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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“Migrant workers are free to exit their dormitories and generally go anywhere in Singapore. For four designated popular locations – Chinatown, Geylang Serai, Jurong East and Little India – on Sundays and Public Holidays, the Popular Places Pass serves as a contingency measure to manage crowding. Thus far, crowd levels have been manageable and the passes available have been more than adequate. No migrant worker has been prevented from visiting these areas. The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has also not taken enforcement action on any worker for not obtaining the pass. Since the Vaccination-Differentiated Safe Management Measures (VDS) were lifted in October 2022, MOM has kept the Popular Places Pass effectively dormant. MOM will continue to review and ease safe management measures in line with the COVID-19 situation.”
“The CPFIS Self-Awareness Questionnaire introduced in 2018 will continue to help prospective CPFIS participants to assess if CPFIS is suitable for them.”
“CPF members who have high Ordinary Account (OA) savings and have no plans to use their OA savings for a housing purchase have a range of options to grow their CPF savings for retirement, depending on their individual needs and risk appetite. These members can consider transferring their savings from the OA to the Special or Retirement Account (RA) to earn higher risk-free interest of up to 6% per annum. Members can transfer up to the prevailing Full Retirement Sum in their Special Account if they are below 55 years old, and up to the prevailing Enhanced Retirement Sum in their RA if they are aged 55 and above. They can do so easily through the CPF mobile app or the CPF Board website. Members can also invest their OA savings through the CPF Investment Scheme (CPFIS). Under CPFIS, members have access to a range of investment products of varying risk profiles. For example, with rising interest rates, more members have invested their CPF OA savings in short-term Singapore Government Securities (SGS) products like the Treasury Bills through CPFIS. CPF Board has been working closely with financial institutions to allow members the option to submit applications online. CPFIS members with DBS as their agent bank have been able to apply online via internet banking to invest their CPF OA savings in SGS products since late January 2023, while OCBC and UOB are targeting to launch similar services by the first quarter of 2023. Nonetheless, as with all investments, members participating in CPFIS may be better or worse off, depending on the timing and selection of investments. Based on the latest data, while the majority of CPFIS-OA members made cumulative profits or broke even in the reporting period of FY2021, about 20% made cumulative total losses.”
“I thank the Member for his suggestion. Members of the House, this is an ongoing exercise. The Government tracks the employment outcomes of graduates through surveys. This includes the graduate employment survey as well as the comprehensive labour force survey. To complement these surveys, the MOE is working with the IHLs to pilot tracer surveys that can track key trends on graduates' employment status and wages five years after graduation. The findings will then be used to engage the relevant stakeholders to improve employment outcomes for all of graduates. In response to the Member's suggestion, on top of these surveys and the studies that have been ongoing, as I have said earlier on, it takes all the different stakeholders in our society to come together to recognise the contributions of each and every one of our workers, irrespective of the qualifications. So broadly, if I may share a bit under the Forward Singapore "Empower" pillar, we are further looking into how to help our workers develop their career health, by helping them to make clearer and informed career decisions; help them to better navigate the labour market as well as be rewarded for their skills. We believe that by investing in this and by continually helping them to upgrade, to re-skill, to keep relevant to the rapidly changing disruptions that we are seeing around us, they will then be able to, as a result of the re-skilling and the upgrading, improve their wages as well as their career prospects.”
“Over time, workers may also consider pivoting to new careers as interests change and new opportunities emerge in the economy. Workforce Singapore (WSG) offers close to 100 Career Conversion Programmes, or CCPs, across about 30 sectors, to help workers to transition into new in-demand jobs. More than 12,000 Polytechnic and ITE graduates have benefited from CCPs in the last five years and moved into new jobs into sectors including air transport, financial services and early childhood. Thirdly, we also need employers to consider ITE and Polytechnic graduates fairly for job and promotion opportunities and prospects, instead of being pigeonholed unfairly based on their starting qualifications. The Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices set out fair and merit-based employment practices that all employers should adopt when making employment decisions. The Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices, or TAFEP, has been supporting employers with advisory services and resources to implement fair practices. In addition, the Institute for HR Professionals (IHRP) works closely with enterprises and HR professionals to strengthen overall HR capabilities, such as via the Human Capital Diagnostic Tool (HCDT) to identify developmental areas and upskill HR in fair and progressive practices via IHRP skill badges. I have outlined our very comprehensive approach to ensure that our ITE and polytechnic graduates will continue to enjoy good career prospects and for them to achieve their fullest potential. Success will require buy-in from everyone in society to do our part to recognise, to value one another, and to embrace a broader definition of meritocracy.”
“For example, ITE is growing its Work-Study Diploma Programme from 1,200 places to 1,500 places each year by 2025, so more graduates can benefit from Work-Study Programmes. This is complemented by new sector-specific programmes, which were launched last year. To Dr Wan Rizal’s question on how we plan to engage with employers, IMDA, together with industry players, has set up the TechSkills Accelerator, or TeSA programme for short, for ITE and Polytechnics Alliance, or the TIP Alliance in short, to equip our polytechnic and ITE graduates with the skills to kickstart their careers in tech. The TIP Alliance will work with participating companies such as Accenture, Google and Singtel to provide internships and apprenticeships. MTI has also introduced the Accelerated Pathways for Technicians and Assistant Engineers for Manufacturing, or APT(M) to support manufacturing companies with progressive HR practices in hiring and training ITE graduates for Technician and Assistant Engineer roles, and providing them with career, skills progression and competitive salaries. Secondly, we need to support our ITE and Polytechnic graduates to continuously upskill and progress in their careers. As our economy continues to restructure, as it continues to transform, jobs as well as careers will also keep evolving. The National Centre of Excellence for Workplace Learning, or NACE helps companies to strengthen their workplace learning capabilities, so that their workers can upskill on the job. ITE and Polytechnic graduates can pursue modular upgrading or part-time full qualification programmes at the Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) while they are working. These modular courses can stack up to diploma, post-diploma and degree qualifications.”
