Ng Eng Hen
Singapore
“I think we try to keep this virtuous state of affairs as long as we can to make sure that we can invest steadily. Year-to-year fluctuations would occur, whether it is economic, not so much in COVID-19, but remember the Global Financial Crisis? Everybody needs to take a haircut. If you have to take a haircut, you have to take a haircut.”
“Mr Chairman, as the World around us becomes more unpredictable and changes, the more we need to keep the strongest commitment to strengthen our own defences and, if needed, we must be willing to do more. Singapore celebrates 60 years of Independence this year.”
“MINDEF will continue to work with partners to encourage Singaporeans to raise their digital literacy, develop and maintain good cybersecurity habits, protect sensitive data and guard against scams, fake news and disinformation so as to make the digital domain a safer and more secure space.”
“The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) conducts regular mobilisation exercises (MOBEX) of our National Service (NS) forces. In a silent mobilisation, NSmen are notified through their personal contact numbers. Open mobilisations include the broadcast of unit code-words through mass media.”
“In 2020, the Ministry of Defence replied to a Parliamentary Question on this matter that the relocation of Paya Lebar Air Base (PLAB) would likely occur around 2030 or beyond, after Changi Air Base and Tengah Air Base have been expanded to house the existing assets at PLAB.”
“When incidents or near-misses happen, as it did where one Hunter armoured fighting vehicle rear-ended another during Exercise Wallaby in Australia, thorough investigations are conducted and lessons learnt shared across the units.”
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“As the results show, up to fairly recently, the current measures have proved to be generally effective. However, of late, the construction sector has been going through a bad patch. The industry is suffering a downturn aggravated by increasing prices in raw materials, particularly steel and cement. Two recent cases involving local construction companies have highlighted the problems that can be caused when salaries are not paid. Not only do the workers face substantial hardship, but our harmonious industrial relations climate is also affected, as well as Singapore's good international image. However, despite the downturn in the construction sector, the proportion of errant employers remains small. In 2002 and 2003, 657 and 546 companies respectively were involved in the salary claims lodged by foreign workers. These constituted some 7% and 6% of the total companies employing foreign workers respectively. While the Government cannot ensure the success of any business venture, I agree with Members that what we can do is to help workers recover as much of their unpaid wages as possible and as quickly as possible. But in cases where companies are insolvent, workers may not be able to recover their salary arrears in full or even a substantial portion, at least not immediately. They may have to accept whatever is available at that time, and then allow the legal processes to run their course, which is why my Ministry advises foreign workers to inform us early to reduce the amounts owed to them. As for the foreign workers who were owed salaries by Wan Soon Construction Pte Ltd, Dr Amy Khor has asked for some updates. While we are likely to secure from the various parties some funds to pay the workers, the amount will not be sufficient to meet their claims in full.”
“My Ministry provides free services to workers on a range of employment matters, including salary disputes. This service is available to both local and foreign workers. Workers can lodge claims for unpaid wages and disputes over other statutory benefits with the Ministry. Within two weeks of the lodgment, a conciliation meeting between the worker and the employer will be arranged by a case officer to investigate the claim. From our past records, about 85% of local and foreign workers' claims are settled through conciliation. Unsuccessful claims may be further referred to the Labour Court for adjudication by the Commissioner for Labour. If the employer is liable, he is required to pay the amount due to the worker within 14 days. The Order of the Commissioner for Labour is enforceable in the civil courts. If the claimant chooses to enforce the Court Order, the Ministry will help prepare the enforcement documents for the claimant to take out Writ of Seizure and Sale proceedings against the company. The success of any enforcement proceedings depends on whether the company has sufficient funds or assets which can be realised. In cases involving foreign workers who have returned to their home countries, we will work with the embassies concerned to remit to them any arrears subsequently recovered. Last year, 86% of claims of foreign workers were settled within six weeks, while some 80% of claims of local workers were settled within the same time. The remaining cases took a longer time to settle as the issues were more complex or, in some cases, the employers were facing financial hardship. Claims that were referred to the Labour Court for adjudication also took a longer time to resolve. The Ministry successfully recovered a total of $7.1 million in salary arrears last year.”
“APPENDICES Section Name: MINISTERIAL STATEMENT Title: STATE AWARDS FOR THOSE INVOLVED IN THE NICOLL HIGHWAY OPERATION Filename : Statement Awards-Appendix.doc MP Name: The Minister for Home Affairs (Mr Wong Kan Seng)”
“The CPF Board does not loan money to the Government as implied by Mr Chia's question. Instead members' savings are invested mainly in risk-free Singapore Government bonds* issued specifically to the Board to meet its interest and other obligations. The Board's interest rate for the Ordinary Account is computed based on a weightage of 80% on the 12-month fixed deposit rate and 20% on the savings rate of the major local banks, and is reviewed quarterly. Based on this computation, the prevailing rate should have been between 0.59% and 2.16% since July 1999, but the Government guarantees CPF members a minimum interest rate of 2.5% per annum, even if the market rate should fall below this level. For the Special and Medisave Accounts, the interest paid to members is computed on the OA rate plus 1.5%. A 4% interest rate has been paid on the SA since July 1999 and on the MA since October 2001** because of the minimum interest rate paid on the OA. By comparison, the yield on 10-year Singapore Government Securities since July 1999 has ranged from 1.79% to 5.01%. The yield has been below 4% since January 2001, except for the last quarter of 2003 when the rate briefly went as high as 4.09%.*** In 2002, $1.28 billion of interest was paid to the Ordinary Account of members. * The Special Singapore Government Bonds are floating rate bonds with interest rates pegged to the same interest rates that the Board pays to members on their balances. They do not have quoted market values. ** MA rate was only pegged to SA rate from October 2001. Before October 2001, MA rate was pegged to OA rate. *** As at 14th May 2004, the yield on 10-year SGS was 3.48%.”
“Sir, since coming to this House, I have been very impressed with Mdm Halimah's incisiveness, and I am sure she asks the question for me to reiterate the point, and the answer is, of course, no. And she herself knows, which is the modus operandi for NTUC, they practise a pre-mandate. The Executive Committee consults their members way beforehand and asks, what can they do, what should they arrive at, which is a sensible thing to do. It no way deprives the leaders of asking their members: "What is it that we can do? And what is it you will accept?" But the ratification clause, in practice, was that it created a dynamic where there was brinkmanship. Sometimes, there was a power play; sometimes, the leaders use the excuse to say, "Well, I can't conclude because the members might not agree." And this has created a negotiation, a dynamic that precipitated that lock. Because at each successive cycle, the stakes got higher, until both sides were locked and you could not come to an agreement. Therefore, that is why you have 27 months of negotiations. This is one of the factors.”
