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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“For severe cases, the offender is also liable to be caned. In July this year, a Singaporean man was sentenced to 40 months in jail for his role in setting up two shell companies and obtaining work passes for 46 foreigners without the intention to employ them. In addition, employers who hire illegal foreign workers face a fine of between $5,000 and $30,000 or up to 12 months’ imprisonment or both. Offenders will also be debarred from hiring foreign workers. MOM will continue to take a holistic approach to deal with persons and syndicates who perpetuate the illegal importation of labour. We will not hesitate to take offenders to task. Page: 87”
“It is against the law for employers to bring in foreign workers without the intention to employ them and allowing these workers to find their own employment. It is also illegal for other employers to hire foreign workers who are released by their official employers to find their own work. MOM takes a serious view of such offences and has put in measures to address both the supply and demand sides. On the supply side, MOM has taken steps to detect fraudulent applications upstream and proactively enforce downstream. We pick out dubious companies and subject them to additional checks when they put in work pass applications. Downstream, MOM carries out proactive enforcement operations against suspected syndicates which are detected through our intel capabilities. The recent island-wide enforcement operation that MOM conducted in July is an example of our continuous efforts to take down syndicates that bring in foreign workers for illegal employment. On the demand side, MOM deters the demand for illegal workers through education and taking errant employers to task. MOM issues reminders to main contractors that they have an obligation under the law to ensure that all foreign workers, including those of their sub-contractors at their worksites, have valid work passes showing the right employers. The reminders also emphasise that non-compliance would be dealt with severely. Those who disregard the law are taken to task. The penalties for bringing in illegal workers have been stepped up for greater deterrence. With the amendment of the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act (EFMA) in November 2012, those who operate shell companies and import labour illegally face imprisonment of between six months and two years and a fine of up to $6,000 per charge.”
“The global nature of some businesses today may require more frequent travel, resulting in employees being more exposed to external health risks, such as the Zika virus. To raise employers' awareness about their obligations with regard to these health risks, we have issued advisories in the past for the pandemic influenza H1N1 and MERS-CoV to help employers take appropriate measures. These advisories cover employers' obligations in three broad areas. First, pre-travel. Employers should regularly check MOH’s website for the latest updates on affected countries and take reference from advisories issued by MOH when deciding on business travel plans. Second, if travel to affected countries is unavoidable, employers should advise employees to take the necessary precautions as per MOH's advisories. Third, if employees are found to be infected upon their return, employers are required to provide them paid sick leave in accordance with the Employment Act and extend appropriate medical coverage and insurance, as stipulated under their employment contracts or collective agreements. These obligations for post-travel also apply for local transmission of Zika. MOM recently issued advisories to employers and dormitory operators on measures to limit the spread of the Zika virus. Page: 86 They provide guidance for managing pregnant employees and employees suspected of infection. MOM is also working closely with relevant agencies to step up checks on worksites and dormitories. Everyone – workers, employers and dormitory operators – has to play his part to help minimise local transmission of Zika.”
“The feedback has been very positive. Thus, starting from October this year, starting this month, CPF Board will send information pamphlets to all members at age 54. CPF Board will also send invites to a target group on this retirement planning service before they turn 55, so that they are aware of this optional service available to them. CPF Board is also exploring the possibility of doing a similar exercise to reach out to members on a one-on-one basis upon reaching the PEA. In other words, we will step up our efforts of engagement broadly in the community and, at the same time, individually, at the key milestone of age 55 and the PEA of individual members. Mdm Speaker, I hope I have addressed most of the concerns raised by the Members. With that, I beg to move. [(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)] Page: 65 [(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: 66”
“This particular amendment is to make it easier for, hopefully, the younger generations to top up the MediSave Accounts of certain family members of the older generations. Last, but not least, a few Members – Assoc Prof Randolph Tan, Er Dr Lee Bee Wah, Mr Saktiandi Supaat and others – expressed concern that the CPF system is getting too complicated and sometimes members are finding it difficult to decide at which point in time to do what. I fully accept that. In fact, that is the reason why CPF Board is now mounting another exercise to try and explain the CPF system in a simpler way, in a way that, hopefully, more members will be able to have a better appreciation. I did a trial run with a few hundred grassroots leaders just about two weeks ago, putting it in a very simple way. Based on feedback, about 90% of them found the simplified ways of explanation useful. Quite a number of them feel that they are now more confident to help us explain the CPF system to members of the public. We are going to conduct a few more sessions in Tamil, Malay and Mandarin. After this series of four sessions, we are going to take stock based on the feedback and see how can we refine it further and, beyond that, I want to go back to all the Grassroots Advisers to help us send out the message. So, your point is well accepted. At the same time, I also want to add that one of the key concerns that we have is about retirement planning. In this regard, I am happy to say that CPF Board had, in the second half of last year, piloted a retirement planning service. They invited CPF members, just before they turn 55, to come to CPF Board for a one-to-one, face-to-face consultation where CPF Board staff will try to explain to them what are the options, what are the decisions and so on.”
“But for cheque payments, if they are not encashed and the cheques expire, then the money is now put into their CPF accounts. It is only under these circumstances, if later on, the agencies involved discover that they have made the payment in error, then they will notify CPF Board to recover the money. As far as CPF recovery is concerned, if the money is still in members' CPF accounts, we will help them to recover. But if the money is already spent, then it will be beyond the scope of CPF Board. This is to assure Members that there are enough safeguards in place. On the issue of the direct transfer of funds from the Ordinary Account and Special Account to the MediSave Account, Mr Louis Ng and Ms Thanaletchimi asked about who these family members are and who will qualify for this direct transfer to MediSave Account. The family members would include not just spouses but also siblings, parents, grandparents, parents-in-law and grandparents-in-law. A Member asked whether a son-in-law, daughter-in-law can do the transfer. The answer is yes. If a son-in-law or daughter-in-law wants to top up the parents-in-law's accounts, they are Page: 64 encouraged to do so. If you ask me whether a father-in-law can directly top up the MediSave Account for the son-in-law this way, the answer is no. We have a general policy for the transfer of CPF savings where we would like to encourage the younger generations to top up the CPF account for the older generations and not the other way round. But if the father-in-law loves his son-in-law so much that he decides to withdraw the money in his CPF account in cash and then give the money to the son-in-law and the son-in-law then puts it back into his MediSave Account, obviously, CPF Board cannot stop it.”
