Lim Swee Say
Singapore
“The number of reports received via the Snap@MOM app, number of valid reports and number of companies issued with enforcement actions between 2015 and 2017 are shown in the table below: All valid reports have resulted in warnings or enforcement actions.”
“In the case of students from ITE, polytechnics or autonomous universities, employers do not need to contribute CPF if the student is employed by them for training that is approved by their institutions.”
“Together with our tripartite partners at the national and sector levels, we have to do our best to transform across all sectors, for our economy to transform and grow, pervasively, as One Singapore Unlimited.”
“Between April and December 2017, the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM) and the Employment Claims Tribunal (ECT) concluded 3,750 employee salary claims where the employer was ordered to make payment to the worker. Salaries were fully recovered in about 92% of these orders. The remaining claims involved 139 employers.”
“The number of employed residents aged 62 and over, and 67 and over has increased over the last five years (see Table 1 below). Of all employed residents aged 67 and over in 2017, 64% were males; 80% held secondary and below qualifications, 9% had post-secondary qualifications, while 11% were tertiary-educated; 52% of this group of older w…”
“The proportion of full-time resident employees earning below $2,000 who received bonuses, including the Annual Wage Supplement, has remained stable at about 50% over the last decade. Employers and unions share the flexibility in structuring staff remuneration together under our Flexible and Performance Based wage systems.”
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“So, we hope they will take corrective actions − move out of the "triple weak" list, do not just grow their business here but treat Singaporeans fairly, too, and help build a stronger Singaporean Core in their companies and industries. And I want to assure the vast majority of companies out there that they are not "triple weak" and, hence, will not be affected by this move. MOM will continue to serve them as per the current practice. There is nothing to fear as long as they continue to treat our local PMETs fairly. As we take firm action against the "triple weak" companies, we will also take proactive action to recognise and partner those who are "triple strong" − strong in Singaporean Core, strong in commitment to nurture the Singaporean Core and strong in economic linkage or social impact, especially in sectors that are crucial to our future growth − Smart Nation, advanced manufacturing, future services and more. I am very encouraged and impressed by the few companies that I have visited so far. They believe in the development of human capital. Yes, they tap on foreign PMETs to complement and strengthen their overall team and, yet, at the same time, they pay tremendous attention to value and nurture our local talents by transferring capability to them, giving them exposure and nurturing them for higher responsibility locally, regionally and globally. So, in other words, instead of a mindset of two-thirds versus one-third, they embraced the mindset of two-thirds plus one-third. And for some of them, two-thirds plus one-third can actually be bigger than one. To help strengthen the positive mindset of two-thirds plus one-third, we are going to grow this "triple strong" community. MOM will launch a Human Capital Partnership (HCP) programme later this year.”
“And if the answer is not much, then they are what we call the "triple weak" companies − weak in Singaporean Core, weak in commitment and, at the same time, weak in economic linkage and social impact. Mr Patrick Tay has shared his concerns regarding these "triple weak" companies, which are our target for closer scrutiny. At TAFEP's recommendation, they will be placed on our "watchlist", not because we are anti-foreigner but because their behaviour has added to the deepening of the "local-foreign" divide in our Singapore workforce. If left unchecked, the sentiment of two-thirds Page: 97 versus one-third will continue to grow. It will weaken the unity, cohesion and, eventually, the overall competitiveness of Singapore. TAFEP has already served notice on about 100 companies. These are the outliers in various sectors with a weak Singaporean Core, which is much weaker than the industry norm and all of them have a majority EP share of more than 50% and they display a weak commitment to recruit or develop local PMETs. TAFEP is engaging them to improve their HR practices and will do a company-by-company review in six months. So far, these firms have been broadly cooperative. Some of them have acknowledged that there is room to strengthen the Singaporean Core, some have approached e2i/WDA to source for local PMETs through programmes, such as CSP and PCP, that I talked about. Some have engaged external help to review their internal HR process. For those "triple weak" companies with no progress made, at the recommendation of TAFEP, their work pass privileges can be suspended. Renewal of existing EPs, processing of new EP applications will be affected. Curtailment of work pass privilege will have serious consequences on their continued operations and growth in Singapore.”
“I am also concerned that some of these employers may have violated the "Employment of Foreign Manpower Regulations", which require companies to take, and let me quote: "…reasonable efforts to provide fair employment opportunities to citizens of Singapore, including efforts to attract and consider such citizens for employment or to train them and develop their careers and potential in the workplace". We will, therefore, refine the processing of work pass applications for EPs. Currently, in processing EP applications, we assess only the individual-related criteria, that is, their qualification, experience and salary. Going forward, we will also be looking at three additional factors that are "company-related". So, not just individual-related criteria but also company-related. And the assessment will be carried out by Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP). The first assessment: how strong is the Singaporean Core in this company today? The majority of the companies, as I mentioned earlier, in the same industry, have a healthy Singaporean Core. But there are outliers, significantly weaker than the industry norms. The second assessment: with a weak Singaporean Core today, do they have any firm commitment to nurture and strengthen the Singaporean Core for the future? Thirdly, and finally, in consultation with relevant economic agencies, we will assess how relevant these "double weak" companies − that is, with weak in Singaporean Core and weak in commitment to nurture Singaporean Core – are to our economy and society. If they are not here, how much will we be affected?”
“At the end of the day, we must recognise that Page: 96 the real competition is out there globally, not in here locally. Today, at the national level, foreigners account for 21% of jobs within the EP salary range, which is currently $3,300. So, in other words, of all the jobs in Singapore today that pay more than $3,300, foreigners account for 21%, and locals 79%. By sector, the foreigner share varies, of course, across industries. The highest is 37% in infocomm and F&B. So, these two sectors have the highest 37%, 38%. All other sectors, all other industries, the ratio of foreign to local counterparts is less than one is to two, less than one-third. All the other sectors, less than one-third. We must also bear in mind that the growth of EPs has also slowed down, from 32,000 in 2011 to 9,000 last year. So, from 32,000, it has dropped to 9,000. Even though the overall ratio, both at the national and industry levels, shows that foreigners are a minority, just one-fifth at the national level and, with the exception of the two, infocomm and F&B, they are all less than one-third. Yet, there is a perception among some Singaporeans that "Why am I a minority in my workplace, working here in Singapore? Why?" I think the answer is because of what I call the pockets of "EP concentration" in some companies, in some segments of the industry and at some locations. This is highly undesirable. These pockets of "EP concentration" have led to the perception of a liberal intake of EPs, which is not the case, or accusations of unfair consideration for locals or discrimination against our local PMETs.”
