Ong Teng Cheong
Singapore
“Mr Speaker, Sir, as of now, the position is this. We have signed an in-principle agreement with the Suzhou Municipality to help plan, develop and manage a township. There are two parts to this development. So far, we have put up a rough outline plan for the development of the township.”
“The consortium would include members or companies from both the Government as well as the private sector. Whether SLF will hold a significant share it has yet to be decided. I believe SLF will hold a very small share or no share at all, because, as I have said, our role is that of a facilitator.”
“Like all other projects undertaken by SLF, such as the Pasir Ris Resort, the Sentosa Beach Resort and the Orchid Country Club, the ultimate objective of SLF's investments is to help raise the social and economic status of our workers, and ensure that our workers will continue to enjoy a fair share of Singapore's progress.”
“Sir, I think Mr Chiam has got all this confused. PAP and NTUC run BEST classes jointly. NTUC does not run BEST classes by itself. George Sita, he is referring to, is a member of the SDP who stood against the PAP in the last election. He was employed jointly by NTUC and PAP.”
“NTUC Comfort is a co-operative. The taxi-drivers are members of the co-operative, and there were more than two members who had been removed from membership of the co-operative because of misbehaviour or misconduct, or arrears of their instalment payments, or whatever it is. There were many reasons why they were removed.”
“But when members of the co-operative are actively involved with opposition political parties against the PAP or NTUC, then they are acting against the resolution of the National Trade Union Congress, and it was a compliance of that resolution that action had to be taken against them.”
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“Mr Goh Chee Wee asked the Minister for Communications and Minister for Labour why there was a significant increase in the number of cases of Noise Induced Deafness in 1980, as reported in the 1980 Singapore Yearbook of Labour Statistics; whether the actual number of incidents would far exceed the number reported to the Labour Ministry; what industries were largely responsible for this increase; and whether the existing legislation and control are adequate to check the situation, and, if not, what steps the Ministry will take in this respect. The Minister of State for Labour (Dr Wong Kwei Cheong) (for the Minister for Communications and Minister for Labour): Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, the number of confirmed cases of noise-induced deafness in 1980 was 229 as compared with 158 for 1979. This represented an increase of 45%. This increase was largely due to more workers being given periodic audiometric examinations by their employers. It is possible that the actual number of cases of noise-induced deafness is more than the number reported to the Labour Ministry. This is because noise-induced deafness causes no obvious symptoms in the early stages but can be detected by an audio-metric examination. At present, noisy industries have been advised by the Industrial Health Division of the Labour Ministry to provide regular audiometric examinations for their workers. The Ministry intends to introduce legislation to make such examinations compulsory for all workers who are exposed to high noise levels. When such examinations are implemented, we shall get a much better picture of the total number of workers affected. It must, however, be stressed that the vast majority of noise-induced deafness cases detected so far were in the early stages.”
“Dr Ang Kok Peng asked the Minister for Communications and Minister for Labour (a) what measures are being taken to monitor the occupation of teenagers of the following age groups who are not in educational institutions: - (i) 12 to 14 years; (ii) 15 and 16 years: and (iii) 17 and 18 years; (b) what measures the Ministry of Labour has taken to assist the unemployed or under-employed teenagers in securing gainful employment; and (c) what further measures are being contemplated for assisting them. The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Labour (Mr Eugene Yap Giau Cheng) (for the Minister for Communications and Minister for Labour): Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Ministry of Labour carries out annual surveys on the labour force, from which the Ministry knows the number of people employed and those that are unemployed. The Ministry also has an Employment Service to assist job seekers, including teenagers, to get employment. Teenagers, whether they are unemployed, underemployed or employed, are welcome to seek the assistance of the Employment Service. There should be no difficulty in getting jobs under prevailing buoyant economic conditions. The welfare of teenagers will also be taken care of by regulations for the employment of children and young persons. There is, therefore, no need at this juncture to introduce any measures to assist them. NOISE-INDUCED DEAFNESS (Increase in incidence) 16.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am aware of the changes made to Service 261 in Ang Mo Kio New Town but did not know they had resulted in as much inconvenience as the hon. Member for Chong Boon has made out to be. However, before elaborating on the reasons for the changes, I wish to assure the hon. Member that the changes made were done in good faith. SBS had no intention of making things any more difficult for his constituents than they already are. The first change, that of skipping the bus stops along Avenue 3, was done to reduce congestion along the already congested Avenue 3 by some 23 buses an hour. In addition, SBS would have saved two buses which could then have been redeployed elsewhere. However, since this meant a walk of some 180 to 400 metres for those wishing to make trunk transfers, the move was not well received. Consequently, the connection to Avenue 3 was restored. The second change, that of splitting Service 261 into two, was done to segregate the rather large catchment of Service 261 in order to make operations more manageable as well as to improve service levels. But, unfortunately this too, I am afraid, was unacceptable to commuters affected. So finally, following consultations with the hon. Members for Cheng San and Chong Boon, SBS agreed to undo the change and restore Service 261 to its original route. This has since been done. Once again, may I assure hon. Members that it is the usual practice for SBS and ROV to consult Members and their respective CCCs of any intended changes. However, in this case, this was inadvertently overlooked as it coincided with the relocation of the bus terminal. TEENAGERS NOT IN EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS (Assistance in securing employment) 15.”
“The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. - [Mr Ong Teng Cheong]. Bill considered in committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and possed. NANYANG TECHNOLOGICAL INSTITUTE BILL Order for Second Reading read. 3.55 p.m.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, the new sections 14 and 15, contained in clause 3 of the Bill, are not new provisions as far as enforcement of the port operation is concerned. The provision has already been in existence in the Civil Liability (Oil Pollution) Act, 1973, which will be repealed and replaced by the Merchant Shipping (Oil Pollution) Bill which has just been passed by the House earlier. However, it is considered that this provision is more appropriate for inclusion in this Bill rather than in the Merchant Shipping (Oil Pollution) Bill which deals only with oil pollution. It is perhaps due to the extraction of these two sections from the Civil Liability (Oil Pollution) Act, which is to be repealed, and including them in this Bill instead of the Merchant Shipping (Oil Pollution) Bill which replaces the Civil Liability (Oil Pollution) Act, that causes this confusion. I hope this explanation makes the matter clearer. The hon. Member is concerned about the facilities and manpower to deal with the situation in detaining vessels as pan of the enforcement action. I wish to reassure him again that this enforcement action is not now as far as the Port Authority is concerned. It has been part of the Port Authority's day-to-day operations to ensure that all vessels before leaving our port have obtained clearance. If not, the Authority's patrol boats will intercept and prevent the vessel from leaving the port. Therefore, the enforcement machinery is already there and it has been in operation satisfactorily over the years. I assure him that the Authority has adequate staff and facilities to carry out enforcement efficiently. Question put, and agreed to. Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House.”
