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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“On part (a), the number of working-age Singapore residents who started haemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis in 2017, 2018 and 2019, is provided in Table 1 below. The latest year available currently is 2019. On parts (b) and (c), MOM has not done such a granular study before. We can explore with MOH on how to do a deeper dive into labour market trends for persons with certain health conditions, while ensuring patient confidentiality is respected.”
“There are less than 50 foreign dance/bar/lounge hostesses with valid work passes, all of which were approved before 2020. They are allowed to perform non-hostessing jobs after their employers were allowed to temporarily pivot to permissible business activities (including food & beverage operations) since October 2020. Nightlife establishments also hire work pass holders in other occupations, such as operations executives and waitresses. Even before COVID-19, they were not allowed to work as hostesses. As for foreigners on social visit passes working as social hostesses, such persons are in breach of the Immigration Act. Together with various Government agencies, the Singapore Police Force has been taking up enforcement action against errant outlets, including permanently revoking their licences. MOM does not inspect nightlife establishments on its own, as work pass violations there are usually part of a broader pattern of illegal activity that involves breach of other laws. If work pass holders are found to be engaging in unauthorised activities, they would be referred to MOM for enforcement actions under our work pass regulations. The Government will continue to review enforcement efforts to ensure safe management measures are strictly adhered to.”
“The Cleaning Progressive Wage Model (PWM) currently only applies to both full-time and part-time resident cleaners directly employed by cleaning businesses licensed by NEA. In March 2021, the Tripartite Workgroup on Lower-Wage Workers announced its intent to extend existing PWMs to staff employed in-house to perform cleaning, security and landscaping roles, which would benefit up to 50,000 of such workers. This includes extending the Cleaning PWM to cleaners not employed by a licensed cleaning business but are employed in-house. Such cleaners would include those directly hired by F&B establishments. The Workgroup is finalising its recommendations and will share more details on this move in due course.”
“We are reviewing some of these plans. I believe that, in time to come, we should be able to share when the plan is ready.”
“I thank Ms Foo Mee Har for her very solid trust in the CPF system. We are also heartened that more members are topping up their CPF accounts and for their trust in the CPF system as well as the acknowledgement of the benefits that CPF and CPF LIFE can offer. CPF interest rates are pegged to risk-free market instruments of comparable duration. There is also a minimum interest rate on CPF savings to protect members when market interest rates fall to lower levels, such as in recent years. The Government reviews these rates regularly. Hence, today, the floor CPF interest rates of 4% per annum on Retirement Account balances are higher than what equivalent risk-free market instruments can provide. With the extra interest, members aged above 55 can even earn up to 6% interest per annum. CPF members do not bear any investment risks to enjoy these favourable interest rates. It is guaranteed by the Government and any investment risk is absorbed by the Government's balance sheet. Without a limit that is set as a cap, higher-income members could channel large savings into their Retirement Account and CPF LIFE. They can disproportionately benefit from the favourable interest rates and payouts, compared to other members. Hence, a limit on how much members can top up to their Retirement Account is necessary and this is the prevailing Enhanced Retirement Sum. But we will continue to revise the Enhanced Retirement Sum annually to ensure it remains relevant to the retirement needs of the majority of members. Collectively, the CPF Board and the Ministry of Manpower are reviewing over the longer run and we take cognisance of the Member's exhortation and suggestion in terms of finding other types of instruments to allow our CPF members to be able to place their savings with.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, Singaporeans already have many options to plan for higher retirement payouts. Within the Central Provident Fund (CPF) system, members who wish to have higher CPF LIFE payouts can set aside an Enhanced Retirement Sum, which is three times or triple that of the Basic Retirement Sum. The prevailing Enhanced Retirement Sum is currently set at $279,000. This Enhanced Retirement Sum is revised annually, together with the Basic and Full Retirement Sums. Members who wish to boost their retirement income further can choose to defer the start of their payouts till age 70. A member who does not start payouts at age 65, but defers to age 70 can increase their retirement income by up to 35%. I believe there was just an article over the weekend in The Straits Times about how this lady who has, I think, something like $1.6 million in her CPF and has opted to defer the payout of her retirement income up to age 70. I think she is 67 or 68. Perhaps Ms Foo Mee Har can take heart in the fact that there are Singaporeans who have accumulated those surpluses. Apart from the CPF system, Singaporeans can also save more during their working years, by making voluntary contributions to the Supplementary Retirement Scheme (SRS). The savings in the SRS plus any investment gains, can be used to purchase private annuity plans, which can further supplement CPF LIFE payouts.”