“45 pm As a result, we worked with these investors to borrow PMETs, to borrow workers from around the world, bring them into Singapore so that we can bridge three manpower gaps that we face − the number gap, the capability gap and the timing gap. And I must say that this manpower strategy has worked very well for us. Today, we have 13 wafer fabrication plants employing 8,000 PMETs and 8,000 operators. And of the 8,000 PMETs, 76% 6,000 of them, are our local engineers, local PMETs. Yes, we have 2,000 foreign PMETs in these plants but, together with them, these 2,000 foreign PMETs, we are able to create jobs for 6,000 local PMETs. Looking back, if we had insisted on Singaporean Only, Singaporean First, I think these plants and many other good investments and good jobs would not be here today. So, having foreign manpower in our Singapore workforce is a plus for us, not because Singaporeans are not good but because we simply do not have enough in the number, readiness and diversity of capabilities to meet the needs of the global investors and to beat the offers of the other global competitors. As we transform and grow into the future, we need to compete for even more, even better investments and we will have to face even bigger, even stronger competitors. The demands from investors will only get higher, especially on manpower. We stand a better chance of beating the competition, winning good investments and jobs if our local and foreign manpower here work together as one Singapore workforce − two-thirds plus one-third, as one Singapore workforce; rather than as two competing workforces − two-thirds versus one-third. Because remember, two-thirds versus one-third will always be less than one.”
“The Singapore Workforce today is made up of two-third locals and one-third foreign manpower. As I had mentioned earlier, some have asked me, why not "Singaporean only", stop them from coming in and why not "Singaporean first"? They say, "Only when no Singaporean can do the job or want to do the job, then we allow them to come in". I recall during my days with EDB, we walked the streets, we knocked on doors, we made cold calls, we made hot calls, we have tough calls, we have friendly calls. Call after call. Why? Because quality investments are very hard to come by. Competition is global. The better the investment, the stronger the competition, the stronger the competitors, the higher the demand of the investors. The toughest demand of all, for Singapore to meet, is not land or water, but manpower. One good illustration is wafer fabrication plants. We chased after wafer fabrication plants because we knew that consumer electronics, after a while, low value-added will be phased out. We knew that, one day, the disk drives sector will go through major restructuring. We needed to find a new growth sector. Twenty years ago, we identified wafer fabrication industry as the next growth industry. Each plant costs about US$1 billion to build. Each plant is water-intensive and uses one million gallons of water every day. But fortunately, we have NEWater. So, today, they are all supplied with NEWater. But most importantly, each plant will need 1,000 workers – 500 PMETs and 500 production specialists. Our local manpower is good, but we do not have enough, in terms of the range of expertise, experience and, most of all, the number. We just do not have the number. 5.”
“We are going to partner the "best-in-class" placement companies, for example, those with industry specialisation or those who are jobseeker-centric. Many EAs are employer-centric, rather than jobseeker-centric. We are looking for a new model where the EAs have the incentive to become more jobseeker-centric. At the same time, we are looking for those with a strong network of employers because then, they will know where the job opportunities are. In short, our second thrust is to strengthen the Singaporean Core. First, sector by sector, through the SMPs to channel as many Singaporeans as we can into those respective sectors, to ensure that we have a strong Singapore Core in all the major sectors as we transform them. Second, enterprise by enterprise, individual by individual, through these career and employment support programmes that I described earlier. We will do our very best to help out jobseekers, but we need our jobseekers to do their very best to help themselves too. To my fellow Singaporeans, who are affected by redundancy, my concern for them is that the longer they are out of employment, the harder it will be for them to get back into employment. Therefore, our priority is to help them to get back to work quickly. We are unable to promise no pay cut or a guarantee of job offers, but what we do promise is our best efforts to help, with a variety of options and the diversity of opportunities. We need them to do their best to help themselves. Be prepared to adapt to different jobs, if necessary, in different sectors and even different pay, so that they can grow again. Page: 95 Mdm Chair, our third and final thrust is to strengthen the global competitiveness of our Singapore Workforce.”
“They say "visumes" stands for video resumes. What it means is that the e2i will help the jobseeker to do a video recording of how the person will describe himself, present his resume in a video form and they will send this video to the prospective employer. The prospective employer will look at it over the virtual world, on the Internet. Apparently, the response has been quite positive, so e2i intends to do more. WDA, likewise, is going to introduce more e-career services, such as online matching, as well as online forum communities. We will also improve our information support for both employers and the jobseekers. The National Jobs Bank does contain a lot of useful information, I think the point brought up by Assoc Prof Randolph Tan. Our challenge is how to do more data analytics to make that information more useful, more user-friendly, and enable jobseekers and employers to do more self-help, so that they can navigate the information themselves. We are now studying the "best-in-class" job portals in other countries. We intend to collaborate with leading-edge partners to improve the interface to make it more useful for both the jobseekers, as well as the employers, and we hope to see improvements progressively over the next 12 months. Lastly, another area we will strengthen is our partnership with the employment agency (EA) industry. This was a point brought up by Mr Patrick Tay. We are going to work with them closer to understand the current placement practices and to see how we can work with them, encourage or regulate the industry in such a way that they will step up and pay more attention to the placement of local PMETs.”
“They work together for 80 hours just to try it out. It is for the workers to try out the job, and for the employer to try out the worker. One example is Foo Lai Leng, 57 years old. She returned to work after 10 years, due to family commitments. She wanted to try out the early childhood sector, but she was not sure if this sector was suitable for her. We put her under Work Trial. After 80 hours, she decided that, yes, this is a career that she is interested in. And yes, the companies in this sector also found her suitable. Today, she is working full-time as an Assistant Teacher. She is now going for a Diploma in Early Childhood Education as her next target. We intend to help more and more jobseekers, for those who are unsure about what to do under this Work Trial programme. WDA will up allowance from $360 to $600 for the 80 hours. At the same time, we will raised our retention incentive, meaning that after the 80 hours, if you decide to settle down with your job, we will give them an incentive of $500. On the whole, for both rank-and-file workers and PMETs, we are stepping up efforts in employment facilitation for them. E2i, WDA, together with our partners, we have helped over 6,000 PMETs and 11,000 rank-and-file workers a year to get jobs With enhanced coverage and support under the Adapt and Grow initiative, we are committed to help even more PMETs and rank-and-file workers. So, besides workshops, seminars, recruitment events, job fairs, we are going to introduce e-services. For example, e2i is now trying out this Page: 94 concept of virtual job fairs. This is a job fair but it does not happen in the real world; it is in the virtual world. They help the jobseekers to submit not resumes, but "visume". I asked them what is the difference between resumes and "visumes".”