“They can come to CPF Board and we will make sure that they understand how the RSS works, we make sure that they understand the trade-offs between starting their RSS payouts versus deferring it further. On a case-by-case basis, we would allow for further deferment, provided that we are convinced that the member knows what the trade-offs are. In the third area of changes affecting the Basic Healthcare Sum, Ms Thanaletchimi expressed her concern about whether the employees of these medical institutions know what they are doing, after all, there are so many schemes. Madam, I understand that MOH conducts training for the employees of these medical institutions before they accredit them to be authorised institutions to claim MediSave on behalf of CPF members. Notwithstanding, from time to time, we do discover that they still make mistakes, and this is the reason why we have included this administrative penalty framework, hopefully, to remind them what they have to be more conscious about in filing the claims on behalf of members. Lastly, various amendments about recovering over-payment, payment in error by the Government agencies, I want to explain that members will be served the notice in advance. CPF Board would not just recover the payment in error without notifying the CPF members. They would be notified in advance and,if the members have any queries or any objections, they can raise these to CPF Board and then CPF Board will consult the relevant agencies. Most of these payments made in error did not originate from CPF Board. We are, basically, collecting and making these payments on behalf of the various Government agencies. Most of these payments go directly to the households in the form of cheques and into bank accounts.”
“On balance, we felt that the recommendation by the Advisory Panel was probably the most appropriate one and that is the reason why we are amending the Act to support that. Secondly, automatic payout for the Retirement Sum Scheme. Broadly, all Members supported this move. Mr Saktiandi Supaat and Mr Louis Ng asked why some members did not activate their Retirement Sum payouts even at the age of 70 and beyond. CPF Board has been talking to various members and these are the main reasons we have gathered so far. Some of them are still gainfully employed. So, they said, "Look, I still have an income, I don't need the money now." They keep it in the Retirement Account. Some of them have been receiving adequate support from their children. So, they said, "Look, at this moment, I am comfortable with the support. I don't need to draw on the money." Some of them do not know that they have to Page: 63 activate their payouts under the Retirement Sum Scheme (RSS). So, they said, "Oh, you mean I have to activate it?" There is yet another group. Their concern is, "But what if I outlive my Retirement Account savings?" RSS, typically, provides for up to 20 years of payouts. Therefore, they said, "Look, I would like to keep it. I don't know how long I will live. It is better to defer the RSS payouts to as late as possible, just in case I outlive my Retirement Account savings." These are the reasons put forward by the members. What we are proposing is, basically, to set the automatic start for the payout at the age of 70. For members who, for whatever reason, feel that they still want to defer the start of their payouts, they can do so.”
“Mdm Speaker, I would like to thank the Members for supporting these amendments. I would try to respond to the various points raised according to the four areas of amendments. Firstly, providing the flexibility of a 20% lump-sum withdrawal from the Payout Eligibility Age (PEA). When the CPF Advisory Panel deliberated on this particular recommendation, the views werre divided. There were some panel members who felt that we have to continue to tighten on any early withdrawal; while there were others who felt we should provide for flexibility. So, it is a balance between flexibility for early withdrawal versus preserving as much as possible for retirement needs. At the end of the day, the Advisory Panel's recommendation is a well-balanced one. They recognised that some people may need to withdraw the money earlier but there should be a cap of 20%, including the amount withdrawn at the age of 55. And we should provide for this early withdrawal not at 55 but at the PEA because, by then, the person would, at the age of 65, for most, be in a better position to look ahead and make the assessment whether he needs more money now or to keep more for retirement years. The comments earlier by the various Members reflect these divided views. For example, Mr Png Eng Huat asked, "Why not bring forward to 55?" So, he belongs to the group that goes for flexible provision. We also have Mr Thomas Chua who reminded the House that we should try to preserve as much as possible for retirement. Prof Randolph Tan highlighted the same. Mr Saktiandi Supaat likewise called for the public to be cautious. And last, but not least, we heard the same from Mr Chong Kee Hiong. CPF Board and MOM are mindful of these divided views.”
“However, they worry that once they sell the flat, the money will be locked up in their CPF account because they are approaching 55 or even older. I think housing is very important. If people have money in their CPF account and they need it to buy a flat, CPF Board could perhaps exercise more flexibility in this area to help these residents. Another suggestion is for CPF Board to make a better effort at explaining to Singaporeans how to use their CPF. When we introduced MediShield Life, everyone can get free consultation at the CCs. The response was good. The CPF scheme will undergo major changes. I hope that after all the changes have been finalised, we can provide similar consultations so that Singaporeans can better Page: 52 understand how to make good use of their CPF monies. 4.38 pm”
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank them because many of my residents had gone to the CC to get their free consultation and they found it very useful. CPF is going to change quite a bit, especially with the second round of recommendations that were released recently. When all the changes have been finalised, can we also provide such consultations? Mdm Speaker, in Mandarin, please. (In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] : The CPF amendments will give Singaporeans better peace of mind and more choices as well. Better peace of mind is because BHS for each cohort will be fixed, so that people do not have to worry about a constantly rising Minimum Sum ‒ a "moving target". In addition, when members reach age 70, they can receive payouts automatically without making an application. The amendments will also allow Singaporeans to make a lump-sum withdrawal of up to 20% of their Retirement Account upon reaching 65 years old. I understand that the Government has always been concerned about people's livelihood after retirement and has been looking at ways to make Retirement Account savings last longer. This shows that our Government acts responsibly. But I am equally concerned about members' immediate needs. Some residents have told me that they lived with their children but there were some unpleasant things going on in the family and they wanted to move out and buy their own flat. However, most of their money is in the CPF; they do not have cash. This means that they can only "see" the money but are unable to use it. Under the circumstances, I feel that CPF Board should meet people's needs and be more flexible. Other residents have also told me that they wanted to downgrade, for example, to change to a 3-room flat from a 5-room one.”
