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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“Employers and jobseekers adopt multiple strategies simultaneously, and do not rely on any single portal, including MyCareersFuture (MCF). To find suitable candidates, employers advertise job openings through a variety of channels, including print advertisements, online job portals and recruitment agencies. Likewise, the sensible strategy for jobseekers is to apply for many job openings, across various platforms, in order to maximise their chances of success. For each successful jobseeker, there can only be one match. But this does not mean that the jobseeker did not benefit from having more options through various platforms. That is why it is not meaningful to compare the number of job applications received on MCF, to the number of such job applications that are successful. We instead look more holistically at the proportion of active MCF users who have found jobs. This better reflects the results of their job search across all channels. From the launch of the MCF portal in 2018 to 2020, on average, there have been about 170,000 active local MCF users each year, of which half found new jobs. The Member has asked for the profile of MCF users who have found new jobs. We do not ask MCF users to report their last-drawn wages. Of the MCF users who found new jobs, around three in four were formerly PMETs. In our efforts to support locals in their job search, we do not draw lines between Singapore Citizens (SCs) and Permanent Residents (PRs). PRs may have spouses or dependants who are SCs and providing employment facilitation support allows them to continue supporting these SC family members. However, in response to the Member’s question, the proportion of SCs among MCF users who found new jobs (84%) is comparable to that in our resident labour force (85%).”
“All employers are expected to abide by the principles of fair and merit-based employment set out in the Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices (TGFEP). These include recruiting and selecting employees based on merit, irrespective of attributes that have no bearing on the individuals’ ability to do the job, such as race and age. We do not accept employers citing discriminatory requirements by their clients. They will still be considered in breach of the TGFEP. The Government takes firm enforcement action against discriminatory employers. In the future, with the TGFEP requirements enshrined in law, the Government will be able to take a broader range of actions in the event of a breach, to hold errant employers accountable. With respect to service buyers, MOM and TAFEP will also continue to follow up on complaints of discriminatory practices in tender documents and engage them. We will also consider suspending the work pass privileges of service buyers or their appointed agents.”
“Platform workers are a diverse group and we are committed to supporting them in their plans. Many say they prefer such work because of the flexibility and autonomy it affords. For them, our recently established Advisory Committee on Platform Workers will consult widely and examine how they can be better supported. For those looking to transit to regular employment, WSG and NTUC’s e2i offer career matching services including career coaching, employability workshops and job fairs. For example, in 2021, e2i conducted several Career Reinvention Workshops in collaboration with National Private Hire Vehicles Association (NPHVA) and NTUC Learning Hub to help platform drivers explore new career pathways. In addition, digital services like MCF can be accessed at all hours of the day. The whole range of SGUnited Jobs and Skills support is also available to them. We know that it is challenging for platform workers to transit to regular employment, and WSG will continue to put in its best effort to support their job search.”
“For the first six months this year, the leading causes of workplace fatal accidents are falls from height and vehicular-related accidents. For non-fatal workplace accidents, the leading causes are slips, trips and falls, and machinery-related accidents. The Ministry regularly publishes reports on workplace accidents and their causes. The next release will be in early October 2021. The Member can look at these published sources for more information. Investigations into many accidents, including fatal ones, reveal safety lapses such as unguarded openings and open sides, and poor maintenance of heavy machinery. These suggest that adherence to safe work procedures has not been sustained. While the COVID-19 pandemic has led to cost pressures on affected businesses, it is unclear the degree to which this has contributed to safety lapses at the workplace. The Ministry does not condone any actions, cost-cutting or otherwise, that compromises safety. Employers are very clear that the safety of the workers must not be compromised under any circumstances, and the Ministry will not hesitate to take stern action against companies, officers and management for safety lapses. The severity of the sentence that is imposed on an accused company or individual is, ultimately, a matter for the sentencing Court to decide. The Prosecution assists the Court in its deliberations by: (a) drawing the Court's attention to relevant case law and sentencing guidelines from the High Court, if any; (b) highlighting the aggravating and mitigating factors in the case, including the culpability of the accused and the potential and actual harm; and (c) submitting for an appropriate sentence, in line with the Ministry’s observations on developing trends and areas of safety concern.”
“These workers would not need to seek consent from their original employer and will be granted a 30-day stay during which SCAL will take over the responsibility for the workers, including repatriation if they are unable to find a suitable employer. MOM is in discussion with ASMI and ASPRI to explore setting up a similar retention scheme for the marine-shipyard and process sectors respectively.”
“The Singapore Construction Manpower Exchange (SCMX), set up in May 2020 by SCAL in partnership with MOM, has replaced the Foreign Construction Worker Directory System (FCWDS) as the platform to actively facilitate the matching of workers in the construction sector. It gives workers the opportunity to continue working in Singapore and saves employers the repatriation costs. Workers whose work permits have been terminated can register with SCMX and the existing employer must agree to the transfer. As of end-August 2021, around 420 workers have successfully found employment via the SCMX. These make up around 20% of the workers enrolled on the scheme. Besides the construction sector, MOM has also partnered other trade associations, namely Singapore Business Federation (SBF), Association of Singapore Marine Industries (ASMI) and Association of Process Industries (ASPRI), to set up job-matching schemes for the manufacturing and services, marine-shipyard and process sectors respectively in March and August 2020. As of end-August 2021, around 340 workers have successfully found employment via these schemes. These make up around 50% of the workers enrolled on these schemes. To encourage more workers to be retained in Singapore, from 1 September 2021, MOM, in partnership with SCAL has introduced a new six-month SCMX (Retention Scheme). Under this scheme, experienced workers whose previous employment has been terminated but wished to continue working in Singapore will be placed on the scheme, with safeguards in place against abuse, for example, workers who job-hopped and changed multiple employers within the past 12 months.”