“Typically, these trainings would last three to six months. Last year, e2i, under the Place-and-Train programme, has placed 1,200 rank-and-file workers. Soon, more sectors and programmes will be introduced this year. We want to expand the outreach of this Place-and-Train programme. For example, in the hotel sector, they are looking for Guest Services Officers. So, we will put it under this programme. In the infocomm media area, they are looking for communications and network associates, cybersecurity rank-and-file at the National ITE Certificate (NITEC) level. We will include that under this Place-and-Train programme. In addition to Place-and-Train, e2i and the career centres of WDA, also conduct career guidance, the one that Minister Ong Ye Kung mentioned earlier. We provide career guidance and every year, we conduct more than 200 job fairs to introduce more than 20,000 jobs to our jobseekers. Last year, we helped to place 11,000 rank-and-file workers. Mohd Fadzli, 30 years old, is one of them. He was working as a cleaner, earning $1,500. He approached WDA Career Centre for career advice and guidance, so we guided him to move into the areas of Workplace Safety and Health (WSH). He went on to receive a WSQ Certificate in WSH, followed by a WSQ Advanced Certificate in WSH. Today, he is working as a Safety Coordinator earning $2,200, a big increase from $1,500. In some cases, when we try to match the rank-and-file workers to the jobs, both sides are unsure about each other. The jobseekers are unsure about the job, and the employer is unsure about the worker. What do we do? We say, "Never mind. Go on a work trial". For 80 hours, WDA will pay a token allowance to the person. In other words, the employer does not have to pay anything.”
“This was the point brought up by Mr Thomas Chua. As mentioned by Mr Chua, many SMEs are growing and still hiring, but are looking for PMETs with experience and expertise. I was told that three areas of expertise are very popular and are in great demand by SMEs – business development, marketing and sales and operational management. They are looking for these types of people. On the other hand, we also hear many mid-career PMETs say that they are not familiar with career opportunities with SMEs. We launched P-Max just a year ago, to try out whether there is scope for us to connect the mid-career PMETs with the experience and expertise of interest to the SMEs, to connect them better. I am happy to say that in the last one year, we have so far matched over 800 mid-career PMETs with about 800 SMEs. Evelyn Ng is one of them. She has 25 years of experience in operations, HR and administration with MNCs. She stopped work for one year to look after her mother. Under P-Max, we matched her expertise to an SME. She is now the HR and administration manager in an SME. She is not alone; there are more than 800 of them under this programme. We are going to expand P-Max through more partners and more TACs. Our aim is to place more than 1,000 mid-career PMETs under this programme every year. The schemes – that is, CSP, PCP, P-Max that I have covered so far – are targeted at the PMETs. As brought up by Mr Chong Kee Hiong, we should not neglect the rank-and-file workers as well. And Page: 93 we have not. The rank-and-file jobseekers will, likewise, get more help under our Adapt and Grow programme. We have a very successful Place-and-Train programme at NTUC e2i. Under this programme, we provide 70% salary support of up to $2,000 per month and a training subsidy of up to 90%.”
“I think Ms Thanaletchimi will be very interested in this area. In the last three years, on average, each year, we have attracted about 370 PMETs to join the PCP for the healthcare sector. This year, working together with MOH, we jointly launched added programmes for diagnostic radiographers, occupational therapists and physiotherapists. 5.30 pm As result, we see a 60% increase in response rates. This year, we have about 600 PMETs applying to go through professional conversion, up from the 370 per year in the last three years. We are doing the same for other sectors, such as media and design, going into areas, like game writing and advertising. We are also going to extend the PCP to more sectors, especially those sectors that are still hiring and growing, for example, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, logistics and retail. In addition to that, we also recognise that some PMETs may not be switching careers from one sector to another, but they want to switch careers within the same sector, but different areas of specialisation within the same sector. I think the point was brought up by Dr Intan Mokhtar. Like in the case for ICT, there are now specialisations in areas of growing demand, such as cybersecurity, network administration, software development and other emerging jobs under the Smart Nation initiatives. I am happy to say that, henceforth, PCP will now support intra-sectoral conversions, as well as inter-company conversions. If Company A is downsizing, retrenching workers, Company B could be growing and expanding. We will support Company B to take over retrenched workers from Company A and help them go through the professional conversion, even at the company level. Another way to help mid-career PMETs is to match more of their expertise to the SMEs.”
“That is the reason why we launched PCP in 2007, where we provide training and wage support up to 70% for the entire duration of training, which is typically about two years or less. Currently, there are 10 sectors under PCP. Since the launch in 2007, over 7,000 PMETs have benefited from this scheme. One of them is Chong Kim Seng, 49 years old. He was not retrenched but he decided to make a career switch from electronics to biologics. Why? Because Mr Chong looked at biologics as an emerging sector with tremendous potential. There is a rising demand for medicines in Asian markets. There is a good career progression path, where there is a headquarters operation, manufacturing or R&D in this sector. He read in the public media that EDB has built up a healthy pipeline. There are new plants as well as plant expansions over the next five years. In other words, this sector is going to grow in the next five years. There will be more jobs, there will more opportunities. As a result, Mr Chong took a pay cut willingly. As I said, he was not retrenched, but he decided to take a pay cut to move from electronics to biologics. He has to take a pay cut because he did not have any prior experience relevant to the sector. He was supported under PCP. He received a Workforce Skills Qualification (WSQ) Higher Certification in Process Technology and is now working as a Senior Quality Assurance specialist. In fact, with his maturity and adaptability, I am very sure that he will find biologics a good career and one that will be good for him for the next 10 to 15 years and beyond. Page: 92 Dr Intan Mokhtar and Ms Thanaletchimi will be pleased to know that we are stepping up our efforts in the existing 10 PCP sectors. Healthcare is one example.”
“At that time, he was feeling unsure whether he would be able to get a job that he was looking for. But today, he is a different person, confident and positive. Under the CSP, within one month, we helped him to find a good job with a local distributor of industrial lighting products to develop markets in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and East Asia. Yes, he did accept a pay cut to join this company, but he is prepared to work his way up with this new employer. I wish him well. To help more PMETs, we have decided to extend CSP to two more groups of people beyond those who are mature and long-term unemployed. For PMETs made redundant and have difficulty finding jobs, meaning six months or more, we will waive the age requirement of 40. In other words, even the younger PMETs, having been made redundant, if they have difficulty finding jobs for more than six months, they can come under the CSP. The other group will be for the matured PMETs made redundant. We will waive the requirement on the six-month lead time. In other words, the moment they are retrenched, for those above 40 years old, they can apply to join CSP straight away without having to wait for six months. Under the CSP, we are unable to promise same job, same pay. What we promise is our full support to help them find jobs as quickly as possible to start again at mid-career with a salary of at least $4,000, so that they can grow again from there. We are also helping more PMETs to switch careers. A lifelong career with the same company or even the same industry has become less likely for many people. Mid-career PMETs may have to make a career change due to redundancy or other personal reasons.”
