Lina Chiam
Singapore
“But we must take into consideration the effects of real-time information. These days, both passengers and drivers have access to applications that can work out the balance between demand and supply. The most efficient way to match demand and supply in the short term is by allowing prices to surge.”
“The lapses in the management of tenancy contracts, procurement and engagement of external operators by PA form one such example. Moving forward, conducting regular training is something that the Ministry ought to be looking into to ensure procurement officers in public agencies understand procurement best practices.”
“An example would be the case that happened in May 2013. An employer, Lee Yew Nam, had caused public outrage last May after he was shown allegedly slapping his worker in an online video in his office. It was only after another colleague uploaded this video that MOM took notice.”
“One suggestion is to require companies or researchers to post all raw data and results to the Government website, even if the treatment being tested is never approved or if they cannot make it for scientific publishing. This promotes more vigorous scrutiny from MOH should there be any wilful suppression.”
“To what extent will national funds be committed in this multilateral development bank and will Parliament have the powers to check on this creature later on? Mdm Speaker, AIIB may boost our country's stand as a capital banking hub in Asia and, of course, our GDP growth.”
“For the safety of drivers and passengers, I would suggest the recommendation to legislate technology companies operating taxi booking apps to compulsorily provide taxis with a strong, adjustable holder and handphone solely dedicated for use on the apps system only.”
The complete record
Every one of 275 lines we hold for Lina Chiam, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 6 of 6.
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I welcome the Government's move towards greater judicial discretion and in prescribing sentences which are more proportionate to the culpability of the offenders. But I feel there should be further improvements in the law. Here, I have a few points of clarifications to seek from the Minister. First, I would like the Minister to clarify whether section 33B(2)(a) covers offenders who are found to have participated in the acts, such as packing, storing, or safe-keeping drugs, as their culpability may be similar to those who are involved in transporting, sending, or delivering the drugs and should not be excluded from consideration for discretionary sentencing. I would also like the Minister to clarify whether "substantive assistance" under section 33B(2)(b) is determined by the outcome of the existence of the good faith of the offenders in providing all possible assistance. I think the House also needs clarification on how the public prosecution can assure the public that he has based his/her consideration of "substantive assistance" according to the law, as compared to other factors, other than by assumption of good faith, because reasons are not required to be given, nor is the decision reviewable in court. Under the Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) Bill, the offence of abetting a drug trafficking offender is not covered. I would like to seek the Minister's clarification on why this is the case, and whether the Government would consider amending the Bill to include this. Finally, can the Minister confirm whether the possibility of making the death penalty fully discretionary for all crimes being studied by the Ministry and whether the Government will consider publishing the studies done in relation to the issue of the mandatory death penalty.”
“I would like to ask one question. Who exactly are these "VWOs" and how long have they been operating these welfare organisations in other places? Why is it that only now they choose Potong Pasir to put up these facilities, when Mr Chiam was in Parliament for 27 years? May I ask the rationale behind this? My second point is that I want to emphasise that SPP is not unhappy that Block 108 is taken by a VWO for residents' welfare, but rather residents should be consulted and an explanation given to them about why the void deck was being taken over. They are stakeholders of their units and, after all, they have been staying there for 30-over years. And will his Ministry make it as an exception and that, in future, whenever they want to take over any void deck for any of these VWOs, could they have this policy to inform and explain to the residents?”