“As we resume more activities, Rostered Routine Testing (RRT) remains a critical part of our surveillance strategy in mitigating COVID-19 transmission risks, even for vaccinated workers. More regular testing will help us to detect and isolate COVID-19 positive cases more quickly. This is especially given the infectiousness of the Delta variant, as observed locally where there have been shorter periods between each generation of infection. A vaccination differentiated RRT regime has been progressively introduced for the Construction, Marine and Process (CMP) sectors and in dormitories since end August in preparation for the "Vaccinate or Regular Test" (VoRT) regime. The frequency of testing is guided by MOH’s framework for the VoRT regime. Since 13 September, unvaccinated workers undergo testing at a higher frequency as compared to vaccinated workers. For example, a vaccinated worker working in the process sector or living in a dormitory will be required to undergo a weekly test. On the other hand, unvaccinated workers living in dormitories will undergo additional ARTs at Day 3 and Day 11 on top of the baseline regime for vaccinated workers. We will work with MOH to continue to review the testing regimes for vaccinated and unvaccinated workers, as well as explore further differentiating it for vaccinated recovered workers based on the latest scientific evidence and as the COVID-19 situation evolves. We understand that employers and workers are making great efforts and contributions towards regular testing of their vaccinated workers. We appreciate their efforts in helping all of us transit to a COVID-19-resilient nation.”
“The Home Protection Scheme (HPS) is a mortgage-reducing insurance which protects CPF members and their families from losing their HDB flats in the event of the member’s death, terminal illness or total permanent disability. Today, HPS covers nearly all applicants, including some with pre-existing medical conditions, without premium loading. HPS coverage is not extended to applicants with serious pre-existing medical conditions to ensure the affordability of premiums for members and the viability of the scheme. For flat owners who face difficulties with their mortgage repayments, HDB has various assistance measures available to help them. When a member sells his or her HDB flat and immediately right-sizes to a new HDB flat, but is not eligible for new HPS cover due to health reasons, the previous HPS cover can be ported over to the new HDB flat.”
“MOM facilitates the sharing of feedback between employers via the employer reference channel. Employers may leave their contact details for prospective employers to contact them for feedback on the work performance of their previous MDWs. We understand the difficulties employers go through if an MDW seeks a transfer before the end of the contract. To help alleviate the financial burden incurred by employers, MOM recently introduced a policy to allow employers to share the Stay-Home Notice (SHN) and related COVID-19 tests costs incurred by an MDW when she entered Singapore, if the change of employer takes place prematurely. The recent concerns over MDWs changing employers mid-contract partly stem from the limited number of MDWs entering Singapore. MOM will continue to do our best to facilitate the entry of more MDWs within the parameters permitted by the Multi-Ministry Task Force to safeguard public health.”
“An employer’s consent is required before a migrant domestic worker (MDW) can be transferred to another employer. An employer may agree to the transfer of an MDW for various reasons. For example, when the employer’s family caregiving needs change, when the employer has relocated overseas, where the MDW was not able to meet the needs of the household, or if she was not able to get along with the household members and vice versa. Over the past 12 months, the number of MDWs transferred to new employers per month has remained stable. We understand the disruptions to households when their MDWs are transferred. Employers have to incur additional costs to hire a replacement MDW. Those with caregiving needs will have to make alternative caregiving arrangements while waiting for the arrival of the replacement MDW. MOM has been working on various fronts to help employers achieve a better match with their MDWs. First, we make available to prospective employers the employment history of the MDWs they are looking to hire, including key job scope and reasons for leaving past employment. For example, a prospective employer will be able to see if an MDW left her previous employment because the employer no longer needed her services or whether the MDW herself wished to end the employment. Second, to encourage employment agencies (EAs) to take greater ownership of matching outcomes, MOM is working on an initiative to require employment agencies to provide an option to refund 50% of the service fees charged to employers if an MDW employment ends within the first six months. This will be implemented by early next year. Third, we understand that employers are concerned that some MDWs may deliberately perform badly at work to get their employers to terminate their employment.”
“The requirement for employers to provide Key Employment Terms (KETs) to all employees was introduced on 1 April 2016. The tripartite partners had considered mandating KETs for employees hired prior to 1 April 2016 but decided against it after taking into consideration the administrative burden on employers, especially the SMEs. Furthermore, most employees would eventually be covered under the requirement for employers to provide KETs when they change employer or when their contracts are renewed after 1 April 2016. The vast majority of disputes handled by the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM) are not related to the lack of clarity regarding contractual issues but involve non-payment of salary or for overtime work. In addition, for our lower-wage workers, MOM carries out WorkRight inspections, to check on compliance, including the issuing of KETs. It has, likewise, not observed any disputes arising from failure to provide KETs to persons employed before 1 April 2016. Notwithstanding that the legal requirement for KETs does not cover employees hired before 1 April 2016, the tripartite partners continue to strongly encourage employers to issue KETs to such employees. MOM will also review this exclusion at the next review of the Employment Act.”