“We share the concerns of Assoc Prof Muhd Faishal Ibrahim, Mr Chong Kee Hiong, Ms Jessica Tan and others, and we will do more to support them. The "Adapt and Grow" initiative will provide enhanced employment support to help Singaporeans, especially the mature PMETs and those affected by redundancy. We launched CSP in October last year to encourage employment of mid-career PMETs, especially those who are long-term unemployed, who have been out of a job for more than six months. Under CSP, to encourage the employers to hire these mid-career PMETs and at the same time pay them decent wages of at least S$4,000, we offer a wage support of 10% to 40% for the first year of employment. A mid-career PMET who has been out of job for six months, can come under the CSP. We will help them to find employers. For the first year of his employment, under the CSP, we will subsidise wages of up to S$12,600 for that year for those older than 40. For those who are more than 50, it would be up to S$25,200 for that first year. In the last five months, we managed to reach out to 200 mature PMETs who have been out of job for more than six months. So far, about half of them have successfully secured employment and most are with SMEs. Mr Thomas Chua may be happy to hear this. We have very positive feedback from both employers and employees because, for the employees, they suffer a smaller cut in wages, given the wage support; for the employers, they have to bear lower wage cost, given the subsidies. Page: 91 One example is Mr Kuan Mun Fai, 52 years old. He was a Business Development Director with an MNC for 23 years. He left the company. For seven months, he could not find a job that is suitable for him. He came under the CSP when it was launched in October.”
“We are also facilitating the mid-career PMETs through professional conversion. At the same time, we are helping them to become more lean and more productive. For example, rank-and-file workers in the hotel sector are now undergoing this process of multi-skilling, so that each person can perform more than one task, thereby optimising the deployment of manpower and, along the way, help them to enhance their wages. Another example would be through the use of radio frequency identification to strengthen the process of automation. In fact, the Singapore Tourism Board and WDA are now working together with the hotel industry to formulate an initiative to be known as the Lean Hotel Initiative. In short, make it a movement in our hotel sector, so that the jobs of the future in this hotel sector will become attractive, so that the Singaporean Core will be stronger. Dr Intan Mokhtar asked about the ICT sector. We will adopt the same line. The ICT sector, under the leadership of the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA), is formulating the SMP. All the areas of opportunities will be identified and we will step up efforts to channel more Singaporeans into this sector. As we speed up industry transformation, redundancy will go up, as seen in recent years. Most are able to find jobs, hence, our low unemployment today. Yet, we are still concerned because we are seeing, among the workers made redundant, there are more mature workers; there are more PMETs, and, in fact, they also need more time to find jobs, especially the mature PMETs. Besides helping to strengthen the Singaporean Core at the sector level, sector by sector, like what we did for the hotel sector, we must also do more to support Singaporean workers at the individual level.”
“In this way, it also helps our people to upgrade, reskill and, along the way, we aim to build a strong Singaporean Core in all major sectors of the economy, as we continue to transform these industries. The hotel sector is one good example. It is not a sexy sector, but it is an important sector, alongside many other sectors. We are going to see a 20% increase in hotel rooms in Singapore by the year 2020. Those in the hotel industry are fully aware that it is not possible for them to grow the workforce in the hotel sector by 20% because of this keener competition for manpower as we slow down the growth of the workforce. Under the SMP for the hotel sector, we have three priorities. Firstly, how to become more manpower-lean? The industries are working very hard to reduce the staff-to-room manning ratio, so that as the room number goes up, you do not have to increase the number of workers at the same proportion. Secondly, how to strengthen the Singaporean Core? How to attract, develop, retain and improve the quality of locals working in this sector? And last but not least, the service transformation into hotels of the future, so that we can remain globally competitive. In support of this direction by the industry, through the SMP, the NTUC e2i, the Singapore Tourism Board, WDA, unions and the industry associations, we are working very closely together to attract ITE, polytechnic and degree holders under the executive development programme for the hotel sector for them to join the hospitality, F&B and retail sectors. This was the point brought up Mr Lee Yi Shyan. Page: 90 First, help them to learn supervisory skills, put them through 12 to 18 months of on-the-job training (OJT), so that they can become duty manager, assistant manager and, from there, develop their career.”
“Hence, MOM, together with our other agencies under the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) family, launched LEDS last year to help SMEs to develop their capabilities, manpower and market, including international market. And with the newly announced Automation Support scheme, in addition to capability, manpower and market development, we can now add on one more pillar, which is, capacity expansion. Therefore, we are very determined to speed up LEDS during this slowdown. My commitment to SMEs is that those with solid plans, real action to be more manpower-lean and productive, you can be assured of our best support, not just from MOM, but all the other agencies under LEDS. In fact, MOM will also provide transitional flexibility in foreign worker support. This was the point brought up by Mr Lee Yi Shyan. Later, my colleague, Minister of State Teo Ser Luck, will share more on LEDS. Our second thrust is to build a strong Singaporean Core. Every Industry Transformation Map will be accompanied by an SMP formulated by the Sectoral Tripartite Committee. This will address the concern of Mr Lee Yi Shyan on whether MOM will be involved in co-driving the development of the Industry Transformation Plan. In fact, we will be coordinating our efforts through the SMPs. Ms Jessica Tan expressed her concern about whether we can minimise this mismatch between skill and job. With SMP, we will be able to look ahead and identify what type of jobs will be created, what kind of skills need to be developed for the future, so that we can support the growth of this transformed industry of the future.”