“Sir, I thank the Minister of State for the answer. I have two supplementary questions. First, will a professional audit be done to check on the correctness and adequacy of EDB's systems and assessment criteria to ensure the quality of foreign talent that have been brought into Singapore? Secondly, if the audit has already been conducted, can the audit report be released to the public so that the public can assess the EDB's Global Investor Programme? Page: 973”
“They both have a point. I believe we should be talking about striking a balance here. We can assure SMEs that as long as they adhere to the law, they should not have to fear about the new enforcement rules and penalties in this Bill. In terms of re-adjustment of their businesses, I believe the changes in foreign worker quotas can be made gradual enough to accommodate this. On a larger scale, re-thinking of Singapore's economic model of growth is required in tandem. This can be addressed in future debates during the course of this Parliament. Nevertheless, I support this Bill. 3.46 pm”
“Focusing on levies as an instrument of control may not be better than using foreign worker quotas. Business owners are unlikely to be incentivised to hire Singaporeans over non-Singaporeans because they can always pass on the additional cost of the levy to the worker or to their business customers. Even if stricter foreign worker quotas are implemented, the Government will not lose out in revenue collection since the levies here have been increasing. Increasing levies is a win-win situation for the Government. More revenue is collected and foreign manpower is controlled. But we also need to think of employers, especially those who run SMEs. How can we help them if they are squeezed by increasing levies? Can more be done besides asking them to increase productivity levels? Page: 740 Regarding the Employment Pass (EP) minimum wage, errant employers will simply work out an illegal arrangement to receive consideration from the employee in order to meet the declared remuneration of the EP holder. After some time, the EP worker could then have a more favourable case to apply for PR status. This may circumvent the quality of our assessment. Perhaps, the Ministry of Manpower could also focus on tightening the enforcement of this specific abuse in this system. Finally, I would like to say a quick word on the larger debate on foreign workers in Singapore since this Bill is clearly linked to it. While most Singaporeans agree that we need such measures in this Bill to wean off our over-reliance on cheap foreign labour, we also acknowledge that SMEs who rely on cheap foreign labour are facing re-adjustment pains. Indeed, I have received such feedback from such SME owners personally. But let us not write off the complaints of Singaporeans as being paradoxical.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, may I begin by commending the work of the Acting Minister for Manpower. In March this year, he told this House that he would tighten foreign labour policies so as to slow down and manage the growth of the foreign workforce while also ensuring that the employment rights of workers are upheld. This amendment Bill before us is largely in the right direction. I hope the Ministry of Manpower will continue to be guided by these twin principles. Singaporeans want the Government to be serious about enforcing our foreign manpower regulations and we want to be a humane society which guarantees that the workers, foreign or local, are treated decently and not exploited. The new section 22A of the Act, as provided by clause 17, which punishes employers who deduct money from workers' salaries to pay for levies or other costs that they themselves are liable for is a case in point. This is a good move. Nevertheless, the NGO Transient Workers Count Too still voiced their concern, that is, "Lack of simple mechanism for workers to recover their monies and compensation even so ordered by the Ministry of Manpower". Can the Minister respond to this? In being serious about enforcing our foreign manpower regulations, granting inspectors higher levels of authority, such as the right to enter premises and to take audio/video evidence, is critical. The amended powers of employment inspectors laid out in clause 12 are, therefore, important. Industry observers are generally of the opinion that the gap between the practice and principles of the amended Employment of Foreign Manpower Act will be the problem. I say this not to state the obvious but to draw attention to clause 8 which concerns levies.”
“I also like to highlight that raising productivity and safety are the same thing. Improving WSH is improving productivity. Therefore, I would urge the Government to include WSH framework into our programme for productivity. Sir, moving forward, we have to aim to attain the safety standards of the developed countries which consistently have a low annual fatality rate of around one per 100,000 workers. There are also still too many cases of permanent disability due to workplace accidents here. The question is how the Government plans to lower this rate and help our workers. MOM should also make sure that workers are trained with WSH as part of their skill competency, particularly for those foreign workers who come from different job practices and culture.”
