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.”
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“The Employment Act states that employers must accept medical certificates by any medical practitioner registered under the Medical Registration Act or Dental Registration Act for the purpose of granting paid sick leave, not just polyclinics. Since this requirement is set out clearly in law and on the Ministry of Manpower website, there are no separate guidelines for employers. It is also covered in educational efforts, such as the WorkRight initiative, which helps employees and employers understand their rights and obligations respectively under the Employment Act.”
“As the average mortgage instalments may be skewed by a relatively small group of members with higher mortgage instalments, it may be more representative to look at the median instead. Of members aged 55 and above who had not attained the cohort Basic Retirement Sum (BRS), 6.5% were using their Central Provident Fund (CPF) to service monthly mortgage instalments with median amount of $380 in CPF savings used for mortgage instalment. Of members aged 55 and above who had attained cohort BRS but set aside less than the cohort Full Retirement Sum (FRS), 10.5% were using their CPF to service monthly mortgage instalments with median amount of $700 in CPF savings used for mortgage instalment. Of members aged 55 and above who had set aside the cohort FRS or more, 7.4% were using their CPF to service monthly mortgage instalments with median amount of $1,000 in CPF savings used for mortgage instalment. Of members aged 63 and above who had not attained the cohort BRS, 2.5% were using their CPF to service monthly mortgage instalments with median amount of $330 in CPF savings used for mortgage instalment. Of members aged 63 and above who had attained the cohort BRS but set aside less than the cohort FRS, 4.2% were using their CPF to service monthly mortgage instalments with median amount of $590 in CPF savings used for mortgage instalment. Of members aged 63 and above who had set aside the cohort FRS or more, 1.8% were using their CPF to service monthly mortgage instalments with median amount of $900 in CPF savings used for mortgage instalment.”
“Over the last three years, WSG and the National Trades Union Congress' Employment and Employability Institute (NTUC’s e2i) have placed more than 83,000 women jobseekers across its programmes and services. This represents around 47% of all jobseekers placed by WSG and NTUC’s e2i, similar to the share of women in the labour force. In June 2022, WSG launched the herCareer initiative, a new, focused effort to support women who are re-entering the workforce. The herCareer initiative includes employment facilitation programmes and services that support women jobseekers and walk-in interviews to meet with hiring employers on the spot. Third, we will continue to support women with caregiving responsibilities to participate in the workforce with peace of mind. Since 2012, we have more than doubled full-day preschool capacity to over 200,000 places today. We enhanced means-tested preschool subsidies so that more families pay less for preschool. Working mothers are also granted additional tax relief. To support those who are working and need to take care of elderly family members at home, we have expanded caregiving options that families can tap on. We will also strengthen efforts to ensure that all workers, including women, are treated fairly at the workplace. The recommendations in the interim report released by the Tripartite Committee on Workplace Fairness will prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex, legislate the requirement for employers to put in place grievance handling processes, and provide legislated protection against retaliation for those who report workplace discrimination and harassment.”
“We have made good progress in raising our female Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) over the past five years. LFPR for women aged 25 to 64 has increased from 74.8% in 2018 to 78.6% in 2021, which is higher than countries, such as Canada and the United Kingdom. As laid out in the White Paper on Singapore Women’s Development, we will continue to improve female LFPR through a few key initiatives. First, we continue to encourage the adoption of flexible work arrangements (FWAs), such as staggered working hours, part-time work and telecommuting. FWAs help caregivers better balance work and caregiving responsibilities. We have seen good progress in the provision of FWAs by employers; the proportion of employers offering at least one formal FWA has significantly increased from 53% in 2018 to 91% in 2021. The tripartite partners will give this a further push, by introducing a set of Tripartite Guidelines on FWAs by 2024. The guidelines aim to make requesting for FWAs a workplace norm, by requiring employers to put in place proper processes to fairly consider and respond to employees’ requests for FWAs. We will also continue to support employers with training and tools to implement FWAs effectively and sustainably. We are heartened that some employers, Human Resources (HR) professionals and employees have already come together to co-create FWA tools, through the Alliance for Action on Work-Life Harmony. Second, we continue to support women who have taken a break from their careers and need more support to return to work. They can tap on the full range of programmes and services offered by Workforce Singapore (WSG).”
“The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) does not track the average recruitment fees paid by migrant workers, as the bulk of fees are incurred in their home countries and are difficult to ascertain. However, based on MOM’s ad hoc interviews with migrant workers conducted in 2019, they typically incur S$2,000 to S$10,000 in fees to work in Singapore. This depends on factors, such as the economic conditions and the extent of intermediary involvement in the recruitment process in their home countries. We do not collect data on recruitment fees paid by comparable migrant workers working in other countries.”