“Sir, this amendment does not in any way reduce the ability of the members who are dissatisfied with the leadership to remove them. That is a fundamental point. They can call an AGM and remove the leaders at any time, even after this amendment. So, in that way, their rights are not deprived at all.”
“But it does seek to facilitate the collective bargaining, and this is an important rational framework for us to conclude collective agreements so that workers and management know that there is a limited time framework to which their rights can be negotiated, failing which there is recourse to either MOM for conciliation or the IAC as a final arbiter. This serves to give a framework which gives predictability, sensibility and profit for all.”
“But I also take the point that there may be instances where employers, for whatever reason, do not come to a conclusion or lengthen out the process. And I would advise such employees who have such employers, as both parties now have the ability, to make ex parte applications to the IAC or to approach MOM for conciliation. The Ministry of Manpower would advise the employer not to cause undue delay in negotiations and help the two parties reach an agreement within a reasonable timeframe. Mr Nithiah Nandan says, give more powers to my conciliation officers. I think we have been doing OK, looking at the number of collective agreements and the number of cases that we have had to settle. But I take their point - Mr Nandan and Mdm Halimah - that the Code of Industrial Relations Practice that was circulated today is a piece of paper. They are quite right, but it is a valuable piece of paper. Very few countries, if you read the contents, are able to arrive at these enlightened principles, to have it signed by union, Government and employers. That starting point should not be underestimated. It is unique. I have travelled widely. I have consulted employer organisations, as I have visited trade union leaders. We are the exception to the rule. It is an important starting point. It is a valuable platform. Yes, we will roll out this series of seminars, as Mdm Halimah has suggested, to bring on board more employers and more union leaders. It is certainly not a piece of paper to be filed away. Sir, let me conclude by saying that this amendment does not in any way deprive or diminish the rights of workers or the unions that represent them.”
“In the last few months, we have put out in broad print the challenges of the aviation industry. It seems to me that they have ignored completely all the challenges, and only made political points. Which is the greater insecurity? That of individual unions demanding their own personal share to the detriment of the company? And when the company suffers and divisions go under and workers are unemployed, will Mr Steve Chia and Mr Low Thia Khiang say, "Well, there you are, but your rights have been protected. You are out of a job, but never mind!" Mr Steve Chia makes a plea to Singaporeans not to join unions. I would ask him to look at the membership numbers from the NTUC which represents 99.5%. Locally, the numbers have gone up. And if you compare it internationally, the numbers and the union memberships have grown from strength to strength. What does that tell us? It tells us, as Mr Nithiah Nandan has said, that Singapore workers are much more enlightened. They look at the overall effects. They see what the Government says. They see what the union membership say and can deliver, and they are willing to trust that leadership to deliver what was promised - not quick remarks, not grand sounding aspects, not chest thumping, what Mr Low Thia Khiang refers to as superior processes of democracy. In other words, go on the streets, demand your rights, never mind the overall picture, never mind the ability of the companies to survive, never mind the economic competitiveness of your nation. I think that our workers and our citizens are much smarter than them. Mdm Halimah asked what safeguard do we have to make sure that employers do not abuse this. First, I would say that employers do not have a rule requiring them to seek ratification of negotiated collective agreements.”
“Sir, let me thank Members for their responses. I was very heartened with Mr Nithiah Nandan's heartfelt recounts of how he was able to secure a mandate and leadership. In his capacity, he had negotiated 20 collective agreements and re-elected nine times. Even in some unions, with this ratification clause, there have been more leadership changes than collective agreements bargained. Mr Nithiah Nandan said that leaders without mandate are like a body without a head. It invoked images of thrashing headless bodies around! And, indeed, in some circumstances, it was, as I related to Members how in the last negotiations in 2001, after a tedious exercise of 27 months, even with in-principle agreements, it was overthrown by the membership. Mr Nithiah Nandan's account is certainly more enlightening than Mr Low Thia Khiang's diatribe against what he calls "the oppression and how we have crippled rights". But is this so? What rights have we deprived from this amendment? Have we deprived workers of the right to bargain collectively? No. Have we deprived them of the right to organise? No. Have we deprived them of a right, if they feel that their interests have not been protected, to change the leadership? Not at all. They can call, as Mdm Halimah has said, an EGM to change the leadership. Have we deprived them of the right to seek recourse or a decision by the Industrial Arbitration Court? And the answer is again no. So, Mr Low hypes the effects of this amendment, and this amendment only seeks to facilitate the collective bargaining process, which I have recounted, this clause has not effected. Mr Low Thia Khiang and Mr Steve Chia speak much about protecting workers' rights, and that this amendment will increase the insecurity of workers.”
“In fact, arts training and academic learning should be integrated and should reinforce each other. My Ministry will consult the various stakeholders, including teachers, students, parents and arts practitioners, to establish the entry requirements. We will take into consideration the possibility that there may be students with high artistic potential but are weaker academically. We do not want such students to lose the opportunity to enter the Arts School. For example, if we come across an exceptional youngster like Abigail Sin, but without her academic achievements, the School will certainly strive to accommodate such talent with the clear potential to succeed as a musician. The general approach is to ensure that the Arts School is not perceived as a school for those who cannot do well in other schools.”
“The Committee on the Specialised Arts School had envisioned the Arts School to provide a curriculum that would integrate arts learning with the learning of other academic subjects, to ensure the holistic development of its students who are 13 to 18 years old. In the Committee's study of overseas arts schools, it had observed that non-Arts subjects were not of a lower standard than that in mainstream schools. In fact, the Arts enrich the general education of the students and vice versa. The result is that such schools often provide excellent education in both the Arts and other subjects. The Committee proposed that the students of the Arts School would graduate at the end of six years with an IB Diploma. The curriculum in the final two years would be focused on the IB Diploma programme, and the first four years could be structured around the IB Middle-years programme, the GCE 'O' levels or an equivalent. The reference to the Express stream, quoted in the media reports, was made in this context. The demands of the Arts School's curriculum, at least in the first four years, would be equivalent to that of the Express Stream. The Committee recommended that admission should be based on merit, and emphasis should be given to the artistic potential of the applicants. The proposed selection process should be through auditions, portfolio assessments or entrance examinations. The Committee also recommended that, in addition to artistic potential, students should demonstrate basic academic achievements. I agree with the Committee's recommendation that entry requirements should include both artistic talent and academic achievement. I believe that the arts training of our young talents should not be at the expense of overall academic training.”