“MOM is doing our best to facilitate the entry of as many migrant domestic workers (MDWs) as possible, within the parameters allowed by the Multi-Ministry Taskforce. We have completed rescheduling MDWs whose entry approvals were postponed in May, for them to enter before the end of the year. We will continue to give priority to households with urgent and very challenging caregiving needs, particularly sick elderly and family members with special needs. We will also be accepting new entry applications for vaccinated MDWs from 15 October 2021, for entry into Singapore from 1 November 2021. But as entry approvals continue to be limited for public health reasons, it could take around three to six months before their MDWs can enter, depending on the COVID-19 situation at source and locally. If the situation improves in the region, we can approve more to enter. To meet the demand for MDWs, the Association of Employment Agencies (Singapore) (AEA(S)) started a pilot programme in July 2021. Under this commercial initiative, the AEA(S) works with its overseas business partners to implement additional safe management measures prior to the MDWs’ entry into Singapore. Households which need their MDWs urgently can consider this programme. The pilot has shown to be effective at reducing the risk of COVID-19 importation. AEA(S) and its partner employment agencies (EAs) are doing their best to scale up the pilot, as well as to expand the programme to include MDWs from other countries. However, they will need time to find suitable business partners to facilitate the ground processes in overseas countries and ensure that it remains effective at minimising importation risk.”
“Mr Speaker, with your leave, I would like to make a clarification with respect to my response to Ms Hany Soh's supplementary question on employment outcomes. Ms Hany Soh had said earlier that 57% percent of job vacancies were unfilled for six months or more. I would just like to clarify that based on the latest available data from 2020, the proportion of job vacancies unfilled for six months or more was 27%, not 57%. Earlier, I also said that nine in 10 people placed through the Career Conversion Programmes (CCPs) remained employed in the same company after 24 months. I wish to clarify that nine in 10 people placed through the CCPs remained employed after 24 months but not necessarily with the same company. Thank you.”
“There are still employers who would just prefer a "plug-and-play"; ostensibly, because some of them are in very high growth, and they keep getting new business coming in all the time, they have no time to think about training you and having that so-called comfort zone and that spare capacity of bandwidth to train. But we encourage these employers to fundamentally adopt some form of a mindset change as well. For the people who are coming on to be trained, for them, that confidence in themselves, the adaptability is also fundamentally important, because it takes two hands to clap. Through the Member's questions, it is obvious that she has thought through this very carefully. If I may borrow or leverage the Member's question, if I can leverage everyone here, it would be to reach out to all of the communities, the employers, the businesses and so on, to fundamentally change their mindset where they can be a lot more forgiving in their hiring. Different people have different skillsets that even though it may not necessarily fill that immediate job role, but if the company has that latitude, you will be able to find something for that Singaporean employee. I hope that addresses your question. 12.33 pm”
“I thank Ms Hany Soh for her question. There will always be a certain level of job vacancies in a properly functioning labour market. Sometimes, the job vacancies could just be due to a skills mismatch where the jobseekers may not have the full set of requisite skills to be ready for the job. So, as I have shared, this is where the Career Conversion Programmes come in. Sometimes, we even go above that. We work with the companies to develop these Company Training Committees to ensure that the jobseekers have a proper market-clearing opportunity for them to be able to match up to the expectations of the employers. Many of the employers who have actually worked with us to adopt this approach, have found out that the people whom they hire and even then the middle-aged workers, because of their experiential wisdom, the aptitude and attitude, they have actually found that after that conversion programme, that upskilling and reskilling, they found that they actually become pretty good fit. For those who went through this, nine in 10 that was placed through this CCP remained employed in the same company after 24 months. [Please refer to "Clarification by Minister for Manpower", Official Report, 5 October 2021, Vol 95, Issue No 40, Clarification section.] And 70% of them, about seven in 10, actually earned more than their last drawn salaries. So, we can see that these programmes that we have put up, we are beginning to see quite good traction. We need to let it run a bit more because you need to give it that runway before it tapers off or it plateaus off, then we can either reinforce or pivot to a new programme to build upon it. If you look at it, since April 2020, just the SGUnited Jobs and Skills package alone, WSG has placed 14,000 locals into this these CCPs.”
“] The next thing that we are exploring in terms of the Jobs Taskforce is to also investigate deeper to see how prevalent and widespread this displacement and under-employment that some Members think exists, would be. So, those are the things that we are looking into as well.”
“I thank Mr Edward Chia for his question. I think we constantly worry about that. That is what keeps all of us in the Manpower Ministry and also, I believe – Minister Chan is here – MOE up on our toes all the time in working and identifying. The key thing is that in the growth sector, in sustainability and the renewable energy sector, in fintech, in the ICT space, in the wholesale trade, in areas where there are growth, these are the areas that we target at. So, we prioritise, ensuring that the training, the upskilling and the reskilling of our Singaporean Core remains on track, so that we minimise the lag. Contemporaneously, we also, through our global network of the innovation alliances and so on, see what lies ahead and how do we even prep our workforce to stay ahead of the curve all the time. This is something that we do. For the rest who do experience that lag, in terms of the hiring, we do have a number of initiatives and programmes that we roll out to help them to catch up and also, to ensure that they are able to keep up in terms of the pivoting. If I were to go into the details of each one of the schemes, it probably will take us another session. But suffice to say that there are a whole slew of programmes available that today, we are already seeing quite a lot of traction. If you look at the headline numbers, our long-term unemployment continues to remain one of the lowest and even for our resident unemployment today, the numbers are, even though they are not at zero, it will never be at zero, but I think they are at a level that is round about pre-COVID-19 time. [Please refer to “Clarification by Minister for Manpower”, Official Report, 5 October 2021, Vol 95, Issue No 40, Correction by Written Statement section.”