“Mr Speaker, various Government agencies, including the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), the Ministry of Education (MOE), the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI), have been working together to tackle the issue of wage differences amongst graduates. There are ongoing efforts in partnerships with companies, and we are also working on new initiatives to address the differences in wages. It is important we narrow these differences to ensure social cohesion is not impacted. First, we need to enable our ITE and polytechnic graduates to enter good quality, in-demand jobs so that they can enjoy good career prospects and sustained wage growth. We do this in a few ways. Our ITE and polytechnics regularly review their curricula to ensure their industry relevance and this includes aligning with the skills framework and the Industry Transformation Maps (ITMs). They also work closely with employers and sector agencies to provide quality internships to students, equipping them with skills to enter good jobs related to their training. Additionally, MOE is scaling up Work-Study Programmes, where fresh polytechnic and ITE graduates are placed into jobs where they can deepen their skills through a structured training programme that includes on-the-job training, while pursuing careers related to their disciplines of study. MOE regularly tracks the effectiveness and relevance of these Work-Study Programmes. More than 95% of graduates were employed within six months after completion of the programmes. And based on MOE's latest survey findings, median salaries had also increased compared to what they received at the start of the programme.”
“BCA will continue to partner the construction industry in its transformation efforts.”
“With economic reopening, there has been strong demand for dormitory beds as employers have been hiring more migrant workers to catch up on projects. The number of Work Permit holders in the Marine, Construction and Process sectors has increased by 29% over the past year since January 2022 and is now 13% higher than pre-COVID-19 levels. The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has been monitoring the situation and has worked closely with relevant stakeholders to make more dormitory beds available. Efforts include maximising the utilisation of existing dormitory capacity and allowing more Factory Converted Dormitories (FCDs) and Construction Temporary Quarters (CTQs). We are also pressing on with plans to build more purpose-built dormitories. Employers may apply to set up new FCDs and CTQs. They should also reduce reliance on manpower through adoption of technology and lean methodologies, as migrant worker numbers cannot keep rising. For the construction industry, the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) has been implementing various initiatives to support firms in improving their productivity. For example, BCA extended the Productivity Innovation Project (PIP) scheme in March 2022, which co-funds up to 70% of the cost premium of newer labour-efficient technologies and innovations, including those that shift construction activities off-site into more productive factory-like settings. BCA has also engaged and worked closely with industry stakeholders to jointly develop a set of strategies to guide its development over the next few years, as part of the refreshed Built Environment Industry Transformation Map (BE ITM) launched in September 2022. The BE ITM hoists in the lessons learnt during COVID-19, including the need to reduce the industry’s reliance on foreign manpower.”
“The packages, announced in February, June and October 2022, seek to provide immediate and targeted relief, with more support for the lower-income and more vulnerable groups. This includes a Cost of Living Special Payment of up to $500 cash for eligible adult Singaporeans, and additional CDC Vouchers for all Singaporean households. Taken together, the support measures introduced since Budget 2022 will on average fully cover the inflation-driven increases in cost of living for lower-income and retiree households in 2022, and more than half of the inflation-driven increases in cost of living for middle-income households. We will continue to review the BRS keeping in mind the long-term retirement needs of Singaporeans. As part of the Forward Singapore Exercise, we are also taking a deeper look at what more needs and can be done to help Singaporeans meet their basic retirement needs.”
“The Basic Retirement Sum (BRS) is meant to provide CPF members with lifelong payouts that cover a basic level of retirement expenses. For this purpose, the BRS is set by taking reference from the lower-middle retiree household expenditure and factoring in long-term inflation as well as some increase in the standard of living. From age 55, members can withdraw their CPF savings in excess of the Full Retirement Sum (FRS), which is two times the BRS if they own a property.1 If a member sets aside only the BRS, his payout will be close to $1,000 per month for the cohort turning 55 in 2027, up from around $850 per month for the cohort turning 55 in 2022.2 Eight in 10 active CPF members turning 55 in 2027 are expected to have enough savings to receive at least the BRS payout. If a member sets aside the FRS, his payout will be close to $1,850 per month for the cohort turning 55 in 2027. We understand that some members may want to receive larger CPF payouts in retirement. They can do so by setting aside more CPF savings for retirement. A member who turns 55 in 2027 can receive close to $2,700 per month for life by setting aside the Enhanced Retirement Sum.3 Members can also choose the CPF LIFE Escalating Plan, which will see payouts increase by 2% every year. While CPF is important for seniors to fund their retirement, many seniors are likely able to rely on a combination of other means such as private savings and family support. The Government has also introduced schemes to boost seniors’ retirement income. For example, eligible seniors can receive up to $900 a quarter under the Silver Support scheme. To directly help Singaporeans cope with higher inflation and cost of living concerns, the Government has rolled out a comprehensive series of measures last year.”