“Sir, the Member has suggested that there is some connection being on the provisional accreditation scheme. I am not quite certain what she means or why the provisional accreditation scheme has anything to do with the Employment Agencies, or the Employment Agencies reneging on their contracts. The accreditation scheme was meant to increase professionalism. The risk of either employers or employees reneging on their contracts should be seen as a separate aspect. What we are trying to do is to raise the level of standard so that there is a clear understanding. When these Employment Agencies place foreign domestic workers, there should be conditions stipulated in the contracts. We also try to move upstream these Employment Agencies to look at some of the issues and well-being of these foreign domestic workers after they have been placed out. This would be an on-going movement. But I suppose that any time that the foreign domestic workers join their employers, there can be problems. We would try to reduce this upfront, but it is a little bit unreasonable to ask anyone to assure that Employment Agencies can guarantee that there will be no problems after that. ARTS SCHOOL (Admission criterion) 7. Ms Braema Mathiaparanam asked the Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts what is the rationale for wanting to use the Express stream as a criterion to admit aspiring students into the Arts School. The Senior Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts (Encik Yatiman Yusof) (for the Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts): Sir, my Ministry has accepted the recommendations of the Committee on the Specialised Arts School and we are now studying the details of setting up the School, including the admission criteria.”
“I would advise them to realise that work permit holders have this explicit condition and not to be in that situation in the first place. 3.00 pm”
“Sir, we are mindful that once they get married and have children, it is not our intent to break up families. It is for this reason that we say that, please be very careful when they have formed relationships while they work here and only choose to work here if they understand that they are coming here to work and that the chances of them having an approval for marriage are very slim. If they choose to contravene the marriage restriction which they themselves have agreed to before they work here, then to serve as an effective deterrent, we ban such work permit holders. Having said what I have just said, we have approved certain cases based on individual merits when Members of Parliament have appealed on their behalf.”
“Sir, the trade unions act on behalf of Singapore, and there is no further need for me to justify what NTUC does. It is presumptuous. If the Member wants to address the NTUC directly, I suggest that he files a cut. I am sure Mr Lim Boon Heng will be more than happy to defend himself.”
“Sir, I am quite puzzled why this cut is placed under MOM. It would be presumptuous for me to answer on behalf of the NTUC. Indeed, there is no need. But, as an observer, I would just say that, despite all of Mr Chiam's aspects, the Secretary-General of the NTUC had the highest votes last year, and he was re-elected in a constitutionally acceptable manner by the majority. So, I think the voters disagree with Mr Chiam. As for this particular union case which he has brought up, an expulsion is an internal union matter. If the union constitution allows them to take disciplinary action, it is up to them. If he feels that they have transgressed the constitution, he can put it up to MOM, and the Registrar of Trade Unions can have a look at it. Otherwise, there is no need for me to engage on this topic.”
“Sir, we have said that when employers enter into a contract with their foreign domestic workers, what we want to move towards is a mutually agreed contract. And if the foreign domestic worker says that the contract has been breached, we will try to negotiate and settle the dispute. If we find that indeed the employer has not paid the maid and there are salary arrears, we can take action. We can debar the employer, and we have debarred such employers before from hiring further maids. And we can try to make restitution. I am also looking at ways to see how we can ensure that salaries are paid promptly and are actually paid. These are things that we will continue to look at to see how we can improve the well-being of maids here.”
“We will ensure that their well-being is safeguarded but their well-being and how you choose your maid must be the responsibility of the individual employer, and employers must factor such associated cost when they hire foreign domestic workers. That is why we insist that employers bear the cost of the personal accident insurance and attend the compulsory Safety Awareness Course. I also want to make a pitch for Singaporean employers who do not want the hassle of employing foreign maids to hire local domestic workers. There are indeed many companies which have started this initiative. I am told that many families, especially expatriate households in districts 9, 10, 11, as well as some local households, use their facilities because they prefer it as a less intrusive option. The final area is Mdm Halimah Yacob's question about ratifying the ILO Convention 138, and she is right. ILO 138 Convention stipulates 15 years old as the minimum working age. Under our Employment Act, the child below the age of 14 is not allowed to take up gainful employment. But as we all know, for all purposes, child labour does not exist in Singapore as the majority complete at least 10 years of education and they are in schools. Therefore, we have no problems complying with ILO Convention 138 in practice. But we will choose the appropriate time to amend our Employment Act to do so.”
“They recognise that we have taken these errant employers to task and that we do not discriminate between Singapore citizens or foreign citizens who commit crimes. The Indonesian press here has acknowledged that we have in place safeguards to protect their workers. As for the handling of salary arrears, my Ministry already extends free conciliation services to foreign domestic workers and their employers. And it is not as if it is painted by Mdm Halimah that we are powerless to act against employers who we find are errant. Indeed, we can bar them, we can prosecute them. In many instances, my Ministry has helped conciliate and resolve the dispute between employers and their workers. This is no different from foreign domestic workers. Both Ms Braema and Mr Chandra Mohan have asked for the partial use of the levy to pay for various items - skills development and medical insurance. The levy is a pricing mechanism to moderate the demand of foreign domestic workers, although we give rebates for working mothers. As for worker's training as a suggestion - as Mr Chandra Mohan has passionately called for Singaporeans to be compassionate, which I agree with - we have certain initiatives. There is one Bayanihan Initiative where MOM has worked together with the Filipino Embassy to start training houses for their domestic workers and to skill them. And we will continue to work with VWOs or other agencies which are interested to start this initiative. But I must remind the House that the physical well-being and training of foreign domestic workers are the responsibility of employers, not MOM.”