“I thank Mr Henry Kwek for his suggestion. We certainly will take it on and we will continue to encourage all companies, not just public sector, Government agencies. We encourage all companies, whether or not they receive direct or indirect grant and funding, to support our initiatives and to move ahead, instead of the prevailing guidelines that we have set. Having said that, I think one also has to appreciate some of the different agencies' constraints. I am not privy to necessarily all the constraints, but we will collectively, at MOM, take to heart Mr Kwek's suggestion. And we certainly encourage all companies, regardless of whether they are in the public or private sector, to move ahead, but taking into consideration certain constraints that each one of these agencies may face.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, in 2019, the Tripartite Workgroup on Older Workers recommended that the Retirement Age (RA) and the Re-employment Age (REA) be raised from the current 62 and 67 years to 65 and 70 years respectively by 2030. The recommendations were accepted and we will take the first steps towards achieving this by raising the RA to 63 and the REA to 68 from July next year. Notwithstanding this, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) encourages all employers to exceed the prevailing statutory retirement age and re-employment age where possible. We support their efforts through targeted schemes. We offer the Senior Worker Early Adopter Grant to any employer that implements a higher RA or REA as a company policy, ahead of legislation. Companies can receive up to $125,000 for being early adopters and more than 1,800 companies have already done so. The public sector has also taken the lead to implement a higher RA and REA ahead of legislation. We also provide wage offsets of up to 8% for employers that hire Singaporean workers aged 55 and above through the Senior Employment Credit scheme which was introduced this year. Under the Special Employment Credit scheme that preceded this scheme, the Government provided over $4.6 billion in payments since its inception in 2011. For new local hires aged 40 and above, the Jobs Growth Incentive also provides significant wage support of up to $54,000 per hire between September 2020 and September 2021 in eligible firms. This is more than triple the support of up to $15,000 per non-mature hire. The Government will continue to encourage all companies, whether or not they receive direct or indirect grant funding, to support the working life of senior workers, including raising their internal retirement and re-employment ages.”
“I thank Prof Lim for his question. We are looking at a couple of projects. I think, currently, there is a Low Carbon Energy Research Funding initiative, which is a multi-agency initiative involving A*STAR, Economic Development Board (EDB), Energy Market Authority (EMA), as well as the National Climate Change Secretariat and the National Research Foundation (NRF). I mentioned this earlier in my reply to Dr Tan Wu Meng's Parliamentary Questions. It is co-driven by EDB and EMA with A*STAR as the implementing agency on behalf of the Government. On a limited basis, it is something that we could potentially look at, depending on the proposals that come in. But one of the key things that we are actively pursuing is looking at imports. We are looking at imports from the ASEAN countries and where we think that the countries that have maximum geographical advantage in terms of producing renewable energy with very low carbon or zero carbon, those are the immediate short-term measures that we will be moving forward to reduce our carbon footprint.”
“I thank the hon Member, Mr Louis Ng, for his very thought-provoking question. Today, our plan is to halve the emission by 2050 and to reach carbon neutrality of zero sometime in the second half of this century. We have every intention of reaching the target within the second half of this century. If we are able to bring it forward, that would be really an added bonus and it is something that we always will aspire to do.”
“One of them is Neste and the other one is Arkema. We are now looking at the production of sustainable aviation fuels as well, although, again, the technology is relatively nascent. It costs a lot more to pivot from existing fuels and natural gases to go into sustainable aviation fuel, but it is one of those things that we cannot ignore as well. There are separate initiatives that drive that part of it. With regard to hydrogen today, it is very difficult and it is very, very expensive and it is not very productive, not very efficient for us to produce green hydrogen, which is the cleanest form of hydrogen in Singapore, because we are geographically disadvantaged. We would need renewable energy to produce this hydrogen here, locally. Hence, we have decided to adopt a strategy where we look at blue hydrogen, which is a low-carbon form of hydrogen, and how we can import it and then look at liberating that hydrogen from here. These are various initiatives that we are looking at and I take Dr Tan Wu Meng's point to heart. We will not rest on our laurels. We will actively seek out the best, the most cost-effective way, whilst taking into consideration our NDC commitment targets to establish ourselves as a hub in this region.”