“Thank you, Ms Yeo. I think these are very pertinent points. For the training part, in terms of the elderly residents, we do have SG Digital Ambassadors to go around to teach them. And for those, even with the literacy skills, the National Library Board (NLB) also has a whole slew of programmes to help them transform as well. But I think what the Member has hit on is a key issue which is really making sure that when companies and the workforce innovate, when they digitalise and so on, they must be relevant to the needs of the company. To that end, that is really a huge drive by WSG to develop these Career Conversion Programmes, because they are working with the company. On top of that, NTUC has the CTCs, again working with the companies to understand the needs and to see how we can help to redesign, if the jobs need to be redesigned, or to help to train our local workforce, our Singaporean Core to be adept and to be able to fit into the expectations of the company. Beyond that, I have shared earlier on that I have formed the Jobs Taskforce to understand where the gaps are, when there is an inability to clear that match. So, there are multiple initiatives at different levels to try to reach out to as many Singaporeans as possible.”
“So, emerging trends today that we can see, such as automation and digitalisation, have radically transformed and changed the way we work, with remote work becoming more prevalent across many workplaces. To retain our competitive advantage, to find good sustainable jobs for Singaporeans, our efforts to continue to transform and innovate our economy must continue so that we can strengthen, fortify our business environment and we can ensure that Singapore always remains the preferred hub, the preferred location for trade, for investment, particularly in new emerging growth areas, for instance, like additive manufacturing in Fintech. The anchoring of global companies which meet our desired profile and the aspirations of Singaporeans will help to preserve, spur the creation of good jobs, strengthen our Singapore Core. I think that point that we debated so long yesterday adds to the fact that we must continue to reinforce trust, reinforce the credibility, our reputation that other economies have, the faith and trust, in us through the years and, hopefully, through the decades ahead. We must also sustain efforts to help Singaporeans build skills which are relevant to the global talent marketplace. We have started the SkillsFuture movement. We have complemented it with a more nuanced, targeted Career Conversion Programme and these programmes have helped many Singaporeans take up new jobs in growth areas. At the same time, we are also looking to build up our CET pipeline ahead of demand in key growth areas in the green economy. Many of these initiatives come, they converge, we distill them and we develop a very targeted approach to help our fellow Singaporeans.”
“I thank Mr Yip for his questions. To his first question, as part of the Industry Transformation Map (ITM) planning, MOM and MOE work very closely with the different sector agencies to identify emerging and in-demand skills for jobs in the various sectors. This will then enable the training providers and the Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) to refine their course offerings to make them more relevant, to make them more targeted and more specific for the industry needs. Doing so will help to ensure that our workers have the necessary skillsets to take on good jobs. In addition, under my other portfolio in MTI, through EDB, through ESG, we have got various market readiness grants. There is also the global innovation alliance network, with the global connect network that we work very closely with SBF, to try to see the needs, the industry trends in many of the developed countries all over the world and to see how we can continue to keep our local workforce abreast of changes to keep them ahead and to keep them competitively sharp. I hope that answers the Member's first question. To the Member's second point about plans and strategies for our workforce and companies, indeed, this pandemic has accelerated disruption and transformation. It has highlighted very clearly the need for businesses to strengthen their resilience as well as to have to constantly think about the disruptive changes that will come and to diversify. This would not just apply to business transformation but also to the workforce transformation as well, to keep our workers adept, to keep them agile and nimble.”
“They serve as a useful compass for employers, in particular our SMEs, and workers to prepare themselves for future jobs and skills. We have already launched three JTMs: Human Resources, Logistics and Financial Services. Twelve more are in progress. In conclusion, Mr Speaker, Sir, the road ahead will continue to be uneven and bumpy. However, I am confident that with the Government and tripartite partners continuing to work closely and just as importantly, with your concerns, with your collective efforts, we will be able to help our businesses and workers to emerge stronger together.”
“0 to transform and digitalise, WSG has partnered with the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) to launch the Industry 4.0 Human Capital Initiative (IHCI) to encourage companies in these sectors to trial and adopt Industry 4.0 technologies early while developing their workforce's digital competencies to ensure that workers can grow alongside their companies. Thus far, close to 90 companies have come on board the IHCI, with an additional 210 expected to do so by September 2022. So, we hope that by the third quarter, we will have 300 companies onboarding the IHCI. Parallel to this effort, the unions and employers have also established more than 600 company training committees (CTCs) where they work closely together to drive business and workforce transformation, including in digital competencies. The third category of jobs, where deep technology skills are required, is also where we see some of the highest demand across the economy. IMDA's TechSkills Accelerator (or TeSA) initiative serves to meet this demand, having placed and trained more than 10,000 locals in good tech jobs since 2016, with 2,500 placed last year in 2020. Locals placed through TeSA have taken on jobs, such as Systems Analysts or Data Scientists, across sectors including Information and Communications, Financial Services, Professional Services, Manufacturing and Wholesale Trade and Retail. I know that business and workforce transformation can be daunting. That is why we have set aside close to $10 million to develop Jobs Transformation Maps (JTMs). The JTMs are detailed sectoral manpower studies that map out the impact of technology and digitalisation on individual jobs over the medium term.”
“Mr Yip Hon Weng has asked about the number of workers who have been given employment assistance to cope with digital disruption. As digitalisation accelerates, it has affected jobs to varying degrees. First, many jobs would require workers to acquire basic digital literacy skills such as learning how to use digital communication platforms to market a product. Second, some jobs will require workers to learn how to implement digital technology such as robotic process automation to automate processes or to perform more complex analysis. Third, there will be growing demand for deep technology skills, which will bring us into the next bound of digital transformation. Many workers in the first category will make this transition seamlessly. However, some will need additional support. Hence, we work with unions, Trade Associations and Chambers (TACs), companies and education institutions to scaffold their learning. Under the SME Digital Reboot programme, Ngee Ann Polytechnic and NTUC LearningHub will work with 500 SMEs to provide workers with training in areas such as digital marketing and digital communication. Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) also drives digital adoption among vulnerable segments under the SG Digital Office while the National Library Board runs a range of digital readiness programmes on digital work skills, competencies and emerging technologies. Moving on to the second category, where we will see more workers becoming implementers of digital technology. This is already happening rapidly in sectors such as logistics and manufacturing, where digital technology is embedded in the physical world, or what we term as Industry 4.0. To help workers and companies ride on the opportunities presented by Industry 4.”