“Moving ahead, the Ministry aims to do what many have recommended, including Mr Yeo Guat Kwang, to have all foreign domestic workers and employers enter into employment contracts. This will be part of the accreditation process. We will advise that they must have clearly defined areas like scope of duties, hours of work and rest days, so that the basic welfare of maids is addressed and outlined upfront. However, I do not believe in mandating what should be stipulated in every set of employment contract and these are best left to the individual parties to decide. What we have done is to stipulate practices that must be observed as work permit conditions and when these conditions are breached, it will attract heavy penalties. I assure Members here that my Ministry will, and has not hesitated to, invoke the Employment of Foreign Workers Act to take stern action against employers who are found to have ill-treated or exploited their maids. The many measures we have put in place will improve further the safety and well-being of foreign domestic workers. In fact, even Indonesians themselves have affirmed our efforts. Let me quote from a recent article from Kompas - I have circulated it - which was published on 8th March this year - an Indonesian daily with the heading, "Singapore Gets Things Done". I quote from the translated text, "Singapore will do everything to see that problems are overcome well. In other words, when a problem emerges, various measures are immediately taken to see that the problem is solved comprehensively." The article then goes on to detail our efforts, including the fact that we have "firmly meted" out harsh punishments to those who abuse their maids.”
“As announced earlier, first-time employers will be required to attend a compulsory orientation programme before they are allowed to employ a foreign domestic worker from April onwards. During these sessions, we will address this unequal relationship and explain to them what they can or cannot do, and the penalties that come with abusing their maids. The orientation programme will not only educate potential employers about good employment practices, but we also use this occasion to highlight to them, the foreign maids' rights and their recourse for help. We are conscious of the fact that foreign maids who stay in their employer's home are very much part of the employer's household. This is a unique relationship, and the boundary of their workplace is not clearly defined. Mdm Halimah said that we should extend the Employment Act to govern such employment relationships. We do not cover, under the present Employment Act, all domestic workers, whether local or foreign. It recognises the difficulty of legislation in addressing this specific relationship. And the rigidity imposed by further legislation will hinder the ability of employers and their domestic workers to negotiate agreements. Instead, my preferred approach is to increase the transparency of the employment terms, which we should do - in other words, encourage and indeed facilitate both sides of the employment contracts - which are mutually agreed. And many foreign domestic workers have such contracts. They are drawn up with the help of employment agents and, in many instances, their own Embassies, who tell them what their contract should be. These contracts spell out the core employment terms, including rest days.”
“Sir, first, let me thank Ms Braema, Mr Chandra Mohan and Mdm Halimah Yacob for their positive comments about the initiatives that MOM has launched. Over the years, we have implemented a range of educational as well as legislative initiatives. I would like to report to the House that the situation has improved for the well-being of foreign domestic workers or maids. For example, in 1997, we launched a particular initiative where we enhanced the penalties in the Penal Code for offences committed against foreign domestic workers. It was done in such a way that the same penalties apply for offences committed against these foreign domestic workers. Compared to the same offence committed by a local, it would have the penalty of one and a half times. And this reflected our appreciation of the unequal relationship that Members are talking about between employer and employee, in this particular instance, foreign maids. Before 1997, there were about 157 abuse cases. After the enhancement of the Penal Code, the number of abuse cases decreased to an average of 69 in subsequent years. So the number has come down. While there continues to be a handful of errant employers, the majority, as Members have rightly pointed out, of foreign domestic workers who work in Singapore are well treated by their employers. This was confirmed in a survey conducted by the Singapore Press Holdings last year, in which 82% of foreign domestic workers surveyed indicated that they were happy in Singapore. As many of the Members here know, many, in fact, apply for an extended duration to work here. Notwithstanding these improvements, my Ministry closely monitors the situation and will take further steps to safeguard their safety.”
“Sir, I did not say to Mdm Halimah that I was not aware of it. She asked for an update and I said that the update was not available, because the study is not finished. For one moment, I was quite stressed when she said she was disappointed. Her second point is about why only 3,000 civil servants use flexible work arrangements. I think we had better subsume this under the work of the Committee on Population. We will look at the aspects, and then I will come back with a more reasoned reply. Employment Act”
“I answered it in brief but let me expand on that for the House and Dr Lily Neo's benefit. If Members remember, we launched a Back-To-Work Programme. Some Members may have forgotten, which means that it is bad news for the programme. It has no impact, and the House forgot about it. We launched this in 1996. It was specifically called Back-To-Work (BTW). In 1996, we had a very tight labour market and we needed workers. The intent was to encourage prospective employers to bring the workers back. I will tell you that the back-to-work has gone into hibernation and hard to rev it up again in these labour market conditions. But as I said, WDA will assist mothers who want to return to the workforce. What we also want to do, in line with other sets and groups of people, is to identify programmes. Our strategy is this. Let me find where the jobs are, and then I will tell you where the jobs are. And if a person wants to do it but does not have the skills, I will upgrade him. We have identified electronics, precision engineering, wafer fabrication, textile, healthcare, domestic cleaning. We think that these sectors are suitable for mothers who want to return to work. And we will fund them, train them and try to place them in these jobs. 1.45 pm”
“Let me study it a little bit longer before deciding whether I should institute an anti-bully study. WDA will help HR community build up that capability and recognition. But I must also say that the HR community must themselves take ownership of this. She has asked whether MOM and Government can facilitate for the HR community to become a surrogate caretaker of business. I would, if I could, but I do not think that is my position. To appoint someone vicariously as a surrogate caretaker, I think that position is earned by their own competence and expertise. And we will ride and capitalise on those companies that HR managers have proven themselves to be able to significantly add and drive the companies. We will facilitate and as we do, we fund initiatives. I would rather fund initiatives than the whole profession. Because when I fund the whole profession, the HR community, engineers and welfare officers can also ask me to fund their whole profession. For example, in wage restructuring, I fund the initiative. And when HR managers are involved, I will fund them, and this is my approach. She has also asked whether we will form somewhat of a tripartite-plus to include the HR community. I would say that, in principle, we do consult them. For example, when NWC meets, we consult agencies and partners, like the Singapore Human Resource Institute, to get their feedback, and we will continue to do so. But I would say that, currently, there are no plans to include the fourth or fifth limb to the tripartite framework that we have, because sometimes it is difficult to do for various issues.”