“Sir, I thank the hon Member Dr Tan Wu Meng for his questions. With regard to the opportunities arising from the transport of hydrogen, certainly, we do not rest on our laurels. If anything, given how we have gone through the last many decades, first, as a petrochemical, oil and gas centre of excellence for the last five decades, as we pivot into sustainable fuels into a low-carbon emission strategy, we envisaged that our strategic hub status we will continue to pivot. We will continue to leverage on what we have built thus far to become the crossroads once the transportation of liquid hydrogen or, for that matter, even in the trading of electrons, electricity. We can envisage that it is one market that we think we can leverage and become the hub in this entire region. Certainly, it is one of those initiatives that we are driving and actively looking at. Today, a number of technologies are quite nascent, even though they hold a lot of promise. There is option value in exploring and studying which is the likely initiative that is going to give us maximum benefit and maximum economic value. So, it is one of those things where we look at the myriad of opportunities that are available, the research and development, and we are plugged into many of these research initiatives; and once we are able to land and the vision gets clearer in terms of where each one of these technologies is moving, I think we will be able to leverage and extract the synergies that can help move us ahead. With regard to the changing environment and the access to markets, if you look at where we are, how we are pivoting our entire oil and gas sector, we are looking at more sustainable development in terms of the fuels that we are in. Two big companies have come and invested in our country.”
“At the same time, we are collaborating with international partners to further the development of low-carbon technologies, both in RD&D and the development of supply chains. We have signed an MOU with Australia on cooperation in Low Emissions Solutions and an MOU with Chile on Low-carbon Hydrogen Collaboration and we have just signed an arrangement regarding Collaboration on Low-carbon Hydrogen with New Zealand as well. We look forward to more partnerships and to leveraging them to capture new opportunities from emerging technologies. Dr Tan Wu Meng also asked specifically about the Industry Transformation Map (ITM) of the marine and offshore engineering (M&OE) sector. Agencies are updating the ITM to take into account the impact of COVID-19 and the implications of a low-carbon transition and we target to launch a refreshed ITM next year. We expect offshore renewables and offshore carrier transport of hydrogen to be among the areas of opportunity in the refreshed ITM.”
“To avoid this, we need to first liberate the hydrogen in ammonia, which would require a lot of energy. So, it is, by itself, an energy-intensive process. Liquid Organic Hydride Carriers (LOHCs), which allow storage and transport of hydrogen at ambient conditions, are less hydrogen-dense, but this means a relatively higher cargo footprint would be needed to import the same amount of hydrogen. The process required to release hydrogen from these LOHCs can also be land- and energy-intensive. The third form, liquefied hydrogen, is where hydrogen is transported in its natural form. The process to liquify hydrogen for transport is, again, very energy-intensive and the technology for the large-scale shipping of liquefied hydrogen is relatively nascent today. There is currently no global consensus on which carrier form of hydrogen might dominate in the future, or when long-distance transport of hydrogen and the processes to liberate hydrogen from carriers might become viable. Singapore is keen to realise the decarbonisation potential of hydrogen and to develop into a regional hydrogen hub. Government agencies will continue to monitor the technological and market developments to ensure that Singapore maintains its competitiveness. Additionally, we will continue to collaborate with companies and the research community on Research, Development and Demonstration (RD&D) projects and testbeds for CCUS solutions as well as low-carbon hydrogen. Last year, we launched a $49-million Low Carbon Energy Research (LCER) Funding Initiative for the next five years to improve the technical and economic feasibility of low-carbon technologies.”