“Table 1 shows the number of work injury compensation claims made by healthcare workers under the Work Injury Compensation Act (WICA), from 2017 to 2022. There was a change in reporting methodology in 2020 and so the claims numbers before 2020 cannot be directly compared with those after 2020. Since 1 September 2020, employers have to report any instance of light duties or medical leave, for more complete reporting of work injuries. With better protections for workers, the number of work injury claims from healthcare workers have increased. We have shown two sets of numbers in Table 1. The first applies the pre-2020 methodology across all the years and the second presents the numbers as reported from 2020 based on the new methodology. The Ministry only tracks the lump sum compensation for work injury cases resulting in permanent incapacity or fatality. Due to the change in reporting requirements, median compensation amounts have decreased in tandem as there are more claims for smaller injuries under the new methodology. The compensation amounts awarded to healthcare workers for permanent incapacity and fatality at the 25th, 50th (median) and 75th percentiles are at Table 2 below.”
“Before CPF members turn 55, they can request not to transfer their Ordinary Account (OA) savings to their Retirement Account (RA) if they intend to use it for housing. After they turn 55, members committed to a housing purchase may also use their CPF balances in excess of the Basic Retirement Sum (BRS) to finance the housing purchase. The CPF Board exercises flexibility for members facing financial hardship seeking to use CPF to purchase a 2-room flexi flat. For example, the Board has, upon appeal, allowed CPF members to use their RA savings that originated from their OA to pay for their housing, even if this results in their RA savings dipping below the BRS. The Board takes into account members' retirement adequacy and the outstanding loan amount when deciding whether an exception can be made. The Board also works with relevant agencies, such as HDB, to tailor our assistance to members' circumstances. Overall, we need to strike a balance between allowing CPF members to use their RA savings for housing needs and safeguarding such savings for their retirement, so as not to compromise retirement adequacy.”
“This question has been addressed in the reply to Question Nos 40 and 41 for oral answer on the Order Paper for 6 February 2023. [Please refer to "Workplace Fatalities Involving Hoisting Operations and Extension of Heightened Safety Period", Official Report, 6 February 2023, Vol 95, Issue 81, Written Answers to Questions for Oral Answer not Answered by End of Question Time section.]”
“This question has been addressed in my reply to Question Nos 40 and 41 for Oral Answer on the Order Paper for 6 February 2023. [Please refer to "Workplace Fatalities Involving Hoisting Operations and Extension of Heightened Safety Period", Official Report, 6 February 2023, Vol 95, Issue 81, Written Answers to Questions for Oral Answer not Answered by End of Question Time section.]”
“The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) takes into consideration the caregiving needs of households when assessing applications for the second migrant domestic worker (MDW). This includes situations where there is an elderly with dementia in the household. Other considerations include the household’s financial ability to hire and upkeep two MDWs in acceptable accommodation.”
“This question has been addressed in my reply to Question Nos 40 and 41 for oral answer on the Order Paper for 6 February 2023. [Please refer to "Workplace Fatalities Involving Hoisting Operations and Extension of Heightened Safety Period", Official Report, 6 February 2023, Vol 95, Issue 81, Written Answers to Questions for Oral Answer not Answered by End of Question Time section.]”
“Under the Workplace Safety and Health Act (WSHA), employers are required to develop and implement procedures to respond promptly to workplace accidents and ensure that injured workers receive timely medical attention. As part of workplace inspections, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) checks that employers have these emergency preparedness and response plans in place. Failure to develop and implement such plans is an offence under WSHA. For major workplace accidents, such as those resulting in fatality or where the injured worker is unable to call his or her next-of-kin, the authorities investigating the case will remind the employer to keep the worker’s next-of-kin updated.”
“The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) conducts regular surveys to measure the prevalence of workplace discrimination based on the lived experiences of our employees and jobseekers. We have not specifically reviewed the prevalence and impact of ageist language in job advertisements. However, we do track complaints in this area. Between 2018 and 2022, the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP) received an average of 49 complaints per year on age-related discriminatory job advertisements. Such job advertisements are unacceptable as they deny jobseekers of fair opportunities. All employers are to abide by the Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices (TGFEP), which set out accepted standards of fair and merit-based employment. As laid out in TGFEP, words or phrases that suggest a preference for job candidates of a particular age group should not be used in job advertisements unless there is a sound justification. MOM has taken enforcement action against employers for placing job advertisements that discriminate based on age or show an unjustified preference for a particular age group. Jobseekers who encounter discriminatory job advertisements can approach TAFEP for advice and assistance.”
“This is done through channels such as the mandatory Settling-In-Programme for all first-time MDWs, guidebooks and regular newsletters where MDWs are taught basic money management and advised to consult their employers or employment agencies if they need money on short notice, rather than borrow from moneylenders. Similarly, employers are educated during the Employer Orientation Programme and via regular newsletters to advise their MDWs to stay away from UMLs. MOM also collaborates with Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), such as Aidha and the Foreign Domestic Worker Association for Social Support and Training (FAST), to conduct financial education and literacy courses for MDWs. MOM, MinLaw and SPF will continue to monitor the situation closely and will work with the various stakeholders to step up efforts as necessary.”
“The number of Migrant Domestic Workers (MDWs) borrowing from licensed moneylenders (LMLs) has increased but remains low at about 150 borrowers per year from 2020 to 2022. On the unlicensed moneylending situation, based on harassment reports involving MDWs borrowing from unlicensed moneylenders (UMLs), the Singapore Police Force (SPF) estimates the number of MDW borrowers to be in the hundreds and that it has been increasing over the past three years. The Ministry of Law (MinLaw) has implemented measures over the years to curb borrowing from LMLs by foreigners, including MDWs. This includes restrictions on the supply of loan by LMLs, aggregate loan caps, a self-exclusion framework, as well as restrictions on LMLs’ advertising practices that prohibit targeted advertisements at vulnerable groups such as MDWs. On the UML front, SPF continues to take a tough stance. In 2022, SPF conducted 12 major enforcement operations and investigated a total of 1,391 persons involved in UML activities. SPF also partners relevant stakeholders to combat UML activities. For example, SPF works with banks to report suspicious transactions, including those related to UML activities. If the MDW is found to have borrowed from UMLs, her employer would be informed. The MDW’s work pass is liable to be revoked and she will be barred from further employment in Singapore. To complement enforcement, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and SPF have been working closely with the various stakeholders to educate migrant workers, including MDWs, on prudent financial management practices and the risks and implications of borrowing money.”