“About 70% and above were above 41 years old. Mdm Halimah asked what are our efforts - I am moving away from procreation - to deal with stress at work. Every time Mdm Halimah spouts those statistics, I get a bit stressed myself! I suggest that we work on this in a sensible way. Yes, she has asked for updates on the tools that we are going to measure. I would say that the study has not been completed. I will check with my staff on what is the stage. If she likes, she can file a question and I can give a proper update. I do not have the figures. Ultimately, the quality of our work place cannot be achieved solely by Government setting standards to every conceivable angle by legislating. I just think it is too blunt and we do not know enough the business on the ground. When we try to introduce this, to a hammer, everyone looks like a nail, and you hammer away, but it may be a mushroom. Business processes are changing every day. We cannot be monitoring every workplace. Even if we enact legislation, we will have to scour the ground and try to enforce it. So, I agree with Mdm Ho Geok Choo, the key is to raise the standard of human capital management not only among the HR community, but also the CEOs, managers as well as the HR executives in Singapore. Because, at the end of it, the CEOs and the managers themselves must be convinced that these initiatives that meet the range of needs of their employees will raise productivity, innovation and increase their profitability. If they do not, whatever you do is not going to work very well. Mdm Ho says that we should institute an anti-bully study. I will think about it. This is quite innovative. I must say that I have not thought about this but she says that it occurs on the ground.”
“As Members know, the Working Committee on Population, under Mr Eddie Teo reporting to Minister Lim Hng Kiang, is in place. I would like to tell you that MOM has three persons, and since some MPs are counting, two of them are women in this Working Committee to review these matters. Dr Jennifer Lee says that this needs to be practical and of benefit to the organisation. We agree. We do not want it to be Robin Hood, but neither do we want to reverse the position. MOM will be guided in this review by four principles: (1) The changes must help employees balance work-life and family care - that is understood; (2) Business competitiveness must be maintained or improved; (3) Labour market flexibility must be maintained so as to ensure sustainable economic competitiveness and employment growth; and (4) The benefits must not inadvertently increase employment discrimination for the very group they were meant to help. In line with this, many Members have mentioned positive examples of the Scandinavian countries including Norway. I would like to inform the House that I will be leading a MOM study group to study these benefits and ask questions from fathers, mothers and employers to get a feel of what actually goes on. I think it will help give me a better sense, a better nuance, in terms of dealing with these problems. We will still assist mothers who want to return to the workforce. WDA will help identify where the jobs are and facilitate them to be placed in these jobs. Mdm Ho Geok Choo asked whether we can help older workers to be trained as childcarers to lighten the load of working mothers. I understand that MCDS does have a scheme. It is called Family Day Care scheme launched in April 2002, and about 242 caregivers have so far been trained.”
“Some Members have urged me to legislate paternity leave, longer maternity leave, family care leave and even the right to negotiate flexible work arrangements. I have thought about this and I want to caution against using legislation as the main lever to develop family-friendly workplaces. I am concerned that, as good intentioned as we are for a specific and important goal, our efforts and intentions may backfire because once legislation is enacted, it cannot be so easily undone. Legislation is a blunt instrument and, when used indiscriminately, may have untoward consequences. The Employment Act is meant to provide the most basic standard that all industries need to abide. In other words, it is a bar, but a very low bar, so that they can have the principle of reasonable employer-employee management practices. It is not meant to be seen as a standard bearer, an advocate. Legislating too rigidly on leave and other benefits will distort the market. It may not help companies to arrive at an optimal set of benefits. And other countries have experienced this. As DPM Lee has mentioned, in a particular country that has legislated maternity leave, bosses, at the same time when hiring a worker, give another undated form, and ask the lady to sign, so that when she gets pregnant, they can invoke the letter and she loses her job. It is a resignation letter. They have gotten around the legislation. In certain countries, the feedback is that women of child-bearing age already face discrimination, poorer employment and career prospects, because the employers immediately assume that because of legislation, these employees are likely to use the benefits to their, as opposed to the company's benefits, and therefore do not hire them. So, we need to be careful. We will study this.”
“However, we realise that each organisation has a different practice and needs to find one suited for its own business objectives and profile of employees. It is hard to impose a standardised model of family care leave, benefits and flexible work arrangements, because it might undermine the particular company. Many MPs have asked Government, and specifically MOM, to do more. Dr Lily Neo says we should make substantive efforts. Mdm Halimah says, "push, action". Dr Jennifer Lee says, "expect many measures to be implemented and the MOM should specifically take over or spearhead some of the functions." I agree with Members that the Government and MOM must do more. Therefore, my Ministry will consult employers and employees to identify appropriate strategies. I want to start by asking companies: do you believe in this? If you do, why? If not, tell me why. What can work for you? What are your fears? What do you think will happen? How can we help to adjust? I think that is the starting point. I am not going there and say, we are going to do this and therefore you better comply. I think it would be disastrous. I will start by asking them about their needs. We need to understand their needs and challenges. Then, after I have done that, we will create platforms to enable groups of employers, unions and employee representatives to come together and decide on what is the best model to move forward. At the same time, MOM will study the different ways the other countries have done, whether it is job-sharing, compressed work-week, work day, non-standard work-week patterns, and then we will facilitate the various schemes. This is my strategy. And it also includes allowing women to come back after maternity leave or childbirth, as Mdm Halimah has suggested.”
“Delta Lloyd is ranked among the top four insurance companies in the Netherlands and it provides work-life balance measures beyond what is required by law, because it sees this as a corporate culture and as a competitive advantage in hiring and retaining staff and talent. What can employees do? The employees in this company can negotiate the number of hours worked per week up to a maximum of 38 hours, so you negotiate. One in four employees have chosen to work a 4-day week or less. Not only can the work hours be annualised, the weekly flexible rostering allows staff to choose their work patterns. According to Delta Lloyd, they have benefited from increased productivity and quality of work, and their staff appears to be happier and more engaged. It is engaged in their work. I do not think it means engaged to be married - maybe it does. It has managed to attract talent who otherwise would have withdrawn from the workforce because they could not work full-time. Labour costs did not increase. Managers have to spend more time though and need more creativity to organise work. So, that is the point HR department and managers have to respond to result in higher productivity. In Singapore, we have our own shining examples of local companies - Hewlett Packard, Dupont Singapore and KK Women's and Children's Hospital. I applaud Dr Jennifer Lee's effort. She has made an eloquent submission of the positive effects on her organisation as CEO, and I have had very good feedback over the years of what KK has done to be able to find the sweet spot in allowing flexible arrangements, and yet fulfilling their business objectives. That is a virtuous cycle which she tried to get into.”
