Melvin Yong Yik Chye
Singapore
“But with greater autonomy must come stronger support and safeguards, especially for those who may be less equipped to navigate these decisions. At CASE, we strongly believe that consumer empowerment must go hand-in-hand with consumer protection.”
“Thank you, Sir. I have three questions on the balance between punishment and rehabilitation. One, how will schools be guided to balance disciplinary action with counselling and restorative practices? I think the Minister mentioned it. Whether MOE will track recidivism rates to assess if these rehabilitation efforts are effective?”
“Sir, I thank the Minister of State for his reply, and we are heartened. The Consumer Association of Singapore (CASE) will be happy to work with MAS on consumer protection measures. For consumers, we often use GIRO when we want to so call, "set and forget", recurring payments.”
“Sir, I would like to ask the Senior Parliamentary Secretary have we done a study on the profiles of those PMETs who have been retrenched and also, what are the types of jobs that the market is looking for?”
“Unlike support for persons with disabilities, there is currently no dedicated funding mechanism to incentivise employers to provide workplace accommodations for workers returning to work after serious non-work-related illnesses or medical conditions.”
“Sir, I thank the Minister for her answers. I have two questions. First, whether IMDA currently mandates stress testing or simulation of failover systems under peak or adverse conditions and if not, whether such requirements will be introduced following IMDA's review.”
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“Thank you, Mr Speaker. I thank the Minister for his Ministerial Statement. It does provide us with a clearer overview of the challenges and our strategic directions towards systematic recovery of our aviation sector. I have two clarifications. According to the latest flight schedules published by the SIA Group, SIA and SilkAir are gradually increasing the number of flights they operate. Flights to Brunei, Japan and the Maldives are scheduled to be reinstated by the end of the year. Flights for some existing routes which include Australia, France and the UK will also increase. I like to ask if these business decisions by the SIA Group are linked to the Government's on-going negotiations on Reciprocal Travel Arrangements. Residents have asked why SIA continues to operate flights to countries that we currently cannot travel to. My follow-up question is whether the Government has plans to aid the recovery of SIA in the event of a prolonged COVID-19 pandemic situation. So, instead of, "落井下石", I would like to ask how we can remove as many rocks and pebbles so that our SIA can soar once again.”
“Mr Speaker, I thank the Senior Minister of State for his update. I have one supplementary question. The prolonged telecommuting arrangements have blurred boundaries between the home and the office for many of our workers, especially our PMETs. Many have told me that they now work increasingly long hours as emails, calls and WhatsApp messages have come in outside of their regular working hours. Some shared that they now have Zoom work meetings in the night, which they never had before COVID-19. In fact, they told me that they had not even heard of Zoom before COVID-19. Could the Ministry, therefore, consider incorporating aspects of the right to disconnect legislation as part of the Tripartite Advisory on Mental Health so as to provide our workers with a guideline on how to start a conversation with their employers about commuting outside of work hours for non-critical work?”
“Mr Speaker, I thank the Senior Minister of State for her reply or rather her show and tell. I have two supplementary questions. My first question is about the upcoming industry consultations that the LTA has planned, I would like to ask, what is the scope of this consultation and if the LTA is still open to doing a public consultation on the design of the onboard unit – perhaps for future considerations. Like my fellow colleague, Miss Cheryl Chan have said, a lot of vehicles today already have display panels in the vehicle, can we then find a way to connect the OBU with the display that is already in existence in the vehicle. The second question I have pertains to the costs of embarking on a re-design of the OBU. In June 2019, when there was an online incident of a supposed design leak, LTA then had responded to state that the pictures were just illustrations used for an earlier study back in 2016. On 17 June last year, LTA stated through a Facebook post that the agency was still testing the equipment for the new ERP system, which has not been finalised. However, we also understand from Senior Minister of State's reply today that the LTA is contractually bound to the current OBU design after the tender award and any design changes would have cost implication. Therefore, I would like to ask the Senior Minister of State, what is the cost of re-designing the OBU at this current stage of the ERP contract and whether it would be more cost-effective to streamline the design now rather than embark on a redesign in the future.”
“Mr Speaker, I thank the Senior Minister of State for his reply and his assurance that the Government takes a serious view on abuse cases against our public transport workers while on duty. I declare myself as the Executive Secretary of the National Transport Workers' Union. The Union is currently working with the respective public transport operators to resume trials on installing a protective shield on our public buses. Since the Senior Minister of State asked what other suggestions we may have, we aim to address the feedback and shortcoming surfaced in a previous trial in 2018, which the LTA was involved. I would like to ask if the LTA will support scaling the installation of such protective shields across all our public buses should the current trial find a suitable model to do so?”
“In my maiden Parliamentary speech in 2016, I spoke at length about the importance of tripartism – the crucial ingredient of Singapore's success story. Five years on, tripartism is even more critical now, as we deal with this immense scale and unprecedented pace of change that is coming our way. The Government will need to support the transformation of our businesses and our workers. Working together, let us turn this crisis into an opportunity. COVID-19 will pass. With united resolve, we can emerge stronger and secure a brighter future for our children and grandchildren. Mr Speaker, I support the Motion. 4.53 pm”
“I also hope that the Tripartite Advisory on Mental Health can be expedited, so that those who are currently struggling with mental health issues related to work can get the necessary support that they need. With more working from home, is it also time that we consider a "Right to Disconnect" legislation, which was pioneered in France, where employees can negotiate with their employers on answering work calls and emails outside of office hours? Similar laws have been implemented in other countries like Italy and the Philippines. I am sure having a dedicated break will help reduce employee fatigue and burnout. Sir, we also need to pay special attention to our freelancers, who are inadequately protected under existing WSH legislation. Freelancers do not enjoy the same WSH statutory benefits as employees, such as coverage under WICA, medical group insurance and medical leave. The lack of adequate WSH protection effectively means that freelancers are cheaper to hire, which pushes more companies to adopt such self-employed arrangements to avoid costs. This is a gap that needs to be plugged! Finally, I hope that the Government could revisit my numerous proposals for a mandatory WSH representative in every company. We are already half a step towards achieving this, as companies are now required to appoint Safe Management Officers or SMOs, as they re-open for work. Let us expand the role of these mandatory SMOs beyond the pandemic so that we can work towards creating a safer and healthier workplace for our workers, today. Mr Speaker, COVID-19 has accelerated the transformation of many industries at an unprecedented pace. The future workplace may be upon us sooner than many of us expect.”