“The Shortage Occupation List (SOL) is designed to complement efforts to develop the pipeline of local professionals. Enabling companies to access foreign professionals for shortage occupations allows these companies to grow their business and create new opportunities. Part of the criteria before an occupation is placed on the SOL is not just whether there is a shortage of such local workers, but also what plans there are by the industry and companies to train and place locals into these jobs. As these occupations are facing shortages, salaries are competitive and will not depress wages for Singaporeans. In any case, foreign professionals filling SOL occupations will still need to meet the prevailing Employment Pass (EP) qualifying salary. The EP qualifying salary is benchmarked against the top one-third of local professionals, managers, executives and technicians. SOL will be reviewed every three years. Occupations will be re-assessed based on whether the occupation remains in shortage at that point in time and whether commitments to develop the local pipeline have been achieved.”
“The Government is cognisant that some bus service operators are feeling manpower tightness as the reopening of our economy has led to an increase in demand for bus drivers. To attract and retain a core of local bus drivers in public transport, for instance, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) works closely with the public transport operators to ensure there are sufficient bus drivers to meet our needs. Public transport operators have introduced various initiatives, such as wage increases, flexible work arrangements and sign-on bonuses. LTA and the operators also work closely with the National Transport Workers’ Union to enhance the attractiveness of bus driver jobs. The Government also complements our supply of local bus drivers with foreign bus drivers where necessary. The Ministry of Manpower is working closely with Ministry of Education, Ministry of Transport and LTA to provide targeted support for public transport operators and school bus operators with additional foreign worker quotas on a time-limited basis.”
“The Heightened Safety Period (HSP) was introduced in September 2022 following an increase in workplace fatalities. Penalties for safety lapses were raised and greater accountability was placed on senior management. The HSP measures have helped to reduce the incidence of workplace fatalities. The Ministry of Manpower will share more details of the impact of HSP at the upcoming launch of the National Workplace Safety and Health Campaign on 23 May 2023.”
“Using data on job transitions and skills similarity in the labour market, CareersFinder helps individuals identify new job opportunities available on MCF that align with their profiles, and recommends suitable training programmes offered on MySF to help users achieve their career goals. Hence, CareersFinder will complement rather than compete with existing jobs and skills portals, such as MCF and MySF, by improving the experience of users searching for jobs and training courses. This is a response to feedback from users that they sometimes explore job opportunities and skills upgrading at the same time. CareersFinder will become more powerful with more data. We will continue to enhance it over time to make it more responsive to individuals’ needs. We are looking to partner private entities who are keen to use the recommendation algorithm to support job matching. They can also add value by building their own products and services based on CareersFinder to better serve their clients.”
“Career health has three broad aspects. First, being aware of opportunities in the labour market and how to seize them. Second, taking proactive and purposeful actions towards one’s career goals and keeping up one’s employment resilience. Third, being able to bounce back from setbacks. Better career health is key to helping our workers move up the career ladder, stay employable or switch to a new job that better matches their skills and interests. The Industry Transformation Maps (ITMs), Jobs Transformation Maps (JTMs) and CareersFinder are some examples of how we will help Singaporeans improve their career health. The ITMs and JTMs support the first aspect of career health in improving awareness of opportunities in the labour market and how to seize them. They would be used to guide employers and workers to prepare themselves for the future economy, such as showing them what are the necessary skills for future job roles and how to acquire these skills. CareersFinder will build upon the ITMs and JTMs by empowering all individuals to take charge of their career health through personalised jobs and skills insights and enabling users to better plan for their upskilling and career needs. The beta version of CareersFinder will be launched as a new add-on feature on MyCareersFuture (MCF) in Q32023 and will also be made accessible via the MySkillsFuture (MySF) portal later on. As a personalised jobs and skills recommender, CareersFinder aims to provide a more seamless user experience for individuals looking to upskill or make a career switch to progress in their careers.”
“The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) had previously studied South Korea’s Employment Permit Scheme and found it unsuitable, given the higher number of migrant workers in Singapore. This was previously addressed in MOM’s Committee of Supply debate in 2018. Foreign workers entering South Korea are also reported to face waiting times of one to two years. MOM does recognise that migrant workers may face high recruitment fees from intermediaries in their home countries. We have introduced legislation to limit the recruitment fees paid by migrant workers to employment agencies operating in Singapore. However, we have no legal jurisdiction to influence the recruitment fees incurred in their home countries. This is a complex issue that is not easily addressed, but we are open to and are exploring approaches that can help reduce the dependence of migrant workers on intermediaries in their home countries and, hence, recruitment fees. One idea we are considering is to facilitate direct recruitment channels for returning workers as they are more familiar with our employment laws and may be less dependent on intermediaries. This is still at an early stage of consideration.”
“The Tripartite Committee on Workplace Fairness released its interim recommendations in February this year. We thank the public for providing feedback. The Committee is considering the feedback received. The Committee targets to complete its deliberations and release its final recommendations in the second half of this year. Thereafter, drafting of the legislation will commence and we aim for that to be ready in the second half of 2024.”