“Along the way, if we are more pro-business and less pro-worker, we could end up with a strong economy but a weak Singaporean Core. If we are more pro-worker and less pro-business, we can have a strong Singaporean Core but a weak economy. Neither is good because growth cannot be sustained, eventually we will go downhill. The only way to succeed is for us to become more pro-business and more pro-worker both at the same time, so that, hopefully, we have a manpower-lean and more productive economy with a strong Singaporean Core. This is why MOM will focus our labour policies along three main thrusts: first, to support industry transformation to become more manpower-lean and more productive; second, to build a strong Singaporean Core; and third, to strengthen the global competitiveness of the Singapore Workforce, comprising both local and foreign manpower. 5.15 pm First, to be a more manpower-lean economy and more productive economy. This is of great concern to MOM because if we fail to become a more manpower-lean economy, manpower will become the bottleneck in our future growth. Hence, Industry Transformation Maps are so important for us to visualise the industry of the future, to make better use of technology, manpower, innovation to break the bottlenecks of small size, limited resources, especially manpower limitation. Page: 89 To forge a new mindset of lean transformation, lean innovation, from lean manufacturing to lean services, from lean industry to lean enterprise. Mr Lee Yi Shyan and Mr Thomas Chua will be pleased to know that we are giving special attention and support to SMEs. SMEs employ about two-thirds of our workforce, so the Singapore economy cannot become more manpower-lean, cannot become more productive and innovative, if our SMEs are not.”
“But what happens to our local to -foreign worker ratio? It will continue to drop from the two is to one today, maybe to one is to one, one day and, beyond that, Singaporean workers will become a minority in our local workforce. The Singaporean Core will be weakened further and, in fact, the local-foreign divide will deepen further. That is why I call it the "Ugly" scenario. The second scenario, to avoid this ugly outcome, MOM can stand firm, no U-turn in our foreign manpower policy, continue to moderate the intake of foreign manpower. But without breakthrough in productivity growth, we will move from 4+0 to 2+0 to eventually 1+0=1. So, in other words, low growth will become the new norm, in fact, hovering around stagnation. If that happens, it is a matter of time that unemployment in Singapore will go up and wage growth will stop, and I call this a "Bad" scenario for all. The third scenario is for us to recognise that technology is changing the nature of jobs and global competition is changing the nature of investment. Instead of manpower-led growth, 100,000 new jobs a year, we go for manpower-lean growth. We speed up transformation, instead of going for larger quantity of jobs growth, we go for better quality of job growth. Step by step, sector by sector, we move from high value-added to value creation. From value creation to value multiplication; and then we can return to positive productivity growth again. Instead of going from 4+0, 2+0 to either 3+0 which is an ugly outcome, or 1+0 which is a bad outcome, we should strive for 1+2, 1% growth in our workforce plus 2% growth in our productivity to give us 3% growth. So, 1+2=3 is the good outcome that we must strive for. The challenge for us is how to make it happen.”
“The growth in our local labour force will drop by more than half from an average of 55,000 a year in the past five years to just about 20,000 a year for next five years. So, a drop of more than half. Likewise, the growth in our foreign workforce will drop, too, also by more than half, from an average of 55,000 per year in past five years to just 20,000 to 25,000 a year in the next five years. So, put together, growth of the Singapore workforce will continue to drop from 4% a year in 2011 to 2014, to 2% last year and likely to be around 1% by the year 2020. This has a great impact on the future employment landscape in Singapore. The days of more than 100,000 job growth a year are over. It is simply not sustainable. With no gain in productivity, we have moved from a 4+0=4 or 4% growth in the Singapore workforce plus 0% growth in productivity to give us a 4% gross domestic product (GDP) growth during the year 2011 to 2014 on average. Last year, it dropped to 2+0=2 or 2% workforce growth, 0% growth in productivity to give us a 2% growth in our GDP. The question is: what will happen next? From 4+0=4 to 2+0=2, what is going to happen next? Will employment outcomes in the next five years be better or worse? I can see, I can think of three possible scenarios – the Good, the Bad and, of course, the Ugly. The first scenario, we are unable to transform fast enough; continue with zero productivity growth; continue with manpower-led growth of more than 100,000 jobs a year. MOM will have no Page: 88 choice, we do a U-turn, relax on our foreign manpower and that is what many employers are asking for. From 4+0 to 2+0, we now go back to 3+0. We have to let in more foreign workers to make up for the slower growth in local manpower. With 3+0=3, yes, we have 3% GDP growth.”
“Mdm Chair, with your permission, I have asked the Clerks to place an infographic, MOM Committee of Supply (COS) in brief, on the Members' seats during the tea break. I thank Members who have shared their insights and questions on the labour market in Singapore. I would like to take some of the points now and I will take the rest in my second speech. Minister Heng Swee Keat said in his round-up speech that Budget 2016 is but "one step in a long journey". From the manpower angle, this is not a walking step but a running step. In fact, more like a jumping step. Since coming to MOM just about a year ago, I have been asked many questions on our labour policies. Employers looking for workers say they cannot find local workers. They ask: can MOM relax on foreign workers, up the quota, down the levy and be more pro-business? Workers looking for jobs, especially those looking for PMET jobs, say they cannot get the jobs that they want or the promotion they feel they deserve, so they ask: can MOM be more pro-worker? Why not "Singaporean first", why not "Singaporean Only"? In the past five years from 2010 to 2015, employment rates for ages 25 to 64 have gone up to 80.5%, among the highest in the world. The unemployment rate, at less than 2% overall and less than 3% for locals, is among the lowest in the world. Income growth was broad-based. Real wage went up by 3% in real terms a year, not just the median wage but the bottom 20th percentile in Singapore. The profile of jobs has continued to improve. Local PMET employment now accounts for 54% of our total local employment. So, these are good employment outcomes for our workers and our people. The next five years will be much more challenging. We are going to see a drop in the growth of the labour force, a sharp and structural drop.”
“Central Provident Fund (CPF) members aged 55 and above can withdraw their Retirement Account savings above their Basic Retirement Sum if they have a sufficient existing charge on their property. Those who do not have a sufficient existing property charge can still make such a withdrawal after making a pledge on their property. This property charge or pledge does not affect the ownership of the property and is intended to ensure that the member's Retirement Account is restored up to the Full Retirement Sum if the property is sold in the future. In January and February 2016, 1,200 CPF members withdrew their Retirement Account savings above their Basic Retirement Sum through a property charge or pledge. Seven hundred of them turned 55 in January and February 2016 and became eligible to make such withdrawals. These members had withdrawn their Retirement Account savings in cash. We do not track whether any of them subsequently make cash top-ups to their spouses' CPF accounts. CPF members can also directly transfer their CPF savings above their Basic Retirement Sum to their spouse's Special or Retirement Account, without the need for a property charge or pledge.”
“In 2015, the average net Central Provident Fund (CPF) balances1 of males and females across all ages was $86,000 and $76,000 respectively. The difference between male and female CPF balances has narrowed from 21% in 2005 to 14% in 2015. Table 1 below shows the male-to-female ratio of average net CPF balances across different age groups. The male-to-female ratio is lower for younger age groups and increases for older age groups.”