“The Career Support Programme was discontinued in 2020. We support jobseekers in other ways besides these programmes that Mr Abdul Samad highlighted. The SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package brought together programmes from various agencies to help jobseekers enter new jobs, or to pursue attachments and training programmes to improve their employability. These include the SGUnited Mid-Career Pathways Programme and the SkillsFuture Career Transition Programme. Thanks to the strong partnership with employers and unions, the take-up of the SGUnited Jobs and Skills programmes has been encouraging. From April 2020 to April 2022, around 200,000 locals were placed into jobs, traineeships and attachment opportunities under the SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package, of which close to eight in 10 were placed into permanent jobs. While there is a wide suite of jobs and skills programmes available, their success ultimately depends on both employers and workers. I encourage employers to be intentional and forward-looking in training their workforce. I also encourage workers to embrace learning new skills and be open to new career challenges. This is the way that both businesses and workers can seize new opportunities and succeed together.”
“The Professional Conversion Programme was rebranded as Career Conversion Programme (CCP) in August 2021 to reflect its broad coverage across a range of occupations. CCPs provide generous salary support for employers to reskill their mid-career workers for new jobs with better prospects and opportunities for progression. Workforce Singapore (WSG) offers close to 100 CCPs across around 30 sectors and works with sector agencies and employers to mount new CCPs for growth areas. For example, WSG launched the CCP for sustainability professionals last year, to prepare workers for new roles such as sustainability officers and carbon analysts. Since 2016, we have committed close to $1 billion for CCPs and more than 40,000 locals have benefited from them. Mr Abdul Samad has also asked about the Capability Transfer Programme (CTP). CTP was introduced in October 2017 and provides funding support to companies to acquire global capabilities not available in Singapore. We have committed about $5 million to fund projects that have supported over 1,000 local workers to date. Due to travel restrictions arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, the take-up of CTP had been low over the past few years. With the gradual resumption of international travel, we are observing more enquiries and applications for CTP and we expect take-up to increase. CTP is but one of several ways in which the Government supports firms in capability transfer. Enterprise Singapore’s Global Ready Talent Programme supports Singapore companies in building young talent pipeline through internships and overseas work opportunities. Structured company training programmes, which can be supported under SkillsFuture and the aforementioned CCPs, are also vehicles for skills transfer.”
“Every worker deserves a safe and healthy working environment. All of us, corporate senior leadership, industry associations, union leaders and workers, must continue to play our part to uplift WSH.”
“Thus far, only four countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) have achieved this fatality rate. The major injury rate per 100,000 workers saw improvements, from 18.5 in 2021 and 18.1 in 2019 to 17.3 in 2022. However, the annualised major injury rates worsened during HSP. More needs to be done to bring us back on track to our WSH 2028 target of less than 12.0 per 100,000 workers. The impact of HSP across the higher-risk industries is also varied. Construction saw the most improvement, where the monthly average number of fatal and major injuries decreased during HSP. For Manufacturing, the monthly average number of fatal and major injuries worsened during HSP. Similarly for Transportation and Storage and higher-risk services industries, the monthly average number of major injuries worsened during HSP, suggesting upward pressures remained. The Multi-Agency Workplace Safety Taskforce, comprising lead agencies of the sectors that contribute most of the fatal and major injuries, was set up as part of the HSP and is developing broad-based and sectoral WSH strategies. The International Advisory Panel (IAP) for WSH was also convened last month to bring international experts to weigh in on how Singapore can improve WSH. The Government has accepted the eight key recommendations by the IAP. Members can refer to the IAP for WSH Report for details of the recommendations and the 2022 WSH performance for each sector. While we have seen some improvement, we need to remain alert and maintain our vigilance. The Ministry is reviewing the next steps when HSP ends in February. Extension of HSP is being considered as well as further measures to strengthen and entrench WSH incentives and culture.”
“Lifting operations are one of the high-risk work activities that MOM inspects within worksites. From the inspections conducted last year, some of the commonly observed contraventions include failure to ensure lifting equipment were properly tested and examined by authorised examiners before use, lack of planning and establishment of lifting procedures, and non-compliance with lifting plans. We will work with industry to study further how to address these gaps. For the 2022 WSH performance, there was a total of 46 workplace fatalities, with a fatality rate of 1.3 per 100,000 workers in 2022, compared to 1.1 per 100,000 workers in both 2021 and 2019 (pre-COVID-19). Eighty percent of all fatal and major injuries were from the traditionally higher-risk industries – Construction, Manufacturing, Transportation and Storage, and some services industries. Falls from height, vehicular incidents and crane-related incidents accounted for more than 60% of all fatalities. The main reasons for these fatalities were inadequate control measures or safety procedures, poor implementation of control measures and unsafe behaviours by workers. These are preventable safety lapses and the ultimate root causes are that management accountability, incentives and training for WSH need strengthening. Overall, the HSP measures have helped to abate the spate of workplace fatalities, with the annualised fatality rate per 100,000 workers reducing significantly from 1.5 for January-August 2022, which was before HSP, to 0.8 for September-December 2022 during HSP. This suggests that with sufficient resolve, the industry can keep the fatality rate below 1.0 per 100,000 workers, which is our WSH 2028 aspiration.”