“But even with these efforts - and many Members have asked how do I rate our results - my assessment is that we have not yet made significant inroads into organisations. We have not done well. Let us be honest. I think there are several reasons. We better examine these reasons and move away, as some Members have said, from platitudes and grapple with the real day-to-day problems. What are the reasons why we have not made significant inroads? First, I think despite what management gurus say, not all CEOs are convinced that it makes business sense to promote work-life practices. Many are sceptical. I think that is the feeling on the ground. Second, many managers and some HR departments - Mdm Ho Geok Choo pointed this out as well - do not have the capability or the support to identify and implement such practices that meet the employees' needs. Third, I believe there is a culture element in Singapore. In Singapore, we have a prevailing work culture that emphasises "face time" - how much time an employee spends visibly there at his work station, rather than productivity per hour. So, if your boss sees you more hours per day, he gets satisfied even if the productivity is not there, compared to somebody he does not see, and he turns around and says, "Where were you?" But, he does not realise that the person has done twice the amount of work. We have this culture of face time. Let me address two of these reasons and try to correct mindsets. I know it is something that we have to grapple with, but we have examples of companies in Singapore that are very advanced in work-life balance, not in their home countries, but these MNCs are here.”
“Over the last five years, we had approximately 3,000 civil servants out of 60,000 in the civil service, about 5% who took no-pay leave for childcare reasons. There is an increasing trend. As for flexi-work arrangements, all Ministries practise alternate Saturday and week-day off and flexi-time. About 900 officers have gone on part-time employment. Some work from home or share jobs. Our strategy thus far has been the Tripartite Committee on Work-Life Strategy (TriCom) formed by NTUC, SNEF, MCDS and MOM, which spearheads the promotion of work-life harmony. As Dr Jennifer Lee pointed out, MCDS has a dedicated work-life unit. The question is: how do we further facilitate efforts without disregarding the concerns of employers and business interests? We have promoted work-life practices through seminars, sharing sessions with companies, and training workshops. We have the Singapore Family-Friendly Employer Award. This was launched in 1998 and since then, the numbers of recipients have gone up - six in 1998 and 23 in 2002. This shows that more companies are coming on board. MOM also partners MCDS to produce pamphlets, guidebooks to guide employers and HR practitioners. MCDS provides financial subsidies for Work-Life Strategy Consultancy - what Mdm Ho suggested for SMEs and VWOs. The Skills Development Fund administered by MOM or WDA will also fund staff training for work-life strategy. We also give a Capital Grant Scheme to help employers defray the cost of setting up a workplace childcare centre. So there are schemes available. 1.30 pm Looking at this overall picture, I would say there is a framework in place to better facilitate work-life balance.”
“Provision for paid family care leave - in other words, leave to take care of their sick relatives - is not a common practice provided for - less than 10%, whether it is for mothers, fathers, children or spouse. As for longer family care leave - in other words, more than three months to attend to some family matters - only 14% of private establishments, compared to 35% of companies that provide for examination leave. I suppose this reflects subconsciously the relative importance our society and companies place on family care compared to examinations. Flexible work arrangements are quite uncommon in the private sector. Only 4% (or 36,900) of private sector employees are on part-time, flexi-time or flexi-place. What about employee support schemes? 30% of private establishments provide some housing benefits but only 1.5% provide childcare benefits. We have only 36 workplace childcare centres providing about 8% of total childcare places. Of these 36 workplace centres, 22 were set up by Ministries and statutory boards. I suppose there is some conciliation that the Government is doing its part of a small pie. Therefore, the combined picture of these statistics that I have given is that, from this snapshot, companies are generally sympathetic towards marriages, emergencies, maternity leave, paternity leave and examination leave. We do less well when it comes to take time off to take care of sick relatives, employer-provided childcare benefits and flexible working arrangements. Some Members have asked how is the Government doing, including MOM. I have noticed that Mrs Yu-Foo, part of her strategy, is to challenge each Ministry and says, "What are you doing?" I have caught on to her strategy. How is the civil service, including statutory boards, doing?”
“Sir, in line with our procreation initiatives, many Members have asked MOM to see if we can improve the workplace. First, let me thank the women MPs for voicing these concerns. I would also like to thank the men, but none rose to speak. Fundamentally, I agree with all of them - Dr Lily Neo, Ms Irene Ng, Dr Jennifer Lee and Mdm Halimah Yacob - that workplaces which meet employees' security, safety, work-life and developmental needs result in more productive and engaged workers, as well as lower staff turnover rates. This is what the management gurus espouse when they teach. They say that it is good for business. If it is so - and it is a big "if" - not in terms of what we believe, but in terms of what employers believe, the challenge is to help develop great companies that have this inherent in their corporate culture, because, as Dr Jennifer Lee said, it must be good for the organisation. It must be "congruent and synergistic" - that was the phrase she used. Dr Lily Neo asked whether we are satisfied with the results. I think we better see where we are at and then decide whether we are satisfied. I will give a few numbers and then round it up. These are statistics on family care, flexible work arrangements and employee support schemes. First, on family care leave, the private sector establishments - these are the ones with at least 25 employees - which cater quite adequately for ad-hoc family events. For example, about half (47%) provide for paternity leave benefits in 2003, 75% for marriage leave and 90% for compassionate leave. So they do quite well for ad-hoc events.”
“Sir, we have said that the KPIs need to be crafted together with employers, unions and employees. If they are not employers or union members - I second what Mr Yeo Guat Kwang said - then ask them to join the unions. On the ground, it is not so easy just to cut wages when you want to. Workers do respond. So what we have said is, yes, we will work with companies to craft these KPIs very clearly, and it can be done. We sat together with hotel owners and we found out that five hotel owners hold about 80% of all rooms in Singapore. So it is easy to talk because they are the main holders. And it came to a point where the owners of these hotels were asking: Which is the most transparent KPI? How can my employees understand this? And most employers are enlightened. I was very happy to hear Mr Gan Kim Yong say that it needs to be transparent. He is an employer, I think, and he is saying, let us have transparent KPIs. We are not the first to do wage restructuring, as businesses know that if you have transparent KPIs, you can motivate employees. So I am quite confident that we can achieve this. But as I said, if employees feel that they are shortchanged, then they can come to MOM and, if they think there are unfair dismissals, they can go to their unions. But I think what he is asking for are less specific rigid levers. I think this is better left to the marketplace because the companies are very flexible and fluid.”