“Page: 1949 Sir, the uplifting of low-wage workers requires the concerted effort of not just the Government, but also the private sector and the society at large. As Deputy Prime Minister Tharman pointed out in his Budget Statement, underlying this commitment is the need for us to develop a deep sense of responsibility, not only for ourselves and for our families, but also the people who are amongst us, the less fortunate. Let us work together towards this shared goal of making Singapore a better place. Workplace Safety and Health Mr Yeo Guat Kwang (Ang Mo Kio) : Sir, the number of industrial accidents has been declining steadily over the years as a result of the efforts of the tripartite partners, in this case MOM, employers, union and the workers, to improve workplace safety and health standards. Last year, we extended the coverage of the Workplace Safety and Health Act to cover all workplaces. We have also made significant enhancements to the Work Injury Compensation Act to improve the processing of claims as well as the protection of workers. While all these processes are all laudable, I suspect that if we ask the family and their loved ones of workplace accident victims, they would rather have their loved ones safe and sound back home every day after work rather than to know we have the law to punish non-compliances of the Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) or to compensate them well. Sir, we must focus on prevention and say no to all WSH hazards and risks at work. Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) need to do more in this area. What are the programmes that the Ministry has to help the SMEs to encourage them to build WSH compliant facilities and what are we going to do to support the labour movement in educating the workers?”
“We have measures for low-wage workers in those sectors as well. Let me give Members some examples, beginning with one from landscaping. Nature Landscapes is a company that builds and designs natural landscapes and water features for buildings. It invested in new machinery to mechanise the digging of pits, transportation of soil and plants, and so on. Its workers learnt to operate the new equipment and took on new work processes. They became more productive, and the end result was a significant reduction in the man-hours needed. There were cost savings of about $11,000 per month, and the workers enjoyed significant pay increases. There has been a good improvement in their salary as a result of mechanisation and improvement in productivity. TNT Express is another example, this time from the logistics sector. It offers express delivery services. Its workers have to manually handle a large volume of consignments every day. One notable project TNT has undertaken is the "Red and Green" system, which deploys a high-tech scanner to verify the hundreds of parcels passing through its facility. Workers no longer need to perform eyeball checks on every single parcel. This has enabled each worker to achieve greater efficiency, attain higher targets and share in the productivity gains. Both projects by Nature Landscapes and TNT Express were funded under IGP, where the sectoral approach is adopted. These projects serve as pathfinders, and the solutions found have wider sectoral applications, meaning it can be applied to other sectors as well. As we learn how to raise productivity in each sector, the wider industry can also upgrade and raise their productivity, so that all workers in the sector can benefit.”
“Page: 1948 For a start, we can use SPF's grading framework for security agencies to encourage employers to reduce the overtime hours in the industry. The Government, as a buyer of security services, will certainly play a part in working towards this goal. These measures to uplift the cleaning and security sectors will raise manpower costs for such services. Parallel efforts to raise productivity in the sectors will mitigate this, but it is inevitable that cleaning and security services will cost more for some buyers, especially those who cheap-source currently. Today, the costs of cleaning and security services are typically small compared to overall operating costs. One real estate company told us that outsourced cleaning and security functions make up about 6%-7% of the operating costs of typical offices and shopping malls. A check with a large supermarket chain revealed that these amount to less than 2% of the total operating costs. A hotel that outsourced public area cleaning and night kitchen cleaning said that together these were less than 1% of its operating costs. The incremental costs arising from these measures we are talking would be even smaller – just a fraction of these cleaning and security costs. Furthermore, we will phase in the changes so that they are even more manageable to businesses. We must be prepared to take some cost increase in our stride, if we want to help our low-wage workers earn more. As Mr Laurence Lien pointed out, we cannot as a society want to do more for low-wage workers, but then begrudge small cost increases which may arise from paying them better wages. Low-wage workers too need to earn a decent living. Mr Zainal Sapari had also asked about our approach for low-wage sectors such as landscaping, retail and logistics sectors.”