“PMETs, particularly in their 40s and 50s, tell me that it is not easy to juggle between the many responsibilities that they must shoulder every day – looking after their young children, managing the healthcare needs of their elderly parents and trying to set aside funds for their own retirement needs. With this overwhelming "sandwiched" feeling, many are unable to think beyond their daily struggles. I hope that the Government will recognise this and look into how we can better support and alleviate these burdens. Mr Speaker, I have spoken about how technology has the potential to significantly transform our work and our workplaces in the years to come. But can we tap on technology to make our future workplace safer and healthier? With technology, dangerous work at the worksite can be done remotely, in a safe and comfortable location. Smart PPEs and wearable technologies will also reduce fatalities and the severity of injuries if an accident happens. Smarter workplaces must lead to safer workplaces. And I hope that the Government can accelerate the implementation of these technologies at our worksites, starting with the high-risk sectors such as construction and manufacturing. As we improve workplace safety, we must not neglect workplace health. These past six months have taught us that blurring the lines between home and office has its challenges. A recent study by the National University of Singapore found that those who work from home faced higher levels of stress than our frontline workers. I hope that the Government could expand the list of Occupational Diseases under the Work Injury Compensation Act (WICA), to include mental health illnesses related to work stress.”
“I urge the Government to do more to support our SMEs in adopting technology and at the same time upskilling their workers. We would also need to move upstream to prepare our future workforce. Data literacy and coding will be important skills that our young will need to be familiar with. We should make Computer Science a compulsory subject in Secondary schools. I am not suggesting that we train every Singaporean child to be a coder or an IT expert, but to understand computers and to be able to work with robots in the future workplace. Countries, such as Japan, South Korea and the UK, have already taken steps in this direction, with coding and programming incorporated into the mandatory education for students. The low latency provided by 5G technology means that working from home will become the default and remote working possibilities are endless. Competition for jobs will truly become globalised, blurring the divide between local and foreign workforce. So, while I welcome the recent announcement by MOM to further adjust the Employment Pass and S Pass qualifying salaries, my question is: will our work pass and Employment Pass system continue to be relevant when companies no longer need employees to be physically based in one location to perform the work? Can Singapore continue to compete for investments and bring in the best companies? Can Singaporeans continue to compete for good jobs? As Mdm President noted in her Address, we will need to be more resilient and more nimble than others when responding to change in order to thrive in this global world. But how can we better support our fellow Singaporeans to compete in this new world, especially when they are already facing many challenges?”
“One example is how autonomous vehicles (AV) will drastically redefine our land transport industry. Locally, AV technology is already being trialled in areas with complex traffic conditions and we will soon see large-scale trials in Punggol, Tengah and the Jurong Innovation District. What will happen to the livelihoods of more than 10,000 bus drivers? What about the 100,000 Singaporeans who hold a Taxi or Private Hire Car vocational licence, many of whom rely on driving today as their source of income? Since 2016, I have been highlighting in this House the impact of autonomous technology on the livelihoods of our transport workers. Every year, we get closer to this reality. Mr Speaker, transforming our workforce for the future of work will require a whole-of-nation effort, from the private sector, to the Government as well as our workers. I am glad to see that some forward-looking companies are already taking steps to gear up their workforce for the future. DBS, for example, has partnered with Amazon Web Services to equip 3,000 employees with basic knowledge in artificial intelligence and machine learning. The bank, which was one of the first to embrace digital banking, has also invested significantly in its digital learning tools to enable their employees to upgrade their skills and acquire new knowledge, even while they work from home. While big companies like DBS have the resources to plan for the future, our small and medium enterprises or SMEs are faced with a different reality. The impact of COVID-19 on SMEs has been more pronounced and many SMEs are currently operating in the survival mode. Some are so focused on their day-to-day business that they neglect to plan for tomorrow.”
“Mr Speaker, I stand in support of the Motion. I would like to thank Mdm President for laying out the key priorities for this new term of Government, which will help to see Singapore safely through the current COVID-19 crisis and secure our immediate future in the post-pandemic world. Prior to the crisis, our economy was already facing immense structural challenges and shifts. Examples include an ageing population, the shift towards the gig economy and the increasing use of automation driven by Industry 4.0. COVID-19 has merely accelerated the pace of this transformation, at an unprecedented pace, causing our future workplace, which many had thought would happen in decades to come, to become a reality much sooner. All jobs and all workers will have to transform, or risk becoming obsolete. No job is safe. In recent years, much of the work traditionally done by accountants, lawyers and even doctors have been automated and accomplished with greater accuracy. Real estate agents and financial planners are already starting to be phased out by digital apps. Our work and our workplaces are transforming. But are our companies, our workers and the Government ready? Let me first start with the shape and form of the future workplace. In my view, it will be smarter, leaner and more connected. In the manufacturing sector, artificial intelligence and automation will mean that mundane jobs will be phased out. As technology redefines existing job roles into smaller tasks, more jobs will be increasingly taken over by robots. As Minister Ong Ye Kung once aptly put it, “If you work like a robot, you will be replaced by a robot”. Our workers of tomorrow will need to learn the latest technologies and be able to work with them.”
“The onus is on each of us to take care of ourselves and to take care of each other as we resume "Business Unusual". I call on the Government, all employers and workers to continue to partner with the Labour Movement so that together, we can save jobs and keep jobs safe, because every worker matters. I support the Budget.”
“Even young parents are struggling between balancing their work, helping their energetic children with home-based learning and taking care of their restless elderly parents. Having a mentally healthy workforce is important as compliance to safety at the workplace may be compromised if workers are not able to focus at work. The total expenditure on mental health makes up less than 5% of MOH's annual operating expenditure. Within the population, Singapore has an estimated average of 4.4 psychiatrists for every 100,000 people. This figure is much lower than the 15 psychiatrists per 100,000 recorded by most OECD countries. I therefore urge the Government to invest more resources on mental healthcare as insufficient support in this area could lead to dire consequences, especially in this prolonged period of uncertainty, anxiety and fear. Mr Speaker, COVID-19 has shone the spotlight on good workplace safety and health (WSH) practices. Companies are now required to appoint Safe Management Officers (SMOs) before they can resume work and NTUC has already trained over 1,700 to be SMOs. We aim to double that number in the coming months. I hope that the Government could revisit my numerous proposals to mandate a WSH representative in every company. Let us retain and expand the role of these mandatory SMOs beyond the pandemic so that our workplaces can be safer and our workers healthier. Mr Speaker, to conclude, we are only as strong as our weakest link. To tide through this pandemic and emerge stronger, we need to rally together as one people. The Government has done much to protect lives and livelihoods through an unprecedented series of four Budgets over four months. Businesses are also doing their part to put in place measures to keep our workplaces and our workers safe.”