“I thank Mr Giam for his supplementary questions. As I have shared earlier on, we live in a world where change is accelerating and the pace of disruption is also accelerating. So, on a broad directional guidance to schools, for instance, about our aspirational move into the greening of our economy, into sustainability, into the pivots and the transition into carbon credits, carbon trading and so on, the broad guidance we can continue to share with the schools. As I have said earlier on, we work with the sector agencies to continue to provide insights and inputs to our IHLs so that they can prepare our pipeline of graduates. I think to the extent of getting to the granularity, our continued encouragement, our continued exhortation to all of our students, regardless of whether they graduate from the ITEs, the polytechnics or the IHLs, would be that they must continue to embrace this constant learning, constant upgrading and constant upskilling because the world we live in today has and will continue to be in this state of constant change. I hope that addresses the Member's question.”
“We have also announced earlier on in our Committee of Supply (COS) debates this year about career health, about the add-ons in terms of the career finders to help our workers to continue to seek adjacencies in their upskilling, so that they can get better jobs, better paying jobs. To the Member's second supplementary question about whether we monitor wage changes over time, indeed, we do, and that is why we have also been calibrating upwards our qualifying salary with regard to the Employment Pass as well as our S Pass minimum qualifying salaries. And that follows a graduated skill depending on the age of the foreign work pass holder. I hope that addresses the Member's concerns.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, I thank the Member for his two supplementary questions. In terms of working with MOE, this will be one of the key impetus in terms of how we draft each one of the lists. The SOL, as I have shared earlier on, will be reviewed regularly to reflect current industry needs and shortages; and of course, in addition to earlier on, the adjustments annually. This will start on a fresh slate every three years so that we do not entrench any particular dependencies in any occupation. So, we work with MOE in terms of the growth of our local pipeline, including that of university and polytechnic graduates, because the pipeline of these graduate should help us over time to ease the shortages over the medium to long term. This is also further complemented and supplemented by other mid-career efforts, for instance, like the Career Conversion Programmes that we roll out through WSG and through the NTUC, the company training committees. We expect that, with time, some of these occupations that are currently on the SOL will be removed, hopefully in the not-too-distant future. On top of that, we also work with our other sector agencies, such as EDB, because they provide regular industry feedback to the Institutions of Higher Learning (IHLs) about the skills that are in demand, including those needed for occupations on the SOL, so that the IHLs can continue to update their course offerings accordingly. We are in this state where change is accelerating and there are also significant disruptions to the job landscape. So, we also encourage all of our graduating students to continue to learn new skills upon graduation and to pursue opportunities in growth sectors.”
“Rather than mandating fixed commitments for each firm, sector agencies have the flexibility to work closely with the firms, industry partners and education and training providers on plans to train and employ more locals with these skills in shortage. We will review that these commitments are met, as a key condition for renewing an occupation on the SOL. To Mr Desmond Choo’s question on ensuring jobs are available for prospective new entrants, we regularly review the SOL to ensure it remains responsive to changes in the labour market, including taking into account our local graduate pipelines. MOM and MTI will closely monitor indicators of shortage for each occupation and we will also track local graduate outcomes for the SOL occupations. The SOL will be reset every three years and we intend to adjust it annually to add or remove occupations if there are significant changes in industry demand or supply of skilled workers. This will help us to avoid entrenching dependencies on Employment Pass holders in any occupation.”
“Thank you. The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) evaluate occupations for the Complementarity Assessment Framework or COMPASS' Shortage Occupation List (SOL) based on three criteria: the first criterion being the strategic importance of the occupation to Singapore’s economic priorities; second, the degree and nature of labour shortage; and third, the sector’s commitment to developing the local pipeline to address these shortages. Labour shortages are assessed based on a set of quantitative indicators. We derive this data from MOM's Job Vacancy Survey, as well as data from the MyCareersFuture job portal on job applications and vacancies. We also supplement this with qualitative assessments from the relevant sector agencies, alongside feedback and ground sensing from industry and tripartite partners. Together, this provides a good degree of triangulation. It provides MOM and MTI with a fuller understanding of labour market shortage conditions in the respective industries. The SOL does not stand alone as a strategy to meet industry demand for skilled professionals. While the SOL helps companies access foreign professionals to plug immediate skills gaps and seize economic opportunities, it must also be complemented by robust efforts by industry to train up and place locals into these well-paying jobs. Hence, there must be clear plans, clear commitments by industry to develop the local pipeline, or else the occupation will not be included in the SOL. To Mr Liang Eng Hwa’s question on tracking of commitments to develop the local pipeline, MOM and MTI work closely with sector agencies to set commitments around local training as well as employment at the aggregate occupation level.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, may I have your permission to address Question Nos 17 and 18 together?”