“The long hours also become a barrier for Singaporeans who are willing to work but who are unable to work such long hours, creating difficulties in recruitment and retention. A recent feedback that I received from a member of the public affirms this. He talked about how the 12-hour shifts that security officers have to put in meant less time for their families. He related how security officers' performance would be improved if the hours were shorter and how more Singaporeans would be willing to join the security industry if working hours were better. I fully agree with him. Shortening working hours can help ease the manpower shortage in the security industry. Recently, the Singapore Police Force and WDA launched a programme to attract mature workers and back-to-work women to work as security officers by offering 6- to 8-hour shifts, instead of the usual 12-hour shift. More than 150 job-seekers responded in just one job fair. I think this is a significant reaction by the workers who want to look for jobs in this sector. And as I said, we can do better. We need to reduce the amount of overtime across the sector. This cannot be done instantly as doing so would cause disruptions to current operations and may lead to difficulties in staffing committed projects. MHA and MOM are studying how we can do so and cut down overtime over the next few years, particularly whether recruitment and training of additional officers can be stepped-up to fill the gap in hours worked. We are also exploring options to increase the use of technology among buyers within the sector to raise productivity. Basic wages can then be adjusted upwards so as to avoid the negative impact on gross wages when overtime hours are reduced.”
“NEA has been improving the accreditation scheme so that accredited companies and their workers must meet higher training standards and productivity requirements. MOM is working with NEA to strengthen the employment-related criteria. 5.00 pm Page: 1947 Due to cheap sourcing, the market does not work as well to ensure that training and standards translate into improved wages in this sector. In fact, while cleaning practices and workers training have improved over the last 10 years, the wages of cleaners have fallen by about 3%. Fortunately, we introduced the WIS in 2007, which helps to make up for the drop in the incomes of this group of workers. In strengthening the accreditation scheme, we will introduce a requirement that cleaners employed in accredited companies receive appropriate wages, commensurate with the higher training, standards and productivity required of accredited companies. We have been having very useful tripartite discussions on this. We are also consulting cleaning service providers and buyers. Details will be released once they are finalised later this year. Government is taking the lead in buying from accredited companies. MOM is working with NEA to ensure that we uplift the entire cleaning industry. MEWR will be announcing further measures at their COS debate later this week. Now, let me turn to the security sector. Our focus here is working hours. Security officers work very long hours. It is not uncommon for a security officer to work 12-hour shifts, six days a week. This translates to a total of 72 hours in a week. Such long working hours are not ideal from a security standpoint, as vigilance may be compromised by fatigue and loss of attention.”
“Mr Zainal Sapari called for the Government to review existing non-BSI contracts and to provide extra funding to help Ministries cope with any increase in cost that can be expected. Sir, the Government will need to allow sufficient time for the cleaning and security companies who intend to participate in our tenders to meet the new requirements. The Government will study the various options available to manage the transition. All these will come at a cost to the Government. MOF will ensure that Ministries are adequately funded to implement this initiative. But the Government will not stop there. In conjunction with these efforts, we will also tighten regulatory frameworks for the cleaning and security sectors so that workers in these sectors can enjoy better employment terms. So, it is not just the pay, we also want to make sure that workers in these two sectors enjoy better employment terms. Let me elaborate first on cleaning. Cleaners are a group that require special attention. As Deputy Prime Minister Tharman explained in the Budget Statement, most Singaporeans, including lower income Singaporeans, have enjoyed significant real income growth over the past five years. However, a few occupations at the bottom of the income ladder, such as cleaners, have not seen this lift in incomes. During the Budget debate, Dr Amy Khor, Mr Inderjit Singh and Dr Teo Ho Pin also spoke on the need to help raise the incomes of cleaners. We can help cleaners by strengthening the Clean Mark accreditation scheme, which is a voluntary scheme introduced by NEA in 2010 to evaluate cleaning companies on their ability to deliver good quality cleaning services.”