“Experts have cautioned against atomising and spraying copious amount of disinfectant on a person as this may cause irritation and potentially irreversible damage to the cornea, skin and even our respiratory system. Other products, which could cause prolonged UV light exposure, are also harmful to the human body. I therefore urge the Government to review and where necessary, stop the use of such unsafe interventions at our workplaces. Mr Speaker, until we find a vaccine or an effective treatment for COVID-19, we should incentivise our companies to embrace remote working solutions. Many have adapted to working from home in the past two months and I encourage companies to use this opportunity to reinvent their business operations and where possible, embrace work-from-home arrangements permanently and seize the new opportunities that come with this new normal. Our hawkers and wet market stallholders have shown that this is possible. During the circuit breaker, many hawkers have united to embrace e-commerce and food delivery. IMDA also taught stallholders from Tekka Market how to sell their produce using Facebook live-stream. Today, many stallholders have started to live-stream on their own and have been successful in selling their produce. The reinvention of our wet market stallholders to become "web market superstars" shows us that we can all adapt to and seize opportunities in this new normal. Mr Speaker, beyond employers, workers too are facing increased levels of stress. Graduating students and retrenched workers are finding it hard to find a job. Matured workers are worried about keeping their jobs, while frontline workers fear getting an infection from prolonged exposure during work.”
“Many businesses are already reeling from the increasing costs of putting in place the ever-evolving set of protective measures to keep our workplaces safe – providing thermometers and masks, increasing the frequency of cleaning and disinfection, employing additional staff to control access and to monitor temperatures, even increasing the number of trips to ferry workers because of safe distancing requirements. Coupled with a sharp decline in revenue, our businesses are hit with a double whammy! Many employers that I spoke to are now concerned about the costs of having to send their workers for swab tests as we continue to ramp up community testing. Today, construction workers are required to be tested every two weeks, while pre-school and nursing home staff have taken a precautionary test before returning to work. They tell me that the cost of a swab test seems to vary significantly. Online checks reveal that a swab test can range between US$1 in Senegal to more than US$3,000 in America! To manage costs, many businesses are leveraging technology to make our workplaces safer during this pandemic. In China, AI-powered thermal cameras are used to identify those in a crowd who have a fever and facial-recognition systems are deployed widely to identify those not wearing masks. Some isolation wards in China are entirely manned by robots that take the patient's temperature, deliver food and medicine and perform disinfection tasks. We too have deployed similar robots in our community isolation facilities and elsewhere in Singapore. However, I am deeply concerned that some businesses are marketing products that may end up doing more harm than good. For example, we read that the use of disinfectant tunnels can cause serious harm to those walking through them.”
“The mandatory use of SafeEntry is one such example. Most companies practise the check-in function but, as we know, some do not require you to check out when leaving the premises. Others provide a barcode reader to allow visitors to scan their NRIC as an alternative, but this is not practised universally. Should safe management measures be implemented based on principles or should they be prescriptive? On the ground, it seems that bosses prefer to implement based on principles while staff who are tasked to implement the measures prefer a more prescriptive set of instructions for clarity and ease of implementation. Whichever the approach, safe management measures must not inadvertently cause poor safety at the workplace. While we can understand that the aim of these measures is to minimise unnecessary social gatherings at the workplace, some types of work do require clear communication and coordinated teamwork. Keeping a "safety distance" and speaking through a mask could result in unclear communication, which may lead to heightened risks of workplace accidents. For manual work that requires heavy lifting, for example, in the construction or marine engineering sectors, wearing a mask could affect their physically demanding work. Mr Speaker, poor implementation could also lead to risky outcomes. For example, we read last month that the safe distancing dividers on a lorry transport for workers were deemed "not sturdy enough" and could have caused more harm in the event of a traffic accident! I hope MOM can conduct regular reviews and inspections, especially for high risk sectors, and ensure that the safe management measures are working as intended. Mr Speaker, cost may also be a factor for poor implementation of safe management practices.”
“Mr Speaker, I stand in support of the Fortitude Budget. My fellow Labour Members of Parliament have touched on – and others will continue to emphasise – the importance of job creation, job matching and the need to save jobs during this unprecedented period. My speech will focus on keeping our jobs and our workplaces safe because failing to do so may result in another unwelcome spike in COVID-19 cases and undo all our efforts and the billions of dollars that we have committed and are committing to tide our nation through this crisis. Mr Speaker, we must tread carefully as we ease the circuit breaker measures. In China, over a 100 million people face renewed lockdown in the northeastern region. In Japan, Hokkaido suffered a second wave of coronavirus infections after lifting lockdown measures while in South Korea, new clusters have formed quickly after lockdown restrictions were eased, forcing closures of more than 250 schools last week, just days after they reopened. Is this a case of too much, too soon? Or too little, too late? With lives and livelihoods at stake, it is not an easy balance to make. But I would like to urge that we take a more careful and more calibrated approach to prevent this from happening in Singapore. Let me first highlight the challenges on the ground that threaten to derail our efforts towards a safe reopening, and propose some suggestions on how we can address them. Many businesses and their workers have been facing different requirements and different sets of instructions from different Government agencies over the past months. Sometimes, new requirements are issued just days after an earlier set of instructions; while other times, they see other businesses implementing these rules quite differently from them.”
“Mr Speaker, I thank the Minister of State for his reply. I would like to ask the Minister of State if the Return to Work Programme has been effective for injured workers who have suffered hand and finger amputations.”
“I understand that the cost of obtaining third-party liability insurance is not exorbitant, and more importantly, we need to ensure that victims would be adequately covered for any medical bills arising in the unfortunate event of a PMD-related accident. Mr Speaker, as we continue our enforcement and education efforts to inculcate a safe active mobility culture in Singapore, we need also to ensure that we stem the rise in the number of fires involving non-compliant devices, and to better protect victims should an accident happens. The proposed import restrictions are a timely measure that will further enhance the safety of our homes and our public paths. With that, I support both Bills.”