“However, most pathways for synthesising fuels or chemicals from carbon dioxide are not mature and they are relatively nascent. Though some are at demonstration or post-demonstration stage, they can be expensive compared to conventional production, while others remain at scales that are still within the lab; so, it is still at lab-scale. Some also require significant amounts of energy in the form of low-carbon hydrogen, which will take some time to become cost-competitive with other conventional sources of energy. Low-carbon hydrogen is a key technology for Singapore to decarbonise. A recent feasibility study commissioned by Government agencies and published in June this year concluded that hydrogen has the potential to decarbonise maritime, electricity generation, heavy transportation and some industrial processes. However, until CCUS is commercially viable, Singapore cannot produce low-carbon hydrogen at scale. Hence, we are exploring a range of other supply pathways. The key challenge with scaling up the supply of hydrogen is the very high storage and transportation costs. Hydrogen, as most of you would know, is a gas with a boiling point far lower than natural gas. It is, therefore, a significant engineering challenge to transport and to store hydrogen in a commercially viable manner. To overcome this problem, the industry is working on different hydrogen carriers, each with its advantages, but also with its challenges to overcome. These transportation options include ammonia. Supply chains exist today for ammonia, but ammonia is currently not produced using low-carbon methods or shipped in quantities required of an energy carrier. Burning ammonia also releases noxious oxides.”
“Climate change is an existential challenge for Singapore. In March 2020, Singapore submitted our enhanced 2030 Nationally Determined Contribution and Long-term Low Emissions Development Strategy, or LEDS. One of our key thrusts under LEDS is to adopt advanced low-carbon technologies, such as carbon capture, utilisation and storage, or CCUS, and low-carbon hydrogen, to decarbonise our economy. For CCUS, a small number of pathways are at a technologically advanced stage, but it requires further development to be commercially viable in Singapore. A key pathway is carbon capture and storage, or CCS. We are seeing more large-scale projects being developed with government support internationally. This includes Project Longship1 and PORTHOS2 in Norway and the Netherlands respectively. However, Singapore faces challenges in deploying CCS domestically, including a lack of any known geological formations that are suitable for the permanent storage of carbon dioxide underground. We are, therefore, exploring partnerships with companies and other countries with suitable geological formations to enable carbon dioxide storage opportunities. We are also exploring carbon capture and utilisation (CCU) pathways, where carbon dioxide is captured and converted into waste-based feedstocks or natural minerals that can be used to produce aggregates for reclamation or building materials in the form of building materials. There are a number of companies developing testbeds for use in Singapore and examples of commercial-scale operations in other countries. Captured carbon dioxide may also be used to manufacture synthetic fuels and chemicals, such as kerosene and methanol, which can be used as aviation and marine fuels.”
“Yes, yes. I was vacillating between sustainable jobs and sustainable energy. [Laughter.] May I have your permission to take Question Nos 3 to 5?”
“Yes, thank you for the reminder. My humble apologies! I know this is the second time you have reminded me in two days.”
“This is a very good opportunity for companies to tap on our local Singaporeans as a workforce, the unemployed ones, the ones who are available and help them to pivot into different industries. The JGI scheme will expire in September 2021. So, please take advantage of that. In that transition, I believe that would put a lot of our fellow citizens and the companies themselves in good shape. With regard to the other point about students being affected, indeed, this is also one of our concerns. What we are now doing is that we are expanding the courses to ensure that the graduates coming out from the Institutes of Higher Learning, the polytechnics, the Institute of Technical Education can be placed in sectors which we have identified as growth sectors, for instance, in wholesale trade, healthcare, finance and infocomm. We also have got courses that help them to ensure that they are plugged in, that when they come on board to these companies, they are in a much better position to fit in and be able to adapt and take on whatever opportunities that may come their way.”