“Besides this reason, what other reasons are there for the re-enactment of this clause? It must be really a painful experience gained, and how much money has been spent in this direction? Sir, clause 4 is also being re-enacted with amendments, and it gives the Authority, in this case the Director or Port Master, the power to detain vessels. The question is how will he deal with the situation mentioned in my statement earlier in the debate on the Merchant Shipping (Oil Pollution) Bill, as a very large number of ships traverse our waters? I am more concerned with the adequacy of the staff and facilities although he has given the House the assurance that there are adequate manpower and facilities needed to carry out enforcement efficiently. If he can reassure this House, then I would give my support to the Bill.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time." This is a very simple Bill which makes consequential amendments to the Prevention of Pollution of the Sea Act, 1971, as a result of the repeal of the Civil Liability (Oil Pollution) Act, 1973, by the Merchant Shipping (Oil Pollution) Bill, 1981. There are no now provisions in this Bill but certain sections of the Civil Liability (Oil Pollution) Act, 1973, which when repealed will be re-enacted in this Bill. These provisions include those which enable the Port of Singapore Authority to recover from the owner of a vessel or the occupier of a place the cost of any measure taken by PSA to remove any oil discharged into Singapore waters. Other minor amendments have also been made but these are mainly consequential in nature. Sir, I beg to move. Question proposed. Mr Ng Kah Ting: Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, the explanatory statement states that "This Bill seeks to make consequential amendments to the Prevention of Pollution of the Sea Act, 1971, as a result of the repeal of the Civil Liability (Oil Pollution) Act, 1973, by the Merchant Shipping (Oil Pollution) Act, 1981." Just now, in moving the Second Reading of the Bill, the Minister mentioned that this is a very simple Bill. But let me refer him to the amendments. I notice that clause 3 has been re-enacted with amendments and whilst I wholeheartedly agree with the new sections 14 and 15, contained in this new clause, pertaining to "Recovery of costs for removing oil" and "Recovery of costs from occupier of land" which he has just mentioned that PSA must recover whatever money spent as a result of such work performed, a pertinent question can, therefore, be asked.”
“PREVENTION OF POLLUTION OF THE SEA (AMENDMENT) BILL Order for Second Reading read. 3.45 p.m.”
“He asked why servants and agents of the owners are prevented from incurring liability for damage. This is mainly for enforcement reasons. It would be difficult for the authority to go about identifying the responsible party for causing pollution. In as far as the authority is concerned, the owner of the ship is responsible. If there is any dispute between the owner and the ship-repairing agents or servicing agents, then it is for the ship-owner to take it up separately with his agents. The hon. Member wants to know why warships do not come under the provisions of this Bill. We know that warships and government ships do not normally come under any international convention because any damages caused by warships or government ships in foreign pods are matters for the respective government to tackle. They do not have to go through a court of law. It is for the respective government to tackle it separately. The hon. Member also wants the assurance that the Port of Singapore Authority has sufficient manpower to carry out enforcement action. I can assure the Member that the operation of this law is not new. It has been pan of the Authority's day-to-day operations for some years already. This Bill is concerned only with tightening up the law and acceding to the Convention. I can assure him that the Authority has adequate manpower and facilities to deal with the necessary enforcement required under this Bill. Question put, and agreed to. Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House. The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. - [Mr Ong Teng Cheong]. Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and possed.”
“Ships carrying more than 2,000 tons of oil in bulk as cargo are required to maintain insurance and other financial security. The shipowner's limit of liability is increased. This means that, in the event of an oil pollution, Singapore will be adequately compensated on the damage suffered. Regarding his question, "What is the intention of acceding to the Convention?", Sir, most of the leading maritime states have already acceded to the Convention, and the merchant ships of these states represent 79% of the world's total shipping tonnage. In any case, Singapore registered tankers calling at ports of Convention states, in other words, states which have acceded to the Convention, have to carry certificates attesting that appropriate insurance or other security is in force against oil pollution damage, even though Singapore is not a party to the Convention. So, in acceding to the Convention, there will be no extra burden imposed on Singapore ships. The Member asked, "What about the discharge of used oil" instead of simply oil in bulk as cargo, and whether used oil comes under the definition of "oil pollution" or otherwise. It could come under either the Merchant Shipping (Oil Pollution) Bill, i.e. the Bill that we are currently debating, or it could come under the next Bill which I will be taking its Second Reading later in this Chamber, i.e. the Prevention of Pollution of the Sea (Amendment) Bill, which deals with other forms of pollution. So, in as far as the points that the Member has raised are concerned, they will be dealt with either under this Bill or under the Prevention of Pollution of the Sea (Amendment) Bill. The Member questioned about clause 5 of the Bill which deals with the liability of shipowners.”
“Sir, perhaps I will deal with the specific questions raised by the hon. Member for Punggol first, before coming to the other more general questions. The Member asked how is compensation obtained under existing circumstances. Under existing circumstances we base our claim for compensation under section 3 of the Civil Liability (Oil Pollution) Act, 1973. The owners of vessels, however, under this section, may limit their liability under section 295 of the Merchant Shipping Act, which is approximately $203 per ton of the ship's tonnage. The Member wants to know what are the main causes of oil pollution. Roughly, it could be due to equipment failure and human error during cargo operation at terminals. It could also be due to the transfer of cargo from ship to ship and during bunkering operations. It could also be due to the indiscriminate discharge of oil and contaminated water from the bilges of harbour craft. Another possible cause of pollution is through maritime accidents, including collisions, grounding of vessels and fire. It could also be due to discharge of effluent from foreshore industries and inland watercourses. In the past ten years, PSA has spent a total of approximately $46 million on capital projects for this purpose. In addition, PSA incurred an annually recurrent expenditure of approximately $4 to $6 million. I can assure the Member that adequate measures have been taken to prevent and control oil pollution. However, PSA is closely monitoring the situation and, if necessary, make the necessary adjustments and improvement to the facilities and manpower. The hon. Member also asked, "Why is the Bill necessary?" There are advantages in acceding to the International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage (1969).”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to That the Bill be now read a Second time." This Bill will give effect to the International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage adopted in Brussels on 29th November 1969. The Convention came into force on 19th June 1975. So far, 45 countries have accepted the Convention. The Bill ensures that compensation is available to persons who suffer from oil pollution damage caused by accidents involving ships carrying oil as cargo. Except for a few cases like an act of God, an act of war, or where the damage was caused by the negligence or wrongful act of any government or authority maintaining navigational lights or aids, shipowners will be liable for any oil pollution damage regardless of whether the oil escaped or was discharged through his fault. If the shipowner is not to blame, however, he may limit his liability in any one incident to an aggregate sum not exceeding 133 special drawing rights for each ton of the ship's tonnage up to a maximum of 14 million special drawing rights. However, the owner will not be able to limit his liability if the incident occurred through his fault. As in the Convention, the Bill requires ships carrying more than 2,000 tons of oil as cargo to maintain insurance or other financial security in sums equal to the owner's total liability for one incident. All Singapore-registered ships wherever they may be and any ship of any country entering or leaving Singapore waters and carrying oil as cargo must also be so insured. The Bill is necessary to safeguard ourselves against the expensive cost of clearing oil pollution from the many ships that now pass through our waters. Sir, I beg to move. Question proposed. 3.18 p.m.”