“The Jobs Taskforce will work with tripartite partners and employers to make and enable the labour market to function even better. Some vacancies take longer to fill because the wage or working conditions may not be as attractive as other options available to jobseekers. If they remain persistently unfilled, businesses may have to redesign the job roles. They may even have to review their strategies. WSG offers job redesign support under the Productivity Solutions Grant (PSG-JR), which was launched in December 2020. Through PSG-JR, enterprises can receive support to work with pre-approved job redesign consultants to redesign their work processes, their tasks and their responsibilities. We welcome all enterprises to come on board to troubleshoot any difficulties they may face in hiring new workers and grow their businesses, especially in our Singapore Core. Other vacancies may persist because the employer is hoping to get someone who is already fully trained and ready to jump straight into the job from day one. We are helping employers to go beyond the "plug-and-play" mindset and approach by supporting Career Conversion Programmes (CCPs). Employers who have adopted this approach have found that people recruited through CCPs are a good fit. About nine in 10 of the people placed through CCPs remained employed after 24 months and about seven in 10 earned more than their last drawn salaries. Finally, some vacancies persist because of a shortage of skills in the workforce and among jobseekers. Our industries are digitalising rapidly and as pointed out by Mr Yip Hon Weng, Ms Yeo Wan Ling and Mr Edward Chia, digital competencies are very highly sought after.”
“For example, in 2021, NTUC's e2i conducted several career re-invention workshops in collaboration with the National Private Hire Vehicles Association and NTUC LearningHub to help platform drivers explore new career pathways. In addition, digital services like the MyCareersFuture (MCF) portal can be accessed at all hours of the day. The whole range of SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package support is also available to them. We know that it is challenging for platform workers to transit to regular employment but WSG will continue to put in its best effort to support them in their job search. Ms Hany Soh, Mr Yip Hon Weng and Mr Liang Eng Hwa asked about how jobseekers are matched to job vacancies. Mr Speaker, our labour market exists in a constant state of dynamic flux and creative tension. It would not be possible to match all job vacancies with jobseekers perfectly. We understand and we appreciate this and more so especially when we or our loved ones are looking for a job. It always helps to have as wide an option base as possible and to choose the best option that is available. But if vacancies are accumulating and they are left unfilled, it also indicates that the labour market is having difficulty in accessing and finding the right talent to fill these vacancies, and businesses have to continue to run. Our latest available data from 2020 show that about 27% of job vacancies were unfilled for six months or more. This is actually down slightly from the pre-COVID-19 situation. In September, I set up the Jobs Taskforce to coordinate efforts across key Government agencies to enable more locals to take up in-demand jobs with good wages and prospects in key sectors of our economy such as financial services and info-communications and technology.”
“JGI provides additional support when employers hire mature workers, persons with disabilities as well as ex-offenders. Each of such hires could attract up to $36,000 of JGI support. I strongly encourage and urge all of our companies looking to recruit to not delay their plans and bring forward their hires. Mr Yip Hon Weng asked about support for senior workers to stay in their current jobs or to pivot to new jobs in other industries. We should be encouraged by the resilience of our senior workers. Notwithstanding the recession, the employment rate of those aged 60 and above increased slightly from 38.5% in 2019 to 39% in 2020. As mentioned in my response to Ms Yeo Wan Ling and Ms Jessica Tan just now, the Government has introduced the Senior Worker Support Package in 2020 with a budget of $1.5 billion to support employers in hiring and retaining senior workers over three years. I will not go over the details a second time. I think all of you would have gotten the handout earlier as well. Mr Yip Hon Weng also asked about platform workers. Platform workers are a diverse group and we are very committed to supporting them in their plans. Many, in a feedback survey to us, tell us that they prefer such work because of the flexibility and the autonomy it affords. For them, we have recently established an Advisory Committee on Platform Workers. This committee will consult widely and examine, get feedback from the industry to see how they can be better supported. For those looking to transit to regular employment, WSG and NTUC's e2i offer career matching services, including career coaching, employability workshops and job fairs.”
“Notwithstanding Phase Two (Heightened Alert) earlier this year, affected sectors such as F&B services, retail trade and arts, entertainment and recreation did not see elevated retrenchments as more employers put workers on short work-week or temporary lay-offs instead. We are closely monitoring post-retrenchment outcomes. Amongst all retrenched residents, the six-month re-entry rate was 64.4% in the second quarter of 2021. This is an improvement from 61.6% in 2020. This is also comparable to pre-COVID-19 re-entry rates in 2018 and 2019. The tripartite Retrenchment Taskforce follows up with every notified retrenchment by proactively reaching out to the affected workers and offering them employment assistance. This includes providing information kits on career resources, briefings on available employment facilitation and one-on-one coaching by WSG and NTUC-e2i's career coaches. Third, we encourage companies who need workers to create jobs. We provide the Jobs Growth Incentive (JGI) to support employers expand local hiring. From September 2020 to May 2021, we supported 58,000 businesses to hire more than 400,000 locals. Four in 10 were in growth sectors such as wholesale trade, professional services and information and communications, while one in five were in the recovering F&B services and retail sectors. Encouragingly, half of the JGI-supported hires were not employed at the point of hire and six in 10 – I think this is in reference to the hon Member of Parliament Jessica Tan's earlier question – earned the same or higher pay compared to their last drawn. I also recently announced the extension of the JGI to March 2022 to secure the labour market recovery and to support our local jobseekers.”
