Tan See Leng
Singapore
“We are aware of the Singapore Workplace Report 2026, produced by the Singapore Institute of Directors and Gallup, and we are studying its findings.”
“The Taskforce for Responsible Retrenchment and Employment Facilitation (Taskforce) actively reaches out to all retrenched local employees. In 2025, 77% of Mandatory Retrenchment Notifications (MRNs) were submitted at least seven days ahead of the employee's last working day and 73% of MRNs were submitted at least two weeks ahead.”
“From 2022 to 2025, vacancy rates for technical maintenance roles in the real estate services sector, which includes facilities management, have been lower than the overall job vacancy rate, except in 2025 (see Table 1).”
“The Skills and Workforce Development Agency (SWDA) works with sector agencies to determine the courses which are required by the respective industries. The SWDA currently funds more than 100 courses, spanning a wide range of mental health-related fields.”
“In the first quarter of 2026, the profile of retrenched residents aged 50 to 59 was broadly similar to the profile of all retrenched residents, predominantly comprising professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs) and were mainly from wholesale and retail trade, manufacturing, financial and insurance services and profession…”
“In 2025, around 4,200 resident professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs) aged 45 to 59 were retrenched, higher than 3,200 in 2024 and 3,500 in 2023. Their six-month re-entry rate remained stable at 48.5% in 2025, compared with 48.9% in 2024 and 50.1% in 2023.”
The complete record
Every one of 2,238 lines we hold for Tan See Leng, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 19 of 45.
“Large dormitories have designated areas within their compounds for the consumption of food and alcohol. The majority of dormitory residents consume food and drinks within the dormitories. However, some residents may also eat and drink outside the dormitories on occasion, for example, when meeting their friends. The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) shares the concerns raised by members regarding the safety of the migrant workers, as well as the potential inconveniences to other road users, when workers socialise in an unsafe manner near public roads. We work with dormitory operators, migrant worker leaders and grassroots volunteers to patrol areas near dormitories and to educate migrant workers on road safety and to be considerate to other members of the public. We also disseminate advisories and reminders to workers on social media and mobile phone apps on road safety and responsible drinking. We will strengthen these efforts. To complement in-dormitory amenities and provide more socialising venues for migrant workers, nine recreation centres were built near migrant worker dormitories. Free shuttle bus services are provided to and from dormitories. Together with non-government organisations and commercial partners, MOM has plans to improve the variety and quality of the offerings at the recreation centres to make them more attractive for our migrant workforce.”
“The purpose of the Central Provident Fund (CPF) nomination scheme is to allow members to decide who they want to leave their CPF savings to and in what proportion. Members have their unique personal circumstances and should have the choice to nominate any person, regardless of age, nationality or family relation. We have safeguards in place today under the CPF nomination scheme. First, when making their CPF nomination, members are required to appoint two witnesses. The role of witnesses is to attest that the members themselves had the intention to make their nomination. Witnesses cannot be any of the member’s nominees, to prevent a conflict of interest. Next, when members nominate someone who is not a family member, the CPF Board will conduct additional checks to confirm the member’s intentions to make such a nomination. Such checks apply, whether the nomination is done in person, online or posted in via the hardcopy nomination form. Finally, for online nominations specifically, members are required to log in via their Singpass. Singpass requires users to authenticate themselves to verify their identity. This ensures that the members themselves are the ones making their nomination. Witnesses for online nominations are also required to log in with their Singpass to attest to a member’s nomination. Members can make a new nomination at any time if their bequeath intentions change. We provide members the option to make their CPF nominations in-person at the CPF Service Centre, via a hardcopy nomination form or online at any time using their Singpass. This is to provide flexibility based on the member’s choice and to encourage members to make their nominations.”
“Employers are required by law to submit an injury report to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) within ten days of being notified of the incident. This injury report is then routed to the employer's work injury compensation (WIC) insurer and processed as a WIC claim. If an employee suspects that a work injury has not been reported, he can report such incidents directly to MOM, who will take action against errant employers. Employees can also approach insurers directly to check the status of their claims via a hotline and email that the insurers are required to provide. The majority of WIC claims will be resolved when the injury condition has stabilised and the insurer is able to assess that the injury is due to work and the extent of the injury. This would usually be within one to two months of receiving all medical reports and/or legal documents and about six months to a year after the incident happens. If there is undue delay, employees and insurers can approach MOM for assistance.”
“Parliamentary Questions Nos 41 to 44 for written answer have been answered as part of the Minister for Manpower's Oral Reply to Parliamentary Questions Nos 13 to 21 on 7 May 2024. Members may refer to the transcript for the reply. [Please refer to "Support for Employers and Employees Affected by Requirement for Companies to Fairly Consider Flexi-work Requests", Official Report, 7 May 2024, Vol 95, Issue 135, Oral Answers to Questions section.]”
“The investigations on the fatal incidents at the worksites for the North-South Corridor at Cavenagh Road on 16 September 2023 and the Tengah integrated rail and bus depot on 2 December 2023 are ongoing. The Ministry of Manpower is unable to provide further details at this time.”