“The UK Health and Safety Executive and the relevant authority of other countries like the US also hold a similar view. As regards eye problems, the UK Health and Safety Executive has concluded that, while for most people VDUs pose no risk to health, some attention should be paid to certain aspects of their use if eye discomfort is to be avoided. This organization as well as the US National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health have proposed ways to reduce eye complaints. There is, therefore, no need to undertake a comprehensive study on health hazards related to the use of VDUs. The Industrial Health Department of the Ministry will continue to monitor the situation regarding the use of VDUs. It will liaise with the Radiation Protection Inspectorate to ensure that radiation levels remain low. The Ministry will issue guidelines to industry to reduce complaints of eye strain in due course.”
“Sir, a new bus service linking Eunos Industrial Estate to SBS's terminal at Geylang Lorong 1 has been planned. The new service will be implemented when the bridge across the canal between the Eunos Industrial Estate and Paya Lebar Road is completed in the third quarter of this year. Meanwhile, workers in the ares can make use of the many services along Sims Avenue and Changi Road. At the request of the hon, Member for Kampong Ubi and some of his CCC members on 28th March, 1981, SBS has agreed that, for safety and pollution reasons, the route will stop short of Eunos Crescent. VISUAL DISPLAY UNITS (Effects on operators) 4. Mr Lim Boon Heng asked the Minister for Communications and Minister for Labour, with the increasing use of visual display units, if the Ministry of Labour will be undertaking a comprehensive study on industrial health related to the use of such equipment, and if the Ministry intends to issue guidelines for the protection of workers using such equipment. The Minister of State for Labour (Dr Wong Kwei Cheong) (for the Minister for Communications and Minister for Labour): Sir, visual display units (VDUs) have been introduced into industry on a wide scale in many countries during the last decade. They have only recently gained popularity in the Republic. Experience in other countries shows that, basically, concern about the use of VDUs on health revolves round radiation hazards and eye problems. In the case of radiation hazards, the Radiation Protection Inspectorate of the Department of Scientific Services conducted a test on VDUs in December, 1980, and concluded that they emitted "no hazardous radiation harmful to the general health of an operator".”
“As can be seen from the figures, English language or Mandarin poses no problem to most of them. They passed the test. There is an intention to introduce more taxis this year by another 500. The ROV will again open its registry to invite applications sometime in April or May. Those who wish to apply are advised to look out for the advertisement in the newspapers. The Member for Khe Bong has asked why an age limit is imposed on those who wish to apply for a taxi vocational licence. As I have mentioned earlier, the number of people who wish to hold taxi driver licences is so large that unless we set out our criteria, we will have too many applicants. Moreover, if no age limit is imposed, it would also have an adverse effect on other industries which are now facing a tight labour situation. Nevertheless, we will consider lowering the age limit when changing circumstances warrant it. Mr Tan Soo Khoon: Sir, I am pleased to learn that the ROV will once again allow applications for licences to be made. On that note, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment by leave, withdrawn. The following amendments which stood on the Order Paper Supplement were not moved -”
“The purpose of requiring taxi drivers to speak some English is to improve their ability to communicate with their passengers and thereby upgrade the standard of taxi service in Singapore. We all know that English is spoken by most people in Singapore. It is also the language which the majority of our tourists and businessmen understand. Therefore, the knowledge of simple spoken English is one of the criteria used in the selection of new taxi drivers. Members would perhaps appreciate that the taxi vocational licences are issued only to those who the ROV believes would be able to provide a courteous, pleasant and efficient taxi service. They are not meant to solve the financial problem of those who apply for them. During my meet-the-people sessions, many of my constituents would tell me that they have five children; they are in financial difficulties and they need a taxi vocational licence. However, that is not what a taxi vocational licence is for. It is a vocation requiring not only driving skills and knowledge of places but also the ability to communicate effectively with the passengers. Those with a pleasant demeanour, clean, healthy and pleasant looking are preferred. Now, I must apologize to some Members who have been constantly troubled by their constituents who have to wait for a long time for their taxi vocational licence. Anyway, the end is near. In 1979 when the ROV opened the registry, 26,000 applications were received. Almost all have been cleared except for about 400 or 500 applications which will be cleared within the next couple of months. Of the 26,000 applications received, over 6,000 have received their vocational licences. The successful rate is about 20% to 25%.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, let me answer the point raised by the Member for Telok Blangah about Preferential Additional Registration Fee (PARF). Members know that this was first implemented in 1975 to encourage motorists to replace their old cars early, that is to say, within 10 years. This conditional PARF also had the effect of slowing down car growth because more old cars are taken off the road. When we decided to introduce compulsory car inspections, considerable thought has been given to the possibility of removing the 10-year age limit. But we could not justify giving away a concession in exchange for nothing. This would be unprecedented as taxis are also given PARF only if they are replaced early. If we look at the issue objectively, PARF should, in fact, be abolished if the 10-year limit were to be removed. There is no reason to have PARF. On the other hand, we also noted that conditional PARF had the desired effect of controlling car population. On balance, we have decided that it is still desirable to retain the 10-year limit. Another question he raised is the abolition of surcharges for taxis plying into the CBD. For one thing, the fee at $2 per entry is already a concession and has not been raised ever since it was introduced in 1977 although the area licensing fee for private cars has since gone up from $3 to $4 and recently to $5. For another reason, the taxis may enter the CBD free of charge if they carry three passengers or more (excluding the driver). We would like to encourage taxi pooling because it is a more efficient use of the taxi and road space during the peak hours. The Member for Alexandra has questioned the need for taxi drivers to know English. In fact, taxi drivers who are ethnic Chinese are also required to know Mandarin.”
“The Member for Bukit Ho Swee asked about letters sent by Members of Parliament using Parliament envelopes. I assure him that they will be accorded priority.”