“The port is an important pillar of Singapore’s economy, providing critical connectivity to global markets. To strengthen Singapore's status as a leading transhipment hub, an adequate pool of skilled manpower is essential to support port operations round the clock. Overall, while manpower is tight, for certain jobs that are physically taxing or require sea-going expertise, such as stevedores or harbourcraft crew, foreign workers complement the local workforce due to a shortage of Singaporeans willing to do the work. Nonetheless, most companies are well within their dependency ratio ceiling (DRC) for the employment of foreign workers. As part of developing the Sectorial Manpower Plan (SMP), the Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) is also working with industry partners and the unions to help more Singaporeans take up seafaring as well as shore-based careers in the maritime sector. These efforts include putting in place programmes to train more Singaporean seafarers and developing career ladders for various professions in the sector. MPA is also promoting the use of technologies and automation at our port to reduce reliance on manual labour. For instance, MPA is working with PSA to pilot the use of Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs). As port operations expand, the use of AGVs will reduce the need for more foreign port workers. With the implementation of productive technologies and efforts to address the manpower shortage for specific jobs at the port, we do not see a need to adjust the foreign worker quota for this industry at this point of time. We should instead press on with our efforts to drive productivity improvement and accelerate the shift towards a more manpower-lean mode of port operations.”
“CPF members can use their Ordinary Account (OA) savings for the downpayment, monthly instalments and mortgage arrears for their housing purchase. The Special Account (SA) savings are generally preserved for members’ retirement needs and cannot be used for housing purposes. When members turn 55, a Retirement Account, or RA, is created. Monies from OA and SA are transferred to RA up to the Full Retirement Sum. OA continues to exist even after RA is created. Any remaining OA balance, as well as new contributions to OA after the age of 55, can be used to meet housing needs. In addition, any RA savings in excess of the Basic Retirement Sum can also be used for housing purposes. The Housing and Development Board (HDB) proactively helps flat owners manage their arrears early. If their financial difficulty is temporary, HDB will consider reducing or deferring their instalments to help them resolve their arrears. For flat owners who can no longer afford to keep their flats, HDB will help them explore more options, including right-sizing to a more affordable flat. For CPF members who do not have sufficient OA savings to meet their housing needs, we have exercised flexibility where cases merit it. For example, we have, upon appeal, allowed CPF members to use their RA savings that originated from their OA to pay for their housing, even if their RA savings are below their Basic Retirement Sum. Overall, we need to strike a balance between allowing CPF members to use their SA and RA savings for housing needs and safeguarding such savings for their retirement needs, so as not to compromise their retirement adequacy.”
“But it will become a problem if this happens not because of anything else but discrimination. That is where MOM and TAFEP will come in, take it very seriously and take firm action against them. As I mentioned earlier, if Members of this House come across any unfair practices based on discrimination, please do not hesitate to alert TAFEP and we will take firm action.”
“Mdm Speaker, TAFEP, over the last three years, has received about 1,400 complaints. Among the list of complaints, the majority, about 70%, are nationality-related. Whenever we come across employers who may adopt some practices which treat the local workers unfairly as against the foreign workers, TAFEP would take action. For example, some of them would receive a letter of warning from MOM. Some would have their application for work pass come under closer scrutiny. In some cases, we would actually curtail their rights to employ foreign workers, including suspension. I would say, on the whole, we do our best as and when we are aware of such unfair practices. Having said so, I also want to share with the House that we should not jump to the conclusion that simply because the local workers are made to report to foreign workers, the company has done something wrong. We have to be mindful that in our workforce today, we have two-thirds local and one-third foreign workforce. There are industries where the higher level positions are held mainly by locals. For example, if you come to our manufacturing plant, most of the PMET jobs, 70% to 80%, some cases 90%, are all held by local workers. And yet, at the production level, a vast majority, 70% to 80% are held by foreign workers. In other words, there will be cases where we need the foreign workers to enable us to sustain operations at a higher level, and vice versa. There will be areas whereby we do need to create jobs for our rank-and-file workers as well. Therefore, at MOM, we do not jump to the conclusion whether it is right or wrong when foreign workers are asked to report to local workers, or local workers are asked to report to foreign workers. We do not look at it as a problem.”
“Mdm Speaker, the answer is yes. Please wait for my reply at the Committee of Supply (COS).”
“Mdm Speaker, the number of Work Permit and S Pass holders that a company may employ is capped based on the number of locals it employs. In a tight labour market, companies will have to compete for local workers to be eligible for foreign workers. To help locals upgrade to better jobs and careers, the Government has put in place various initiatives to improve their skills and help them progress in their job ladders. Employers who do not treat their local workers fairly will not only be less able to attract and retain them, but also risk violating the Employment of Foreign Manpower Regulations which stipulate that employers are required to provide fair employment opportunities to Singaporeans. We wish to remind all employers that the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) takes a serious view of all forms of employment discrimination. We partner with the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP) to look into complaints where Singaporeans are not considered fairly for jobs or promotion, at both the rank-and-file and professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMET) levels. If the complaints are substantiated, their work pass applications will be subjected to greater scrutiny and their work pass privileges may even be suspended. Members of the public who are aware of such unfair practices should report them to MOM or TAFEP for investigation.”
“Mdm Speaker, the answer is yes again. On one hand, there are "double weak" companies; on the other, there are also "double strong" companies. So, please wait for my reply at the COS. [Laughter]”
“Mdm Speaker, in this House, I spoke on what we call the "double weak" companies. "Double weak" refers to those companies who have a very weak Singaporean Core and a weak commitment to nurture a future Singapore Core. So, I agree with the Member that we ought to take this seriously. In fact, MOM has already initiated action against the "double weak" companies. As I had mentioned, this will be an on-going process to ensure that Singaporeans – whether it is ICT sector or all other sectors, whether rank-and-file workers or professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs) – will be given fair consideration in recruitment, development and career enhancement. As I have mentioned earlier, during MOM's Committee of Supply (COS), I will share more information on our action plan forward.”
“Mdm Speaker, the answer is yes. More details will be disclosed during MOM's COS.”