“The Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices and the upcoming Workplace Fairness Legislation protect employees against workplace discrimination. If an employer intentionally uses artificial intelligence (AI) to make a discriminatory decision, the affected employee will be protected from discrimination in the workplace and the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) can take action against the employer. At the same time, the use of AI in hiring and other human resource decisions may unintentionally result in outcomes that are discriminatory. To address this risk, the Government has implemented measures to establish a trusted environment where people can have confidence that the use of AI itself does not add to the risk of discrimination in the workplace. This includes facilitating the development of Model AI Governance Frameworks to guide businesses in the development and deployment of AI and providing practical support, such as open-source testing toolkits, to validate the performance of AI systems against internationally recognised governance principles, including fairness. If certain AI systems result in discriminatory employment decisions, they can be reported to the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices, which will work with the employer to ensure that the use of such systems are in line with the principles of workplace fairness.”
“Under the Tripartite Advisory on Managing Excess Manpower and Responsible Retrenchment, the prevailing norm is to pay retrenchment benefits of between two weeks to one month of salary per year of service. With reference to the 2017 survey on retrenchment benefits, nine in 10 retrenched workers received retrenchment benefits. Among them, eight in 10 received retrenchment benefits in accordance with the prevailing norm and one in 10 received above the norm. The quantum of the benefits paid depends on factors, such as industry practice and the financial position of the company. There is no fixed frequency for conducting the retrenchment benefits survey. Nonetheless, where appropriate, the Ministry of Manpower will conduct new surveys and release the data.”
“The three Quick Build Dormitories along Choa Chu Kang Grove are due to be demolished when their leases expire in 2025. However, if the demand for migrant workers remains high and there is a shortage of dormitory beds in 2025, a temporary extension of their leases may be considered.”
“Foreign manpower flexibilities are provided to participating companies under the Shared Stay-in Senior Care Services sandbox to support the Ministry of Health and the Agency for Integrated Care in testing out alternative senior care options to meet the caregiving needs of seniors and their families. These flexibilities include additional foreign worker quota and source relaxations. Besides the Shared Stay-in Senior Care Services sandbox, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) also provides similar foreign manpower flexibilities to companies under the pilot Household Services Scheme (HSS) that provides part-time elder-minding and childminding services. MOM will continue to work with sector agencies to calibrate the foreign manpower flexibilities accorded to areas serving important societal needs with limited scope for automation or localisation, while ensuring that we are not over-reliant on foreign workers.”
“In addition to these measures, MOM takes every discrimination complaint seriously and will not hesitate to take action against errant employers to uphold fair employment practices.”
“All Employment Pass (EP) applications are subject to the Fair Consideration Framework's (FCF) job advertising requirements, unless exempted. The advertising requirements and exemptions are clearly stated on the Ministry of Manpower's (MOM's) website. Over the past five years, an average of 29,200 approved new EP applications were subject to the FCF job advertising requirements and were initially posted on MyCareersFuture. MOM takes a serious view of discriminatory hiring practices. We have a robust set of checks to ensure that employers fairly consider all job applicants; in particular, local workers that apply through MyCareersFuture. First, MOM's systems block EP applications that do not meet the FCF job advertising requirements, such as the minimum advertising duration of 14 consecutive days on MyCareersFuture, from submission. For applications that indicate that they meet the FCF job advertising exemption criteria, MOM does further verification checks. Over the past five years, about 2% of all new EP applications were rejected for incorrectly indicating that they were exempted from the FCF job advertising requirements. Second, MOM and the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices scrutinise EP applications proactively using data analytics to identify employers who may have pre-selected foreigners when hiring without adhering to the spirit of the FCF advertising requirements. In the past five years, over 600 EP applications were withdrawn or rejected following investigations. MOM may also impose sanctions on errant employers, including debarring them from hiring foreign workers for up to 24 months.”
“Foreign workers are allowed to remain in Singapore if there are wrongful dismissal claims that have yet to be resolved, even if their work passes have been cancelled by their employers. The Ministry of Manpower will issue special passes for them to stay in Singapore until their claims are resolved through mediation at the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management or after adjudication by the Employment Claims Tribunals.”
“The salaries of non-resident Employment Pass (EP) and S Pass holders by industry are reflected in Tables 1 and 2 below, respectively. As EP and S Pass holders account for the majority of non-resident professional, manager, executive and technician (PMET) jobs, we have provided data on the salaries for EP and S Pass holders. We peg the minimum costs of hiring EP and S Pass holders to the top one-third of resident PMETs and associate professionals and technicians, respectively, to ensure that companies are bringing in top-tier talent. For resident income data, the Member may refer to the Ministry of Manpower's statistics webpage https://stats.mom.gov.sg.”
“This question has been answered as part of the Minister for Manpower's oral reply to Parliamentary Question Nos 13 to 21 on 7 May 2024. Members may refer to the transcript for the reply. [Please refer to "Support for Employers and Employees Affected by Requirement for Companies to Fairly Consider Flexi-work Requests", Official Report, 7 May 2024, Vol 95, Issue 135, Oral Answers to Questions section.]”