“For example, simple items like non-urgent circulars, receipts and advertising material, need not be given priority treatment. There is no urgency. About 70% of mail posted for local delivery comes from these companies. If this proportion of mail items could be graded accordingly, then this would go a long way towards assisting the Postal Services Department to cope with the inevitable increases in the volume of mail traffic as our economy grows. I am sure Members will appreciate that this problem of rapidly increasing mail traffic is not unique to Singapore alone. This problem is faced by all postal agencies throughout the world. The scheme is still under study by the Postal Services Department and will only be introduced next year after the delivery of the three postal machines have been made later this year. The segregation of the priority and non-priority mails will be done by the machines. This will speed up sorting and cut down the errors in sorting or mis-sorting problems which we also face in the Centre. We are sure that this will speed up the delivery time of mail. The Member for Whampoa mentioned about our local urgent mail service. This again is something that was introduced not very long ago and there are a lot of practical problems that were not envisaged at the time when this was introduced. The Department is actually taking a closer look at this particular service and I am sure some adjustments will be made. I cannot promise him at this stage that when a letter on LUM service is not received by the recipient - perhaps he was not at home at the time of delivery - whether the letter will be redelivered later on or whether they will telephone the sender. I am not sure whether all this is being done, but we will take another look at the services provided.”
“But I am not saying that it will be made so attractive that we will be able to solve our manpower shortage problem. The Member for Alexandra mentioned about the scheme which the Postal Services Department is still studying. This is the priority and non-priority mail. The Member will appreciate that the Postal Services Department faces an increasingly difficult situation as a result of the growing mail traffic, tight manpower resources and recurring staff vacancies. To make more efficient and flexible use of its manpower resources without lowering the standard of mail delivery service, the Department is thinking of grading local mail into priority and non-priority mail. The priority mail will be delivered the next day while the non-priority letters will be sorted only during off-peak hours and may, therefore, take a little bit longer to deliver. Priority mail will cost more than non-priority mail. This will ensure a more even distribution of mail to be processed and cut down on manpower. The smoother workflow will also make better use of the mechanized mail-handling equipment which will be installed later this year. It will enable staff to be more effectively deployed. The concept of priority and non-priority mail, therefore, ties in with the Member's suggestion to make more effective use of resources. While the individual may not mind paying a little extra to ensure that his mail gets priority treatment, it may not be so for business organizations with hundreds, if not thousands, of letters to send out each day. The priority and non-priority mail concept should make these firms consciously decide whether their mail requires priority treatment or not.”
“The turnover rate was almost 20% for last year for postmen alone. When there is a high turnover rate, valuable experience is lost. When a postman resigns, time is needed to train a new postman. This is a perennial problem, especially in a tight labour market situation that we face today. To alleviate this problem, the Postal Services Department, besides efforts to recruit replacements to fill the vacancies, has also redeployed staff to the Mails and Parcels Centre at Nelson Road. 5.15 p.m. For the long-term the Department has planned to establish a new mechanized mail-handling centre as part of the new com- munication complex to be jointly developed with its merging partner, the Telecoms. I am bringing this up because this is relevant to another question about raising the salaries of postmen. I agree that the existing salary scale of postmen, starting at $250 per month and rising to $365 per month, may not be attractive enough. The Postal Services Department has, in consultation with the Ministry of Finance, come up with improved salary scales for postmen. Presently, negotiations with the union on this and related matters are on-going. So we will leave it to the negotiators to settle these problems. Hopefully, they will come out with a happy solution. As I mentioned earlier, the Postal Services Department will be merged with Telecoms next year, hopefully sometime in the middle of next year, either in April or May. After the merger, postmen will be able to enjoy the better fringe benefits which Telecoms, as a statutory body, has been able to provide their staff. These fringe benefits include better recreational facilities, holiday schemes and long service awards. These are part of the fringe benefits that will boost the morale, and their salaries will be rationalized.”
“For example, as I have mentioned earlier, delays could be due to temporary staffing problems such as sick leave, medical leave, sudden resignations and the inability to get early replacement. Sometimes it could also be due to abnormal heavy mail traffic during the festive seasons. The Postal Services Department will, however, continue to improve the standard of its services. The Department will continue to remind members of the public to address their letters clearly, fully and correctly. Letter sorting and stamp-cancelling machines have been ordered and will be installed in the Mails and Parcels Centre at Nelson Road Post Office later this year to cope with the growing mail traffic. This will upgrade the skill of our postal workers and speed up the delivery of letters. During shortage of staff and staffing difficulties temporary workers will continue to be employed to fill vacancies as well as to cope with the abnormally heavy mail traffic. Delivery of mail unfortunately cannot be mechanized. We will have to continue to rely on postmen or postwomen. I must thank the Member for Telok Blangah for his kind words. The postman's job is a tough one. I appreciate how tough it is because I had worked as one when I was at the university. It is a tough job. He has to cycle in the sun and in the rain. Sometimes he wonders whether his work has been appreciated at all in getting the mail delivered to the home. The question is how serious is the staff shortage in the Postal Services Department. On the average, out of the 682 authorized posts for postmen, there are some 35 to 45 vacancies per month. That is about 6% or 7%, reaching a peak of 64 vacancies in November last year. That is not so bad. What is serious is the turnover rate.”
“I wish to assure the Members for Changi and Telok Blangah that whilst occasionally letters may have taken as long as four days or even five days to reach the recipient, this does not reflect the general standard of our local mail service. The Member for Changi quoted the example of a letter posted on the 7th March and reaching the recipient on the 12th March. 7th March was a Saturday. I just had a quick check. If he had posted it on a Saturday afternoon, then Saturday and Sunday should not be counted. The addressee received it on Thursday, that is about two or three days after posting. When the officer told him on the telephone that he had just received it, I do not know whether he meant that he had received it on Thursday afternoon or morning or Wednesday evening. So unless the particular incident is referred to the officials in my Ministry to investigate, I will not be able to give an explanation why it took four or five days to be delivered, as alleged by him. Surprise checks have been conducted from time to time by my Ministry. They show that about 70% of the local letters are delivered within one working day after the day of posting. Of course, this is lower than the figure of over 90% I quoted last year. Less than 5% of letters took four days to reach the addressees. Letters are occasionally delayed when there are staffing difficulties, when mail postings are unusually heavy, or when letters are not fully or clearly addressed. Of course, our aim is to achieve a general service target of at least 90% delivery of local mail by the next working day. That is our target. So, frankly, we are short of the target. However, one has to realize that deviation from this target must be expected to occur from time to time.”