“Arising from the spate of workplace fatalities in the first half of 2022, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) had progressively rolled out interventions to increase enforcement, engagement and penalties; and introduced a six-month Heightened Safety Period (HSP) to instil a stronger safe operations culture and place greater accountability on senior management. Since the start of the HSP in September 2022, 15 companies found with serious Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) lapses following serious or fatal workplace incidents, were debarred from hiring new foreign employees for up to three months and their Chief Executive Officers had to personally account to MOM to take responsibility for the rectifications. More than 760 composition fines and a total of 48 Stop Work Orders (SWOs) have been issued to errant companies thus far. The Ministry is working closely with these companies to ensure that the WSH lapses are rectified. To further strengthen WSH in the construction sector, since October 2022, the Ministry had introduced a harmonised set of disqualification criteria across all public sector construction tenders. We also enhanced the Demerit Point System, where construction companies with consistently poor WSH performance will reach the penalty thresholds more quickly, after which they will be temporarily debarred from hiring foreign employees. Based on our inspection findings, we observed a 21% improvement in enforcement actions per inspection for Construction. However, it remained the top contributor for workplace fatalities and major injuries in 2022. The Ministry shares the Member’s concerns over fatalities involving hoisting operations, with two recent incidents in December 2022.”
“All employers are to abide by the Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices (TGFEP), which set out accepted standards of fair and merit-based employment. As laid out in the TGFEP, employers should only request for personal information from jobseekers and employees where there is a legitimate purpose for doing so. For job roles that require a high degree of trust and integrity, and control over company resources and finances, an employer may request from the jobseeker information on credit bureau rating as it would be relevant in assessing the individual's suitability for the job. Employers may not obtain credit reports directly from the credit bureaux. Under the Credit Bureau Act, if not for the purposes of credit assessment by a member of the credit bureau, usually financial institutions, a credit bureau licensed by MAS is not permitted to provide the credit report of an individual to any third party, including an employer, without the consent of the individual. Jobseekers and employees who face issues can approach the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP) for advice and assistance. Employers may also approach TAFEP for advice if unclear.”
“The Training Employment Pass (TEP) and Training Work Permit (TWP) are short-term passes to allow employers to take on foreign trainees or students for training. The TEP is for eligible foreign students or foreign trainees undergoing training in Singapore. As specified on the MOM website, TEP candidates must either earn a fixed monthly salary of at least $3,000 or be foreign students from a defined list of institutions. In addition, for foreign students, the training attachment in Singapore must be part of the student's course of study. The TEP is valid for up to three months. MOM also works with sector agencies to grant flexibilities in certain cases, for instance, for clinical fellowship training programmes where durations are typically longer. Such flexibilities are provided judiciously, and the majority of the TEPs are issued for a validity of three months. The TWP is for eligible unskilled or semi-skilled foreign trainees or students on practical training in Singapore. While there is no minimum qualifying salary, TWPs are subject to the Dependency Ratio Ceiling (DRC) and levies, similar to Work Permit holders. The TWP is valid for up to six months and the average duration is therefore six months. Both the TEP and TWP are non-renewable. There is no automatic conversion of TEP and TWP to other work passes upon their expiry. Employers have to apply for a work pass should they wish to take on the TEP or TWP holder as an employee, and the TEP or TWP holder must satisfy the prevailing work pass criteria on their own merit. Table 1 shows the historical annual average of the statistics requested for TEPs and TWPs over the period of 2013 to 20211.”
“I thank the Member for the supplementary question. I do not think it is a linear correlated type of relationship, because the real big issue over the last two and a half years has been COVID-19 and the externality, the black swan event, was so huge that, if you look at the JGI across the board for the entire economy and industry, it has supported three quarters of a million people. And I think it has benefited something like tens of thousands of firms. So, if you look at a magnitude of that part of it, I do not think, by virtue of the fact that it has helped so many people and has uplifted so many people, to then come back and say that, "Oh, as a result of that, our YRSG initiatives are insufficient". I do not think it is an apple-for-apple comparison. My point is that, moving forward, as I have said, we continue to review, to tweak the policies to see how we can help our ex-offenders to get gainful employment, even faster and stay in gainful employment even faster. But if we sunset the entire JGI scheme and we maintain it for a very targeted group of people, particularly the ex-offenders, then obviously it brings to mind, how do we protect the confidentiality status of this group of people. There are a lot of all these considerations that we would take on board and I do not want to front run this thing. We are working very closely with agencies on the ground, with MHA; and we will take the suggestions as proposed by the hon Member of Parliament Mr Murali on board as well.”
“We helped to set up training academies in prison and provide capability building opportunities to help supervisors better mentor ex-offender employees. MOM, alongside MHA, is looking into other ways to encourage more employers to hire ex-offenders. To the Member's suggestion in terms of our policy review, we certainly would take them on board.”