“The enhanced measures to reduce heat stress for outdoor workers were developed in consultation with the Ministry of Health's Heat Stress Expert Panel, Government agencies and employer associations, such as the Singapore Contractors Association Limited. To help businesses prepare for and comply with the enhanced measures, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and the Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Council have released guidelines including the Heat Stress Management Compliance Checklist and Specifications for Wet Bulb Globe Temperature Meters for Workplace Measurements, as well as conducted several industry-specific forums. MOM and the WSH Council also disseminate information on heat stress regularly through channels, such as the WSH Council's Bulletin and Facebook page and MOM's FWMOMCare App, where information is disseminated in the native languages of migrant workers. In the six months since the implementation of the enhanced measures in October 2023, two heat-related incidents have been reported to MOM. The number of reported heat-related incidents has remained low in the past five years, with no more than five incidents annually. To ensure compliance to the enhanced heat stress measures, MOM has inspected close to 70 workplaces and taken enforcement actions against 23 companies for breaches. We have worked with these employers to rectify the lapses and put in place measures to protect their workers from risk of heat injury. MOM will also continue to consult the industry when there are new developments and update the heat stress measures accordingly if the temperature gets warmer. Together, we can build heat resilience in workplaces.”
“This is in line with CPF's core objective of providing them with lifelong retirement income. Trade associations, chambers of commerce and tripartite stakeholders can be strong partners and advocates in supporting workers to plan for their retirement and can direct their members to resources available online1 to address these misconceptions. They can also work with employers to leverage available schemes to support senior workers who have less retirement savings. For example, companies can choose to leverage on the Matched Retirement Savings Scheme, where the Government provides a dollar-for-dollar matching grant for cash top-ups (including those from employers) made to the RA of eligible members.”
“Three common misconceptions around the closure of the Special Account (SA) are: whether this move is meant to save on interest payments; whether interest accrues to Central Provident Fund (CPF) LIFE members who choose to transfer their monies from the SA to the Retirement Account (RA) after the closure of the SA; and whether the Government is trying to lock up member's savings. The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and the CPF Board have extensively addressed these common misconceptions during MOM’s Committee of Supply debate and via public communications channels earlier this year, as well as through engagements with partner organisations. Nonetheless, the following key clarifications from our earlier explanations are worth reiterating: First, the SA closure aligns with the principle that only long-term savings should earn higher long-term interest rate. In fact, more than 99% of CPF members aged 55 and above today can choose to fully transfer all their SA savings to their RA when the Enhanced Retirement Sum is raised to four times the Basic Retirement Sum from 2025, to continue earning the higher long-term interest rate and receive higher retirement payouts. Second, interest continues to accrue on the CPF LIFE premium and is factored into members' CPF LIFE monthly payouts for life. Upon a member's passing, any unused premium together with any remaining CPF savings, is refunded to the member's beneficiaries. Third, SA savings which are withdrawable will be transferred to their Ordinary Account (OA) and remain withdrawable. Meanwhile, SA savings that are transferred to RA will be used to increase their monthly retirement payouts, which members can start drawing down from age 65. For those who have yet to do so by age 70, the payouts will be automatically paid to them.”
“The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) will investigate all cases of possible infringements under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act thoroughly, impartially and fairly. As part of our investigation process, MOM will speak to both the migrant domestic worker (MDW) and employer to establish the facts of the case. MOM will also review other evidence, such as CCTV recordings and accounts from witnesses, where available. Follow-up actions, if any, will be taken according to the evidence found. For instance, if there is evidence of abuse, we will refer the case to the Police for further investigation. If an MDW is found to have provided false information, she may be prosecuted and if convicted, she will also be blacklisted and banned from future employment in Singapore.”
“The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) imposes guidelines on employment agencies (EAs) that place migrant domestic workers (MDWs), to ensure that they are professional in their dealings with their clients, both the employers and the MDWs. These guidelines specify that EAs should render conscientious service to their clients; act with honesty and integrity; and promote the interests of their clients. For instance, EAs should not mislead or provide inaccurate information to their clients or apply undue pressure on their clients. The guidelines are issued to every MDW-placing EA and made available on MOM's website. MOM will investigate all cases where an EA has failed to observe the guidelines and acted unprofessionally to the detriment of its clients' interest. EAs found to have breached these guidelines will be issued with demerit points, which may result in the eventual suspension or revocation of the EA licence.”
“The tripartite partners are working on an advisory which will provide guidance to employers and employees on the provision of reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities. We will be engaging community groups in developing this advisory and aim to release this advisory around the same time as the introduction of the Workplace Fairness Legislation. The most direct way of measuring the effectiveness of a workplace accommodation for employees with disabilities is by considering the employment outcome for the supported employee. In reality, however, it is difficult to measure the effectiveness of single initiatives as it often takes the collective effort of the individual, co-workers, employer and family for successful placement and continued employment. Following the release of the advisory, we will engage employers and employees to gather feedback, reviewing and updating the advisory to strengthen its effectiveness where needed. The contents of the advisory will not be a part of the Workplace Fairness Legislation. Instead, the advisory will complement the new law, which will prohibit workplace discrimination on the basis of disability. Both the advisory and upcoming law will work alongside the Enabling Masterplan to strengthen employment opportunities for persons with disabilities.”