“I have seen residents at my Meet-the-People Session, in particular, a resident who lives with her family members, her children's family, and are not happy with the situation and wanted to shift out and buy her own flat. She does not have cash but her money is in her CPF account. So, she says that ""我 只 可 以 看 , 不 可 以 动, 不 可 以 用 " and this is a situation where I feel that perhaps CPF can be more flexible. There is another group of residents who wanted to downgrade, for example, from a 5-room flat to a 3-room flat when they are nearing 55 years old or after 55 years old, but they dare not make the move because they know that the moment they sell the flat, the money will go into CPF Page: 51 Retirement Accounts and that will lock their money up and they cannot buy a smaller flat. For situations like these, I hope CPF Board can be more flexible. I am also glad that CPF payouts will start automatically when members reach age 70. Indeed, many CPF members were unaware that they previously had to apply for the payout and some were unaware when or how they should do it. Actually, many elderly Singaporeans are oblivious to receiving their GST credits, even after the money had been deposited into their account. In spite of the letters of notification, some senior citizens are illiterate and do not have children to keep them informed. In the spirit of enabling Singaporeans to make better use of their CPF, I hope CPF Board will make a greater effort to reach out to them. When we introduced MediShield Life, everyone could get free consultations at the Community Centres (CCs) with the help of volunteers from the Insurance and Financial Practitioners Association of Singapore (IFPAS).”
“Today, members aged 55 and above who have already set aside their cohort Full Retirement Sum have to withdraw the excess monies from their Ordinary and Special Accounts in cash before they can use it to top up the MediSave Account of certain family members aged 55 and above. The amendment will enable members to make such top ups directly from their Ordinary and Special Accounts to the MediSave Accounts of these family members. In conclusion, the Bill provides greater flexibility, healthcare assurance, as well as simplifies certain administrative procedures for greater convenience for CPF members. Mdm Speaker, I beg to move. [(proc text) Question proposed. (proc text)] 4.31 pm Er Dr Lee Bee Wah (Nee Soon): Mdm Speaker, I wholeheartedly welcome the changes to make the CPF system more friendly and flexible. It shows that our Government acts responsibly and responsively. Firstly, fixing the Basic Healthcare Sum for each cohort is a great relief to Singaporeans. Many Singaporeans were worried that the Minimum Sum is a moving target and they will not be able to reach it when they retire. This change gives them some certainty. Offering different levels of savings on top of the sum also gives members flexibility and choice. Second, members will now have the flexibility to make a lump-sum withdrawal of up to 20% of their Retirement Account after reaching their Payout Eligibility Age (PEA), 65 years old for most members. This is great news for members who need some extra cash to pursue their interest or dream upon retirement. I share the Government's constant concern about making Retirement Account savings last. But I am equally concerned about members' immediate needs. Just to give one example.”
“We are, therefore, amending the CPF Act to allow for automatic starting of payouts at age 70 for members on the Retirement Sum Scheme. This approach is similar to that for CPF LIFE and will start in 2018. About one in three members are expected to benefit from the automatic starting of payouts under the Retirement Sum Scheme. The third set of amendments updates the CPF Act to support the implementation of BHS which took effect on 1 January 2016. The BHS was introduced by MOH for CPF members to meet their basic subsidised healthcare needs in old age. BHS is fixed for each cohort when they turn 65 years old. It is the maximum amount a member can set aside in his MediSave Account. Any additional MediSave contributions above BHS are transferred to the member's Special or Retirement Accounts to increase his retirement income. In addition, members aged 55 and above now no longer need to top up their MediSave Accounts, before withdrawing from their Ordinary and Special Accounts. Page: 50 To fully effect these changes, we are amending the CPF Act to remove obsolete provisions relating to the MediSave Minimum Sum and fix the BHS for each cohort when they turn 65 years old. The fourth and last set of amendments provides greater clarity and efficiency in the administration of some parts of the CPF system and this includes replacing the Minimum Sum with the Retirement Sum, clarifying the administrative financial penalties framework, recovery of Government grants and other payments made in error and catering for members whose birthdays fall on 29 February. I will provide just one example on simplifying the MediSave top up process for family members.”
“Mdm Speaker, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time." This Bill will amend the Central Provident Fund Act, or CPF Act, in four areas. First, provide CPF members with the flexibility to make advance applications for a lump-sum withdrawal from their Retirement Account upon reaching their Payout Eligibility Age (PEA). Second, allow payouts under the Retirement Sum Scheme to begin automatically upon the member reaching 70 years of age. Third, fully effect the MediSave changes relating to the introduction of the Basic Healthcare Sum (BHS) which took effect from 1 January 2016. Fourth, make various amendments to clarify and streamline the administration of some parts of the CPF system. Madam, the first amendment is to implement the recommendation by the CPF Advisory Panel to allow members who turned age 55 in 2013 or later to make a lump-sum withdrawal of up to 20% from their Retirement Accounts when they reach PEA. With this change, members will have three options on their lump-sum withdrawal. First, withdraw the lump sum starting from their PEA birthday. Second, defer withdrawing the lump sum beyond their payout start date for CPF LIFE or the Retirement Sum Scheme by transferring this lump sum to the Ordinary Account. Third, convert the lump sum into monthly payouts through CPF LIFE or the Retirement Sum Scheme. The second amendment simplifies the activation of CPF payouts for members on the Retirement Sum Scheme. Today, members who join the CPF LIFE scheme will receive payouts automatically when they reach age 70. However, members on the Retirement Sum Scheme have to apply to start their payouts. Some of them may not have done so despite receiving reminders from CPF Board around two months before their PEA.”
“Mdm Speaker, I think Mr Liang touched on a very important point. In professional conversion, the last thing we want to do is to see a person giving up all the years of experience, expertise and skills. Therefore, our priority in helping the mid-career PMETs is through P-Max, which helps to match PMETs to the SMEs. P-Max is functioning very well. The response from SMEs is encouraging. At the same time, we are also seeing more and more of the mature PMETs now willing to explore opportunities in the SME sector. P-Max is our way to help the SMEs to tap on the skills and experience of the mature PMETs and vice versa. On top of that, another area which we are now exploring is that for mature PMETs with many years of skills, experience and expertise, we think that the private placement companies may also be of great help to them. We have started trying out the services of the private placement companies. We are now in the process of scaling them up. So, in the near future, you will hear us announcing a partnership programme with the private placement community to help middle to senior levels of PMETs to pursue job openings in a more effective way.”
“Mdm Speaker, I agree with the Member Dr Tan Wu Meng. Our challenge is to make sure that the online marketplace will be attractive to both employers as well as Page: 43 jobseekers. For the employers applying for EPs, they will have to go to the National Jobs Bank. For them, their presence in the marketplace will be mandatory, through the National Jobs Bank. For those where the jobs are meant for locals, our aim is to make the online marketplace so attractive that many of them will come on to the marketplace on a voluntary basis. We believe that, as Dr Tan has mentioned, if we can make this marketplace a vibrant one, a comprehensive one, more and more employers should want to come on board because it would be easier for them to look for the right workers.”