“As a result, service providers bid aggressively low to win contracts, and cut costs by reducing benefits and depressing wages, as manpower is a major cost for such services. When this takes place, low-wage workers bear the brunt, in terms of stagnant wages, poor employment conditions and few opportunities to up-skill themselves. Page: 1946 The Government has been promoting Best Sourcing to tackle this problem. The tripartite partners recently released an updated Tripartite Advisory on Best Sourcing practices that encourages service buyers to outsource responsibly and adopt best practices when doing so. To accompany the Advisory, we also launched an implementation guidebook to provide practical tips for service buyers. It is a detailed guide, providing even sample text that can be replicated in tender documents and contracts. Buyers, who have the will to best source, now know where to find the way. Government agencies, as significant buyers of services, play an important role in catalysing best sourcing. Mrs Josephine Teo, at MOF's recent COS debate, announced specific measures that the Government will take through its procurement practices to lead by example. To recap, Government Ministries and statutory boards will procure only from accredited cleaning companies and well-graded security agencies with an "A" or "B" grade. Our restructured hospitals and autonomous universities have also indicated their support for best sourcing. Some companies are of the impression that this requirement does not apply to them if they are sub-contractors to the company that wins a Government contract. This is incorrect. This requirement will similarly apply to any cleaning company or security agency that is engaged as a sub-contractor.”
“We recently encountered a case where the security guard earned a basic pay of $745 but received a monthly laundry reimbursement of $182, based on an income of $745. The laundry reimbursement was close to a quarter of the security guard's basic pay, but the worker did not receive any CPF on it. There are other examples. We will therefore tighten up on enforcement to reduce instances of employers trying to circumvent their obligations under the CPF Act with such malpractices. Workers play an important role in our enforcement efforts. We encourage workers to come together and come forward if their employer did not pay CPF or accord them what is due under the CPF Act and the Employment Act. Mr Zainudin Nordin and Mr Zainal Sapari have asked whether we will be reviewing existing legislation to protect the rights of low-wage workers, such as holding buyers accountable for the employment conditions of their outsourced workers. We will need to consider any introduction of legislation very carefully in consultation with the tripartite partners, given its potentially wide-ranging impact. But we are not closed to reviewing our legislation where warranted, and we will look into these suggestions further in close consultation with our tripartite partners. Sir, let me now turn to a different type of challenge faced by some groups of low-wage workers – cheap sourcing. As I have shared with Members at the debate on the President's Address last October, a significant number of low-wage workers are currently employed in outsourced sectors, such as the security and cleaning services sectors. These sectors are often subject to the problem of cheap sourcing, where service buyers award contracts mainly based on price.”
“Page: 1945 As Deputy Prime Minister Tharman mentioned in his speech earlier, MOM will step up efforts to bring about compliance with the CPF Act as well as the Employment Act. We will do so in two ways. First, we will step up education of both employers and employees on their obligations and their rights. There are misperceptions to correct. For example, one false impression is that CPF contributions are not mandatory for part-timers and casual workers, such as restaurant workers who only work on weekends or are only called up to help out at large events. This is incorrect. CPF is payable for such employees. To raise awareness, the CPF Board and MOM will launch a media campaign, as well as intensify our outreach in collaboration with NTUC, SNEF and other partners. Second, MOM and CPF Board will ramp up enforcement efforts. We have increased the number of inspections since the start of this year, and we will step this up sharply over the next five years. We will focus on sectors where non-compliance is known to be higher, such as F&B, retail, cleaning and security. In some sectors, employers attempt to reduce CPF they pay by claiming that certain payments made to the workers are reimbursements. This may form a large portion of what workers receive as take-home pay. Valid reimbursements do not attract CPF. However, many of the expenses may not be valid reimbursements. This is how some employers circumvent their obligations to pay CPF. For example, cleaners and security officers receive large and regular payments as laundry reimbursements. But they typically wash their uniforms at home, rather than incur laundry expenses.”