“The process of skills transfer is complex and non-linear and different companies will have different approaches and modalities to upskill and reskill their workforce. This can include structured training, mentorship, having cross-disciplinary teams, exposure to different industries and markets or overseas attachments and postings. The many approaches to skills transfer mean that there is no practical, one-size-fits-all way to measure the extent of skills transfer across the economy. The Government facilitates skills transfer through a variety of programmes. Workforce Singapore's (WSG's) Capability Transfer Programme has benefitted more than 140 companies and more than 1,000 locals to date. We also facilitate skills transfer by encouraging Singaporeans to go abroad for career progression. For example, WSG is launching the Overseas Markets Immersion Programme later this year. On top of existing programmes, there are also opportunities for skills and knowledge exchange as part of everyday interactions, at work and in social settings.”
“The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) introduced the Foreign Worker Tenant Enquiry Service (FWTES) in December 2018, to allow home owners of private and Housing and Development Board (HDB) residential units to check if their addresses had been used illegally to apply for work passes when the workers are not actually staying there. In all reports surfaced by homeowners on misused addresses, MOM will promptly follow-up and contact employers to investigate the actual residential address of the workers involved. Enforcement action will be taken if we detect any fraudulent declaration. There is usually no need to conduct inspections on the reported misused addresses since the home owners have confirmed that no workers were residing there. Since the introduction of the FWTES, the total number of complaints involving misused addresses has dropped from an average of 730 per year between 2019 and 2021 to an average of 130 per year between 2022 and 2023. During the same period, an average of around 1,140 migrant workers and 480 employers were issued warnings and an average of 70 employers were fined or prosecuted for false declaration of residential addresses or failure to update migrant workers' addresses each year. In certain cases, MOM also revoked the migrant workers' work passes and imposed an employment ban. Some employers were also debarred from hiring migrant workers.”
“The enhanced measures to reduce heat stress for outdoor workers were introduced in October 2023. The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has been conducting targeted inspections, prioritising high-risk workplaces and in response to public feedback. Of the 70 workplaces inspected, three had breached the mandatory 10-minute rest break measure. These three companies were issued composition fines or notices of non-compliance and have since put in place the required measures. Besides providing rest breaks to workers, employers should implement on-site measures to reduce heat stress for outdoor workers. These measures include rescheduling outdoor physical work to cooler parts of the day where feasible, identifying and redeploying workers vulnerable to heat stress when the weather is hot, providing shade at work areas where feasible and acclimatising newly-assigned workers. Employers should also ensure adequate water intake by workers through scheduled hydration sessions and train workers to recognise symptoms of heat injury and report to supervisors early if they are feeling unwell. The monitoring of Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) by employers can be done through the use of WBGT meters or the National Environment Agency's myENV app. MOM and the Workplace Safety and Health Council have also provided recommendations on how heat stress management can be further enhanced with technologies, such as real-time on-site WBGT monitors or wearables that provide alert triggers to enable timely interventions for at-risk workers. Employers are also encouraged to provide ice slurries, rest areas with water mist sprays as well as cooling vests to remove heat from workers' bodies.”
“MOM will continue to closely monitor the workforce profile of all firms and adjust our policy levers, where appropriate.”
“We have made a distinction in the statistics for small firms with fewer than 25 professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs) and larger firms with 25 or more PMETs. This is because small firms have a very small PMET base and their proportion of foreign PMETs will be prone to fluctuations. The median number of PMETs in small firms which hire PMETs is only two. This means that even with one foreign PMET, the median small firm would have exceeded the 30% foreign PMET share or 20% single nationality share. It is important to look at the workforce profile of larger firms with 25 or more PMETs, as these firms tend to have more stable workforce profiles and hire the majority of Employment Pass (EP) holders. While small firms account for 96% of all firms, they only hire about 30% of EP holders. Over the last decade, the percentage of larger firms with a foreign PMET share of 30% or more has remained constant at 20%. On average, over the decade, about 20% of small firms have a foreign PMET share of 30% or more but the 2023 figure was higher at 28%. On the percentage of firms with employees of a single foreign nationality accounting for more than 20% of all PMETs employed, it has remained constant at 10% over the decade for larger firms. For small firms, it is about 20% on average, over the last decade, and the figure increased to 30% in 2023. The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has introduced the points-based Complementarity Assessment Framework to enable employers to select high-quality foreign professionals while improving workforce diversity and building a strong local core. This has been in place for new EP applicants since September 2023 and will apply to renewal applicants from September 2024.”
“The Member would recall that this House had already debated this topic previously. This line of questioning is not productive and undermines social cohesion in Singapore. We do not collect data on the net change in resident employment by worker's prior residency status in our labour market surveys. Net employment change is derived from Central Provident Fund administrative data which does not collect information on prior residency status. The Member may wish to refer to our manpower statistics webpage, which publishes statistics that provide a more holistic understanding of labour market outcomes for residents, including employment rate, unemployment rate and wage growth.”