“In an event where a buyer purchases a compliant model, but the online seller ships a non-compliant one to him, would the unknowing buyer be liable for an offence under section 5 of the Bill? As the Bill also covers the import of unassembled active mobility devices, I would like to ask the Senior Minister of State whether the import of replacement parts, which are vital for servicing and repairs, will also be regulated. Remote as it may be, there is a possibility that some may create their own non-compliant active mobility device by piecing together various replacement parts. Already, we have seen instances of PMDs being "souped up" to provide more power, more speed, more battery life. Such modifications can be dangerous and I hope that LTA can take proactive steps to deter this. Mr Speaker, I would like to also ask if the Bill's proposed import restrictions of non-compliant small motorised vehicles would have any impact on the Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) that Singapore had already signed with other countries. Finally, I would like to reiterate my repeated calls for mandatory third-party liability insurance for all users of Personal Mobility Devices (PMDs). I am glad that the Ministry had, in December 2019, accepted the recommendations made by the Active Mobility Advisory Panel, to make third-party liability insurance compulsory for those who use PMDs in the course of their work. However, in my view, this requirement should be extended to all PMD users, as there remains a sizeable number of PMD riders who use PMDs for non-work purposes.”
“Mr Speaker, I stand in support of the Bills – the Small Motorised Vehicles (Safety) Bill, which seeks to stem the inflow of non-compliant active mobility devices and the Active Mobility (Amendment No. 2) Bill, which aims to improve the clarity of our active mobility rules. Since the Active Mobility Act (AMA) came into force in May 2018, much has been done to strengthen the safe usage of active mobility devices. Examples include the introduction of the UL2272 certification and the mandatory registration of active mobility devices. But despite these measures, the number of fires involving non-compliant devices continue to remain an issue. Therefore, the introduction of the Small Motorised Vehicles (Safety) Bill is timely as it serves to control the import and use of non-compliant devices, which are often a fire risk. However, I have a few clarifications and suggestions. First, I would like to ask how will the Bill regulate the import of active mobility devices that are bought online. What will be the responsibilities of e-commerce platforms, such as Tao Bao, Qoo10, and Carousell? Will the onus on ensuring device compliance be imposed on e-commerce consumers? If onus is indeed placed on consumers, we should strive to raise awareness of compliant active mobility devices. I would suggest that LTA consider active promotion of compliant models. Having a "white list" of devices that meet the latest regulations would help consumers make better purchase decisions from both physical stores and online platforms. When it comes to purchasing from online platforms, Members of this House will know that there are instances when an online seller ships a wrong product to the buyer, either deliberately or by mistake.”
“Mr Speaker, the real estate industry has been undergoing profound shifts in the past few years. The proposed amendments in the Bill will empower the CEA to keep up with evolving industry practices and help deter errant and unethical behaviour by rogue property agents. This would better protect both property buyers and property sellers. With that, I support the Bill.”
“Mr Speaker, I also support the Bill's proposed framework which will require licensed estate agents and registered salespersons to comply with the prevention of money laundering and terrorism financing. In addition to fulfilling our obligations as a member of the Financial Action Task Force, the framework will also remind all property agents of their duties to perform the necessary due diligence checks. However, I note, as the Minister of State mentioned in his speech, that the proposed anti-money laundering and anti-terror financing requirements are already covered under existing CEA regulations and Practice Guidelines. So, just to be clear, can the Minister of State confirm that the proposed framework will not result in any material change to the way due diligence and suspicious transactions reporting need to be conducted henceforth? Mr Speaker, the COVID-19 circuit breaker measures have impacted the livelihoods of many property agents, as they have had to defer key activities, such as viewings and property launches. Some, especially the younger agents, have been able to adapt and embrace technology to reach out to prospective clients virtually. With digital literacy and digital marketing skills increasingly viewed as critical core skills, could the Ministry consider reviewing the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Framework and list these digital skills as Professional Competencies? Lastly, considering the impact of COVID-19 on the industry, I would like to ask the Ministry to consider waiving licence renewal fees for all estate agents and registered salespersons for the next renewal cycle. This will help in some small way to support the profession at this very difficult time.”
“Mr Speaker, I stand in support of the Bill, which seeks to ensure that the primary legislation that governs the actions of our property agents continues to remain relevant amid the rapid changes in our real estate landscape and the corresponding evolving industry practices. However, I have a few questions and clarifications for the Minister of State. Property agents play an important role in the home ownership journeys of many Singaporeans. With over 90% of our population homeowners, many will rely heavily on property agents for their property transactions. Therefore, I support the proposed increase in the maximum financial penalty that the Council of Estate Agencies (CEA) Disciplinary Committee can impose, from the current $75,000 to $200,000 for licensed estate agents and $100,000 for registered salespersons. This will, hopefully, serve as an effective deterrent against unethical and unprofessional conduct. The proposed increase in financial penalties is also timely, as 2019 saw a number of high-profile cases of agent misconduct publicised in the news. Could the Minister of State provide an update on the nature and the number of complaints against property agents in 2019 and how many agents have been sanctioned by the CEA as a result? For minor disciplinary breaches, I would like to ask if the Ministry could consider a demerit points system, so that first-time minor breaches by property agents, especially those who are new to the industry, such as advertising-related breaches, would not result in a Letter of Censure or a financial penalty. Additionally, having the demerit points system made public would also serve as a simple, yet effective deterrent against the commission of such breaches.”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker. I thank the Senior Minister of State for her reply. I have two supplementary questions. Our hawkers have been struggling to survive since the implication of the circuit breaker measures. This is especially true for hawkers who do not have the profit margins to adopt food delivery platforms. Many are trying every means they can think of, such as relying on Facebook groups to promote their stalls like the Hawkers United group, which the Senior Minister of State mentioned. They have since garnered over 250,000 Facebook users. While this and the various other ground-up initiatives might sound rudimentary, they are a sign that more help needs to be provided to our hawkers. While I applaud the move by NEA and ESG to provide grants to help our hawkers manage the business costs of food delivery orders, could the Government do more to support the various ground-up initiatives by our hawkers? My second question is, with social distancing measures likely to continue even after the circuit breaker period has ended, I would like to ask if the Ministry has any medium to long-term plans to help our hawkers, particularly those who are unable to sign up with the food delivery platforms to adapt and survive, post-circuit breaker. About an hour ago, I just participated in the Tekka Online Market. The process itself was quite smooth and I think the hawkers, the food stall holders are also trying to adapt. Perhaps, the Government can help to structure such a framework to help our hawkers as well.”