“This is because the Government channels a significant part of its assistance, such as WIS as well as any other occasional top-ups, to the low-income via CPF. Furthermore, they also compromise their retirement adequacy. To illustrate this, a Singaporean worker aged 55 earning $1,000 per month who is not in CPF net over the past five years would have foregone more than $9,000 in cash and CPF from the Government through the WIS, Workfare Special Payment, Workfare Special Bonus as well as top-ups to the CPF Medisave Account. If we were to include the employer CPF contributions due to him, he would have lost out an additional $11,000. In total, this worker would have lost out more than $20,000 over a five-year period, which works out to be about a third of his overall pay. And we have not counted the interest he would have earned in CPF. The worker who is not receiving CPF, whether because of his own will, or because the employer does not want to pay him CPF contributions, will lose out a lot. I would like to urge all Singaporeans who are aware of any relative, neighbour or friend who are forgoing their CPF to remind them that they are losing out, and urge them to make sure they ask their employers pay them CPF. An associated problem that Mr Zainudin Nordin raised is non-compliance with the Employment Act (EA). The EA sets out basic employment terms that employers must offer their workers. For example, the workers cannot work for more than 12 hours a day. Workers must also be given 14 days of paid outpatient medical leave per year. However, some employers are unaware of the obligations they have to their employees, while some others deliberately circumvent it.”
“Page: 1944 Unlike employees whose WIS eligibility is automatically assessed based on their monthly CPF contributions, self-employed persons (SEPs) are required to declare their net trade income before they are assessed for WIS. While SEPs are given the option of declaring both their mid-year and full-year income, less than 1% of all of them do so. The vast majority of SEPs declare their full-year income and contribute to Medisave to receive WIS once a year. The Medisave contribution that needs to be made by SEP for the mid-year payment is also estimated based on their full-year income, which can result in an over or under-contribution to Medisave. Hence, from this year on, SEPs will be paid WIS once a year based on the declaration of their full-year income. For SEPs who are required to file an income tax return with IRAS, no further income declaration is necessary. Sir, WIS has become an important pillar of our social security system. Regrettably, not every low-wage worker receives it. This is because some fall outside the CPF system, which is used to administer WIS. So, if they are not in the CPF system, they will not be able to benefit from all the WIS payments. Under the law, not paying CPF is a serious offence that can attract a fine of as much as $10,000 per charge; in other words, $10,000 per worker per month. To compound the problem, some workers also prefer that their employer does not contribute CPF, so that they too can avoid contributing their employee CPF and have higher take-home pay. This may give them a better take-home pay, but certainly this is short-sighted. As Mr Zainudin Nordin and Mr Zaqy Mohamad pointed out that workers lose out in the end when they do not receive CPF.”
“With the enhancement of the SEC to up to 8% of wages, there is now an even stronger incentive to tap the older workforce to meet manpower needs in a tight labour market. During the Budget debate, Mr Yeo Guat Kwang offered various suggestions to improve WIS, such as raising the cash component of WIS. Sir, we review WIS every three years and will consider these suggestions when we review WIS holistically next year. Mr Zaqy Mohamad asked whether WIS can be paid more regularly. Other Members, including Dr Amy Khor, Mr Low Thia Khiang, Ms Irene Ng, Mr Inderjit Singh and Mdm Halimah Yacob, have also asked in the past whether WIS can be paid more frequently to low-wage workers so that they can be used to meet daily expenses. I am pleased to announce that we will do so, by paying employees WIS four times a year, up from twice a year currently. Each quarter, we will now pay WIS to an employee who works for at least two months in the quarter, and who has an average income in the quarter of not more than $1,700. The amount of WIS paid out each quarter will be adjusted proportionately. We will implement this change from January 2012, which means the first quarterly payment, which will be for work done in the first quarter of this year, will be received by 1 June 2012. 4.45 pm With these changes, we estimate that about 440,000 older low-wage Singaporean workers will receive WIS, or an increase of about 10% from today. Employees with a steady income will receive payments quarterly, instead of twice a year. While we are making a move to quarterly payments for employees, I should stress that we will not be raising the payment frequency further, as the intent of WIS is to encourage regular and sustained work.”