“The Ministry of Manpower has been working closely with community partners and non-governmental organisations to develop and promote programmes which help migrant workers to manage their finances safely and responsibly. These include the Settling-in Programme for new migrant workers, as well as outreach roadshows at recreation centres to increase workers' awareness on the risks of using unauthorised remittance services and preventing their bank accounts from being used for suspicious activities. The programmes also educate workers on how to manage their finances responsibly, such as setting financial goals and good budgeting tools.”
“Between 2019 and 2023, the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP) received eight complaints of indirect discrimination. These complaints form roughly 0.5% of the total number of workplace discrimination complaints that TAFEP received. TAFEP has not received complaints on the denial of reasonable accommodations. The Tripartite Committee on Workplace Fairness received suggestions to cover indirect discrimination and reasonable accommodations under the Workplace Fairness Legislation but recommended against doing so. Prohibiting indirect discrimination in the legislation imposes very wide legal obligations on employers, resulting in uncertainty for both employers and employees. The employee-employer relationship may become more legalistic as a result. The difficulty in clearly defining what constitutes reasonable accommodation is real and can result in heavy litigation as seen in other jurisdictions. Hence, prematurely prohibiting the denial of reasonable accommodations may result in an overly rigid approach that inadvertently deters employers from hiring employees who may need such accommodations. This does not mean that protection is lacking for those who may face indirect discrimination or the denial of reasonable accommodations. The Workplace Fairness Legislation will work in concert with the Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices, which will continue to provide protection against indirect discrimination. The tripartite partners will also be releasing an advisory on the provision of reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities. Should employees face issues on indirect discrimination and reasonable accommodations in the workplace, they may approach TAFEP for advice and assistance.”
“The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) stipulates safety measures for the loading and unloading of cranes, which include statements of methods and safety procedures that must take into account site constraints and the width and angle of ramps. Other required measures include ensuring the stability of the ground, cordoning off the potential collapse zone and the deployment of competent and trained operators. Companies should refer to the approved Code of Practice – Singapore Standard 663: Code of practice for safe loading on vehicles – and Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Council's WSH Guidelines on Safe Loading and Unloading on Vehicles. Since 2019, there were only three incidents involving loading or unloading of heavy machineries. Of which, two resulted in minor injuries and one with no injury. MOM will review if additional measures are required, after investigations on the incident on 9 April 2024 are completed.”
“Speaker, I thank the Member of Parliament for his supplementary question. I also wanted to set the context. The PWM was a carefully crafted, sectoral based wage which helps uplift the wages of our low-wage workers. In the implementation, in terms of any form of guidelines, particularly the Tripartite Guidelines on Flexible Work Arrangement Requests, the spirit of the PWM should really lead the entire thinking behind this. FWAs do not equate just as flexi-time. It could be flexi-load. Flexi-time is one other aspect, and there is flexi-place. Hence, in terms of the Tripartite Guidelines, it embodies a spirit of collaboration. It has taken into account the underlying basis of tripartism and how we work with all of our tripartite partners to come to a very nuanced approach. We are moving into newer waters. I would seek and appeal to the understanding, the support and also the patience of all of us together as one united society, to come together to make this work for the betterment of all of our future generations of workers. 1.31 pm”
“The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP) do not specifically track complaints based on the complainant's perception of discrepancy between a job listing on MyCareersFuture compared to their hiring experience. However, MOM looks into every discrimination complaint and takes appropriate enforcement action against errant employers. In the past three years, MOM and TAFEP received a total of 446 complaints involving discrimination based on nationality. After investigation, MOM took enforcement action against a total of 34 companies for selecting a foreign candidate without considering candidates who applied via MyCareersFuture. Such enforcement action includes issuing a warning, mandatory corrective courses and debarment from hiring foreign workers.”
“COMPASS recognises that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to defining the quality of candidates. Instead, it looks across six criteria, taking into account individual and firm-level attributes, as well as whether the candidate fills a shortage occupation or contributes to a strategic economic priority. The various criteria are updated on a regular basis, with inputs from economic agencies and tripartite partners, the National Trades Union Congress and Singapore National Employers Federation, to ensure that it remains relevant and tightly scoped.”
“Candidates are exempted from COMPASS if they have a fixed monthly salary of at least $22,500, are applying as an intra-corporate transferee or are filling the role for one month or less. The salary threshold for exemption from COMPASS is similar to that for the Fair Consideration Framework job advertising requirement and is benchmarked to the top 10% of Employment Pass (EP) holders. Since 1 September 2023, about 10% of successful EP applications were exempted from COMPASS. Less than 10% of approved applications scored zero points on the Diversity Criterion (C3) for having over 25% of the candidate's nationality among the organisation's professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs). About 20% of approved applications scored zero points on the Qualifications Criterion (C2) for not declaring any degree-equivalent qualifications. However, the actual proportion of approved applications without any degree-qualifications is lower. This is because any qualification declared would need to be accompanied by verification proof. Candidates who have obtained sufficient points across other criteria to pass COMPASS may thus choose not to declare their qualifications. About 30% of all approved applications scored 10 points by default for the Diversity Criterion (C3) and Support for Local Employment Criterion (C4) because the company was a small firm with less than 25 PMETs. Smaller firms are given default points on C3 and C4 as their workforce ratios are easily skewed by small changes in their personnel. These applications will still need to score at least 20 points on the other criteria to meet the minimum 40 points required to pass COMPASS. The Member should not judge the quality of EP candidates on the basis of how they perform on any single criterion.”