“Madam, we are trying to help all PMETs. In helping them, we recognise that some PMETs may need more help than the others. We have observed that the mature PMETs face more challenges. I will give a simple example. For the mature PMETs, many of them have been working in the industry for 10, 20 years, and their wages are higher. When they are affected by redundancy, when they move on to another company, to command a similar level of salary is always a big challenge. As a result, the pay cut that the mature PMETs have to take is normally higher than that for the younger PMETs. The purpose of the CSP is to minimise the wage cut. For example, if a PMET is earning between $4,000 and $7,000, under the CSP, we subsidise their wages for the first year. Our intention is to help these mature PMETs to move to a new company with a new employer, hopefully, without having to suffer too severe a pay cut. The same may not necessarily apply to the younger PMETs. Here, it is not a case of giving less support to the younger PMETs, but rather giving more support to the mature PMETs.”
“Earlier, in the Committee of Supply (COS) this year, I announced that we have extended the PCP to in-house PCP. In other words, PMETs, instead of being retrenched, if the company is able to redeploy them within the company, we will support them with the PCP. Under the PCP, during the retraining period of up to a maximum of 18 to 24 months, we subsidise their wages and training programme. These are things we are already doing. On the whole, I just want to caution that, firstly, retrenchment is not by individuals. Retrenchment is by an operation. Earlier, we talked about a company transferring its R&D operations out of Singapore. The whole team will be affected, whether you are local or an EP holder, the entire operation will be affected. Secondly, at the PMET level, the local PMETs outnumber the foreign PMETs in most cases. That is why we are concerned that we will see more local PMETs being affected. That is the reason why I mentioned earlier we are going to do a lot more to help them to adapt and grow again. Assoc Prof Daniel Goh Pei Siong (Non-Constituency Member): Mdm Speaker, I would like to ask the Minister this. The CSP is obviously a very useful programme for all PMETs. I am wondering why restrict the access to the CSP for younger PMETs under 40 years old to only those who are at least unemployed for six months. Why not open CSP to all PMETs, regardless of age?”
“Mdm Speaker, the first question about EP, whether we can adopt the policy of Singaporeans-first in processing an EP application, I am hesitant about this. If I may go back to the example highlighted by Mr Iswaran. Micron has just opened their expanded facility with an investment of a few billion dollars. For that facility which comes with such a heavy investment, they need to have a few hundred PMETs to keep the place running non-stop. If MOM were to come in and say, "You have to keep recruiting Singaporeans first until no more Singaporeans would take the jobs before you allow foreigners to take on these jobs", my worry is that if we have that Singaporeans-first reputation, eventually, EDB, MTI, all our agencies will have problems competing for the best investments in the world. Let me also put it this way. If you look at the EP and at the PMET levels, a vast majority of PMETs in Singapore are local. Many years from now, we will still have EPs in our workforce. I have illustrated earlier to Members that our local workforce growth is slowing down. So, we do need to continue to have foreigners. Having EP in our system is not a bad thing. But what is bad is if it leads to unfair consideration for the locals. What we are doing is to tighten the EP criteria to maximise the complementarity between EP and the locals. I would say that the best way for us to help the locals is to focus on Page: 42 enhancing their employability. This is something we have been doing. The other point is about retrenchment ‒ whether we can provide incentives for companies to retain locals. The answer is yes. We are already doing that. For companies which retain their locals, we provide a lot of support to them. Let me give a simple example.”
“Madam, for the job fairs at the community level, I would not be surprised if you keep seeing about the same faces. Because for our job fairs in the community, we try to reach out to employers where the jobs are nearby in the community. Since the companies do not move in and out of communities too quickly, as a result, you are likely to see more of the familiar faces. Having said that, I do share Mr Ang's concern whether we can keep encouraging more and more companies to step forward, to open up their jobs to our locals. I am happy to say that we are seeing that. For example, in the hotel sector, they have 2,000 vacancies, and 40% or 800 of them, are PMET jobs. We have good jobs. The companies are all very keen to look for local workers. As I have mentioned, our key challenge is how to connect them better. We will continue to organise more and more job fairs. At the same time, we want to evolve towards this online marketplace as quickly as possible.”
“What we are doing now is, whenever we organise a job fair, whether it is a virtual or physical job fair, the employers will indicate whether they are prepared to take in mature workers for a particular job under CSP or take in workers who are not job-ready but are prepared to go for job conversion under PCP. In most cases, it is for both. Our intention is to keep growing the list of employers who are prepared to open up more of their jobs under PCP and CSP. In time to come, when the online marketplace is ready, we hope to have a pavilion specially for the mature workers, either on conversion or mid-career switch. The third question about whether we are able to sustain the one-third to two-thirds local to foreign manpower ratio, right now, we are still about there. Looking ahead to the next five to 10 years, will we be able to sustain the one-third to two-thirds ratio? I would say the key consideration is productivity gain. If we are able to strive for the 2%-3% productivity gain, then the pressure on increasing the total workforce would be less. Therefore, I am not able to give you any projection. But I would say that for now and in the near future, let us focus and apply our mind to innovation and productivity because that is the most sustainable way for us to sustain our growth in the long term without becoming overly dependent on foreign manpower.”
“Mdm Speaker, first, on Fair Consideration Framework, in February this year, we identified 100 companies that we considered as being "triple weak". We subjected their EP applications to closer scrutiny. In the last six months, TAFEP has been working very closely with them to improve their HR practices. Of the 100 companies, about 20%, or one in five, responded by taking part in our job fairs and stepping up training for the locals. Some even have knowledge transfer programmes for the locals. For this one-fifth of companies, on the recommendation of TAFEP, we have decided to remove them from the watch-list because their HR practices are now on par with the industry standard. For the remaining 80%, even though many of them have made some improvements, we think that a lot more can be done. We will continue to monitor them. Among them, right now, there are about 300 EP applications still being closely scrutinised, until we are convinced that they have met our fair consideration requirement. At the same time, we will continue to identify more of these "triple weak" companies. So far, we have identified another 180 of them. If we put 180 plus the 80% of the 100, we now have altogether about 250 companies on our watch-list. The whole purpose is not to punish them, but rather to work with them, engage them and enhance their HR practices to give our Singaporeans fair consideration. On the second point of whether we can do more for the mature PMETs, I would say, certainly, yes. We are stepping up our effort. Earlier, I talked about expanding PCP from 22 programmes to at least 50 by the end of this year. More importantly, we are working with more and more companies to open up their job openings to mature workers and to those on the PCP.”