“We have also appointed Adecco as the first SGUnited Placement Partner, to offer another avenue for mature workers aged 40 and above, long-term unemployed jobseekers, or persons with disabilities, to access professional career matching services. Close to 44,000 jobseekers found jobs through these career matching services. Members have asked about specific worker segments. Let me address these questions. Dr Tan Yia Swam, Mr Edward Chia and Mr Sharael Taha were concerned about workers being displaced from distressed sectors. We are supporting such workers through a variety of ways. The first and most important priority is to save jobs. The Jobs Support Scheme has disbursed more than $27.6 billion as of September 2021, with most support going towards the hardest-hit sectors. This is helping companies preserve their workforce's skills and competencies. We are continually recalibrating our support based on each sector's specific needs and recovery trajectory. The most-affected sectors such as F&B services, retail and hotels have rolled out Job Redesign Reskilling programmes with WSG's assistance. They are using the downtime to train and to upskill existing workers to take on redesigned and enhanced job roles as part of their industry transformation. We have reskilled and redeployed close to 9,000 workers through these programmes. Second, we stand ready to support some of the workers who may have to leave their jobs. The number of retrenchments rose to about 26,000 in 2020, although the incidence of retrenchment remained lower than past recessionary years. Retrenchment numbers have improved since the fourth quarter of 2020 and have decreased to 2,340 in the second quarter of 2021. This is comparable to levels seen in 2018 and 2019.”
“On employment outcomes and support for workers, I hope to give a more holistic reply. I thank all the Members for the concern for our jobseekers amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. On the whole, the labour market continued its gradual recovery in the first half of 2021. Although the ratio of job vacancies to unemployed persons reached a high of 1.63 in June 2021 – we have got very, very high job vacancies relative to unemployed persons – however, many of these openings were in the construction sector where the shortage has been due to public health border measures. There were also pockets of recovery in other sectors. Hence, resident employment grew and unemployment continued to ease. However, the labour market has clearly not fully recovered. Therefore, we must remain vigilant, maintain our support measures for affected workers and we will continue to leave no stone unturned in helping all locals who need our support. In particular, the $2.2 billion SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package has helped to cushion the impact of COVID-19 on the labour market since its launch in April last year. Thanks to the effort of our tripartite partners and the National Jobs Council, around 128,000 local jobseekers have been placed into jobs and skills opportunities as at end-July 2021. The supported jobseekers reflect the profile of our workforce. Close to six in 10 placements into jobs and skills opportunities went to mid-career PMETs. Workforce Singapore (WSG) saw a large increase in placements through Career Conversion Programmes (CCPs) with more than 14,000 locals supported. WSG and NTUC's Employment and Employability Institute (e2i) expanded their service touch points, with 24 new SGUnited Jobs and Skills Centres established islandwide, in every HDB town.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, with your permission, I will respond to the Question Nos 8 to 16.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to thank the hon Member of Parliament, Mr Sharael Taha, for his question. But may I request for your permission to proceed if there are no further supplementary questions on the first two Parliamentary Questions (PQs) filed, so that I can take them all in a more holistic manner with Question Nos 8 to 16. And if I cannot address in my subsequent answer, then perhaps I could request for the Member to raise the supplementary question again.”
“I thank the Member of Parliament, Ms Yeo Wan Ling, for her question. Some parts of her question, I think I will address in my answer to Question Nos 8 to 16 later. For her second Supplementary Question with regard to the planning for retirement, up to 70 years and beyond, we are working closely with MOH in terms of an overall broader construct, in terms of studying how to ensure the healthy ageing, together with healthy productivity, is maintained. At this particular point in time, I think it is premature for me to comment. Today, we have a very clear sustained path to raise the retirement age, eventually to 65, and the re-employment age to 70. I think that will be the first phase. We are also talking to other OECD countries where we are looking at beyond a certain age, work, and retirement ages and re-employment ages could be adjusted according to the healthy life expectancy of the population at that point in time. And they adopted a very dynamic model, but we are still studying it.”
“I thank the hon Member for her question. Indeed, the majority of the roles, I can share the exact data later on, but the roles that we have placed in the JGI, the majority of them are in roles that were the same or better – in terms of their draw of the salary levels. This is the majority of the hires that we placed under the JGI scheme. If my memory does not fail me, I think the percentage is more than 60%. I need to confirm that and revert.”
“With employers continuing to reskill their senior workers and making every effort to retain and hire them, with society supporting their choice to remain active in work, our seniors can continue to participate actively in all spheres of life.”
“Finally, the CPF Transition Offset will provide employers with transitionary wage offset equivalent to 50% of the increase in employer CPF contribution rates that will take effect in 2022. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the employment rate of those aged 55 to 64 held steady at over 67%, while the employment rate of those aged 65 and above has increased from 27.6% in 2019 to 28.5% in 2020. This is comparable to the average of the top three OECD countries. The re-employment offer rates among eligible private sector resident employees who wished to continue working have also remained high, at well over 90% in 2020. Senior worker employment rates have held up and the Government has allocated S$1.5 billion through the Senior Worker Support Package over three years. In addition, last year, the Government introduced the SkillsFuture Mid-Career Support Package to help mature and senior workers stay employable and enter new jobs or new roles. We have also provided additional support for employers who are expanding local hiring amidst the current economic and labour market uncertainty. The Jobs Growth Incentive, or JGI, provides wage support to eligible firms that hire new local jobseekers, with higher support for new local hires aged 40 and above, including older workers. We had recently announced an extension by another six months till March 2022 with tapered support levels, to support employers to continue expanding local hiring. JGI-eligible firms that hire mature local hires from October 2021 to March 2022 – the cut-off age is 40 – JGI-eligible firms that continue to hire will receive up to $36,000 per hire.”