“As I have said today, our pipeline in the medium to long term is 100 researchers at least. And for our own energy security, we also do not rest on one or two technologies. I said nothing is off the table. We have improved the diversification of our sources of procurement for natural gas. I think I have spent a lot of hours in this House explaining, expounding why we need to diversify our gas sources. We have also gone into Requests for Proposal (RFPs). We have given conditional approvals for up to four gigawatts of low carbon energy imports from around the region. We are also exploring potentially geothermal energy sources within our country itself. We are also piloting a new pathfinder project for ammonia – end-to-end – from bunkering to the generation of electricity using ammonia, with a view that ultimately, once technologies for a more economical means of transportation of low carbon or green hydrogen can be established, we will also go and use that as one of the sources for us to generate power as well. So, those are the different alternatives that we are now exploring, on top of also keeping our eyes on nuclear energy. I hope that gives the Member the reassurance.”
“I think the Member presupposes that we have made a decision on nuclear energy. And as I have earlier on, when I addressed the Parliamentary Question, I have said that we have not made a decision. The Member has to appreciate that very conventional nuclear reactors, the older versions, the Generation 1, Generation 2, the safety buffer zone is actually beyond even our radius or any part where you can talk about in Singapore. So, we have to wait to a small modular reactor, or the newer Generation 4 type of thermal reactors to be deployed commercially and for us to understand the safety profile before we make a decision. However, we recognise the fact that radiological safety, the understanding of the operational capabilities, the engineering science behind it, continues to be something that is important and relevant to us. Hence, we have not stopped training our local pipeline of talent, sending them overseas, attaching them to institutions all over, collaborating with them to learn and to adapt that expertise and invite the knowledge, so that at some point in time when we have finally made the decision, we will then bring them back here. I think this is a very clear enough roadmap given the nascency of the commercialisation of some of these newer generations type of small modular reactors. For fusion, as I have said earlier on, today, the net energy input put in to develop that fusion reaction is far more than what we are able to extract from it. So, net-net, it does not make economic sense in any way for us to go into it. But having said that, we are still nonetheless studying that, monitoring that space very closely. I think this is as far as we can tell you. We will not be able to commit to a particular timeline, but that does not mean that we stop looking at it.”
“There is a promising new area, which is done in Devon, Massachusetts in the United States by Commonwealth Fusion Systems. They are developing this as a sort of a co-development with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Plasma Science and Fusion Center, and it is called SPARC. It is a smaller-scale tokamak reactor, uses high temperatures super magnets to create the high temperature that is needed. To date, it is still a developmental project. The actual project has not come to fruition yet. So, we are watching that space very closely and in the process, we have also sent members of the local Singapore team to go there and study how that technology is going to evolve. So, for nuclear fusion, to answer the question, I think it is still quite nascent and we are probably at least a decade away. For nuclear fusion, there are small modular reactors, there are also Generation 4 thermal reactors which potentially could suit our needs. So, again, we have teams studying those technologies very closely, very intently. But today, there is not a commercialised small modular nuclear reactor or a Generation 4 thermal reactor for us to be able to learn from. So, we watch the space very closely. In our broad approach, as I have said before, nothing is off the table. We continue to keep our options open to all kinds of low carbon energy, including of course nuclear energy, both fission and fusion. I hope that addresses the Member's question.”
“I thank the Member for the supplementary questions. I think he has asked about three of them. We did our last nuclear energy pre-feasibility study in 2012. And since that pre-feasibility study, the National University of Singapore has set up the Singapore Nuclear Research and Safety Initiative (SNRSI) in 2014, and SNRSI focuses on research and capability development in nuclear safety, science and engineering. The Government has also set up the Nuclear Safety Research and Education Programme under the Research Innovation and Enterprise 2025 plan to prepare Singapore to understand the implications of the evolution of nuclear energy technologies and regional nuclear energy developments for Singapore, and also to enhance our operational preparedness. To his first point in terms of the numbers, Sir, the Government supports efforts to train scientists and experts in local and overseas universities. Over the last decade, SNRSI has awarded 30 scholarships for postgraduate studies in areas related to nuclear science and engineering. Thus far, SNRSI has also developed a pipeline of around 40 researchers specialising in radiobiology, radiochemistry and nuclear safety. We aim to build a pool of about 100 experts in the medium to long run. As for his last point on looking at nuclear fission and nuclear fusion, maybe I can address nuclear fusion first. There is a lot of excitement in the fusion space but to date, on the sustainable basis, the net energy input needed to create that nuclear fusion reaction far exceeds the output of the energy that we can harness. So, the closest system that many of the countries all over the world have developed still is premised on the tokamak technology.”
“Mr Speaker, just to answer the second supplementary question. We want to spur and continue to nudge companies to decarbonise ahead of time. We are mindful and we are very focused on achieving that target by 2050. Because this is a developing framework and the companies that we are engaging with are also looking at international benchmarks, in time to come, in about a year from now, I think, we will be able to give you a better, a clearer indication. I seek the Member's patience on this.”