“We agree, and MOM will consider his specific suggestions further. Helping low-wage workers also requires sustained efforts on multiple fronts. It cannot be done just by one agency, the Government alone. It has to be a concerted effort by different parties – employers, unions, as well as the Government. It is not a sprint, but a middle-distance race. Mr Zainudin Nordin asked about the approach that the Government was taking. During the Budget debate, Mr Ong Teng Koon also asked how we could raise the wages of those at the bottom. Page: 1943 Our approach is two-pronged. First, we help the lower-income Singaporeans become more productive so that they can earn higher wages. We do so both at the workers' level as well as the employers' level. Through the Workfare Training Support (WTS) and other programmes, we are helping low-wage workers upgrade their skills, so that they can improve their employability, find better jobs and earn more. And through the Inclusive Growth Programme (IGP), we are helping companies improve processes and redesign jobs, so that they can offer higher-value jobs that can pay more to our low-wage workers. Second, we encourage low-wage workers to work and help create opportunities for them to do so. Again, we approach this at both the level of the worker as well as the employer. The Workfare Income Supplement Scheme (WIS) supplements the incomes and retirement savings of low-wage workers and encourages work. WIS currently benefits about 400,000 workers, with a total annual payout of more than $400 million. The Special Employment Credit (SEC) provides employers with an incentive to hire older low-wage workers.”
“I will now touch on the measures to help low-income Singaporeans benefit from our economic growth. As we have heard from Deputy Prime Minister Tharman in the recent Budget Statement, our shared mission is to build an inclusive society and a stronger Singapore. Mr Zainudin Nordin asked about the group that might not be able to enjoy this inclusive growth, especially the number of Singaporeans who are low-wage and do casual and contract work. Our efforts to help low-wage workers have been focused on the bottom 20% of Singaporean workers. Based on income data of 2011, this group of workers earns a monthly income of $1,500 or less. Over the past few years, the number of workers in the bottom 20% has increased in tandem with the growth in the size of our overall workforce. Currently, 13% of Singapore employees in the bottom quintile are casual and short-term contract workers. They are those who work on an ad-hoc basis or on contracts of less than one year. This percentage has remained fairly constant over the last three years, although the incidence is slightly higher amongst the low-wage group compared to about 12% of Singaporean employees in general. Our overall share of contract employment in Singapore is not unusual among developed countries. For example, it is 15% in Germany and France, and 13% in Canada. Helping workers in the bottom 20% is a multi-faceted challenge. Almost half are aged 50 and above, and more than three-quarters have secondary education or lower. They also train less compared to the other income groups, and are more likely to suffer poor employment standards. I agree with Mr Laurence Lien that we need to understand low-wage workers and their challenges better, and that this calls for more research and analysis.”
“This legislation will ensure service buyers, regardless whether they are from Government or private sector, to be more careful in awarding contracts and will only award to reliable service providers with good human resource and employment practices that are in compliance with the Employment Act and conform to good practices as being advocated in Best Sourcing. Page: 1942 Second, I would like to call upon the Government to study the possibility of reviewing existing Government contracts to ensure they are aligned with the Best Sourcing guideline. This is to ensure that our outsourced workers can get the necessary wage adjustment and not having to wait for the contract to end. Third, I am pleased that MOM is working with its tripartite partners to leverage on the existing cleaning and security accreditations framework to help workers in these industries earn better wages and employment terms. Currently, the Government is working only on the cleaning and security sectors. I would like to ask for the plan or approaches with regard to other sectors where there are low-wage workers, such as landscaping, retail, logistics, F&B and others. Sir, there is a great urgency to help low-wage workers earn better wages. We need to go beyond moral suasion and leading by example because it is a long road ahead requiring more affirmative action to be taken. The Senior Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Manpower (Mr Hawazi Daipi) : Sir, Deputy Prime Minister Tharman and Minister of State Tan have given the House an overview of the measures our Ministry will take over the coming fiscal year to help Singaporeans achieve retirement adequacy and to build a Singaporean core in our workforce.”