“They hope to increase the OMO service to about 50% within the next few years and thus hopefully to further reduce the requirement of bus conductors. The Member asked whether there is any plan to expand the city shuttle service and perhaps even the scheme B service. As and when there is a demand along highly concentrated corridors, we will allow them to operate if SBS cannot cope with the demand. SBS cannot acquire all the buses that are required just to cope with peak hour demands because all the buses will be idle during the off peak periods. Whereas the scheme B buses carry school children during the off peak periods. So we are making good use of school buses for the scheme B service.”
“The other point is about the city shuttle service buses and scheme B buses. They have been very useful in helping us to solve our transportation problem, especially during the peak hours. These buses operate along lucrative routes during the peak hours, unlike the SBS which is like a conference line operating not only in the city centre and in the town area but also in the rural areas and along unprofitable routes as well where they incur very heavy losses. So the reason why the city shuttle service and the scheme B buses are able to operate at lower cost is that they only operate along profitable routes. The reason why the Government decided to amalgamate all the 13 bus companies into one was to ensure that an acceptable level of public transport service is provided throughout the island and not just in the town areas along profitable routes where concentrations of population occur. These are some of the problems that may not be fully appreciated by members of the public. We have made studies of bus companies in other countries. Unfortunately, there are not very many good examples for us to follow. I would say that our public transport service is superior to most that we have looked into or that we know of. Hong Kong's public bus services are cheaper than our services here, but I think it is due to a lot of other factors and reasons for them to be able to operate at a lower cost and the fact that the travelling public are prepared to accept a lower level of service. The reason for our going into interchanges, feeder services, trunk services, and OMO services is to further reduce the costs of operation. SBS has introduced O MO service to about 30% of its total services.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, on the first point raised by the Member for Whampoa about the 7 1/2% dividend promised to the shareholders, he thought it was a mistake. I do not think it is, because we allow the shareholders to use their CPF money to purchase the shares and we have to make sure that their life-long savings do at least get the same returns as what they would get from the CPF. Anyway, 7 1/2% is a very negligible amount when we consider the total revenue and operating expenditure of the SBS. As regards the depreciation rate of buses which has been taken into the computation of SBS losses, I cannot remember the exact figure. I think it is 12 years. SBS buses are allowed to operate up to a maximum of 14 or 15 years and they have to be replaced. The depreciation period is about 12 Years. But I will check on this point. I fully agree with the Member on the principle of concession. The more we subsidize one group, the other groups who are not subsidized and who are paying full fares will carry a greater burden. Therefore, there is a need to review and rationalize this whole business of concession fares. But I think a concession will have to be given to school children and to full-time national servicemen who are paid a very small allowance and, to some extent, the shareholders. The student concession, in fact, is a double concession. The student paying 25 cents per trip is already a concession as against the full fare paid by adults. And we are giving another concession. In fact, it is a double concession. When a primary school student pays $12 a month for the monthly season pass and a secondary school student pays $13.50 per month, it is highly subsidized by the full fare paying passengers.”
“On the question of the new computer, I must confess that I do not know very much about the computer in SBS. If the Member wishes, he can submit a question and I will ask the SBS whether they have asked the systems engineers from the Ministry of Education to evaluate this before they made the decision.”
“They will find that $5 per share of SBS shares listed on the Stock Exchange is a worthwhile investment. It is not because of the 7 1/2% dividend promised by the SBS. The return of 7 1/2% is very low. If we base it on $5 per share, the yield is less than 2%. The Member for Telok Blangah raised the question about the withdrawal of concession. As I have mentioned at the very outset when I explained the principle, we have to strike a sensible balance between the concession fare and the full fare. Police personnel and uniformed personnel earn wages like everybody else. There is no special reason why they should be given a concession. The reason why they enjoyed this concession in the past is history now. This was a long time ago during the days of the Singapore Traction Company. If there were not more than three policemen each time on the bus, the STC would allow them to travel free. This was probably because at that time, 30 or 40 years ago, it was safer to have policemen in the bus. The STC would not allow more than three policemen at a time to travel free in a bus so that they could be spread all over the place. But now the reason for giving the concession is no longer valid. If we continue to give them a concession, then the fare hike would have to be even more hefty. The Member for Yio Chu Kang has brought up two points. First is on the fuel cost. The SBS buses use diesel. There is no tax on diesel. But the cost of diesel has gone up, more than 100% since 1979, the last time when we increased the bus fares. It was then only 28 1/2 cents per litre. Now it is over 60 cents per litre. Since no tax is charged, I do not think the Ministry of Finance would want to give any further rebate.”
“This round of fare hike would give the SBS an additional revenue of about $40 million by the end of this year, that is, for the balance of eight months of this year. Based on estimates, and without another hike at the end of the year, the SBS would run into cumulative loss of $4 million or $5 million by the end of the year. This again is based on the assumption that there will be an increase in the NWC wages, fuel cost and so on. We will wait until the NWC recommendations and the rate of the fuel cost increase over the next few months are known before we decide on the second round of fare hike. But from what we have gathered, it is unlikely that we can avoid the second round of fare hike at the end of this year. The Member for Kebun Baru has raised the question about those who have to transfer their service to work in Changi, from Bedok New Town and other places. No doubt for those who have to transfer their service to get to their place of work, it means 10 cents more for each transfer. The burden can be quite high. To these public transport commuters, I would suggest that they get a concession pass by purchasing SBS shares with their CPF savings. The Member may ask why the share price of the SBS shares listed at the Stock Exchange is high. I think it is now about $5 a share, from the original issue at par of $1.00. That is probably because of the concession that they enjoy. As I have mentioned earlier, the concession that the pass holders enjoy is more than 50%. In fact, if commuters do not enjoy any concession, they will not buy the concession pass. Only those who enjoy the concession will realize that holding a concession pass means saving them a lot of money on bus fares as compared to paying a full fare.”
“Sir, I agree with him that bus shelters should be built early. I have the same problem in my own constituency too. The Member for Khe Bong and other Members have made a suggestion that the SBS should finance the purchase of its buses from other sources, for example, by the issue of shares and so on. We have asked the SBS to look into this question, and hope that they will come up with some proposals within the next few weeks or the next few months. As regards the Member for Ayer Rajah's question, we did not change our mind. In fact, the SBS requested for a fare hike last year as soon as they ran into an operating deficit in the third quarter of 1980. We have been scrutinizing their figures and questioning the various assumptions they made on the costs of fuel and labour for 1981 and so on, and this has led to the delay in approving the fare hike. Unfortunately, as I have mentioned earlier, this has caused additional losses to the SBS. We should have approved it earlier. But I think the current arrangements should be acceptable. We have a 10-cent fare hike across the board.”