“I urge everyone to face this challenge together and persevere. We must make sure that the current difficulties are only short-term transitional pains and not allow them to develop into long-term pains of the new normal. We must assure our SMEs and do our best to help them transform. More importantly, we must assure our workers and do our best to help them learn new skills and adapt to new jobs. Let us work together and quicken our steps to walk out of this transitional period as fast as we can and achieve better and more sustainable economic growth. This way, everyone will have better jobs, remuneration and career. Let us work hard together! (In English): Madam, in conclusion, as we enter the next stage towards 2%-3% quality growth, I assure our fellow Singaporeans that the tripartite partners are doing our very best for them, at the national as well as sectoral levels. We need our businesses to do their part, to transform and grow. At the same time, we need our people to do their part, too, to adapt and grow. Last time round, during the Global Financial Crisis, we cut costs together, we saved jobs together, we upturned the downturn together. This time round, our challenge is to transform together, adapt together, so that we can all grow together. Working together, I believe that we can succeed once again.”
“In here, they can see very clearly there are altogether 91 job functions they can apply for. And if they want to apply for any one of these 91 job functions, there are 291 job skillsets they can pursue. If they want to pursue any of those skillsets, there are more than 1,000 training programmes, all laid out in place for them to pursue. This is how effective the Skills Framework is and will be in the future. We will be using the Skills Framework, sector by sector, to provide career coaching, counselling to jobseekers to help them discover for themselves which career, job or path is more suitable for them. Last, but not least, even salary range is defined in here. So, you see the jobs ladder, skills ladder as well as salary ladder. And as I have mentioned earlier, the skills framework for two sectors has just been launched and more will come. Madam, in Mandarin, please. (In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Although local employment is still rising, the speed of growth has slowed down. With the trends of an ageing population and falling birth rates continuing, local employment will peak and stop growing after 10 years. If we do not adjust our strategy and continue to increase jobs by large numbers, most of the added jobs will be undertaken by foreign employees. This will do more harm than good to our country and people. Hence, the challenge we face in terms of job creation is no longer the more jobs the better, but the more the better jobs, the better. Short-term pains are better than long-term pains. What we are facing now is a slowing economy and a rising redundancy rate. This is the price we have to pay as a result of economic Page: 39 transformation in a weak global economy. This is unavoidable.”
“It will bring together employers, including those currently not advertising on the Jobs Bank, to bring all their jobs to this marketplace and to connect these employers and their jobs to active and passive jobseekers of all ages. Jobseekers will be able to explore new career opportunities and conduct job searches on their own through this online marketplace anytime, anywhere without having to wait for the next job fair. They can be young adults looking for their first jobs, those in mid-careers looking for their next careers, or mature workers looking to remain active. In response to Mr Desmond Choo, for those who need advice on what jobs and careers to pursue, whether they are current jobseekers or what the Secretary-General of NTUC called "the future jobseekers", such as those vulnerable workers in industries facing poor prospects, we will leverage on the Skills Framework to help them more and serve them better. With the Skills Framework, jobseekers can clearly see what are the career paths, occupations, skills requirements and training programmes available to them in every major sector. The Skills Frameworks for Hotel and Accommodation Services, and Early Childhood Care and Education have already been launched. If I may just share this with Members, this is the Skills Framework for the Hotel sector. With this Skills Framework, you can see clearly there are four career paths for anyone to pursue – from front desk to housekeeping, to sales and marketing, to revenue management. I asked them what happened to the fifth path, F&B. They said that would be coming under the F&B Skills Framework. So, any jobseekers can see clearly these are the four plus one-to-come career paths they can pursue.”
“We have, therefore, extended the CSP, since May this year, to two additional groups of PMETs. Firstly, all PMETs made redundant aged 40 and above, even if they have been unemployed for less than six months, we waived the requirement for six months of unemployment. At the same time, we have also extended this CSP to all PMETs made redundant and unable to find jobs after six months, even if they are less than 40 years old. For the younger ones, likewise, we have waived the age requirement as well – after six months of unemployment. Madam, a job is the best welfare and full employment is the best protection for our people and our workers. Our efforts in industry transformation, as outlined by Minister Lim Hng Kiang and Minister Iswaran, will lead to better jobs and better careers. Our efforts through SkillsFuture will lead to better workers with deeper skills and newer skills. And with Adapt and Grow, the focus of MOM is to connect them better to each other – better jobs to better workers; better workers to better jobs. The National Jobs Bank has been useful in helping our local jobseekers gain access to more jobs, especially PMET jobs. Today, about 180,000 registered users are gaining access to the Jobs Bank and about 25,700 employers have registered with the Jobs Bank. At any time, there are about 60,000 active jobs in our Jobs Bank looking for workers and we receive about 7,000 job applications every day. In response to Dr Tan Wu Meng, we do not intend to make it mandatory for all companies to post all job vacancies in the Jobs Bank and to report all hiring outcomes to MOM, as suggested. Page: 38 Instead, we will transform the National Jobs Bank into a one-stop and non-stop online marketplace.”
“In fact, of the 13,000 successful jobseekers, 45% of Page: 37 them, or 5,700, were PMETs, and 55%, or 7,300, were rank-and-file workers. They came from various age groups – one in three were below 40 years old, one in four between 40 and 49, and 40%, or two in five, were aged 50 and above. In other words, we are helping not just the younger workers but also helping the middle-aged as well as the mature workers to secure jobs. We are doing more for the rank-and-file workers. We stepped up our Reskilling for Jobs initiative. We have also created more work trial programmes to help the rank-and-file workers to try out jobs which they may not be familiar or comfortable with. They try out the jobs first. After three to six months, they can decide whether to continue. We are also doing much more for the PMETs. In response to Mr Melvin Yong, we rolled out 24 new Professional Conversion Programmes (PCPs) this year in 14 sectors, such as International Trade and Cybersecurity. We started the year with only 22 PCPs. By the end of this year, we will have more than 50 PCPs to help many more PMETs to convert to professions and industries with growth potential. We have also provided extra support for mid-career PMETs aged 40 and above. We believe that they need the extra help. We are doing more for them, especially those who have been unemployed for more than six months. The Career Support Programme (CSP) was introduced a year ago to help them with wage support. In response to the questions from Assoc Prof Daniel Goh, we are seeing a higher share of PMETs among residents made redundant. In fact, in the first half of this year, of the 5,700 locals retrenched, about 4,000 of them were PMETs. In other words, 70% of local retrenched workers were PMETs.”