“To be eligible for retrenchment benefit, employees must have at least two or more years of service with their employer. As stated in the Tripartite Advisory on Managing Excess Manpower and Responsible Retrenchment, the prevailing norm for retrenchment benefit is between two weeks and one month salary per year of service, depending on the financial position of the company and the industry norm. Based on retrenchment notifications received between April 2020 and March 2023, about 90% of eligible employees received retrenchment benefit. Of these employees, about 90% received at least two weeks' salary per year of service. The quantum of retrenchment benefit varies significantly across industries, but the overall median of retrenchment benefit paid is one month of salary per year of service. For employees in unionised companies, the median retrenchment benefit paid is one month salary per year of service while that for employees in non-unionised companies is 0.8.”
“The number of companies that are adopters of the Tripartite Standard on Unpaid Leave for Unexpected Care Needs has increased from 2018 to 2022, per the table below, covering about 430,000 workers in 2022.”
“The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) evaluate occupations for the Complementarity Assessment Framework Shortage Occupation List (SOL) based on three criteria: (a) the importance of the occupation to Singapore's economic priorities, (b) the degree and nature of labour shortage, and (c) the sector's commitment to developing the local pipeline to address these shortages. The degree and nature of labour shortage for each occupation is assessed based on a set of quantitative indicators. This includes data on vacancies that were unfilled for at least six months from MOM's Job Vacancy Survey (JVS), and the ratio of job applicants to vacancies from the MyCareersFuture job portal. The JVS also provides the underlying reasons why these vacancies were hard to fill by locals. When identifying occupations for the SOL, we focused on vacancies that were hard to fill due to a lack of specialised skills among the local workforce. The quantitative indicators are one part of a holistic assessment across the three criteria. They are supplemented by qualitative input from the relevant sector agencies and feedback from industry and tripartite partners, including on the sector's commitment to developing the local pipeline to address these shortages. The SOL is a dynamic list and will be regularly reviewed by MOM and MTI to ensure it remains responsive to industry conditions.”
“The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has not received complaints that resulted in enforcement actions in the last five years. However, in the course of our regular inspections, MOM inspectors have come across food storage and drop-off points that fall short of our expectations and dormitory operators have been instructed to make the improvements. These include ensuring that food storage points are adequate and sheltered. Dormitory operators took immediate action to make the needed improvements and no enforcement action was needed. MOM is investigating the cases that were reported recently in the media. We will take the necessary enforcement actions if there are serious breaches of regulations that require dormitory operators to ensure their residents' access to safe catered food. Dormitory residents with food-related issues can approach MOM's Forward Assurance and Support Team officers on site or report the issues via the FWMOMCare mobile application. MOM will follow up with the relevant dormitory operator and employer to rectify the issues. In serious cases, MOM will take appropriate enforcement action.”
“Our national policy and stance on discrimination is clear – all forms of workplace discrimination are not tolerated. This does not change with the introduction of legislation. The Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices (TGFEP) set out the principles of fair and merit-based employment. The Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP) takes every discrimination complaint seriously and will provide assistance to those affected. Enforcement action will be taken against errant employers. Introducing workplace fairness legislation is a major step for Singapore. We cannot legislate broad principles. The legal obligations and responsibilities that are placed on all parties need to be clear. Many other countries with discrimination legislation also specify a list of protected characteristics in their workplace anti-discrimination laws, even if the list may vary. The Tripartite Committee on Workplace Fairness has proposed for legislation to provide protection against the common and familiar forms of workplace discrimination. This approach will cover most of the discrimination complaints received by TAFEP and MOM. Legislation will work in tandem with the TGFEP, which will continue to cover all forms of workplace discrimination, and strengthen our framework for workplace fairness. Anyone who has faced any form of workplace discrimination can approach TAFEP for advice and assistance. TAFEP will be able to look into issues covered under the workplace fairness legislation and the TGFEP.”
“Employees who are not paid retrenchment benefit according to their employment contracts may file contractual claims at the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management. If mediation is unsuccessful, the claim will be heard at the Employment Claims Tribunals. For employees who are not paid retrenchment benefit according to their collective agreement, their union can bring the dispute to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) for conciliation, failing which the dispute can be arbitrated at the Industrial Arbitration Court. If there is no provision of retrenchment benefit in the employment contract or the collective agreement, the quantum is to be negotiated between employees, or the union in the case of a unionised company, and the employer concerned. In such a case, if the employer is unwilling to pay the prevailing norm stated in the Tripartite Advisory on Managing Excess Manpower and Responsible Retrenchment (Advisory), which is two weeks to one month salary per year of service, affected employees in non-unionised companies can approach the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP) for assistance. TAFEP will engage and urge the employer to adhere to the Advisory. In the case of a unionised company, the union or the employer may also seek MOM's conciliation if the parties are unable to resolve the dispute at the bilateral level.”