“I will come to that later on. The revenue for SBS for 1980 was originally estimated at $286 million and the operating expenses were also originally estimated to be $246 million. So SBS was not expecting any operating loss for 1980 in view of the fare hikes in 1979. But the actual revenue and expenditure for 1980 turned out to be this. Revenue totalled $271 million. This is $15 million less than estimated, whereas the operating expenditure went up to $261 million from the estimated figure of $246 million. There was an increase of $15 million. The profit was not as high as it was originally estimated. 4.00 p.m. The estimated figures for 1981 are as follows: revenue will be $275 million against an estimated operating expenditure of $328 million. For 1982 the estimated revenue will be $282 million, and this is based on the assumption that there is no fare hike at all. The operating expenditure will be $397 million. It would incur an operating deficit of over $100 million for 1982 if there is no fare hike. The estimated figures for 1983 are revenue, $290 million and operating expenditure, $464 million. That would mean a total operating deficit of $174 million for the year 1983, if there is no fare hike. The Member has asked about the wage bill or the labour cost. Labour cost alone for 1980 was $129 million. The fuel cost was $36 million, an 80% increase over the previous year of $20 million. As regards the wage bill for 1979, the labour cost was $105 million compared to $129 million for 1980. The Member for Kaki Bukit has requested for the early installation of traffic lights and bus shelters. I suggest that he raise this matter with the Minister for National Development, who is not here now. Mr Ng Kah Ting: The Parliamentary Secretary is here.”
“That does not mean that we will continue to delay in making a decision. I would like to assure the Member for Serangoon Gardens that, as I have said earlier in previous sessions of this Parliament, I am optimistic that the outcome of this study will be conclusive enough to enable the Government to make a decision on the MRT and this would probably be within two to three years. I am optimistic. It is not Government's intention to deliberately delay in making a decision on this. Neither are we forcing ourselves to make a decision because we feel that the all-bus system that we have today is still manageable and will be able to take us at least till the end of this decade. If we decide today to have an MRT, it still requires two or three years before ground-breaking begins and it takes five years to complete the first phase. That will be seven years from now and it will be ready by 1988-89. I think the all-bus system will be able to cope with the travel demand without serious problems by the late eighties. So it is within the next two to three years that a decision will hopefully be made and I am optimistic about that. The Member for Punggol asked about the cost and revenue of SBS operations. The Member for Ayer Rajah asked why it took so long to approve the SBS proposed fare hikes and why a change of mind. Dr Tan Cheng Bock: Sir, can I clarify? The hike was intended to take effect from February. I was wondering what other arguments the SBS has put forward to the Minister to make him change his mind such that he decided to proceed with the hikes.”
“Sir, I shall first clarify the points that I mentioned about the MRT. As I have said, on transportation grounds alone there is no justification to start building an MRT now if the buses can be made to cope until 1990 or 1995 or the year 2000. If the all-bus system can continue to serve the travelling public till 1990s, then there is no urgency to make a decision right now. But if we have to make a decision right now, all this preparatory work that I mentioned earlier will still have to be done. So we are not delaying. We are making the necessary preparation. The point is this. This is our first MRT project and likely to be our last. It is a very expensive project. We have no experience in constructing an MRT. Our knowledge of the MRT is based on the experience of other countries and we should not allow our decision-making process to be constrained by our own limitations. We should not allow ourselves to be constrained by our own narrowness of vision of what we see in technological breakthroughs. When we talk about technological breakthroughs, we are talking more of the system technological breakthrough and not the rolling stock technological breakthrough. Last year I went to a few places with officials of my Ministry and saw a number of new innovations being tested, such as the linear induction system to reduce noise level in the trains and the screening of the stations to cut down energy loss and to make stations safer. These are new devices that are just coming into the market. Some have just been put into operation while some have not. They will be put into operation in two to three years' time. Whether or not we can wait until then, we do not know. But, of course, if we can delay for another year or two, we will perhaps benefit from the experience of others.”
“It is no use having a brand new town with a road system such that a bus feeder service or trunk service will not be able to operate. This has happened in other places and perhaps here too in the past, to a small extent and not too seriously. But every step is being taken to prevent that sort of thing from recurring. Such early consultations constitute the first stage of planning of bus services of new towns. The second stage is that SBS follows the construction schedules of the HDB closely, so that feeder services to various neighbourhoods can be finalized before the flats are ready. Services normally commence two months after the flats are balloted. This is the time when residents normally renovate their homes before they move in. In the third stage, trunk services are introduced gradually. The first trunk services to be introduced are to the central business district, the new towns and into the surrounding areas of new towns and major industrial estates. The SBS has a market analysis programme unit which monitors the demand of the travelling public by carrying out comprehensive surveys in all major new towns once every six to eight weeks until the new towns are fully occupied. Response to growth in demand is made through the addition of buses, restructuring of existing routes or introduction of new services. 3.30 p.m. With regard to services at Kaki Bukit, there are presently two services, Nos. 50 and 53. Kaki Bukit is expected to be redeveloped over the next three years and SBS is already in touch with the authorities to plan the bus network for this area. I thank him for his invitation to visit this interchange. I would like to tell him that I have visited the interchange last year. I will visit the interchange again when it is about to be ready.”
“This programme is not only to increase the bus fleet but also to replace the old buses because, with the higher standard of living and affluence, our travelling public expects a higher standard of service. They are now better dressed; so they do not want their dress to be dirtied, and they do not want the buses to break-down. half way on the road. All these cost money. In fact, the SBS wanted to have a fare hike as early as 1st February. But my Ministry was not convinced by all the arguments that they put forward and threw back the various proposals for reconsideration. And the delay of two months, from 1st February to 1st April, has caused the company a further reduction in revenue amounting to a few million dollars. This delay in the fare hike has caused further losses. As I said, if we can defer the next fare hike to next year, I will be happy to do so. Government would be too happy to defer this. Nobody wants to do unpopular things. But unfortunately if we do that, we will put SBS in a very tight spot and we will not be able to provide the service that the travelling public demands. The Member for Kaki Bukit unfortunately is under the wrong impression that SBS plans its bus services only when new towns are built. In fact, planning takes place long before the towns are built. Under a standing arrangement, the HDB and SBS do have close rapport. The HDB would send its land-use plan or outline plans for new towns to SBS to enable SBS to draw up a conceptual bus network. The plan indicates where the feeder services and trunk services could be run and where an interchange and bus depot could be located. This will determine also the pattern of the road network.”