“I thank the Senior Minister of State for her answer. Since the smoking ban took effect, I have received much feedback from residents living near Orchard Road that smoking activity has been displaced to the fringes of their residential estates. This has caused disamenities to residents living there. Basically, smokers have moved to smoking just outside of the No-Smoking Zone and outside residents' homes such as along Nutmeg Road and along the fringes of Jalan Lada Puteh. Some smokers have even shifted a dustbin and created their own smoking corner along Nutmeg Road. I would like to ask if the Ministry has any plans to address this displacement effect of the smoking ban at Orchard Road.”
“A few supplementary questions. First, I would like to ask if there have been any situations where the workers or their employers decline to sign up for the Return to Work programme after they were approached by the coordinator. And if so, what were the reasons why they decline to join the programme? Second, could the Ministry also consider expanding the Return to Work programme by placing more hospitals on board?”
“I thank the Senior Parliamentary Secretary for the answer. I am heartened to hear that the patrol levels have remained stable. I would like to ask a supplementary question. During my house visits, residents inform me that they were seeing more instances of drunken individuals, sleeping on the staircase landing and along the common corridors at the higher levels of the HDB blocks. Residents said this was because the Police only patrol the ground level, causing the individuals to then move up the blocks. Can the Police consider having the Auxiliary Police Officers conduct vertical patrols to deter individuals from loitering at the higher levels of our HDB blocks?”
“Some of our Delta League boys have since gone on to fulfill their dreams of becoming professional footballers. With support from MSF, I hope to see more of such initiatives from the ground to help our at-risk youths in this new decade. Chairman, we can and we must, help our vulnerable groups of children and at-risk youths to achieve their maximum potential in life, regardless of their starting point. Because in Singapore every child matters. Persons With Disabilities”
“Our children are the future capital of our nation. It is therefore important that we provide them with the resources to achieve their maximum potential in life, regardless of the starting point that they are born into. However, not every child is fortunate enough to be born into an environment filled with love. To help this group of vulnerable children, Parliament amended the Children and Young Persons Act in 2019, to strengthen support for children who have been neglected or abused. Can the Ministry provide an update on the new initiatives that have been implemented since the Act's amendment? Various studies on at-risk youths in Singapore has found that peer and family influence may have an impact in influencing youths' attitudes towards gangs and juvenile delinquency. We should therefore work towards identifying early signposts that would identify a child to be at-risk, and adopt a more preventive and integrative approach towards helping them and their families. 5.30 pm Beyond the Government’s effort, I also urge community groups to come together to rally our youths and help them stay out of trouble. One good example of a community initiative targeting at-risk youths is the Delta League programme. Created in 2011, Delta League engages our youths through football during the long June and December school holidays. To keep them meaningfully occupied and away from crime, besides attending football clinics and playing matches, the youths also participate in crime prevention and other activities to enhance their awareness of crime and its consequences. Delta League marks its 10th year this year, with over 20,000 youths benefiting from its programmes in the past nine years.”
“Sir, my first question is for Senior Minister of State Amy. Besides raising the retirement and re-employment age ahead of schedule, what else is MOH planning to do to support older healthcare workers and maximise their employment at the workplace? My second question is for Senior Minister of State Lam. He announced the introduction of the Integrated Youth Service in Woodlands with Care Corner. Could the Senior Minister of State share more details about what services are provided under this Integrated Youth Service?”
“Would the Minister please share whether any mental health resources are made available to our healthcare workers in this crisis, and whether free counselling and mental health resources can be made available to our frontline healthcare workers for the years after this crisis has blown over? On social well-being, reports of healthcare workers in uniform being ostracised in public bring back ugly memories from the SARS epidemic, where about half of local healthcare workers experienced some form of social stigmatisation. I think it is amazing to see how many Singaporeans are fighting back to show appreciation to our frontline workers in concrete ways. Nevertheless, I want to raise two points here. First, are healthcare workers afforded any legal protection from being abused when they are in uniform, whether at work or in public? Second, in a recent Straits Times report on the ostracisation of nurses in uniform, healthcare leaders reassured the public that the uniforms do not pose any risk of infection. After this crisis has blown over, it may be timely to rethink whether uniforms are important for nurses or they should, like doctors, go to work in office attire and change to professional scrubs at work. I am ambivalent about this as I grew up watching my mum go to work in her nurse uniform and I am still immensely proud of her. She related to me some of the obstracisation she experienced during SARS and how it forced her to change out of uniform to return home. Thus, I would rather see a change in public attitude. Nevertheless, a public conversation on the uniform will be useful, if anything, to see whether the public attitude can be changed. Community Nursing”
“Despite best efforts to attract them to return to nursing, only around 400 return to practice annually. Some do not return because they feel that their skills are out of touch. To address this, our Healthcare Services Employees' Union (HSEU) is in partnership talks with Homage, a technology platform that matches trained and qualified care professionals to those in need of care, to explore providing nurses and care-givers who resign with opportunities to freelance as a care professional and keep their skills relevant. The union is also discussing how to provide training to these nurses through its Healthcare Academy – training that are relevant and timely. I hope that the Ministry can work with the Labour Movement to improve retention of nurses and to encourage those who have left service to return to nursing. Healthcare Workers Assoc Prof Daniel Goh Pei Siong: Chairman, Sir, even as we honour our frontline healthcare workers in this COVID-19 situation, we should make sure that we protect them in three ways: physical health and safety, mental wellness and social well-being. On physical health and safety, the most heartbreaking COVID-19 news are those on doctors and nurses getting infected and succumbing to the disease. The SARS outbreak saw about one-fifth of the cases occurring among healthcare workers. A recent article by Dr Gan Wee Hoe and Dr Chia Kee Seng published in The Straits Times gave details on some measures taken to protect the health and safety of our healthcare workers. Would the Minister share the key measures implemented to protect our healthcare workers' own health and safety? On mental wellness, again, based on the SARS experience, frontline healthcare workers suffer from high levels of burn-out and post-traumatic stress.”