“Over the past few years, TAFEP has received around 20 cases of unreasonable contractual clauses each year. When engaged by MOM and TAFEP, employers have generally been cooperative in removing or not enforcing such clauses. MOM and tripartite partners are currently developing a set of tripartite guidelines to shape norms and provide employers with further guidance on the inclusion of restrictive clauses in employment contracts. Details will be made available in due course.”
“The tripartite partners' position is that employers should only include restraint of trade clauses in their employees' employment contracts if there is a genuine need for such clauses to protect legitimate business interests. Restraint of trade clauses must be reasonable – they must balance employers' needs to protect their businesses and employees' ability to earn a living. The Courts have set out clear principles on when such clauses are unreasonable and not enforceable. Employers should generally avoid including restraint of trade clauses in the employment contracts for lower-paying jobs. This is because employees in lower-paying jobs are unlikely to have access to information that would significantly harm their current employer's interest. Restraint of trade clauses are also likely to have a greater impact on the livelihoods of these employees. Higher-paying jobs, such as middle-management jobs, are more likely to interact substantively with employers' legitimate business interests due to the nature of the work and position in the organisation. There could be more occasions where employers may have reason to include restraint of trade clauses in the employment contracts of employees in these jobs to protect their legitimate business interests, compared to lower-paying jobs. Tripartite partners are committed to ensuring that unreasonable contractual clauses do not become the norm in our workplaces. Employees who believe that they have been subject to an unreasonable employment clause in their employment contracts may approach their unions, the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP) or the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) for assistance.”
“There will be checks at the application stage, as well as after the pass holder has started working, to ensure there is no abuse of the five-year Employment Pass (EP) for experienced tech professionals with skills in shortage. At the application stage, Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has worked with Infocomm Media Development Authority on the verification requirements to ensure that experienced tech professionals who apply for the pass have the skills required to perform their respective tech role from the Complementarity Assessment Framework Shortage Occupation List. The verification requirements include whether the applicant possesses the relevant qualifications and work experience for that particular tech role. The submitted qualifications need to be verified by background screening companies to demonstrate that they are authentic and awarded by accredited institutions. After approval of the five-year EP, the employment of the EP holders will be restricted to the specific shortage occupation. This means that if their employer wishes to deploy the EP holder to a different job role, the employer must submit a new EP application and their eligibility for an EP will be assessed accordingly. MOM will also conduct random audit checks and investigate cases surfaced by whistle-blowers to detect EP holders who are not performing the role specified in their application. MOM takes a stern view of employers who attempt to submit fraudulent information in work pass applications and will not hesitate to impose stiff penalties on offenders.”
“Perhaps if he would like a separate debate, he can file another Parliamentary Question on the issue of jobs statistics.”
“I was providing a point of clarification to Mr Pritam Singh's speech. So, I hope that we can keep it as that.”
“Mr Speaker, and to all Members of this House, I have consistently been providing the data. Perhaps the Member may not understand my overarching English, maybe the proficiency of my English. Today, in Singapore, we are at full employment. Our long-term unemployment rate is at 0.6% to 0.7%. In fact, in my reports, as I have shared, for the year ending 2022, the number of resident employment, that means, locals – SCs, PRs – resident employment has gone up to even before pre-COVID-19 days, before 2019. In all of my interventions, in all of my speeches, I have consistently shared that for the foreign talent that have come in, it has resulted in an increase in the number of jobs created and employment opportunities for Singaporeans. This is precisely my point earlier on to Mr Pritam Singh. When you want to go and dive into the data between whether that SC is born here or born elsewhere and then become naturalised, or how many generations, I think those kinds — no, no, I am not conflating it, Leader of the Opposition. I am not conflating. I am just saying, using it as an example to say that this is the type of data we do not release. So, I hope that he does not conflate the entire discussions together. I rest my case.”
“First and foremost, given the low number of ICTs and, as the Leader of the Opposition has persistently said that these are matters of national interest, it appears that in every single debate that we have, every single issue has now been put up as national interest. I am glad that he acknowledges and shares my point about having this common social compact. But I hope that in terms of, perhaps, prioritising some of these questions and having a more precise and surgical differentiated way of asking these questions could be one way of making it a lot easier.”
“To the Member's point about the confidential information that could have been released earlier, I believe that it cannot be the reason for the ugly xenophobia, the racial undertones surrounding CECA. I think that is the point that I would like to clarify.”