“In line with the 2019 recommendations by the Tripartite Workgroup on Older Workers, the retirement age and re-employment age will be increased to 63 and 68 respectively, and this will take effect from 1 July 2022. CPF contribution rates for senior workers aged above 55 to 70 will also be raised by up to two percentage points with effect from 1 January 2022. The Senior Worker Support Package was introduced in 2020 to support employers in implementing these and other key recommendations made by the Workgroup, and it consists of four schemes. Members can refer to it in the handout that was just distributed. First, the Senior Employment Credit provides employers wage offsets of up to 8% for hiring senior workers aged 55 and above. The Senior Employment Credit started from 1 January 2021. Thus far, close to $150 million have been disbursed to 86,000 employers, benefiting 482,000 senior workers. Secondly, the Senior Worker Early Adopter Grant encourages employers to implement a higher internal retirement age and re-employment age, above the statutory minimum. From 1 July 2020 to 31 August 2021, 21,000 senior workers working in 2,800 companies have benefited from the grant. Thirdly, the Part-time Re-employment Grant supports employers who commit to a part-time re-employment policy whenever eligible senior workers request for it. From 1 July 2020 to 31 August 2021, more than 19,000 senior workers working in close to 2,000 companies have benefited from the grant. With the healthy take-up rates, the Government topped up over $200 million for both the Senior Worker Early Adopter Grant and the Part-time Re-employment Grant in February this year. This was on top of $100 million committed to these grants in 2020.”
“Before I start my response, with your permission, Mr Speaker, may I ask the Clerks to distribute a handout on Senior Worker Support Package.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, may I take Question Nos 6 and 7 together?”
“This includes encouraging buddy systems in workplaces and dormitories, and training frontline teams and peer support leaders in psychological first aid. MOM will continue to place close attention in mental health of all workers and offer the help and support.”
“Between 2016 and 2020, the unnatural death and suicide rates among Work Permit Holders1 (WPHs) have been lower than that of the general population for each of the five years. However, there was variability observed during these five years. Both rates for WPHs were higher in 2020 than the preceding four years but lower than that for the general population in the same year. On average over the five years, there were 14.5 cases of unnatural deaths, including suicides, per 100,000 persons among WPHs. This was lower than the average for the general population2 at 17.2 cases per 100,000 persons3. Specifically, the suicide rate for WPHs was also lower at an average of 4.2 suicides per 100,000 persons than the general population’s average of 8.3 suicides per 100,000 persons. In the first half of this year, both the annualised rate of unnatural deaths and suicides specifically among Migrant Workers have come down from the highs observed in 2020 and are within the range recorded between 2016 and 2019, pre-COVID-19. 2020 had been a difficult time for our migrant workers, and also for the general population. In addition to other stressors felt during the pre-COVID-19 period, COVID-19 has brought new pressures in Singapore and to the families of our migrant workers in their home countries. We have been concerned and have set up a dedicated Project DAWN taskforce since November 2020 to support the mental health of our migrant workers. The taskforce developed a seven-point strategy to raise awareness on mental health literacy, ensure at-risk persons are identified early, and enable appropriate access to care services, including counselling and post-intervention support.”
“Since March 2020, the Ministry has conducted close to 45,000 inspections on safe management measures at the workplace. About 21,000 inspections were conducted between March 2020 and end May 2020 during the Circuit Breaker period, and the remaining 24,000 inspections were conducted between June 2020 and September 2021. The vast majority of workplaces inspected have been compliant with the safe management measures, but there were breaches. A total of 140 Stop Work Orders, 247 Remedial Orders and 399 Composition Fines were issued to 776 companies for breaches of safe management measures. The common breaches were (i) failure to implement work-from-home arrangements for employees who were able to work from home; (ii) failure to wear mask; and (iii) failure to ensure at least one metre between any two individuals. Companies with serious lapses were asked to cease operations until rectifications were completed. The Ministry does not notify companies or workplaces in advance of our inspection.”
“From January to August 2021, a monthly average of 6,900 workers from 2,700 companies have been assisted by the waiver of foreign worker levies for the duration of their Stay-Home Notice (SHN) after entering Singapore. On 20 September 2021, MOM announced that the foreign worker levy waiver during workers’ SHN would be extended up to December 2021. This extension will give employers more time to adjust to the costs associated with measures to reduce the risk of importation of COVID-19 as we gradually reopen our borders. MOM will review whether the waiver should be extended in end-2021, depending on the COVID-19 situation and border measures then.”
“The Household Services Scheme (HSS) allows eligible companies to hire female workers from more countries such as India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Cambodia. This is a special arrangement to support households in need of domestic cleaning services. Allowing these sources at the Work Permit level for other businesses, including non-residential cleaning companies, will need to be carefully studied. Introducing cheaper sources could intensify job competition with locals on the basis of cost and exert downward pressure on wages. COVID-19 has also revealed the risks of over-reliance on lower-wage migrant workers, and it is more sustainable for firms to transform and reduce their manpower reliance instead. Hence, we encourage cleaning firms to instead continue investing in automation to improve their productivity, and re-designing their jobs to better retain and attract local workers. Licensed cleaning firms are also covered by the Cleaning Progressive Wage Model (PWM), which provides a clear job and training progression pathway for local cleaners, and helps to grow their wages as they improve their skills and productivity. Most recently, tripartite partners agreed on an upcoming six-year schedule of sustained and meaningful wage increases from 2023 to 2028. This will help increase the Cleaning sector’s attractiveness to locals.”