“This balanced approach will enable our combined workforce of locals and foreigners to complement each other better and compete more aggressively for good investments globally, such as the opening of Micron's expanded facility here last month, as cited by Minister Iswaran. We need to compete and win many more of such good investments so that we can keep creating better quality growth for the economy and, more importantly, better quality jobs for our people. Madam, third, we must minimise job-skill mismatches and maximise the connectivity between job opportunities and jobseekers. In response to Mr Desmond Choo and Mr Liang Eng Hwa, we share their concern that we could see a higher number of layoffs than before, especially in sectors facing weak demand. We are doing more to help our workers in this period of economic transition in terms of training support, wage support, job search and career conversion. In response to Mr Patrick Tay, Mr Ang Wei Neng, Mr Ang Hin Kee, Mr Christopher de Souza, Ms Jessica Tan and Mr Desmond Choo, we have stepped up job matching and career services with the introduction of the Adapt and Grow initiative this year. In the first eight months of this year, Workforce Singapore and e2i have assisted 20,000 active jobseekers. More than 13,000 of them managed to find jobs in various sectors, including Infocomm Technology, Healthcare, Early Childhood Care and Education, Professional Services, Admin and Support, Biologics Manufacturing, Transport and Logistics, just to name the key ones. The number of successful job placements is also much more than last year. For the PMETs, the number of PMETs who managed to secure jobs with our employment support went up by 45%; for the rank-and-file workers, it went up by 12%.”
“Madam, second, our policy on foreign manpower must be well-balanced. At one extreme, if we try to make up for the drop in local labour force growth by taking in many more foreign workers, the pace of our restructuring will slow. Eventually, we will become overly reliant on foreign manpower and our wages will also stagnate without productivity gain. At the other extreme, if we try to reduce the growth of foreign manpower to zero, zero local labour force growth plus zero foreign manpower growth will give us zero growth in total labour force. Our total labour force will eventually stagnate. And if labour productivity growth continues to remain at the current level – then zero growth in local workforce, zero growth in foreign manpower, plus zero growth in productivity as we have seen in recent years – it will give us zero growth in our GDP. Our economy will eventually stagnate, too, and we obviously cannot allow this to happen. This is why we are transforming our industries for higher productivity gains. We need to move towards higher productivity gains. At the same time, we are adopting a balanced approach in managing the inflow of foreign manpower. In response to Mr Liang Eng Hwa and Ms Foo Mee Har, the annual increase in foreign manpower has dropped significantly by more than two-thirds, from the last peak of 80,000 in 2011 to about 24,000 in the past two years. We are increasingly more selective in terms of qualifications and experience of the individual foreigners. At the same time, more importantly, to ensure that our people are treated fairly at all levels in all industries, we have included the adoption of fair and progressive HR practices as part of our Work Pass criteria.”
“Even though flat local employment growth in the past 18 months did not lead to a sharp rise in unemployment rate or any drop in our labour force participation, we are still concerned that this could still happen if the global economic situation does not improve or worsen further. We must make sure that the current low growth of 1%-2% is transitional. Our future norm should be 2%-3% of quality growth, not 1%-2% of low growth. This is because our ultimate objective in pursuing growth is not in growth itself, but to create jobs in sufficient quantity and of good enough quality for our people to have better jobs, better wages and better careers. Madam, with our local workforce growth slowing, it does not mean that we can afford to move slower, too, in our efforts to create jobs. I will use 2015 as an illustration. Even though local employment went up by only 700, but the number of locals looking for jobs was many times higher than that. We must not forget that there were actually 190,000 new entries of young locals and re-entries of mature locals in that year alone. Many of them were not just looking for the same jobs vacated by those who have left employment. With better education and skills profile, they wanted better jobs to meet their higher expectations and aspirations. The same also applies to those who were already in the workforce. And I think this is good. This is also why we can never slow down. To move faster, we have mobilised industry leaders, unions and economic agencies to create and re-create many more quality jobs in more than 20 sectors, as explained by Minister Lim Hng Kiang and Minister Iswaran. We have to make sure that this innovative growth of our future Page: 36 economy will also be an inclusive growth for all our people.”
“In the three years from 2012 to 2014, an average of 226,000 locals joined and 153,000 left the workforce each year, giving an average net increase of 73,000, or 79,000 if we were to include the self-employed. But in 2015, the number of locals entering dropped significantly by about 36,000, while the number leaving increased by about 37,000. This is a swing of 73,000 and resulted in the flat growth in our local employment to just 700. This swing was partly cyclical. We saw more people left employment after termination and completion of contract and casual employment. More also left to pursue further studies and upgrading. But the swing was also structural, across all age groups. For those aged 25-64, our labour force participation rate of 83.1% is already high and showing signs of plateauing. For the younger ones aged 15-24, the size of the cohort entering the labour force had already peaked in 2013 and started to decline since then. More importantly, the number of people retiring is also on the rise, doubling over the last two years. This will continue as more baby boomers enter retirement. In short, even though the numbers of exits and entries in our local workforce will fluctuate from year to year due to prevailing economic conditions and policy factors, but with ageing and lower birth rates, coupled with our relatively high labour force participation rate and low unemployment rate, we will see a continued slowdown of local labour force growth, towards negligible levels, or even stagnation in the next decade. This has three major implications. First, we must work our way towards healthier economic growth.”
“Madam, my replies to Parliamentary Questions are normally very short. Today, my reply would not be 12 times longer. So, I will take slightly longer and I hope Members will please bear with me. Madam, these 12 questions cover three broad areas: major developments in our local market, employment support for our workers and regulation of foreign manpower supply. In response to Mr Patrick Tay and Mr Melvin Yong, on the ground, there is much concern that local employment growth has been flat. It went up by 700 last year and came down by 200 in the first half of this year, giving a net increase of just 500 over 18 months. I am concerned too. Fortunately, while the unemployment rate has increased, it did not rise sharply. It exceeded marginally the range of 2.6% - 2.9% registered in the past five years, to reach 3% in June 2016. I was puzzled. Why did the sharp drop in local employment growth not lead to a sharp rise in unemployment rate? With the help of my colleagues at MOM, I soon discovered that the main reason for the flat growth in local employment was a slowdown in local workforce growth. Let me share what I have learnt with this House. Mdm Speaker, with your permission, may I display a few charts on the LED, please? Page: 35”
“Mdm Speaker, may I have your permission to take Question Nos 10 to 21 together, please?”