“With regard to the support given to help low-wage workers, I would like to touch on two areas: Workfare Income Supplement and Best Sourcing. Sir, the Workfare Income Supplement is a permanent scheme put in place by the Government to encourage older, low-wage workers to find and stay in work, and to help them save for their long-term needs. There have been many strong calls for the scheme to be improved. These include calls for the cash component to be increased; to factor in inflation to determine the quantum; to review the criteria for the maximum payout and many others. I would like to ask whether the Government would be making further enhancements to it based on the feedback from the ground. On Best Sourcing. Sir, I am heartened by the Government's pledge to take the lead in Best Sourcing as it demonstrates that the Government agencies are responsible service buyers. While this is a good move, I would like to propose some measures, based on feedback that I received from the industry players, to make the impact of Best Sourcing more systemic across Government and private sectors to benefit more low-wage workers. First, I would like to propose for the Government to consider introducing legislation where all service buyers will be held accountable for the employment conditions of the outsourced workers working under their contract. This would be similar to the Work Safety Health legislation where the main contractor is held responsible for ensuring safety of all workers, regardless if they are subcontractors, as long as they are working at the worksite.”
“Many residents' lives would be significantly improved if only they had better employment conditions, and their employers sought ways to improve their wages through improving productivity, rather than think of ways of reducing or cutting their wage. Sir, I am totally against the removal of CPF contribution by employers for part-time or casual workers. This could amount to a significant cut to an already low-wage group of employees. Rather than cutting their CPF, we should consider asking the companies to improve productivity and send their workers for training, which will in turn be positive for the companies. I believe that we also need to understand the situation of low-wage and casual contract workers in many other industries. Page: 1941 Could MOM share information whether the number of low-wage, casual and contract workers has been increasing over the years and what are the plans to improve the situation of the casual and contract workers? Are these workers being paid a fair wage and receive their proper rights as stipulated in the Employment Act? Do they or their employers contribute to CPF at the correct rates? Is MOM aware of any practices or loopholes that allow employers to avoid paying CPF or shirk from their statutory responsibilities to their workers? Best Sourcing Mr Zainal Sapari (Pasir Ris-Punggol) : Sir, the economic climate in the coming years will bear great challenges for our companies and workers as we restructure our economy. I believe it is important that we embark on this restructuring when our economy is strong and the Government is in a strong position to provide the necessary support to our companies and workers to make the necessary adjustment.”
“Sir, we need to take care of our workers in the waste collection industry, whether they are locals or foreigners, since the nature of their work can be quite hazardous physically and biologically. From personal observations as well as from reports from others, these workers sometimes do not seem to be well covered and protected in their attire. Sometimes they may wear gloves only on one hand and not both; they may be in slippers whereas they should rightly be in boots. They should be also wearing protective hats to protect themselves from killer litter, if there is any. Some feedback I have received indicate that proper attire for these workers are the norm in other countries and I think that Singapore should follow suit as well. May I verify with the Minister for Manpower what sort of regulations are in place to protect workers in waste collection, in terms of protective attire and uniforms, and what are the plans to step these up? Low-wage Contract and Casual Workers Mr Zainudin Nordin : Sir, I am very happy that the Government has announced that it will only provide contract cleaning and security staff from a list of accredited companies. The underlying motivation is to ensure that workers in these industries are paid a fair wage for their work, and hopefully, companies will be spurred to improve their productivity through upgrading and the use of technology. This is, in fact, a very positive development. But I hope, Sir, we will see more sectors would be considered for this initiative. Sir, almost all Members in this House have residents who are from low-wage groups, and work as casual and contract workers.”