“Mr Speaker, thank you. I would like to seek a point of clarification to Mr Pritam Singh's speech earlier on. In his speech, he said that asking the MOM to release statistics is like drawing blood from a stone. I want to highlight the point that on his question on the number of ICTs, on 6 July 2021, in the Ministerial Statement, I had already provided the numbers. There were 4,200 ICTs working in Singapore the year before – that is, 2020 – a number that has remained consistently small. And, of course, the rest of it is available in the Hansard. It is also published in The Straits Times as well. I think the point to highlight to everyone, every Member of the House and particularly in response to the Member's statement is that many of the questions that were asked – both by the WP as well as by the Progress Singapore Party (PSP) – were not just on the numbers pertaining to ICTs. Indeed, the Member has also put the questions together on the breakdown of whether the jobs went to Singapore Citizens (SCs) who were born in Singapore or who were naturalised Singaporeans, amongst other types of confidential information that was not readily released. Notwithstanding that, in the interest of addressing the issue in Parliament, to the best extent that is possible, our MOM officials came up to put the statistics up required by MPs. I hope that we can have this social compact – and let us make no mistakes about it that the vitriol and the raw emotions at that particular point in time, I hope was really something that we should all try to avoid. And I hope that they were not due to other factors outside of what the questions were intended to be. And I hope that they were not due to deliberate efforts to frustrate our social compact.”
“Ultimately, we seek to assure all Singaporeans that as long as they work and contribute consistently to their CPF, they will be able to meet their basic retirement needs. We will also find ways to look after those who are unable to work consistently or who have a shorter runway of working years. MOM will continue to foster fair, inclusive, and safe workplaces, shape workplace norms, and ensure an even playing field for all. Employers must pay attention to fair consideration when hiring. We will require employers, by law, to advertise jobs on MyCareersFuture and fairly consider all candidates, before applying for an EP or S Pass. We will enact workplace fairness legislation to provide stronger protection against workplace discrimination and enable workers to seek redress for harm done. We will also continue to shape the right norms to help make our workplace practices more flexible. By 2024, we will introduce Tripartite Guidelines on Flexible Work Arrangements (FWAs) to help employers and employees adopt FWAs in a win-win manner. Even one workplace death is one too many. We remain committed to advancing workplace safety and health, and will strive towards our 2028 target to reduce the workplace fatal injury rate to below 1.0 per 100,000 workers. MOM must continue to be both pro-worker and pro-business. We will build on the strong foundation of tripartism to journey hand-in-hand, step-by-step with all workers and businesses towards a better future.”
“With the recently launched PW Mark, consumers and corporate buyers can play their part to support firms that pay progressive wages. Seniors who want and are able to continue working should have maximum access to employment opportunities. We have been raising the retirement and re-employment ages progressively, and have extended the Senior Employment Credit and Part-time Re-employment Grant until 2025 to provide employers with wage offsets. In addition, we have enhanced the Enabling Employment Credit to raise wage offsets to employers who hire unemployed persons with disabilities. We have also introduced a new Uplifting Employment Credit to incentivise firms to hire ex-offenders. A substantial group of workers provide services, such as deliveries and vehicle rides, via digital platforms. They need better protection. We have accepted the recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Platform Workers and will require platform companies to provide platform workers with work injury compensation and Central Provident Fund (CPF) contributions. Platform workers will also be able to seek formal representation and negotiate for their collective interests. A decade ago, about five in ten active CPF members were able to attain their cohort Basic Retirement Sum at age 55. This has improved to almost seven in ten today and is expected to reach about eight in ten in 2027. We are undertaking a fundamental review of our policies for retirement adequacy under the Forward Singapore exercise. We will bolster retirement adequacy and make sure the CPF system continues to work for the broad majority of Singaporeans. We will raise the CPF monthly salary ceiling to keep pace with rising incomes, which will help middle-income workers save more during their working years.”
“MOM also aims to build up a stronger local pipeline for corporate leadership positions. We want to see more Singaporeans becoming specialists and leaders in their chosen fields of our economy and growing their careers in Singapore and on the global stage. MOM will also support employers to grow and transform. Only with strong companies can we have a vibrant economy and good job opportunities. To this end, we will support our local workforce to constantly improve, even as Singapore remains open to foreign manpower that complements locals. From September 2023, we will roll out the Complementarity Assessment Framework (COMPASS) for new Employment Pass (EP) applications. Through COMPASS, we will encourage companies to build strong and diverse teams, with Singaporeans and skilled EP holders working alongside and learning from one another. The COMPASS Shortage Occupation List allows firms to access applicants with highly specialised skills, while the Strategic Economic Priorities bonus facilitates applications from firms that support Singapore’s strategic priorities. We will also support businesses that contribute to our strategic priorities with additional Work Permit and S Pass quotas via the Manpower for Strategic Economic Priorities scheme. Our growth has been and must continue to be inclusive. We have made progress in looking after vulnerable workers and will press on with our efforts. We will invest heavily to uplift the salaries and skills of lower-wage workers, and help them progress in their careers. By July 2023, up to nine in ten lower-wage workers will benefit from Progressive Wages (PWs). We have also enhanced the Workfare Income Supplement scheme to increase maximum payments and expand coverage to half a million lower-wage workers.”