“Chairman, our healthcare workers have been working tirelessly since the onset of the COVID-19 outbreak to combat the spread of the virus. Many have suspended vacations and put in extra hours. I commend all healthcare workers – nurses, doctors, medics, and more – for putting your lives on the line to serve Singapore. Indeed, healthcare workers are a special group of professionals and I urge our tripartite partners to come together to do more for them. One, let us recognise them not only when we have a crisis. Two, let us ramp up recruitment efforts and bring in more local talents. And three, let us reduce attrition and address the reasons why some leave service. Sir, with our ageing population, our healthcare system will require more workers, especially nurses. While I commend the Ministry's "Care To Go Beyond" campaign, which profiles the work of nurses to attract locals into the industry, more needs to be done. I would like to ask what are MOH's plans to meet the increasing demand for healthcare workers, particularly in community care. 1.45 pm Perhaps the Ministry can consider recruiting more mid-career nurses in their 50s and place them in wards that are less intense. Mdm Wan Sok Meng, a staff nurse at the National University Hospital, is one such example. At 59 years old, Mdm Wan finally achieved her childhood ambition of becoming a nurse. More details of her story and other inspiring stories of those who have found nursing to be their calling in life can be found on my blog post today – because I only have limited time here! Sir, in addition to recruitment, we also need to retain more healthcare workers and encourage more to return to nursing. About 850 local nurses leave our public healthcare sector yearly for a variety of reasons.”
“Chairman, in addition to providing better support for mental health issues at our workplaces, we also need to do our part to provide better mental health services at the community level, particularly for our youths and young adults. According to a 2018 study by the Institute of Mental Health (IMH), young adults are most at risk of suffering from mental health issues in Singapore. If left unaddressed, this could significantly affect the mental well-being of the next generation of our workforce. I am therefore glad that the Government has announced that it will create the Youth Mental Well-being Network, which will bring young Singaporeans together and look at ways to promote mental wellness for their generation. I would like to ask if the Ministry has any further plans to make mental health more accessible at the community level, particularly for our youths. The Labour Movement will also do our part to foster better mental wellness among youths through our Young NTUC arm. Young NTUC has since begun engaging with youths and young working adults to better understand the mental wellness issues that affect them as they transition from school to working life. A recent study that Young NTUC conducted with over 120 youths found that close to 60% ranked mental well-being as their top workplace concern. Young NTUC is working to put together peer-to-peer support systems for our youths and I hope that the Government can partner with the Labour Movement to make mental wellness services more readily accessible to our young adults and youths. Access to Mental Health Services”
“Thank you, Chairman. I follow-up on that question on autonomous vehicles, beyond safety, I am asking about job security. Autonomous Vehicles can potentially disrupt the livelihood of more than 50,000 workers who depend on driving to make a living. I am heartened to hear the efforts are already being made to familiarise our Bus Captains with AV technology. The union has been working very closely with LTA on that. But there are others such as taxi drivers, private hire drivers, heavy vehicle drivers, school bus drivers, and recently, I even visited and found that even driving instructors will be impacted and eventually displaced by AV technology. We must not forget them in our push towards AVs. May I asked the Ministry and the LTA to work with NTUC for similar AV familiarisation and transition programmes for the respective workers groups?”
“Bus Contracting Model Chairman, my final cut will be on the Bus Contracting Model (BCM). The introduction of BCM in 2016 has indeed transformed our public bus industry to become more competitive. Today, we have four public bus operators operating 14 bus packages. Commuters are enjoying better service reliability and reduced wait times, resulting in bus ridership hitting an all-time high of over four million daily rides in 2018. I would like to ask the Ministry for an update on how the BCM has benefited the public bus industry, in terms of bus captain wages, quality of service and commuter satisfaction. But as I highlighted in last year's Committee of Supply debate, BCM is not without its drawbacks. Bus captains have informed me that their jobs today, are now more stressful than ever, as they have to meet new stringent KPIs imposed. Could the Ministry share how it intends to mitigate this additional stress faced by our frontline bus captains? Additionally, I would like to ask if the Ministry has learnt any lessons from the tendering of the first four BCM packages and if there will be any changes to the future tenders. Lastly, I would like for the Ministry to update on their plans to enhance our public bus infrastructure to keep up with the increase in our public bus fleets and to cater for the introduction of electric buses. Green Vehicles”
“Chairman, our rail network will grow significantly over this new decade. The addition of three new lines – the Thomson-East Coast Line, Jurong Region Line and Cross Island Line – will increase the length of our rail network by about 130 km, bringing the total network length to about 360 km in 2030. As our rail industry grow, we need to upskill existing workers and recruit more rail professionals to run the expanded and more complex train network. The $100 million Rail Manpower Development Package, announced by Minister in November 2019, will help accelerate this transformation of our rail workforce. Can the Ministry provide an update on the initiatives under the Rail Manpower Development Package? Additionally, how many workers are expected to benefit from these initiatives? Electric and Autonomous Vehicles Chairman, my next cut will focus on the future of our land transport system, which will be electric, connected and autonomous. First, I applaud the Government for its ambition to phase out Internal Combustion Engine vehicles by 2040 and to embrace Electric Vehicles (EVs). Can the Ministry provide an update on the growth of EVs in Singapore over the past five years? Fleet vehicles, such as our public buses, will be key in driving critical mass for islandwide EV-adoption. Does the Ministry have plans to replace all public buses with electric buses and what will be the timeline? Will our island's charging infrastructure be sufficient for the mass adoption of EVs? Sir, the future land transport system will also be autonomous. Could the Ministry provide an update on the various Autonomous Vehicle trials and whether the plan to pilot autonomous buses in Punggol, Tengah and the Jurong Innovation District in the early 2020s is still on track?”
“Mr Chairman, I am heartened to see that the efforts of our extensive multi-year, multi-billion dollars rail renewal projects are now bearing fruit. Reliability of Singapore’s overall rail network has continued to improve steadily, reaching an impressive 1.08 million MKBF in the first nine months of 2019. But as we applaud the good work done thus far, we must not become complacent, or else, we risk undoing all that we have managed to achieve thus far. I would like to ask the Ministry to provide an update on the respective on-going rail renewal projects. I would also like to ask if the Ministry has any plans to renew and refurbish our older MRT stations, in particular, along the North-South and East-West Lines, some of which were built more than 33 years ago. Rail maintenance workers are our unsung heroes in Singapore’s journey towards better rail reliability. They have been working hard day and night, including on weekends and public holidays, to carry out both maintenance and renewal works. Some have raised issues regarding the lack of sufficient lighting and ventilation when carrying out their work in the MRT tunnels. With an increasing network of tracks underground, it is important that we take care of the welfare of our workers. I have been into the tunnels on several occasions to observe track renewal as well as tunnel cleaning work. Rail maintenance is back-breaking work, and I hope that the Ministry can look at improving the work conditions for our rail workers. Public Transport Access for Tuas South”
“Through profiling such inclusive employers as industry role models, we hope that we can encourage more companies to do the same. More details will be shared soon. Sir, I note that the Health Promotion Board has been doing its part to promote the creation of mental well-being programmes at workplaces. Since 2017, HPB has trained close to 1,400 managers and HR personnel under the Workplace Mental Health Solution Initiative to support the development of workplace mental health programmes. I would like to ask if there had been any notable initiatives rolled out which can serve as exemplary case studies for other companies to emulate. Sir, we know of two companies who want to support their employees in the area of mental health but do not know where to start. I would like to call on our tripartite partners to partner with the Labour Movement to do more in promoting the training of supervisors and union leaders to identify and respond to employees with mental health conditions. I hope also that the Government will partner with NTUC to study the incidence of workplace mental health issues and the effects, both long-term and short-term, they have on our workforce. By working together to create better total WSH outcomes at the workplace, I believe that our workers will have – to quote Mr Lim Swee Say – a H2P2 life – Health and Happy, Productive and Purposeful.”