“Sir, I had spent a good part of an hour yesterday outlining this whole issue of protection. Mr Low Thia Khiang is an intelligent man. He understands what I said. The press played up the figures. He also understands the logic of it. He is making a political point. I said that there are seeming forms of protection where you introduce so-called protection, where you do not protect. This is spurious protection. And if you read today's Business Times, even the Dutch model, the Rhineland model, is subject to query, where you think that you will impose rigidities, and you try to assure workers that they will have better pay. The unemployment rates in these European countries are double digits. But the Anglo-Saxon model, where you allow companies to right size to respond to the market, protects not only those who are more employable but all, because the unemployment rates in the US and UK are nowhere near those of Europe. So my point is that you can protect workers by helping your economy to grow, but if your companies grow, then they can find the jobs. If you think that you can protect workers by introducing more rigidities, you are protecting an ever shrinking pie. In the end, more people will fight for that small morsel on the table, rather than decide which dishes they can choose from a widespread of dishes. That is the protection we have got, and we stand by our record which shows that we have generated jobs and we will get Singaporeans trained to do these jobs. That is our challenge, not by offering artificial barriers which others can surmount.”
“Sir, it is neither advisable nor wise to use this House for explicit cases. But I will try to answer Dr John Chen pointedly. What I have said is that the salary level is $2,500, but MOM would take into account stable components of the salary. But he is asking me that, if there is a downturn, the employer decides to cut the basic wages and it is less than $2,500, then I would say no.”
“Sir, I did not use the word "lament". Dr Ong used it. In fact, I celebrate those whom I have to fund in these courses. The more the better, but I have a budget. I was trying to make a point that it costs much more. For example, the Work Skills Programme, which is a general course in teaching you how to write your CV or have an interview, costs us a few hundred dollars. And we can apply that to thousands, literally. I think about tens of thousands have signed on that course. But to just train one mid-career switch for anybody who wants to be a nurse, it costs us $40,000. So it was not a lamentation, but a celebration. But it is qualifed by the amount of money I have in my budget for training. And I have said that we would do as much as we can. Yes, it does have benefits, but for that person. But I have to weigh which programmes are effective and, if they are effective, we are not opposed to funding them.”
“He is quite correct. I apologise. Dr Tan Cheng Bock asked three questions. Can foreigners and PRs join a union? The answer is absolutely yes. They form part of our workforce and they have rights of representation. Membership of trade unions in Singapore is open to all workers, including permanent residents and foreign workers. He asked if they can hold office positions in the unions. The answer is yes. Membership of the unions may elect fellow members who are PRs or foreigners to represent them on the executive or branch committees, subject to ministerial approval, because Government also takes the view that Singaporeans must be at the helm to steer the ship. Permanent residents and foreigners, who are on their way to citizenship, are committed to this same cause, and want to contribute to the interest and welfare of our workers and to the long-term interest of Singapore are welcomed to participate in unions. My Ministry is prepared to allow them to hold union positions if they are elected by their members and the union's constitution allows it. Presently, about 2% of our union leaders are non-Singaporeans. 12.45 pm”
“Sir, as I have said, we need these three levers to adjust, and that is the economic reality. We have to adjust it, depending on the economic conditions. Post-SARS, we quickly dropped the unskilled levy because businesses were really affected. So, to give an assurance, it is a bit too much to ask, and it is foolhardy for me to say so. How to get employers to be pro-Singaporean? I think the very fact that Ms Olivia Lum has a factory here is a significant indication. There are choices elsewhere. But we can assist. Government can assist by, as I said yesterday, giving access and funding to Singaporeans who want to upgrade. At the end of the day, it is Singaporeans themselves who have to market their skills and abilities. Trying to bolster and strengthen them by fiat, legislative administrative barriers, is not sustainable, and it does not build their own confidence. To do this, we will help them. We will find new ways to train them, and I think that is the best assurance. Industrial Peace”
“Mdm Deputy Speaker, I beg to report that the Committee of Supply has made further progress on the Estimates of Expenditure for the financial year 2004/2005, and ask leave to sit again tomorrow.”
“I suppose the more blunt employers will say, "I am not employing you because you are old." But I doubt that many of them do that. They can use a number of reasons and the body language tells it. But my point is that if we think that legislation can solve this by fiat, others have shown that it does not. We will get complaints, yes, that is successful. If we start an equal opportunities commission, we will get complaints from people. But the question is whether we can find adequate resolution, and it does not seem to work. We have a tripartite statement on anti-discrimination. If employees consider it as discrimination and unlawful dismissal, they can come to MOM. But I think the more significant initiative is to imbue workers with real skills, and elderly workers have come on their own. If you talk to these people going into nursing, it is uplifting. I asked a lady, "Why are you doing this?" She spent 15 years as a banking executive. She is going to a nursing course at a starting salary of $1,500, and it is a 1½-2-year course. They are more mature but they have found a spot in their life. So, I think we want to look at the legislative aspect a bit more carefully before we do it, because that is tokenism - you say that you have done it. But I want to spend more effort giving them real value.”
“Of the 204 foreign domestic workers whose claims were dealt with in 2003, including those carried forward from 2002, 92 of them (45%) had their claims successfully resolved by the Ministry and some $132,000 in salary arrears was recovered. Sixty-five workers (32%) were either able to reach a private settlement with their employers following consultation with the Ministry or investigations revealed that they did not have valid claims. Another 35 workers (17%) did not pursue their cases further for various reasons, including some whose employers were facing severe financial hardship after losing their jobs or failing in their businesses and the amount claimed was small. For the remaining 6% (12 foreign domestic workers), the Ministry is still in the process of investigating their claims. In some cases, the process is protracted because the employers made counter claims against the domestic workers. The Labour Relations Department of the Ministry has 11 officers to handle salary claims of foreign workers, including salary claims of foreign domestic workers. MOM bars offenders from further employing foreign workers. Thus far, a total of 37 construction employers and 17 domestic employers had been blacklisted from employing foreign workers and foreign domestic workers respectively. TEN MILE JUNCTION 16. Dr Teo Ho Pin asked the Minister for Law (a) how many tenants have terminated their leases at Ten Mile Junction at Bukit Panjang; (b) what was the loss incurred by the Government in that development; and (c) what are the future plans for Ten Mile Junction.”