“As recently announced, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) will start accepting applications for entry approval for migrant domestic workers (MDWs) on 15 October 2021, for entry into Singapore from 1 November 2021. These MDWs will be required to be fully vaccinated before they arrive in Singapore. To manage the risk of COVID-19 importation and protect public health, the entry approval quota for vaccinated travellers will continue to be managed tightly for those from countries where the COVID-19 situation remains worrying. For overseas MDWs who are not vaccinated and for those who need to enter Singapore urgently, their employers may consider the on-going industry-led pilot programme by the Association of Employment Agencies (Singapore), AEA(S), to facilitate the safe entry of MDWs into Singapore. As additional safe management measures are done prior to the MDWs’ entry into Singapore, we will not apply the vaccination condition on them. However, those who are unvaccinated will have to go through full vaccination after arriving in Singapore. As we resume entry approvals for MDWs, MOM will do our best to facilitate their entry within the parameters set by the Multi-Ministry Taskforce to safeguard public health.”
“The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has been monitoring the fees charged by employment agencies (EAs). Overall, while there remains a good range of EA service fees, we have observed a general increase in the service fees that employers pay for hiring migrant domestic workers (MDWs) during the COVID-19 pandemic. This could be because additional costs are incurred by EAs to enable the MDW to satisfy various COVID-19 requirements in both the source country and Singapore. In addition, their business volume has fallen due to COVID-19 travel restrictions. MOM does not regulate the service fees charged by the EAs. With more than 900 active EAs that place MDWs in Singapore, there is sufficient competition in the market. Employers may wish to compare the prices charged by different EAs and consider the packages and levels of service offered by the EAs. All EAs are required to provide a clear and accurate breakdown of the fees paid for by the employer. Action will be taken against EAs who misrepresent the costs of any regulatory requirements imposed such as local SHN and COVID-19 tests.”
“There have been a total of four complaints lodged this year at TAFEP against the property management firm of Hillview Heights. They relate to clauses in tender documents that discriminate against the age and language of security officers. For the first three complaints, TAFEP engaged the firm, which then took steps to rectify. Following the third complaint, TAFEP assessed that the occurrences were not isolated, and advised the firm to review their system. The fourth complaint, which arose from the tender for Hillview Heights, indicated that TAFEP’s advice had not been followed. TAFEP thus referred the case to MOM for further investigation which is ongoing. We would like to assure Ms Cheng Li Hui and also Mr Edward Chia, who has filed a similar question stemming from this incident, that MOM and TAFEP take a serious view of workplace discrimination, including the use of age as a selection criteria. Other than requiring employers to attend corrective workshops conducted by TAFEP, MOM will not hesitate to take enforcement actions against discriminatory employers, such as curtailing their work pass privileges. While we have not observed an increase in the number of workplace discrimination complaints received arising from this episode, we urge workers who face any form of workplace discrimination to approach TAFEP or MOM for assistance.”
“The prospects of senior workers have improved in line with the overall measured recovery. The six-month re-entry rate among senior retrenched residents has improved from a low of 39.3% in the third quarter of 2020 to around 43.8% in the second quarter of 2021. Our senior workers are finding jobs in a wide range of sectors, with seven in 10 in Administrative & Support Services, Wholesale & Retail Trade, Accommodation & F&B Services, and Community, Social & Personal Services. Notwithstanding the recession, the employment rate of those aged 60 and above increased slightly from 38.5% in 2019 to 39.0% in 2020. The Government continues to support senior workers to stay in their current jobs or to pivot to new jobs in other industries. The Senior Worker Support Package introduced in 2020 supports employers in hiring and retaining senior workers. It includes: The Senior Employment Credit, which provides employers wage offsets of up to 8% for hiring senior workers aged 55 and above. The Senior Worker Early Adopter Grant, which encourages employers to implement a higher internal retirement age and re-employment age, above the statutory minimum. The Part-time Re-employment Grant, which supports employers who commit to a part-time re-employment policy whenever eligible senior workers request for it; and The CPF Transition Offset, which will provide employers with transitionary wage offset equivalent to 50% of the increase in employer CPF contribution rates that will take effect in 2022. With a budget of $1.5 billion, the Senior Worker Support Package will support employers over three years.”
“MOM takes a firm stance against migrant domestic workers (MDWs) who file a false employment complaint or claim against their employers. MOM investigates all complaints and claims thoroughly and fairly, to determine if the allegations are substantiated. This includes interviewing both the MDW and the employer to establish the facts of the case, and reviewing other objective evidence, such as CCTV recordings where available, and accounts from witnesses. Actions have been taken against MDWs who were found to have provided false information, including being fined, imprisoned, or both. MDWs found guilty of false allegations have also been barred from working in Singapore.”
“Between 2014 and the first half of 2021, the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP) received an average of 379 workplace discrimination complaints each year. The annual average number of complaints by types of discrimination is provided in Table 1.”
“Between 2014 and the first half of 2021, the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP) received an average of 379 workplace discrimination complaints each year. All complaints were investigated by TAFEP. About two-thirds of reported cases were not substantiated. The majority were misunderstandings which were clarified and where both parties did not pursue the matter further. Around one-third of the employers found to have discriminatory practices were referred to MOM for further investigation. Out of these complaints, an average of 41 employers were found to be in breach of the Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices (TGFEP) and had their work pass privileges suspended each year. The annual average number of workplace discrimination complaints handled by TAFEP and MOM is provided in Table 1.”