“The Member for Kampong Kembangan asked whether we could explain the profit and loss figures of SBS so that the travelling public would understand and would perhaps be more prepared to accept this fare hike. It is true that SBS has made cumulative profits in the past because of Government's approval given to the company to raise the fares. Last year, they made a cumulative profit of $10 million - I have not got the latest report but it is round about that figure. This is despite the fact that SBS has been losing money since August last year, when they have been running into an operating loss on an average of $700,000 a month. In January this year, the loss was about $510,000. In February, the loss was about $1.54 million. For the month of March, the estimated operating loss will be about $1.9 million, and this will go on, escalating all the way. If there is no bus fare increase by 1st April, SBS would suffer a loss for the six months of this year of about $15-$16 million. So the cumulative profit that the company made last year would be completely wiped off. By the end of the year, if there is no increase in fares, the current cumulative loss would run up as high as $50 million. The company would then have difficulty in getting loans to finance its bus purchasing programme. As of now, SBS is already depending on loans to purchase its buses. It has borrowed about $50 million to date, and it will continue to resort to loans and other means. During the next few months we hope they will be able to raise the funds to purchase the necessary buses which are required to meet the demand of the travelling public, particularly to have more buses in Joo Chiat and Kebun Baru.”
“622 million a day whereas the concession trips constitute 643,000 per day. Percentage-wise, it is 72% against 28%. That means 72% of the trips are full fare trips and 28% of the trips are concession fare trips. But in terms of revenue for the whole of last year SBS collected $223.7 million from the full fare paying passengers and $37.9 million from the concession fare passengers. So, in terms of percentage based on revenue, it is 85% from the full fare paying passengers as against 14.5% from the concession fare passengers. If we remove the concessions and make all these concession pass holders to pay the full fare, they will have to pay an extra $50 million. In other words, they are being subsidized at more than 50%, almost 75%. That is the rate of subsidy as far as the company is concerned. Members also mentioned about students in the tertiary institutions whose concession fare will be raised from $18 to $25 as from next month. In fact, even with this increase in the concession fare, the subsidy given to the students in the tertiary institutions will be increased by 17%. If we want to actually maintain the same margin of subsidy for the tertiary students, then the concession fare should have been higher than $25. As regards full-time national servicemen, we thought that there is a case for assistance because of the meagre stipend of $90 per month that they receive, and agreed to an increase of $6, from $24 to $30 per month, for the season pass. This, in fact, increases SBS's loss by 23%. That means SBS is increasing its extent of concession to the full-time national servicemen by 23%.”
“This is because buses will continue to play a major role, even with MRT. In any case, it will take at least five, six or seven years before the first trains are running even if we decide to build the MRT now. I would like to come now to the questions on the SBS raised by Members. Before I come to the specific questions raised, perhaps you would allow me, Sir, to reiterate the basic principles under which we carried out the bus fare hike exercise. First of all, if the SBS is to remain viable and provide a level of service that can meet the increasing demand of the travelling public, then the fare must be allowed to rise and keep pace with rising costs. I think that is the basic principle. If it is not allowed to remain viable, then no company in the world would want to operate such a service here or anywhere else, unless it is heavily subsidized by the state. In this case, the Government's responsibility is to ensure that the fare hike is kept to the minimum under the principle I have just mentioned. The second principle is that a sensible balance must be struck between the full fare and all forms of concession fares. This is because the lower the concession fare the greater the burden that must be passed on to the full fare-paying passengers. Therefore, the concession fares must be rationalized when the fare structure is reviewed from time to time. 3.15 p.m. Members mentioned that the concession fares given to students of tertiary institutions, national servicemen and other uniformed personnel have been raised too high. Perhaps I may quote some overall figures to put the picture in proper perspective. Today we know that there are altogether a total of 2.265 million trips a day. Of these, those who pay full fares or full fare trips constitute 1.”
“In this connection, Sir, I would like to point out that transport considerations will feature quite prominently in helping us to arrive at that decision. The Comprehensive Traffic Study, which the Provisional MRT Authority has just commissioned, will determine how an all-bus system will fare in the years 1990 to 2000, i.e. whether it will be able to cope with the travel demand at that time. If it is found that an all-bus system cannot cope satisfactorily, the study will then proceed further to tell us at which point in time we should have the MRT. Sir, on transportation grounds alone, there is no justification to start building the MRT now if the buses could be made to cope until 1990, 1995 or 2000. Otherwise both the buses and the MRT system would be under-utilized. The advantage of stretching the bus system to cope for as long as we can is that we will be able to take advantage of the latest proven development in MRT technology, as well as learn from the mistakes of others. I do agree with the concern expressed by Members here that the longer we delay by procrastinating the decision the more it will cost us. But the other way is equally true. We will also be in a better position to afford the MRT at a later date than now. But that is not the key point. The main point is that if we can stretch the bus system as long as we can and defer the MRT till a later date, either three years or five years from now, then we will have the advantage of having the most up-to-date system, rather than to have one now which would be five years earlier and would be obsolete by the time we really need ' I wish to assure the House that we will continue to improve the level of bus services even if we decide to go ahead with the MRT.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, let me tackle the MRT first. The Members for Punggol, Serangoon Gardens, Jurong and Khe Bong have asked when a decision on the MRT will be made, why delay it, and why spend further money on the various studies. As Members are aware, the Provisional Mass Rapid Transit Authority was set up in July last year to undertake all the preparatory works and studies related to the MRT. These works, which include traffic studies, soil investigations, land surveys and other detailed engineering work, have to be done before MRT construction can take place. That is to say, even if we make a decision today to proceed with the MRT, all these works will still have to be carried out before construction work can actually begin. In effect, what this means is that we are not delaying the project but rather preparing ourselves to proceed with the building of the MRT project with the minimum of delay once a decision is taken. I hope I have made this clear. The Provisional MRT Authority will be provided with $21 million for the next two to three years to carry out various preparatory work and studies. For 1981-82, $7 million have been provided. Of this sum, $5.6 million will go into the island-wide Comprehensive Traffic Study that the Provisional MRT Authority has just embarked upon. The remaining $1.4 million will be used for the engineering studies and land surveys to be carried out later this year. Members have asked the reasons for the delay in making a decision. As I have repeatedly explained in this House on many occasions before, Sir, the project is complex and very expensive with wide-ranging implications. This being the case, the decision to proceed with the MRT can only be taken after all factors have been carefully considered.”