“In 2003, a total of 4,034 foreign workers (excluding foreign domestic workers) filed salary claims against their employers, about half the number (7,424 foreign workers) in 2002. Most of these claims related to salaries owed to foreign workers in the construction industry. The NMP asked how many were successful in their claims. I will provide the outcome of those claims dealt with in 2003. As of December 2003, a total of 4,479 foreign workers, including those cases carried forward from 2002, had their claims dealt with by the Ministry. Of the 4,479 workers, 2,070 of them (46.2%) had successfully settled their claims with the assistance of the Ministry, and a total of $3.9 million was recovered for the workers. Another 591 workers (13.2%) were able to reach a private settlement with their employers following consultation with the Ministry, or withdrew their cases for various reasons such as their claims were not contractually provided for in their employment contracts or covered by the Employment Act. Investigations revealed that 1,141 workers (25.5%) had no valid claims. Seven foreign workers (0.1%) referred their claims for adjudication by the Commissioner for Labour. The remaining 670 workers (15%) had encountered difficulty in securing their payments either because their employers were facing cashflow problems due to irregular progress payments from the main contractors or their employers had ceased operations or had become insolvent. Most of these cases were from the construction industry which was badly affected by the economic downturn. As for foreign domestic workers, 231 filed salary claims with the Ministry against their employers, as compared to 214 cases in 2002.”
“Of the total of about 140,000 foreign domestic workers working in Singapore, about 7% of them are employed by singles, and 3% by divorcees. APPENDICES”
“For instance, the National Environment Agency has worked with WDA to increase the productivity of cleaners through mechanisation and redesign of work processes. This has led to higher pay for cleaners and more Singaporeans taking up these jobs. The results of these programmes are encouraging given the difficult labour market conditions last year. These initial successes will motivate WDA and its social partners further in implementing more programmes to help Singaporeans get jobs and bring down unemployment. DECLINING BIRTH RATES 12. Mdm Ho Geok Choo asked the Minister for Community Development and Sports (a) what are the likely underlying trends for the declining birth rates in Singapore; and (b) while the Government has been using financial incentives to encourage couples to have more children, to what extent has this approach been successful.”
“That is a national job bank as well. Has it worked? Or has it bettered result? The placement performance of DCN centres, I am happy to report, has improved. When we first started in December 2001, we placed about 500 Singaporeans per month into jobs. Currently, the DCN partners chalk up an average of 1,400 successful job placements per month. For the first six-month period between June and November 2003, some 13,000 Singaporeans have been placed into jobs through our programmes and the People-for-Jobs Traineeship Programme (PJTP), through NTUC, CDCs and self-help groups. WDA has developed new ways to more effectively prepare job seekers for jobs. For instance, they started the Job Preparation Exercises for the electronic sector to help job seekers understand the clean room protocol in wafer fabrication plants and to test them for colour blindness. Literacy and numeracy tests were also included. The placement rate of job seekers in electronics jobs has more than doubled after the application of Job Preparation Exercises. And these exercises will be extended to other sectors as well. The Agency has also initiated programmes to equip Singaporeans with new skills for jobs that are available. In the short space of three months, it has launched a number of new Place and Train programmes in the domestic cleaning, precision engineering, wafer fabrication, textile and healthcare sectors. In addition, the WDA has partnered SNEF in the Training for Employment scheme. Under this scheme, employers, through SNEF, can tap on a $1 million fund set aside by WDA to develop training courses to re-skill jobless Singaporeans to fill their vacancies. The Agency will also help redesign jobs to create higher value per job that will allow better pay to attract Singaporeans.”
“The Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA) was formed in September last year with the mandate to help Singaporeans find, prepare for and keep jobs. Accordingly, WDA has employed several strategies to fulfill its mission. Firstly, it has identified where the jobs are through working closely with industries, as well as economic agencies such as EDB. Over the past three months, the Agency has sourced for some 4,600 immediate vacancies in the manufacturing and logistics sectors, and another 4,600 immediate vacancies in the services sectors. The Agency puts out to the public information on these existing job vacancies, the wages for these jobs and skills training programmes that will help job seekers acquire skills for these jobs, through the mass media and various job fairs. This will help job seekers in their job search. Secondly, the WDA will help match Singaporeans to job vacancies. The WDA invested some $4.9 million to enhance its job matching services under the Distributed CareerLink Network Programme (DCN). It trained the officers at these centres to provide career coaching to job seekers. The Agency has also worked with NTUC to train some 200 union leaders and Industrial Relations Officers as job counsellors to help retrenched workers transit to a new job. It intends to do the same with the Community Development Councils to train community volunteers as job counsellors. Since December of last year, all job centres under DCN could tap into a national job bank and job-seeker database that will help DCN partners better assist job-seekers. In other words, we now have an integrated national system where you can key in information in the various job centres, whether it is NTUC, CDCs or the self-help groups, and there is a common platform.”
“Mr Ong Ah Heng asked the Acting Minister for Manpower (a) if he will provide statistics of those people who have lost their jobs during this economic downturn and (b) in the light of economic restructuring what are the measures being taken by the new Workforce Development Agency (WDA) to help them find new employment. Dr Ng Eng Hen: Mr Speaker, Sir, there are initial signs that the employment situation may turn around soon. Some 25,800 workers were retrenched in 2001 and about 19,000 workers were retrenched in 2002. Last year, based on my Ministry's survey on private sector establishments employing at least 25 workers, for the first nine months (we have only data for the first nine months of last year), some 13,600 were retrenched. So the number seems to be coming down. More importantly though, the number of workers laid off declined to 4,100 in the third quarter of last year; it was down about 21% compared to the preceding quarter. Another positive indicator of a possible turnaround on the employment front is the growth of employment by 900 - it is not a big number - but it signals the first quarter of employment growth as compared to eight preceding quarters of decline. Among workers retrenched in the first nine months of last year, 6,000 were from the manufacturing sector, mainly from the electronics industry. The services industries retrenched another 6,800 workers, led by the wholesale and retail trade, transport and communications, and financial services. Other industries which laid off workers included business and real estate services (about 1,100) and hotels and restaurants (300). The construction industry had 500 retrenchments. Mr Ong Ah Heng asked in light of the economic restructuring, what measures have been taken by the new Workforce Development Agency.”