“I thank the Member for his supplementary questions. Indeed, as I have shared earlier on, ex-offenders have been employed in a fairly wide range of sectors. The implementation of the JGI has been accompanied by increased also in the number of employers registering with YRSG and then hiring them through YRSG. YRSG has also been seeking to on board more companies from the growth sectors. Today, quite a sizeable number of them continue to remain in employment nine months after they have first been placed. We feel that this provides very positive and very, very promising insights for us to continue to help them. With regards to post-March when the JGI programme is sunset, I want to also reiterate that the JGI is an extraordinary measure and this was introduced during COVID-19 to support employers to expand local hiring and is not a permanent – not envisaged and not planned to be a permanent scheme. We are reviewing future plans to see how we can help, taking into consideration the economic, the labour market situation as well as the outlook. As we speak, there are other employment support measures today by YRSG and these will continue to be available to ex-offenders and employers beyond March 2023. Some of these programmes include skills training for inmates consisting of combination of literacy skills, critical core skills and technical skills. Placement services, career retention support, as well as career coaches and advisory services to match inmates with suitable employers and to help them remain gainfully employed. YRSG continues to establish partnerships and they are recruiting more employers to join them. By recruiting, by increasing the number of partnerships with employers, we then put out Train and Place and Grow initiative.”
“Based on the latest available data, the Jobs Growth Incentive (JGI) has supported the hiring of approximately 2,300 ex-offenders as at May 2022. The implementation of the JGI has been accompanied by an increase in interest among employers to partner with Yellow Ribbon Singapore (YRSG) to hire ex-offenders. The top 10 sectors which have employed ex-offenders with JGI support are as follows: environmental services, logistics, food services, wholesale trade, construction, retail, professional services, food manufacturing, precision engineering and real estate. These sectors collectively account for over eight in 10 ex-offenders hired with JGI support. To promote the take-up of the JGI amongst employers for hiring ex-offenders, YRSG has been raising awareness of the JGI and other available support amongst employers. Employers who hire ex-offenders directly through YRSG, Industrial and Services Co-operative Society or halfway houses engaged by the Singapore Prison Service will automatically receive JGI if they meet the eligibility criteria for JGI.”
“The median percentages of the monthly Central Provident Fund (CPF) Ordinary Account (OA) contributions withdrawn to service (i) Housing and Development Board (HDB) housing loans, (ii) loans from Financial Institutions (FIs) for HDB flats and (iii) loans from FIs for private properties by income quintile among CPF members who had made housing instalments as at December 2021 are shown in Table 1 below. The CPF system was designed to assist Singaporeans to own their homes and to service their mortgages with little or no out-of-pocket cash. Together with a commitment and policy to keep public housing affordable and accessible, and with many Singaporeans tapping on their OA savings, the CPF system has helped Singaporeans achieve their aspirations to own their homes. In addition, our CPF system is also designed to assist members to save for their future retirement and healthcare needs, by allocating a proportion of members' CPF contributions to their Special and MediSave Accounts. These accounts cannot be used for housing.”
“The Central Provident Fund (CPF) system is designed to help members meet their retirement, healthcare and housing needs. The Government takes into account various factors such as the minimum interest rate and technical computation methodology when determining the CPF interest rates holistically. Even during low interest rate environments, the Government has continued to pay generous interest rates due to the floor rates1. If the pegged rates for CPF interests exceed the floor rates, members will also correspondingly earn the higher interest rates on their CPF savings. On top of that, the Government will also continue to pay 1% of extra interest on the first $60,000 of members' combined CPF balances, as well as an additional 1% extra interest on the first $30,000 of post-55 members' combined CPF balances. While changing how CPF Board computes and compounds CPF interests can translate into marginally higher CPF interest payments, the measures I have laid out already provide CPF members with much higher interest and a greater boost to their CPF savings. That said, we acknowledge that industry practices have evolved over the years, and we will take this into account as we review CPF interest rates periodically, to ensure that they remain relevant to members' needs and changes in the operating environment.”
“We will also continue to strengthen measures to equip companies with the know-how to implement FWAs well.”
“To support employees in their caregiving needs, employers are required by law to provide paid maternity, paternity, childcare leave and unpaid infant care leave. These have been progressively enhanced over the years. On top of these, employers may also voluntarily offer additional paid and unpaid caregiving leave. As of 2020, 19.5% of establishments surveyed1 voluntarily provided additional paid family care leave2, while 27.3% provided additional paid child sick leave3. These proportions have trended up over the years; in 2010, only 10.6% of establishments surveyed provided additional paid family care leave, while 19.0% provided additional paid child sick leave. To encourage more employers to support employees in managing their caregiving responsibilities, tripartite partners introduced the Tripartite Standard on Unpaid Leave for Unexpected Care Needs in 2018 and the Tripartite Standard on Work-Life Harmony in 2021. These set out best employment practices that progressive employers commit to adopt, such as providing additional unpaid leave to employees who need to take care of their children or other immediate family members with medical conditions, or other forms of enhanced leave benefits. Notwithstanding these efforts, tripartite partners recognise that leave provisions are just one of several ways to support working caregivers. It is also important to encourage and equip employers to foster and manage more flexible workplaces, which caregivers have said are a more sustainable way to support their needs. Tripartite partners will be introducing a set of Tripartite Guidelines on Flexible Work Arrangements (FWAs) by 2024, which will require employers to put in place proper processes to fairly consider and respond to employees' requests to FWAs.”
“There is no mandated requirement for occupational therapists to complete a return-to-work certification, whether in public or private healthcare institutions. Their professional standards are regulated by the Allied Health Professions Council, and they are trained to rehabilitate patients to return to everyday activities, including workers' return to work. Occupational therapists who take up return-to-work certification courses receive additional training, so that they can better facilitate workers' rehabilitation and return to the workplace through customised case management, which includes working with employers to redesign workers' job scopes and make workplace adjustments in line with workers' functional abilities. The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) previously entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOUs) with restructured hospitals to strengthen their capabilities in supporting injured workers' return to work. This included providing funding for the hospitals to introduce return-to-work certification courses for their occupational therapists. The MOUs concluded in 2022. Under the restructured hospitals' return-to-work programmes for workers with traumatic work injuries, 95% of all programme participants from 2017 to 2022 successfully returned to work. This was an improvement from the return-to-work rate of 75% prior to the introduction of the programmes. The hospitals continue to run the return-to-work programmes.”
