be raised to con- tain the demand. Conversely, if the economy slows down and the foreign workforce declines, the levy can be reduced accordingly. A foreign maid is also a foreign worker and poses similar economic and social problems.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, may I have your consent to answer Questions Nos. 8 and 9 together as they are related?”