“Chairman, according to the latest workplace safety and health statistics released for the third quarter of 2019, the 12-month rolling fatal injury rate per 100,000 workers has dropped to 1.1. This is a new low, but I believe we can strive to do better. To achieve better workplace safety, it is important that we challenge ourselves constantly to make work conditions even safer and healthier for our workers. In 2019, the Government accepted in full the recommendations made by the WSH 2028 Tripartite Strategies Committee. Can the Ministry provide an update on the progress of the respective recommendations made then? I would also like to reiterate my continued repeated calls for a mandatory WSH representative in every company. This will help to support the advocacy and implementation of WSH initiatives at the workplace. Sir, we need also to work towards better workplace health. Mental health, in particular, is vital for our overall well-being. But while mental health issues are real and ever-present, particularly at our workplaces, many are afraid to voice out for fear of stigmatisation. Therefore, we need to raise awareness and socialise mental health issues so that we can build an eco-system of support to help with the detection and early prevention of mental health issues. The Labour Movement will do our part in destigmatising workplace mental health issues. I am happy to announce that NTUC will be partnering with the WSH Council and the Singapore Association for Mental Health to promote mental well-being at workplaces. We will recognise inclusive employers who have gone the extra mile to put in place robust mental wellness programmes to help employees stay mentally healthy and resilient.”
“Through the Consumers Association of Singapore, we have also launched tools, such as Price Kaki and Fuel Kaki, to help consumers compare prices of essential household goods, hawker food and fuel. I urge everyone to tap on these resources to get more bang for your buck. Mr Speaker, as the Deputy Prime Minister has rightly pointed out, Singapore’s biggest asset is our exceptional people. COVID-19 can serve as an opportunity amid a public health and economic crisis. I call on employers to use the resources presented at this Budget as a springboard to position your businesses and our workers to ride the waves of recovery. We can also do more to equip our PMETs with the right financial planning skills and help them in their journey towards better retirement adequacy. Together, let us continue investing in our people and ensure that our people remain exceptional. Finally, to all our PMETs, the Labour Movement is aware of your concerns and your anxieties. We have weathered through storms and crises before and we will do so again. Regardless of whether you are a fresh graduate, in your mid-career, or in your silver years, the Labour Movement will be there for you because, for us, every worker matters. Join us and, together, we can and, together, we will turn crisis into opportunity and emerge stronger and more future-ready than before. Mr Speaker, with that, I support the Budget.”
“Mr Speaker, as the demographics of our working population shifts to become majority PMETs, more emphasis needs to be placed on equipping them with the necessary financial management skills and tools. Many PMETs find themselves "sandwiched" financially as they have both young children and elderly parents to care for. It is, therefore, important that we help them navigate through this period and emerge with sound financial footing so that they can achieve their desired quality of life during retirement. The Labour Movement has been doing our part to support workers in financial planning. MoneyOwl, one of our new social enterprises, was created to offer comprehensive and conflict-free advice to families and help them plan for their retirement needs. Since it was formed in 2018, MoneyOwl has benefited more than 5,000 people. I am happy to share that MoneyOwl has recently launched a comprehensive financial planning service to help Singaporeans plan for retirement and for their children’s educational needs. This tool incorporates the use of the various CPF schemes and provides workers with an analysis of their financial health, including gaps in their insurance protection and investments, based on their own individual risk profile. Moving forward, NTUC will partner the Financial Planning Association of Singapore to run complimentary financial planning workshops for our union members. These workshops will be made available through the mobile U PME Centre to benefit more PMETs and their families. The Labour Movement, through the good work of our social enterprises, such as NTUC FairPrice, will continue to do our part and do our best to help moderate the cost of living in Singapore.”
“I understand the grassroot advisor has been most supportive of this. We will gradually extend our services to all 11 CCs located within the Tanjong Pagar Group Representation Constituency. I hope that the Government can partner us to progressively open all CCs and even the Residents' Committee (RC) Centres to the mobile U PME Centre so that we, the Labour Movement, can deliver our programmes closer to the heartlands. Mr Speaker, as the pace of technological transformation at the workplace accelerates, employers are increasingly looking to hire and retain candidates with the right set of adaptive skills beyond just technical skills that can enable them to succeed at the workplace. Skills, such as project management and communication, are becoming more in demand. The Labour Movement will, therefore, work with our extensive network of professional associations to equip more PMETs with adaptive skills to improve their employment prospects. I am pleased to share that we will be partnering the Project Management Institute Singapore Chapter (SPMI) to roll out free workshops on project management fundamentals through our new mobile U PME Centre. We will also work with ClickInsight, a digital marketing firm, to provide free digital marketing workshops. NTUC will continue working with our professional associations to expand the range of our adaptive skills training. I urge all PMETs to sign up as an NTUC member to enjoy access to these workshops and to also tap on the yearly $250 union training subsidy, which can be added onto your SkillsFuture Credit top-ups to improve your own employability.”