“I thank the Member for her supplementary questions. For the first one, under this transition framework, EDB has been engaging the types of facilities in the EITE sectors. They are sectorally determined, so we have them in the chemicals, electronics and biomedical manufacturing sectors. These will receive transitory allowances. As to the number of companies, you can imagine, these are large sector companies – today, there are more than 20 companies and the list will continue to be populated. But thus far, more than 20 companies. The level of allowances, with EDB's involvement, will factor in the company's decarbonisation plans as well as benchmarking to internationally-recognised efficiency benchmarks, wherever it is applicable. In time, when appropriate, the Government will release aggregated information on the amount of allowances provided. But this is where I want to also sound a caution. We will need to bear in mind considerations, such as whether these disclosures will inadvertently divulge commercially-sensitive information. I think you can imagine that, in the energy and chemical sector, there are that number of players within Jurong Island and within the entire space. What was the second question?”
“As of 31 December 2023, 3,400 children under the age of five years old currently have balances in their Central Provident Fund (CPF) Special Account (SA). The median sum of money in these children's SA is around $1,000. Most of these children's SA were topped up through the Retirement Sum Topping-Up Scheme and they can receive top-ups from anyone, not just parents. CPF Board does not keep track of, whether the top-up to these children's SA comes from their parents. Among all givers who had topped up these children's SA through the Retirement Sum Topping-Up Scheme, around eight in 10 live in Housing and Development Board flats.”
“If there is strong interest among employers and unions to lead similar initiatives, MOM would be happy to support these efforts.”
“To encourage fathers to take on a greater share of caregiving responsibilities, Government-Paid Paternity Leave has been increased by an additional two weeks on a voluntary basis in 2024, to a total of four weeks. For workplaces, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) continues to work closely with Tripartite Partners to encourage family-friendly workplace practices that help both male and female employees better manage their work and caregiving responsibilities. For example, we will be introducing the Tripartite Guidelines on Flexible Work Arrangement (FWA) Requests this year, which will establish norms for employees to request for FWAs and have these requests be properly considered by their employers. Third, we must ensure that women have equal opportunities in the workplace. The Government will be introducing the Workplace Fairness Legislation later this year, which will strengthen protections against workplace discrimination on the basis of sex, marital status and caregiving responsibilities, among other protected characteristics. Issuing guidelines for pay transparency, as suggested by the Member, may not be effective if we do not tackle the underlying causes of the gender pay gap in Singapore. Instead, such guidelines could be counter-productive in the long term if they affect how firms choose to hire their employees. MOM and the Tripartite Partners will continue to work closely with the business and HR community, on initiatives that will contribute to reducing the gender pay gap. MOM had set up an Alliance for Action on Work Life Harmony in 2021 to co-create tangible solutions to improve family-friendly workplace practices, which benefit employees with caregiving responsibilities, empowering more women to pursue their careers.”
“The gender pay gap in Singapore has narrowed from 16.3% in 2018 to 14.3% in 2023. When we compare men and women with similar characteristics in age, education, occupation, industry and usual hours worked, the gender pay gap is lower at 6.0%. This adjusted gender pay gap is comparable to that of US and Canada where equal pay legislation or pay transparency legislation have been introduced. One key reason for the gender pay gap in Singapore is occupational differences. In other words, there tends to be a lower share of women in higher-paying occupations, such as those in science, technology and engineering. The gender pay gap in Singapore is also affected by other factors, such as the effects of parenthood and caregiving responsibilities, which women tend to shoulder more than men, as well as workplace discrimination. Addressing the gender pay gap will therefore require a multi-pronged approach. Firstly, we need to encourage more women to enter and stay in occupations related to science, technology and engineering and sectors where there's good potential for salary growth and career progression. The Government has focused efforts on addressing gender stereotypes about careers, starting from schools and by organising career fairs and mentorship programmes. For example, the Government has been working with schools, industry and community partners under the SG Women in Tech movement to attract, retain, and develop female talent in the tech sector. Second, we need to encourage a more equal sharing of caregiving duties at home and create workplaces that enable caregivers to continue working as much as possible.”
“Mr Speaker, I think the Member, Mr Leong, has decided to rehash the divide of "us versus them", "Singapore Citizens versus PRs". Again, I think the fundamental answer to the Member, Mr Gerald Giam's, question has been addressed. If he wants to start another debate, which we have done through Ministerial Statements delivered before, I suggest he files a separate Parliamentary Question.”
“Businesses, when they thrive, as the economy grows, they need access to workforce; they need access to workers; they need access to foreign talent; they need access to local talent. In a situation where our labour market is so tight, how do we ensure that our startups, our small and medium enterprises (SMEs), our large local enterprises and the MNCs, who make significant FDIs here in Singapore, can continue to grow and tap and leverage on the ecosystem, especially when we are already at close to full employment? Is the Member, therefore, suggesting that, because of the fact that we are at full employment, we do not, or we put a dampener on our businesses' ability to grow? I think that is very short-sighted. I hope that sets the perspective as to what we are thinking. Today, we are at a pivotal moment, with all of the transformation, with the significant disruptions happening, this is our opportunity to work together, to make sure that we continue to create and sustain a thriving metropolis for our successive generations.”