“Sir, if a bumboat carries more than 12 persons, it will be classified as a passenger boat. This will require a special licence and the boat operator has to pay the appropriate licence fee. But the Marine Department is prepared to review the licence fee if financial difficulties are faced by the bumboat operators. POLICY ON WORK PERMITS 9. Mr M.K.A. Jabbar asked the Minister for Communications and Minister for Labour if he will state the Labour Ministry's policy on the issue of work permits. The Senior Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Labour (Mr Fong Sip Chee) (for the Minister for Communications and Minister for Labour): Mr Speaker, Sir, the Ministry's policy on work permits is to enable employers to import skilled, semiskilled and unskilled workers in support of our economic development. The policy has to ensure that the manpower needs of our industries are met and that any untoward social problems are not created. The Ministry currently implements seven work permit schemes. They are designed to cater for the different needs of each sector of our economy. The Work Permit Department has published guidelines on some of these schemes. I will ask the Department to send these publications to the Member for Radin Mas and other Members of this House for their information. VISIT OF MR NAINA MARIKAR (Presence in Gallery)”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the present regulations do not restrict the number of passengers carried on bumboats between Changi Point and Pulau Tekong Besar and Pulau Ubin to 12 persons a boat. If the boat operator wishes to carry more than 12 persons, they can apply to the Marine Department. The boats must, however, be fitted with certain additional equipment to make it safe for the boats to carry the increased load. In addition, the boats will have to be inspected annually by surveyors from the Marine Department to ensure that they are kept in good condition. These requirements apply to all boats which carry more than 12 passengers and are necessary for the safety of passengers. If faithfully followed, it will help prevent the tragic loss of life that happens from time to time when an overloaded boat capsizes in the sea.”
“Sir, I agree with the Member for Boon Teck that labour/management relations need to be further improved in Singapore. I agree with him that we cannot put all the blame on workers when we talk about job-hopping. It is partly management's problem also. It is for management's own good that they do something about their own management system to improve their relationship with workers. In that respect, I agree with him that they have got to do something. As I have said, it is a multi-faceted problem. It has to be tackled on all fronts. The National Productivity Board organizes courses not only for management executives but also for line supervisors as well. So I would encourage those managements who face job-hopping problems in their establishments to send their line supervisors and management executives to the National Productivity Board to attend the NPB course, especially now that we have the Member for Cairnhill as Chairman of the NPB. He will probably impart some of his knowledge.”
“I suspect that the higher rate of female workers between 15 and 24 years who change jobs could partly be due to the fact that most of the males between the ages of 18 and 21 years, or even 22 would be in national service. At this stage I am not trying to come to any conclusion as to the reason why female workers are more prone to job-hopping than male workers. But this is something which I have explained earlier, especially for the younger age group, that they are involved in job-shopping rather than job-hopping when they first come into the labour market. It is for this reason that we have not yet finalized the disincentive and incentive schemes against job-hopping. In fact, we are not sure whether these schemes should be implemented or when they should be implemented if we think that these schemes will achieve the desired effect. This is something which we need time to look into further. In fact, my Ministry was thinking that perhaps we should refer this back to the NWC for their further deliberation because this subject first came from the NWC's recommendations in 1980, and the disincentive scheme was one of the proposals made by the NWC. And since the NWC is going to start looking into this year's wage increase and into other matters relating to the NWC, we thought that perhaps it would be timely now to refer it back to the NWC. There is no hurry on this matter.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, in reply to the points raised by the Member for Kebun Baru and on the figures he quoted, we suspect that the main reason why those who job-hop during their young age are females is that all the boys are in national service. So within that age group, between 18 and 21, or even 22 years, there are more girls working. Is that right?”
“Sir, my apologies to the Member. The request made by the Member for Khe Bong that this matter be referred to the coming NWC meeting for deliberations, I think we can agree to convey his suggestion to the coming NWC meeting for their consideration. At this stage I do not want to make any hasty remarks or conclusion on the merit or demerit of past practice. We will leave it to the NWC to consider the matter.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I think in a tight labour market situation like we have today, there is much to be said for raising the retirement age from 55 to 60 or even to 65 years, the white collar workers in particular, except nowhere in the world has this been introduced as a statutory requirement. I think we should encourage this through promotions and other methods, like collective bargaining and so on, to get the retirement age increased from 55 to 60 or even beyond 60 years. For the blue collar workers, however, when a worker reaches the age of 55 or more, it is very difficult to encourage his employer to engage him to do manual work, especially heavy manual work. This is something which we could look into to find ways of promoting it rather than to do it through legislation.”
“He cited the examples of annual leave available in other countries. I would say that if he has any proposals we would like to have a look at them. There are so many different laws in the world with different annual leave schemes. If the Member can pass them over to my Ministry or to me, we would be too happy to receive them.”
“I understand that the Ministry of Social Affairs has plans to increase the number of creches. Hopefully, this will free the housewives from their domestic chores and encourage them to work again. In addition, as I understand it, the Ministry of Social Affairs has also plans to increase the number of children under its family day care scheme from 1,300 children to 2,100 children within the next 12 months, I hope this will encourage the female labour force to come into the labour market. The Member for Chong Boon asked about the rationale of the levy of $230 per worker per month imposed on employers of construction workers from the non-traditional sources and to what use this money would be put to. The levy imposed on employers of construction workers from the non-traditional sources is intended in a way to raise the wage-cost of employing such workers so as to discourage employers from an over-reliance of foreign workers. It is also to exert pressure on such employers to resort to more labour-efficient and mechanized methods of construction. If we made foreign workers available cheaply to the employers in the construction industry, then there would be no incentive to these employers to employ local workers and train them to attain a higher skill and to go into mechanized methods of construction. The levy collected will go into a fund to be administered by the Ministry of National Development. This fund will be used to assist employers in the building and construction industry to mechanize their methods of construction. The Member for Kampong Kembangan has suggested the granting of different annual leave schemes to female workers according to their age and family status. I suppose this is to encourage them to come into the labour market.”
“Although the qualifying period for retrenchment benefits is three years, many employers do give exgratia payments to retrenched employees with less than three years' service. Therefore, my Ministry does not think it necessary at this stage to amend the Act. The Member for Toa Payoh also mentioned about the payment of Annual Wage Supplement (AWS). The AWS and the NWC recommendations were introduced so as to obtain an orderly wage increase and to minimize the number of disputes arising from the negotiation for bonus payments and pay rises. The objective of this policy has been achieved. Since 1972 disputes over payments of AWS or bonuses have been the minimum and not a single strike has arisen from these disputes. Furthermore, there has been an orderly wage increase over these years. Besides, over the same period, since 1972, there has been a gradual relaxation of this policy and employers may now pay the AWS above the frozen quantum of one month provided this does not exceed three months. In view of the continued need for an orderly wage increase and to minimize industrial disputes, and the recent relaxation on the payment of AWS of up to three months' wages, I do not think it is necessary to make any changes on AWS at this stage. The Member for Buona Vista has asked for the reason for the difference in female labour participation rate between the Singapore female labour force and the Japanese labour force. It is very difficult to pinpoint the exact reason. But I suspect it is partly the importance that Singapore women attach to their role as home-maker and the generally low-paying jobs that they command, that make continued employment and re-entry into the labour market unattractive.”