“Just as we should support those who wish to continue working beyond 60, we should also support them in their pursuit of lifelong learning. Like my NTUC colleague, Mr Patrick Tay, I would also urge the Government to bring forward the disbursement of the SkillsFuture Credit top-ups from the current date of 1 October. As the Chinese proverb goes: "远水救不了近火". We should disburse the additional SkillsFuture Credit sooner rather than later so that our workers can attend the necessary training during this near-term economic lull and be equipped with new skills and confidence when our respective industries recover. Beyond cost, we need to bring the training programmes physically closer to our mid-career PMETs. Some courses just cannot be done online. For courses that require a physical premises, schools, IHLs and even neighbourhood Community Centres (CCs) serve as a more convenient location for our working people to go and upgrade themselves. The Labour Movement will do our part to bring training closer to our working professionals. Here, I would like to announce that our U PME Centre will evolve to a mobile centre and bring our services closer to our PMETs. Currently, the U PME Centre sits at the NTUC Members Hub in One Marina Boulevard, helping to equip PMET union members with a growth mindset through services, such as career development workshops and job preparation courses. The existing centre has done well, serving over 1,500 individuals in the past three years. Moving forward, we will bring these workshops and training programmes closer to our PMETs. For a start, U PME Centre will set up on-demand mobile centres at the three CCs located within the Moulmein-Cairnhill constituency at Cairnhill, Tanglin and Pek Kio.”
“" and "Train for what?" Through CTCs, we work with companies to assess their specific business and operational needs and translate these needs into a targeted training plan for employees to close the skills gap and, at the same time, remain employable. In the area of cost, training must be made more affordable and within the financial reach of our PMETs. In previous Budgets, my fellow Labour Members of Parliament and I had called for top-ups to the SkillsFuture Credit and we are glad that this suggestion has been adopted. The top-ups will certainly help our workers offset the costs of keeping their skillsets relevant. I also support the $500 special top-up to the SkillsFuture Credit accounts for mid-career workers aged 40 to 60. I note, however, that this Special SkillsFuture Credit is limited for use to only about 200 selected career transition programmes. I hope that the Government can expand this to include all Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ) courses as well as programmes to help our PMETs to deep-skill themselves. Deep-skill training programmes require a certain level of experience as a prerequisite and are often more costly due to their small niche. Perhaps the Government can consider mapping deep-skill training courses to the proficiency levels found in the Skills Framework and allow eligible programmes to be further subsidised. This way, we can help to reduce the out-of-pocket expenses for those who wish to gain a deeper mastery of their profession. Additionally, with our ageing workforce and the corresponding rise in our retirement and re-employment ages, I hope the Government can extend the Special SkillsFuture Credit top-up to those beyond 60 years of age.”
“First, I would like to commend Budget 2020 for introducing the Stabilisation and Support Package amounting to $4 billion, which will support our enterprises in keeping their workers during the economic slowdown and position them to rebound quickly once the crisis is over. However, in the longer term, we need to ensure that our economic sectors are self-sustaining. In my view, the concept of JSC which the NTUC Secretary-General Mr Ng Chee Meng had highlighted in his speech earlier, is a useful way forward. By creating a structure to formalise the matching of displaced workers in an affected sector to a growing sector in need of manpower, we will be able to achieve a more resilient employment landscape. The NTUC JSC will benefit all working professionals and will go a long way towards mitigating the increased risk of retrenchments that our PMETs face in today’s fast-changing operating environment. I am, therefore, glad to see such strong support during the pilot phase and I urge more companies to come on board this initiative. Mr Speaker, we also need to ensure that our PMETs remain employable and constantly upgrade themselves to take on the new jobs of tomorrow. To do so, we must bring training closer in terms of relevance, cost and location. First, we need to make training more relevant to our PMETs. From my weekly visits to workplaces, many PMETs have told me that while they understood the importance of going for training and staying current with industry trends, they are unable to see how going for generic courses can help them in their specific line of work. This is why the NTUC, through its affiliated unions, has initiated the formation of CTCs with our unionised companies. These CTCs are meant to help our workers answer the two common questions of "Train what?”
“According to the retrenchment statistics released by MOM, the proportion of PMETs among workers being retrenched annually has grown from 37% in 2008 to 65% in 2018. This upward trend is unlikely to be reversed anytime soon and will be accelerated in the event of an economic downturn. PMETs, particularly those in their mid-career, are also vulnerable in terms of employability. Those who do not keep their skillsets current will find it hard to secure new jobs when they are displaced. As Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat noted in his Budget speech, many of our mid-career PMETs grew up in a time when it is seen as the norm to stay in one company for life until retirement. However, with technology cycles shorter than ever, many are now at risk of being displaced by fresh graduates if they do not equip themselves with new technical and new technology skills. Quantitatively, we are already seeing this trend happening. If we analyse the rate of re-entry into employment among retrenched residents from MOM's Labour Market Survey, it shows that workers aged 40 and above have lower re-entry rates than their younger counterparts. So, how then, can we better support this group of vulnerable mid-career PMETs to have better job security, and boost their employability if and when they get displaced? I am proposing three strategies: (a) build a strong ecosystem of job security support within each sector; (b) bring training closer to our mid-career PMETs; and (c) equip them with adaptive skills beyond technical and technology skills. Let me start with providing better job security support to our PMETs.”
“Mr Speaker, COVID-19 has grabbed headlines as the first major public health emergency of this new decade, and I am glad to see that the Government is dedicating a substantial $5.6 billion to help businesses and workers most affected by the crisis. But while our nation unites to tackle the pandemic, we must not forget that long-term structural challenges, such as the declining support for globalisation, an ageing workforce and the uncertainties surrounding our economy, continue to persist. More worryingly, some of these challenges are now being accelerated due to COVID-19. The confluence of these factors will impact our entire economy, and I am heartened to note that the Government will be investing $8.3 billion to drive industry transformation and develop our workers for the future. However, more can be done to help our professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs), which according to a 2019 report published by the Development Bank of Singapore Senior Economist, Irvin Seah, PMETs are now the "new vulnerables" among our workforce. My speech today will focus on how we can help vulnerable PMETs stay employed, be more employable and help those who are feeling “sandwiched” financially. Let me elaborate. Mr Speaker, I am happy to note that Budget 2020 has placed an emphasis on helping mid-career PMETs currently in their 40s and 50s through the Mid-Career Support Package. This is a timely move as PMETs in this age group are arguably at one of the most vulnerable stages in their careers. And they are vulnerable in the two key areas of employment and employability. Let me, first, touch on employment vulnerability, or better known as job security. Employment data over the past decade has shown that PMETs are increasingly at risk of being retrenched.”
“I have a question for Minister Gan Kim Yong. I read with concern the reports of infection of healthcare workers in China today. During SARS, we, too, had doctors and nurses working with infected patients getting infected themselves. So, in today's context, can the Minister share what measures are taken today to better protect our healthcare workers, especially those on the frontline taking care of the patients who are infected?”
“We should use this as an opportunity to ambitiously widen our regulatory sandbox and tackle the tough questions on liability that will inevitably arise. With that, I support the Bill.”