“Mdm Speaker, the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector employed 125,300 workers in 2015, comprising about two-thirds resident workers and one-third work pass holders who are mostly Employment Pass holders. The Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) estimated that in 2014, there was a shortage of about 15,000 ICT professionals. With the rapid advancement and widespread adoption of technology in Singapore's push to become a Smart Nation, further demand for ICT manpower will continue to be strong both in terms of numbers and the range of skills and expertise needed. IDA estimates that by 2017, another 15,000 specialists may be required, especially in growth areas such as software and application development, network and infrastructure, cyber security and data analytics. To help more Singaporeans benefit from the growth of career opportunities in ICT, IDA and the industry are working together to formulate the Sectoral Manpower Plan. Our objectives are to (a) sustain the global competitiveness of the sector; (b) achieve manpower-lean growth; (c) develop a strong Singaporean Core; and lastly (d) to foster a highly-skilled and complementary foreign workforce. More details will be released during the Ministry of Communication and Information (MCI)'s Committee of Supply (COS).”
“The proportion of employers with at least 25 employees providing at least one form of flexible work arrangement (FWA) has steadily increased from 28% in 2008 to 47% in 2014. The FWA Incentive under the Work-Life Grant was introduced in April 2013 to support employers who are able to sustain regular utilisation of FWAs for more than 20% of their employees. As of December 2015, 224 applications have been received. A large majority, about 95%, of the applications were from SMEs. SMEs would typically take a year or more to track and monitor the FWA utilisation. So far, a quarter of the applicants have claimed the FWA Incentive, covering about 900 Singaporean employees3.”
“More employers are now adopting flexible work arrangements (FWAs), such as flexi-time, flexi-place and/or flexi-load for their employees. The proportion of employers with at least 25 employees providing at least one form of FWA has steadily increased from 28% in 2008 to 47% in 2014. The Developmental Grant under the Work-Life Grant was launched to help defray the implementation costs of formal adoption of FWAs. From the launch of the Development Grant in April 2013 to December 2015, there have been 325 applications. A large majority, about 95%, of the applications were from SMEs. SMEs would typically require a year or more to pilot and formalise FWAs. So far, 39 companies have formalised FWAs and claimed the grant. We expect more companies to do so in 2016.”
“The two loan schemes together will be able to cover 100% of the tuition fees, as well as some amount of the cost of living allowances.”
“Mdm Speaker, I agree with the Member that education is the best investment a parent can have for their children. Having said so, let me recap how the CPF Education Scheme came about when it was introduced in 1989. At that time, the Minister for Labour, Mr Lee Yock Suan, at the introduction of the CPF Education Scheme said, "In drawing up the scheme, my Ministry was guided by one basic principle, namely, that the fundamental objective for the CPF Scheme should be safeguarded. CPF savings have to provide for the old-age needs of the CPF members themselves. Any investment of CPF in education must not violate these primary objectives". I agree with the Member that education is very important and that is why the CPF Education Scheme was introduced. It needs to be guided by the fundamental principle that the retirement adequacy of the CPF member should not be compromised as a result of the additional scheme. I am also happy to remind the House that since 1989, the Government has introduced many more financial assistance schemes for education. In response to the concerns expressed by the Member on what if the family is unable to secure sufficient loans to cover the tuition fees and so on, under the Tuition Fee Loan Scheme, diploma students can loan up to 75% and, for the remaining 25%, they can even apply for the Study Loan Scheme. The Tuition Fee Loan Scheme, together with the Study Loan Scheme, will be able to cover up to 100% of the tuition fees. On top of that, they will be able to apply for loans to cover part of the living allowances as well. The same applies to undergraduate students. Under the Tuition Fee Loan Scheme, they can loan up to 90% of the tuition fees, plus 10% under the Study Loan Scheme.”
“Mdm Speaker, the CPF Education Scheme allows CPF members to use their CPF Ordinary Account (OA) savings to pay for their own, spouses' or children's tuition fees and this is restricted to full-time subsidised diploma and degree courses at Approved Educational Institutions. When members turn 55, a Retirement Account (RA) is created and monies from the CPF OA and the Special Account (SA) are transferred to the RA up to the Full Retirement Sum. Members who own a property with sufficient charge or pledge on the property can withdraw their RA savings above the Basic Retirement Sum in cash for any purpose, including education. Members who continue to work and make CPF contributions after age 55 will also have fresh OA savings that can be used under the CPF Education Scheme. CPF members with insufficient OA savings should consider other avenues to finance the tertiary education of their children, for example, savings in the Post-Secondary Education Account (PSEA), student bursaries and loans offered by MOE and CDC/CCC, or the Tuition Fee Loan Scheme and Study Loan Scheme offered by the Government. There are also various financial assistance schemes offered by the tertiary institutions, as well as other community organisations. We recognise that some CPF members may have tried but do not qualify for these financial assistance schemes. CPF Board has, therefore, exercised some flexibility by allowing them to use their savings in their RA that originated from their OA for the purpose of the CPF Education Scheme. However, CPF members must recognise that they are compromising on their retirement adequacy, especially if their children do not or are unable to repay the loan after graduation.”
“The increase in Dependant Passes (DP) and Letters of Consent issued to DPs from 2011 to 2015 is as follows:”
“The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) received and investigated an average of 50 complaints per year from 2010 to 2015 involving allegations of unauthorised salary deductions under the Employment Act (EA). About a third of these cases were found to have contravened EA following MOM's investigations.”
“The Ministry is also monitoring the current economic and labour market situation closely and stands ready to strengthen employment support for all workers.”
“The Ministry of Manpower is committed to actively support retrenched workers, including professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs), to secure new employment. Besides helping them to improve skills through the SkillsFuture Credit, the Government also offers the SkillsFuture Mid-career Enhanced Subsidy for Singaporeans aged 40 and above to receive up to 90% subsidy of course fees for Workforce Development Agency (WDA)-supported courses and at least 90% of programme cost for Ministry of Education (MOE)-subsidised full-time and part-time courses. PMETs, including those retrenched, who wish to undergo skills conversion and change their professions, can tap on Professional Conversion Programmes (PCPs). Salary support of up to 70% of the monthly salary, subject to a cap of $2,000, is given to employers who hire them, with enhanced funding support for mature and long-term unemployed PMETs. To help match job-seeking PMETs with suitable positions in small and medium enterprises (SMEs), the P-Max programme supports SMEs in the recruitment, training and management of PMETs with job-matching services, workshops and an Assistance Grant of $5,000. In addition, the Career Support Programme (CSP) launched in October last year, helps Singaporean PMETs aged 40 and above to have better access to mid- and higher-level jobs while learning on the job. Under this programme, employers are given wage support for employing mature PMETs who have been actively searching for jobs for at least six months with a monthly gross salary of at least $4,000. Above all, WDA and the Employment and Employability Institute (e2i) also help connect retrenched and at-risk PMETs to potential employers through platforms, such as the Jobs Bank portal, job fairs, recruitment and networking events.”