“The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) does not track the number or the reasons why approved Work Permit (WP) holders do not enter Singapore. Occupancy rates at dormitories are currently high as the number of WP holders in the Construction, Marine and Process (CMP) sectors is currently at more than 10% higher than pre-COVID-19 levels. In the second half of 2022, the net inflow of workers in the CMP sectors to Singapore has continued to be high, averaging over 7,000 per month. MOM will continue to monitor the situation and work with the dormitory industry on measures to increase dormitory bed supply and help employers access available dormitory beds. Employers can also consider applying to build more Factory Converted Dormitories or Construction Temporary Quarters. Migrant worker numbers cannot keep rising as current levels are already significantly above pre-COVID-19 levels. We urge employers to adopt productivity measures to reduce their reliance on manpower to drive output.”
“Special Pass holders (SPHs) who are required to remain in Singapore to assist in investigations are generally allowed to take up temporary employment under the Temporary Job Scheme. However, in some cases, there may be concerns over public safety or interference with investigations. An assessment would then be made by the relevant agency on the SPH's eligibility to work. Eligible SPHs will be referred by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) to employment agencies to facilitate their employment whilst their cases are ongoing. Potential employers will also be informed of the SPH's legal circumstances so that they can make an informed hiring decision.”
“Labour market tightness eased slightly in the third quarter, but the ratio of job vacancies to unemployed persons remained at 2.2, with the bulk of the job vacancies in Manufacturing and Construction, and also in services industries, such as Information and Communications and Financial and Insurance Services. As such, I expect total employment to continue growing, but more moderately for residents given the low resident unemployment rate. The strong employment outcomes for Singaporeans did not happen by chance, but as a result of the concerted efforts of the Government and tripartite partners through the National Jobs Council (NJC), which contributed to creating traineeships and attachments to help jobseekers gain industry-relevant skills and boost employability. From April 2020 to April 2022, around 200,000 locals were placed into jobs, traineeships and attachment opportunities under the NJC's SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package. Workforce Singapore (WSG) will continue to support jobseekers to enter new jobs, such as through Career Conversion Programmes (CCPs) and the SGUnited Mid-Career Pathways Programme which we regularised this year. In 2021, WSG and its placement partners placed about 68,000 unique jobseekers, including about 5,000 through CCPs. Locals who need greater assistance in their job search can approach WSG or National Trades Union Congress (NTUC)'s Employment and Employability Institute.”
“The increase of 71,100 in non-resident employment in Q3 2022 was attributed to an increase of 11,300 Employment Pass (EP) holders, 5,900 S Pass holders and 53,900 holders of Work Permits or other passes. Resident employment has expanded each year since COVID-19, whereas non-resident employment declined and registered a very sharp drop in 2020 and 2021 and reached a trough of 211,000 below pre-COVID-19 levels in December 2021. Hence, not surprisingly, with the relaxation of border restrictions in April 2022, non-resident employment has increased more quickly as employers backfilled their positions. Overall, non-resident employment has increased by 167,000 from December 2021 to September 2022, but is still 3.9%, or 44,000, below its pre-COVID level. Non-resident employment growth in the last two quarters was concentrated in the Manufacturing and Construction sectors, which are more reliant on non-resident workers. The resumption of construction work that was backlogged due to the pandemic would continue to generate demand for non-resident workers. On the other hand, resident employment is 4.4% above the 2019 level. Significantly, more residents took on jobs in outward-oriented sectors, such as Financial and Insurance Services, Information and Communications, Professional Services, as well as in Accommodation, and the median income of full-time employed residents has grown from $4,100 in 2016 to $4,700 in 2021, an increase of 2.1% per annum in real terms. We are in a tight labour market situation, with most unemployment being frictional unemployment. Our resident unemployment rate and resident long-term unemployment rate have recovered to their pre-COVID-19 averages, or 2.8% and 0.7% respectively.”
“These cases form about 0.03% of all HDB flats sold in 2021. In 2018, HDB had streamlined its resale process such that buyers and sellers can better decide the asking and selling price of a HDB flat based on the detailed information provided on the flat in HDB's Resale Flat Prices portal. The percentage of members who sold below valuation and were unable to refund their CPF has since remained very low. These trends are in line with the design of the CPF system, which was designed to assist Singaporeans to own their homes and to service their mortgages with little or no out-of-pocket cash. Together with a commitment and policy to keep public housing affordable and accessible, and with many Singaporeans tapping on their Ordinary Account savings, the CPF system has helped Singaporeans achieve their aspirations to own their homes. In addition, our CPF system is also designed to help members save for their basic retirement and healthcare needs, by allocating a proportion of members' CPF contributions to their Special and MediSave Accounts for these purposes.”