“The tripartite partners are strongly committed to enable older workers who are willing and able to work to continue working for as long as possible. We also support employers to re-design jobs to become more age friendly. We recently enhanced the WorkPro scheme to help companies make work easier, safer and smarter for older workers. We also recently extended the Special Employment Credit to encourage the employment of workers above 55. We hope that employers will tap on the flexibilities and support available to them to continue to benefit from the skills and experience of older employees, especially in a tight labour market.”
“Under our current re-employment system, employers must offer re-employment to eligible employees who turn age 62 and have worked in the company for at least three years. In doing so, employers should consider all available re-employment options within their organisation. This can include continuing on the same contract or changing the job scope or work arrangements subject to mutual agreement with the employee. Our annual surveys suggest that over 98% of local employees who wished to continue working were offered employment beyond 62 since the re-employment legislation came into effect in 2012. Where the business situation genuinely does not allow the employer to offer re-employment, then, after having exhausted all other options, the employer is required to offer the affected employees a one-off Employment Assistance Payment, or EAP. This EAP is to help tide the employee over while he or she looks for employment or undergoes training. This should truly be a measure of last resort. We would like to remind employers that it is unlawful to dismiss an employee under 62 on the grounds of age. After 62, employers are required under the law to offer re-employment to eligible employees up to age 65 (and 67 from 1 July 2017) or EAP if they are unable to offer re-employment. Failure to do so would constitute an offence. Workers who feel that they have been unfairly dismissed should come to the Ministry of Manpower for advice and assistance. We also urge employers not to use age as a factor at all when hiring workers. Older workers can contribute their skills and experience to the company and should be valued especially given our slowing workforce growth.”
“Under the Employment Act, all employers are required to grant paid sick leave to employees with medical certificates (MCs) issued by a Government medical officer. In addition, employers are also required to grant paid sick leave for MCs issued by private medical practitioners who are registered under the Medical Registration Act (MRA) and are appointed by the company. Some employers, including the Public Service, go beyond the requirements of the Employment Act to grant paid sick leave for MCs issued by private medical practitioners other than those appointed by the company. There were almost 4,000 private medical practitioners registered under the MRA in 2015. Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioners can also be registered, subject to approval by the Singapore Medical Council.”
“MOM requires employers to provide safe and healthy workplaces for all employees, including pregnant and lactating employees. MOM will take actions against employers who fail to do so.”
“Ensuring workplace safety and health is an important priority for the Ministry of Manpower (MOM). The Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Act sets the legal framework for the regulation of WSH in Singapore. It is supported by Approved Codes of Practice that set the expected minimum standards and WSH Guidelines that recommend measures to address specific risks. Currently, the Act already requires companies to take reasonably practicable measures to ensure the health and safety of all persons at the workplace. Section 4(2)(b) of the WSH Act also provides that "any reference to the health of a person shall, where that person is pregnant, include a reference to the health of any unborn child that the person is carrying". The Approved Code of Practice on WSH Risk Management was introduced in 2011 to establish standards that companies are expected to adopt when managing workplace risks. It was enhanced in 2015 to require employers to consider individual health risk factors. This change means that if there are special risks to female employees of childbearing age, including pregnant or lactating mothers, reasonable risk mitigation measures must be put in place. WSH Guidelines were also developed to deal with more specific situations. For example, the WSH Guideline on Statutory Medical Examinations recommends that pregnant and lactating employees not be assigned jobs with exposure to certain hazards like lead, arsenic and benzene. The Act expects employers to take reasonably practicable measures to eliminate or mitigate risks for pregnant and lactating employees by providing adequate arrangement for their welfare at work. Hence, employers should consider providing alternative job assignments where appropriate.”
“For individuals who have purchased shorter lease flats and subsequently face short-term financial difficulty in servicing their remaining HDB housing loan in cash, HDB may assist deserving cases temporarily with their instalment payment and loan arrears on a case-by-case basis.”
“The limitations on the use of the Central Provident Fund (CPF) savings for Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats and private properties with a balance lease of less than 60 years were put in place to protect the recoverable value of CPF savings used for housing purchases. The CPF Board and HDB have put in place several measures to inform and advise prospective flat buyers on these CPF limitations. CPF Board's website provides an online calculator, e-brochure, and a set of frequently asked questions (FAQs) to help prospective property buyers compute the maximum amount of CPF savings that they can use for shorter lease properties. They can also approach CPF Board for this information. For prospective buyers purchasing flats directly from HDB, HDB provides them with a Financial Plan during the flat selection process. This Financial Plan also explains the CPF withdrawal limits for flats with balance leases of less than 60 years, which are sold under HDB's Sale of Balance Flats exercises, if any. For prospective buyers purchasing resale flats in the open market, they are required by HDB to complete and submit a Resale Checklist, which highlights the need to check the balance lease of the flat, and which informs them that there may be limits on the use of CPF savings for shorter lease flats. Those who choose to engage the services of a salesperson can consult the salesperson on the relevant rules and procedures governing the use of CPF funds. The HDB website also highlights these CPF limitations as part of their e-resources on financial planning.”
“Under the Employment Act and the Industrial Relations Act, employees and union members in unionised companies respectively, can appeal to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) for reinstatement if they have been unfairly dismissed. Employees suspected with tuberculosis (TB) should seek treatment early and declare their condition to their employer. This will allow appropriate public health measures to be implemented swiftly and minimise the risk of transmission of TB at the workplace and to the public. In instances where employees have been diagnosed with TB, employers should treat their employees fairly and with compassion. This will also encourage employees who may have contracted TB, or any other infectious disease, to seek treatment early. Employees, too, should be responsible and adhere to the treatment regime for TB so that they do not suffer a relapse and spread the infection. According to international guidelines, with treatment, employees with TB can become medically fit for work within two weeks and will not spread the infection to their colleagues or customers at the workplace. Employees who feel they have been unfairly dismissed can approach MOM for assistance.”
“While we celebrate Joseph Schooling’s achievement, we are proud of all our Team Singapore Olympians and Paralympians who represent Singapore, and with whom we celebrate the achievements.”