“As of June 2015, 300,500 or 14% of 2,147,800 employed residents were self-employed persons (SEPs). Of these SEPs, 169,500 or 8% of employed residents were own account workers who operate their own business or trade without employing any paid worker. Today, SEPs are required to contribute to their MediSave accounts so as to save for their healthcare needs. As of December 2015, 82% of SEPs have made regular contributions to their MediSave accounts. To encourage more SEPs to make timely and regular MediSave contributions, the Central Provident Fund (CPF) Board reaches out to SEPs via annual mailers and road shows and allows SEPs to make their MediSave contributions via instalments. CPF Board also works with various licensing authorities to ensure that self-employed licensees make regular MediSave Page: 137 contributions. The Work Injury Compensation Act (WICA) requires employers to compensate their employees who have work-related injuries. As self-employed persons operate their own business or trade, there is no employer-employee relationship between them and their clients. As such, they are not covered under WICA. Nonetheless, we encourage self-employed persons to purchase adequate insurance to protect themselves in the event of a work injury. I am heartened to note that the National Trades Union Congress' Freelancers and Self-Employed Unit has been engaging various freelancer groups, such as taxi drivers and sports coaches, on this matter.”
“As of June 2015, 7.9%, or 169,500 of employed residents were own account workers. Own account workers are self-employed persons who operate their own business or trade without employing any paid worker. And 93.1%, or 157,800, of the own account workers were in the services sector. In particular, this group of workers was most highly represented in the transportation and storage sector. Table 1 below captures the detailed breakdown of the own account workers by industry. Additionally, 16.4% or 27,900 of the own account workers hold diplomas and professional qualifications, while 21.4% or 36,200 of these workers hold degrees and above. The proportion of own account workers with diplomas and above is 37.8%, compared to 53.3% with diploma and above qualifications among workers who are employees. Page: 136”
“The Dependants' Protection Scheme (DPS) is a term insurance scheme that mitigates the impact of a loss of future income in the event of the member's untimely permanent incapacity or death. It provides his dependants with a sum of money to tide over the initial period. In the last five years from 2011 to 2015, the average number of claims approved under DPS was about 2,800 per year. The corresponding claim amount paid was about $141 million per year. On average, less than 1% of eligible Central Provident Fund (CPF) members opted out of DPS each year since its inception in 1989. About half of those who opted out were younger members aged 30 and below, and they may have done so because they did not have dependants. Of the Page: 135 members who opted out, about 40% were not working, 40% with monthly income of more than $2,000 and the remaining 20% with monthly income of less than $2,000. Today, DPS coverage stops at age 60. The need for DPS is expected to decline as the member approaches retirement. This is because the member's children are more likely to have attained financial independence and the member would have accumulated more savings to support his dependants in the event of his untimely demise or incapacitation. Extending DPS coverage beyond age 60 will provide longer insurance protection but will also mean much higher premiums because of higher mortality. We will review the DPS age limit periodically, bearing in mind the need to strike a balance between providing insurance protection for the CPF members' dependants and preserving their CPF savings for their own retirement needs. CPF members who wish to have life insurance coverage beyond age 60 may consider obtaining it from private insurers.”
“Since January 2016, Central Provident Fund (CPF) members can transfer CPF savings above the Basic Retirement Sum (BRS) to their spouse's Special or Retirement Account. Previously, they could only do so when their CPF savings were above their Full Retirement Sum (FRS). There were over 400 transfers of CPF savings to spouses in January 2016, about two and half times more than the same month last year. These transfers to spouses totalled $12 million. About one in 20 of these transfers was made by members with CPF savings above their BRS but below Page: 123 their FRS. We expect more CPF members to benefit from this change over time. Since January 2016, CPF members above the age of 55 can have their Retirement Account topped-up to the current Enhanced Retirement Sum, instead of the FRS previously. In the month of January 2016, there were 1,700 such top-ups, with a total top-up sum of $80 million.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, as I have mentioned, we will make every effort possible to ensure that the members are notified whether it is through registered mail, normal mail and through other channels as well. CPF Board does have regular communications with our members. For example, members who have recently received their CPF statement will see that CPF Board puts in tremendous efforts to provide a one-page summary of the status of all their transactions with CPF Board. I am happy to say that their coverage under HPS is part of that presentation. Obviously, we will keep looking for ways to improve our communications. [(proc text) Question put, and agreed to. (proc text)] [(proc text) Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House. (proc text)] [(proc text) The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. – [Mr Lim Swee Say.] (proc text)] [(proc text) Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed. (proc text)] Page: 99”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, in my reply, I thought I did explain that cases which are excluded from this coverage will be home owners who suffer from severe pre-existing conditions such as cancer, kidney diseases, heart disorders. So, only those who suffer from fairly severe pre-existing conditions, such as cancer, kidney and heart diseases, will have their applications rejected. Mr Dennis Tan asked whether they can be exempted. In fact, I would like to clarify that HPS is not mandatory for members with severe pre-existing conditions. In other words, we encourage every home owner of HDB flats to come under HPS. We do whatever we can, including this amendment, to help them stay with HPS. So, for those who due to their medical conditions and had their applications rejected, are excluded from HPS. I hope that answers the Member's questions.”
“In other words, if a CPF member is in employment and he does not need to start his payouts at the age of 64 now and 65 come 2018, he has the option of deferring the starting of his pay-out up to the age of 70. For every year of deferment, he is expected to receive about 6% more every month permanently from the date of the pay-out. We believe that the combination of progressively raising PEA to age 65 by 2018, coupled with the new flexibility of each member being able to, on a voluntary basis, defer the payout start age to 70, is about the right combination – providing the kind of flexibility that the members are looking for. I also agree with Ms Jessica Tan regarding MediSave claims that are unauthorised or made by mistake. In fact, we are stepping up our efforts and one of our objectives for this amendment is to send a very clear message to medical institutions and approved insurers that we take this seriously. Whenever we discover any case of error, first, we mandate the recovery. And second, Page: 97 with this amendment, CPF Board will have the right to impose administrative penalties as well. Last, but not least, Ms Jessica Tan also suggested stepping up our communications. Again, I fully agree. In fact, CPF Board is not only going to do more; we are going to do more in a simpler way so that more members out there can understand what is the purpose of CPF, why it is structured this way and what are the changes that are coming along the way to ensure that the CPF system will always be relevant and able to meet their needs better. With that, Mr Deputy Speaker, I beg to move.”