“As at December 2021, 39% of members had withdrawn their Central Provident Fund (CPF) savings to pay for down payments or housing loans for their Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats. While the vast majority of local households own their homes, some of them stay in private properties, and only one or two members from each household use their CPF to pay for their housing typically. The proportion of members who had withdrawn their CPF savings to pay for HDB flats increased with age and higher Ordinary Account balances. For those aged 55 years and above, 43% of members in the first quartile of Ordinary Account balances, that is the 1st to 25th percentiles, 46% of members in the middle two quartiles, that is the 26th to 75th percentiles, and 59% of members in the fourth quartile, that is the 76th to 100th percentiles, had withdrawn their CPF savings for a HDB flat. For those younger than 55 years old, 13% of members in the first quartile of Ordinary Account savings, 40% of members in the middle two quartiles and 40% of members in the fourth quartile had withdrawn their CPF savings for a HDB flat. Those in the younger age group with lower Ordinary Account savings are likely to be young workers who are just starting their career, and thus, fewer of them have bought a home. When members sell their property, the sale proceeds will first be used to pay off any outstanding housing loan before being used to refund the principal amount of CPF withdrawn for housing and the interest accrued. Any remaining sale proceeds are then paid out to members in cash. Among HDB flats sold in 2021, about 90% of cases were able to fully make the refunds to their CPF accounts. Of the remaining 10% of cases, less than 1%, or about 12 cases, were sold below market value.”
“Employers are required to pay eligible workers the applicable Progressive Wage based on each worker's job scope. The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) enforces compliance with Progressive Wage requirements through inspections and investigations of complaints. Employers may face suspension of work pass privileges if they are found to be non-compliant with Progressive Wage requirements. Enforcement is complemented by education, so that employers are aware of the requirements. Employers can decide on workers' overall compensation structure, provided Progressive Wage requirements are adhered to. Since the Progressive Wage approach was expanded in 2022, MOM has not found any substantiated case of companies reducing total compensation to employees in response to Progressive Wage requirements. In a tight labour market, it is not in employers' interests to do so. Those who do so will likely not be able to attract and retain their workers. Furthermore, Progressive Wages increase annually, according to a schedule that is negotiated by tripartite consensus, which ensures that workers see meaningful wage increases over time. In the five-year period from 2016 to 2021, the real median gross monthly wages of Cleaners, Security Guards and Landscape Maintenance workers grew by an average cumulative rate of 13%1, faster than the median worker at 10%2.”
“So, how nimbly we are able to allocate our manpower resources – this will be critical to our success. In terms of our commitments, we will continue to track them. Our economic agencies also work with these companies under the programme. And I think that maybe you are not paying attention to what I have said. I said that there is a time limit to M-SEP. It is not indefinite.”
“I thank Mr Leong for his questions, but I think he probably did not capture the essence of what I was trying to tell him. It is strange because on the one hand, I think that Mr Leon Perera who had asked the question, does not seem to have an issue. Just to set it into perspective, the 30% cap, that was not the context of how I addressed that there is no "U-turn". Because Mr Leon Perera's point about the "U-turn" was whether this M-SEP scheme would subsequently – in terms of raising the sub-DRC numbers, and also the work permit numbers above the prevailing quota – appear to be a "U-turn". For the record, for the 30% ratio, we will continue to monitor this very closely. But the M-SEP, because of the very highly selective nature of the scheme and because of the stringent criteria that we have applied for Condition 1 and Condition 2, we do not expect, in the penultimate, the numbers to affect the proportion significantly. [Please refer to "Clarification by Second Minister for Trade and Industry", Official Report, 9 January 2023, Vol 95, Issue 79, Correction by Written Statement section.] Please remember, Mr Leong, that the M-SEP is here to help us generate more economic opportunities for Singaporeans, because in the second condition, it is about making sure that there are more training opportunities for Singaporeans and the jobs for Singaporeans. So, do not look at it in isolation. The first condition is about our hub status, about our investments in R&D and about how we internationalise our operations. But the second condition, Condition 2, is about the employment and the employability of our locals and the training of our locals. Today, we live in a rapidly changing and rapidly disrupting world.”
“I thank the Member for his question. Let us have a good start in making sure that the M-SEP scheme is a success. Today, by extension, if you want to extend the M-SEP support scheme to audit firms, I think it would really be too broad-based and it may run counter to M-SEP, which is intended to be very highly selective. Today, audit firms and professional companies can work with WSG and SSG to see how we can help them to scale up our locals to meet their manpower needs. I hope that provides adequate reassurance to do the hon Member.”
“I thank the Member for his very stark reminder, the exhortation. Today, for this M-SEP scheme, we are working very closely with sector agencies. I have mentioned them and I do not want to I sound like a broken tape recorder: we are working very closely with EDB, ESG, IMDA, MPA and also STB. And inherent within the sector agencies, these are companies that we have been in very close working relationships with. And so, I would say that as an extrapolation of that, they do have that finger on the pulse. So, to the Member's exhortation, indeed, that is also our concern. Hence, as we move forward, we are very ginger about it, in terms of how we approach the numbers. We will be very cautious and at the same time, very nimble in rolling out the scheme because we think that there is also some slowdown that we are experiencing moving into the quarters ahead.”
“Sorry, I lost my train of thought. Saved by the bell. [Laughter.] In the process of getting there, this is how we see where we can help a very highly selective group of companies that we have been working with, and we know that they are on the cusp of being able to make that significant pivot and to just help give them the uplift as necessary. And hence, it is very tightly scripted between Condition 1 and Condition 2. I understand your apprehension, but on the other hand, you can see that within the House, you have got both sides. We have got fellow Members of Parliament asking why can we not expand it even further. But we are saying, let us do this on a very tightly scripted and a very highly selective and differentiated scheme for these companies that can achieve. I thought that was the gist of the Member's two broad questions. I know you have a lot of subcategories. I am happy to answer them if you think I have not answered it adequately.”