“Mr Speaker, as I shared earlier on, on a like-for-like comparison, you need to look at that 4,900 versus that 18,700 jobs in the same sectors. Because, really, more than 77% of last year's employment from the construction, process and manufacturing sectors, are typically jobs that Singaporeans do not want to be part of. So, really, if you want to compare the type of jobs that Singaporeans would prefer to be in and, as I have shared earlier on, our focus is on enabling, helping and facilitating every Singaporean who wants to choose a particular job or role, will be able to do so. So, look at that particular sector and for the record, in terms of the total EP and S Pass holders, it is still about 32% of our overall workforce. I think to say that we have expended significant Government expenditures, in terms of growing the economy and how many of these jobs end up with residents, I think that is myopic. Why do I say that? Today, if you look at the overall statistics that we have presented in our Labour Market Report, our long-term unemployment is at 0.7%, 0.8%. And how we classify long-term unemployment is anyone who is unemployed for above six months. Based on a snapshot, our resident unemployment is about 2.7%. So, really, that 2% is churn. Most of them, if they so wish to do so, would find a job within six months. So, it is churn. So, for all intent and purposes, we are at very close to full employment. We have also shared at the Budget, Committee of Supply, and Deputy Prime Minister has also shared in his Budget Statement, that for us to continue to grow, we cannot just grow the workforce indefinitely. We need to also grow our productivity and our value added.”
“While EP and S Pass holder proportions dipped significantly and it is still recovering back to pre-COVID-19 levels. Hence, the larger proportion of growth attributed to EP and S Pass holders last year did not affect PMET resident employment at all. I hope that clarifies.”
“I thank the Member for that question. Of the increase in total employment – the 88,400 – there was an increase of 4,900 residents and 18,700 EP holders and S Pass holders. So, that 64,800, that 77.6%, are actually in sectors or jobs that our Singaporeans do not typically want to go into. So, I think the right comparison would be that 4,900 residents versus the 18,700 EP and S Pass residents. So, if you compare that increase in employment growth attributable to that segment that I just talked about. Let me repeat that. Residents versus EP and S Pass holders, there were 4,900 jobs for residents versus 18,700 for EP and S Pass holders. The key sectors with the largest increase in employment for the EP were admin and support services, food services and retail trade. For the S Pass, the key sectors were process, financial and insurance services and marine. The growth last year in EP and S Pass holders exceeded growth in resident employment, as this category of EP and S Pass holders, the non-resident PMET employment is still recovering from the pandemic. The total number of EP and S Pass holders was 393,700 in December 2019 – this was the year before COVID-19. And we ended last year with 383,900 – this was in December 2023. If you compare over the few years that I talked about, that 100,000 jobs that we safeguarded, as a result of Government efforts to safeguard jobs during the pandemic, our resident employment increased every year since 2019 and the proportion of PMETs amongst employed residents increased in tandem as well. As I have shared time and again, the various COVID-19 measures that we introduced actually safeguarded resident employment during that period to maintain high employment rates.”
“The fundamental objective of our approach is to strike a balance between ensuring that businesses have access to skills and manpower needed to grow and succeed, while creating opportunities for our local workers to grow and to progress. Our approach has helped our locals to secure good jobs. Between 2013 and 2023, the number of resident PMETs increased by 380,000; and the number of EP and S Pass holders increased by 50,000. In growth sectors, such as finance, infocomm and professional services, resident PMETs increased by 190,000; and the number of EP and S Pass holders increased by 20,000. But more importantly, over the decade, resident income has also increased by 21.6% in real terms. So, we must not view residents and foreigners as a zero-sum game and continue to draw divides. Thriving businesses with access to complementary foreign talent will not only lead to more job creation, but also improve overall wage outcomes, as businesses expand and improve their productivity. By growing our economic pie, we will be better able to secure positive outcomes for Singapore and Singaporeans.”
“The remaining increase of 64,800, or accounting for more than 77%, was due to an increase in the number of holders for Work Permits and other work passes in sectors such as construction. These are not typically the type of jobs that Singaporeans want to do. Members of the House, there is a global shortage of skilled talent, with global cities competing for both investments and human capital. To stay competitive and to nurture a vibrant corporate ecosystem, we need to ensure that our businesses can access talent and they can expand. Thriving businesses create jobs for Singaporeans. They contribute taxes which, in turn, can be used to improve the livelihoods of our fellow Singaporeans. We continue to enhance the complementarity of our foreign workforce. We peg the minimum costs of hiring EP and S Pass holders to the top one-third of local professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs) and the associate professionals and technicians (APTs) respectively. By regularly updating the qualifying salaries based on the set wage benchmarks, we ensure that our EP and S Pass holders are of high quality and they maintain a level playing field for our locals. The Complementarity Assessment Framework (COMPASS), which came into effect for new EP applications in September 2023, also allows us to evaluate EP candidates holistically, based on individual and firm-related attributes. This ensures that employers bring in the right profile of foreign workers to complement our local workforce and that companies develop healthy workforce profiles that are powered by a strong local core.”