“As we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, economic and geopolitical uncertainties are expected to weigh on the labour market. To tackle these challenges, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) will redouble our efforts to expand opportunities, strengthen support and assurance, and foster fair, inclusive, and safe workplaces for Singaporeans. As part of the Forward Singapore exercise, MOM and the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) have been engaging Singaporeans from all walks of life. Many are concerned about staying relevant and competitive, and having job opportunities that match their aspirations. As our economy transforms, MOM will empower Singaporean workers to take charge of their careers and improve their career prospects and resilience. MOM has launched Jobs Transformation Maps to provide individuals with insights on how technology will affect their jobs and how they can proactively take measures to remain competitive and relevant. Singaporeans can also tap on employment facilitation programmes by Workforce Singapore to chart out their career paths. We will be launching CareersFinder, a feature on the MyCareersFuture portal, to help workers plan for their next career move using data and artificial intelligence. For workers who face displacement, we will help them in their job search. For those inclined towards “hands-on” work, MOM will work with NTUC to professionalise skilled trades, to attract and retain more Singaporeans in such jobs through better salaries and clearer progression ladders. We have made headway in uplifting the image and attractiveness of skilled professions that work with the “heart”, such as nursing and early childhood education. We must do likewise for trades that emphasise craft and skills mastery.”
“Non-Malaysian Work Permit holders in the construction, manufacturing, marine shipyard and process sectors as well as migrant domestic workers attend the Settling-in-Programme. The Ministry of Manpower will review this from time to time, but has no plans currently to extend it.”
“Mr Speaker, to the first supplementary question, the answer is yes. We do take a nuanced approach; we depend on medical experts; we are certainly not the experts in determining what is the level of severity, the prognosis, to whether the actuarial risks associated with the mortality or morbidity, as a result of a particular illness. So, we do take a nuanced approach, but it is based on advice from experts and medical experts, including psychiatric experts, if you talk about mental illness. What we do need, however, is for the members, at the point of signing, to disclose upfront the pre-existing conditions that they have. Because you can imagine and you can surmise or conclude that if you disclose it after the event and you have a pre-existing condition that you do not disclose upfront and if something then happens, after that for you to then go back and have all that data, I think it would be very difficult for us to access that data. To the second supplementary question, in terms of the extent of the diagnosis, we constantly and continuously review the data that is available. And I think this is not something that is carved in stone in terms of the coverage. However, because of the fact that the HPS is constructed to be as widespread and as pervasive as possible to support the broadest segment of our population in their home protection – for them to be able to continue to cover the loans in the event of total permanent disability and so on and so forth – we also want to keep the scheme sustainable and affordable. Hence, the approach is a very balanced, very measured and a calibrated one. I hope that addresses your query.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the Home Protection Scheme (HPS) is a mortgage reducing insurance that protects Central Provident Fund members and their families from losing their Housing and Development Board flats in the event of the member's death, terminal illness, or total permanent disability. Having a mental health-related condition is not necessarily a ground that would make a person ineligible for the HPS. Instead, a member's eligibility for the HPS is assessed based on the overall severity, prognosis and control of the medical condition as well as their health risk profile. Hence, even for members with pre-existing mental health-related conditions, a majority of them are covered under the scheme because their conditions are assessed by medical professionals to be mild or moderate. Notwithstanding this, the HPS coverage is not extended to applicants with serious pre-existing medical conditions, including serious mental health-related conditions, if they are assessed to have significantly higher risk of mortality. Members of the House, this is in line with industry practice. This ensures the affordability of premiums for the majority of members as well as the viability of the scheme.”
“In addition to the three local banks, one Qualifying Full Bank1 has applied for inclusion as a fixed deposit (FD) bank under the Central Provident Fund Investment Scheme (CPFIS). CPF Board welcomes interested banks to apply for inclusion as an FD bank under CPFIS. Relevant information on the inclusion criteria2 and application process is published on CPF Board's website.”
“The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) conducts thorough investigations to identify the parties involved in all our cases. As part of the investigation process for the forgery of in-principle approval (IPA) letters, MOM will establish whether there is any collusion between the local employer or the employment agency with the overseas agent. From our investigations into all these reports, for the period 2018 to 2022, only one local employer was charged and convicted in Court for this offence. MOM will not hesitate to take enforcement action against any errant local employer or employment agency, who is found to be complicit in forging the IPA letters.”
“I thank the Member for his suggestion. I think it is something that we could potentially contemplate. But to the Member's first point about members who belong to low-income families, from our understanding, based on the statistics that we have been able to aggregate thus far, the main impact is actually on the Singtel discounted shares. Because, at the particular point in time, the Government took a stand at that time, as far as possible in terms of the growth, for the economy, we wanted to benefit a larger part of a group of Singaporeans. Today, the Singtel discounted shares are treated as per what you have suggested. When it comes to managing the investments, I think that it would not be prudent for CPF to manage the timing of the sale of these assets because, ostensibly for us, it is really to protect the member and his nominees to provide for financial retirement adequacy; and also to help them with the MediSave and also for housing. That was the construct of CPF. If you try to manage and disburse the investment proceeds and time the sale of the investment that the member has made and you make a wrong timing or you make a wrong a decision to sell or, well, you made a decision to sell but at a wrong timing, it could have adverse impact on the savings. Because of that, we left it to the beneficiaries according to the will. No, sorry, we left it to the estate to manage. But to the Member's point about some of the other potential improvements to the scheme, I am prepared to take them on board and consider.”