“There are 11 days5 declared as public holidays under the Holidays Act. These were chosen in close consultation with the major religious groups to commemorate various religious and cultural festivals as well as to celebrate New Year’s Day and National Day. Under the Holidays Act, the President may declare a one-off public holiday in addition to the 11 days of public holidays. However, such one-off holidays are to be considered very carefully, as this has implications on public services, businesses and schools. To date, this has been done only once when the President declared 7 August 2015 as a public holiday in celebration of SG50. This was to commemorate a special milestone in our nation's history. Joseph Schooling's historic achievement of a Gold medal and an Olympic record in the Men's 100-metre Butterfly event at the Rio Olympics was a defining moment in Singapore's history that has created a new mindset in all Singaporeans, enabling us to believe that in spite of our small size as a nation, nothing is impossible and we are all capable of achieving great things. Singapore celebrated Joseph Schooling's victory as a nation, not by having a one-off public holiday, but by highlighting the significance of Singapore's first Olympic gold with a victory parade, a Parliamentary Motion congratulating him on his victory, as well as mention by the Prime Minister at the recent National Day Rally. We believe these are appropriate and meaningful ways of celebrating a great achievement that has captured the imagination of the public, inspired our nation and instilled immense pride in all Singaporeans. The Olympics and Paralympics are the pinnacles of international sporting competitions.”
“The Indonesian authorities have not formally informed the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) of its plans for non-live in foreign domestic workers (FDWs). Our employment agencies have also not reported disruption to the supply of live-in FDWs from Indonesia. We continue to welcome Indonesian FDWs into Singapore. The Security Bond (SB) applies to employers of FDWs, as well as foreign workers. It is to ensure that employers and workers comply with Work Permit conditions and is not tied to the live-in requirement. Hence, the issue of abolishing the SB for non-live in FDWs does not arise. Apart from Indonesia, there are currently 11 other approved sources of FDWs1. MOM will continue to monitor the adequacy of our FDW supply.”
“Madam, I appreciate Mr Patrick Tay's comments. In a way, yes, we want to make sure that workers at all levels – be they in the bottom 20% or 30% percentiles and so on – to be able to continue to see their wages go up in a sustainable manner. I think we all agree that the best way to sustain that is through productivity, innovation, jobs transformation, skill upgrading. I would say that this concerted effort is well underway. Just a few days ago last week, Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam launched the Industry Transformation Plan for the food and beverage (F&B) sector. F&B is a very traditional sector and has been in Singapore for a long, long time. But if you read the plan highlighted by Deputy Prime Minister Tharman, I feel very excited. At MOM, whenever we see an Industry Transformation Plan being announced, we move in very quickly. We move in with the tripartite partners. If the jobs are going to be transformed, then we work closely together with the Ministry of Education (MOE) and SkillsFuture to ensure that the existing workers as well as the workers not in the sector today, can be upgraded and transformed to take on the better-paying jobs. I agree with the Member that it is only through tripartite efforts that we can ensure that the wage increase can be sustained for the long term.”
“Our aim is to ensure that the wage increase at the 20th percentile level in the coming years will, at least, be able to keep up with that of the median wage, if not higher. This is something that the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), the Labour Movement, has been calling for in the past few years. At the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), we share the same commitment. I think the employers are with us as well. There is no easy way forward, but the tripartite partners, working together, must find a way to sustain the wage increase at the low-wage worker level.”
“Mdm Speaker, I share the concern of the Member. At the Group of 20 (G20) Labour and Employment Ministerial Meeting held last month in Beijing, one issue being discussed by the Labour Ministers from the G20 countries was the widening of income gap. Hence, they called for not just innovation-driven but also inclusive growth. Madam, in the case of Singapore, as I mentioned, we adopted a slightly different approach. Our approach is through WIS, WTS and PWM. I am happy to say that the approach adopted by Singapore has drawn some interest from other countries because having implemented minimum wage for a long time, many countries have found that they have not found a way to help the low-wage workers to break away from this wage stagnation at the bottom. They have expressed interest in what Singapore is doing under our PWM. Let me emphasise again that the implementation of PWM in Singapore is still in its early days. There is still a lot of room for us to strengthen it further. For example, in the case of the cleaning sector, we are now talking about transforming the ladder of minimum wage point into a ladder of wage ranges, so that there will be more scope for our cleaners to see their wages moving up within the wage range. This is something that the Tripartite Committee on Cleaners is now working on. In the case of the landscaping sector, yes, we have a PWM. But for that sector, we believe that the solution is to go for skills specialisation because in the landscaping sector, there are more skills and jobs, more equipment and technologies being introduced. In other words, we are not stopping at this PWM in terms of the basic framework. Rather, we are still looking for ways to further sustain that.”
“In other words, in the previous five years, it was 2.1% for the 20th percentile versus 2.9% for the median. This has narrowed to 2.9% versus 3% in the last five years. There is, however, still much to be done. We will continue to strengthen our support framework for low-wage workers. For example, PWM is today a ladder of minimum wage points. We are working to transform it to become a ladder of wage ranges so as to provide more scope for wage growth for our low-wage workers. This will help prevent wage stagnation at the various wage points, a common challenge faced by other countries with minimum wage policies.”
“Mdm Speaker, the number of people in the bottom 20th percentiles of household income over the past five years has remained stable, alongside natural changes in the total number of working households and household size. Over the last five years, the Gini coefficient remained relatively stable, at 0.472 in 2010 and 0.463 in 2015. Over the same period, the average household income from work per household member for the first and second decile both grew by about 24% in real terms. In fact, this is the highest among all the deciles. The Government has also introduced transfers to help lower-income Singaporeans. This is reflected in the lower Gini coefficient of 0.41 in 2015, after Government taxes and transfers. Nevertheless, a job is still the best welfare, and full employment is still the best protection for our workers. Our efforts to narrow the income gap in a sustainable manner must, first and foremost, be based on encouraging work and levelling up the skills, productivity and wages of low-wage workers. This is the reason behind the implementation of Workfare Income Supplement (WIS) and Workfare Training Support (WTS) for all lower-wage workers and, likewise, the use of policy levers to implement the Progressive Wage Model (PWM) in the cleaning, security and landscaping sectors. These are our core measures to help low-wage workers to learn new skills, take on better jobs with higher productivity and secure fairer and better wages in an inclusive, progressive and sustainable way. These measures are bearing fruits. The gap between real income growth of full-time employed Singapore Citizens at the 20th percentile and the median has narrowed in the last five years, compared to the previous five years, from 2.1% versus 2.9% per year to 2.9% versus 3%.”