“The Central Provident Fund Investment Scheme, or CPFIS, investments are disbursed to the deceased member's estate. Doing so allows the beneficiaries of the estate to decide how best to manage these assets, including the preferred timing for the sale of assets, such as unit trusts and stocks. These decisions should be made by the beneficiaries, as these decisions could affect the value of the CPFIS investments. CPF monies, on the other hand, under the CPF nomination scheme, can then be disbursed quickly without having to wait for the beneficiaries' decision on the CPFIS investments. Members are informed upfront, when making their CPF nomination, that the nomination does not cover CPFIS investments. Hence, CPF members who want their CPFIS investments to go to the same beneficiaries as their CPF nominees, should do so through their will.”
“Thank you, Speaker, for allowing me to respond to both the hon Members of Parliament. We intend to put the Tripartite Guidelines on FWAs up some time next year, in 2024. Members would appreciate the fact that this is a tripartite initiative. So, it involves the Government, the Labour Movement as well as the Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF). So, in moving it forward, we need to get the concurrence and support, not just from a top-down perspective, but also from ground-up. And those Guidelines will then be set into motion. It will always be a work-in-progress to see how we can continue to titrate and calibrate according to the needs of the businesses and the needs of our workers, our local population, as well as also the needs of the employers. I hope this answers and addresses both the Members' concerns.”
“In 2021, 98.5% of re-employed workers1 were offered re-employment contracts2 of one year and above. We do not have further breakdown on the tenure of the contracts for two years and longer.”
“The Ministry of Manpower (MOM), together with the Building and Construction Authority and the Singapore Civil Defence Force, are investigating the explosion. This will likely take a few months to conclude. MOM will take action against those responsible, including prosecuting them, if wrongdoing is found. In the meantime, MOM has instructed Premium Automobiles Pte Ltd to cease all work involving the use, handling, collection, storage and disposal of automotive oils and fluids at the workshop and to appoint a workplace safety and health auditor to review their workplace safety and health management system. MOM will be sending a Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) alert via the WSH Council’s Bulletin and the relevant Trade Associations and Chambers, to remind workshops on the safe use and handling of automotive oils and fluids. MOM will also share the key learning points from the incident with the industry when ready.”
“Only Singapore residents can apply for jobs on the MyCareersFuture (MCF) portal. MCF serves both unemployed individuals looking for a job as well as employed individuals looking for a new job. The majority of users are employed. From 2020 to 2022, an average of 112,600 vacancies was posted on MCF daily. Most of these vacancies are from administrative and support services (27%), information and communications (13%), professional services (10%), accommodation and food services (9%) and manufacturing (9%). There has been, on average, one applicant for every five job vacancies posted on MCF over this period. Information with regard to selection for interviews and number of filled vacancies is not available as employers are not required to report such data. Moreover, employers and jobseekers adopt multiple recruitment and job search strategies simultaneously, and do not rely on any single portal. Hence, we should look more holistically at the proportion of active MCF users who have found jobs, as it reflects the outcomes of their job search across all channels. From 2020 to 2021, on average, there have been about 240,000 active local MCF users each year, of which about half found new jobs within six months. Of those who did not find new jobs within six months, close to eight in 10 were already employed at point of application.”
“The Employment Act protects all employees, regardless of salary. Part 4 of the Act provides additional protections to workers who operate machinery and vehicles or are involved in manual labour and earn up to a salary cap of $4,500, as well as other workers who earn up to $2,600. These additional protections cover areas, such as hours of work, rest days and other conditions of service. We review the Employment Act regularly, together with our tripartite partners the Singapore National Employers Federation and the National Trades Union Congress. The Employment Act was last reviewed in 2019 and we will be consulting our tripartite partners on the next review, including the salary caps for Part 4 protections. The review will take into consideration developments, such as the recent Progressive Wage moves, which will raise salaries in the coming years.”
“The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has received about 850 retrenchment notices since the start of 2023 and about a quarter of the notices were from the information and communications sector. To ensure that affected workers receive timely support, it is important for retrenching firms to comply with the requirement to submit notices of retrenchment to MOM within five working days after informing affected employees. Three in four of the retrenchment notices received were submitted on time. Among the late submissions, about 65% were submitted before the retrenchment took place, which was still useful in providing Workforce Singapore or Employment and Employability Institute an opportunity to offer employment assistance to affected employees. Employers who submitted notifications late are issued with caution letters.”