“I thank the hon Member Desmond Choo for his very pertinent questions. In terms of the reduction in manpower requirements, EDB and the different component agencies have worked with the Emerging Stronger Task Force and also leveraging on the Singapore Together Alliances for Action (AfAs), and identified certain core sectors within the aviation industry which they think would continue to remain very much the growth sectors; the exact details I am not at liberty to talk about at this particular Sitting. But I am sure in the weeks and months ahead more of the information would come out. What we are trying to do is to ensure that as we come out of this particular pandemic and crisis, we want to be able to anchor our skillsets in that particular area and capture the growth that is going to come from that sector. Ostensibly, in the foreseeable five, 10 years ahead, once we clear this pandemic and go through this difficult period, we believe that the recovery will be quite strong. Given our hub status, given the credibility and also the strength of our workforce, we think it is one area we can continue to anchor on. With regard to the third clarification on what kind of transition support, we urge all companies, particularly companies that are doing well, to tap on the Jobs Growth Incentive (JGI) which subsidises up to $54,000 per hire, depending on which age group you are, whether you are 40 years old and above, whether you have disabilities or you are an ex-offender; and also, for the young ones, where up to 25% of the monthly salary is subsidised, capped at a certain amount. We urge companies in the growth sectors to continue to hire.”
“The Government will continue to closely monitor the impact of COVID-19 on these sectors and are reviewing the provision of targeted support so that core capabilities can be preserved and that the sectors can emerge stronger through the eventual recovery.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, the lifting of travel restrictions in Singapore and globally is likely to be slow amidst the emergence of more transmissible strains of the COVID-19 virus. As such, the recovery of the aviation- and tourism-related sectors is expected to remain weak. Besides the Jobs Support Scheme (JSS), the Government has been providing targeted support to these sectors that are affected very badly. The Ministry of Transport introduced the $870 million OneAviation Support Package in February this year to enable aviation companies to preserve core capabilities and maintain Singapore’s position as an aviation hub. The Singapore Tourism Board launched a domestic tourism campaign and extended $320 million worth of SingapoRediscovers Vouchers to drive domestic tourism. The Workforce Singapore (WSG) has rolled out various Job Redesign Reskilling Programmes to support employers in these sectors to make use of the downtime to re-design jobs and re-skill their employees to take on new job roles. For firms in these sectors that are still able to expand local hiring, they can also tap on the Jobs Growth Incentive, which provides up to $54,000 per hire. For affected workers who are looking to switch to new careers in other sectors, we will help them access suitable jobs and skills opportunities. Besides WSG’s Careers Connect and NTUC’s e2i career centres, WSG has set up the SGUnited Jobs and Skills Centres in all Housing and Development Board towns and deployed Careers Connect On-the-Go to bring career matching services closer to jobseekers. Jobseekers can also tap on digital resources available on WSG’s MyCareersFuture portal to search for suitable job opportunities.”
“MOM takes a serious view of all forms of discrimination at the workplace. We have put in place education and enforcement measures to tackle it. The Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP) has been supporting employers with advisory services and resources to adopt fair employment practices. In addition, TAFEP works with employers to correct any gaps in their HR processes, including through clinics to help employers better understand their obligations under the Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices and implement the right practices. Where MOM finds that employers have been discriminatory, we also take firm enforcement action against them. These measures have been progressively enhanced over the years. Just last year, we introduced stiffer penalties for all forms of workplace discrimination. This sends a clear deterrent signal that the Government does not tolerate such behaviour. As stated in the Ministerial Statement on 6 July 2021, we will do more to clamp down on egregious employers with discriminatory employment practices and alongside our tripartite partners, study various options to strengthen our efforts.”
“The Member will be able to find the number of employed residents by industry sector in the Labour Force in Singapore reports. This is published annually and available on MOM's website. MOM does not further break down employed residents in each industry sector by Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents. This is aligned with international practice and ensures international comparability, as statistical agencies worldwide typically cover the population residing in their country without a breakdown by nationality. We question the Progress Singapore Party’s fixation on drawing lines, first between Employment Pass (EP) holders and locals and now drawing lines among locals. In any case, the Member will also be able to note that in a 2020 Occasional Paper, MOM reported that Singapore Citizens consistently make up around 85% of the resident labour force. As for the number of EP holders in the industry sectors, the Ministerial Statement by the Minister for Manpower on 6 July 2021 already stated that there were around 177,000 EP holders in our overall workforce in 2020. The Infocomm and Professional Services sectors account for around one-fifth each, while the Finance sector accounts for another one-seventh. As for S Pass holders, there were around 174,000 S Pass holders in 2020. The Finance, Infocomm and Professional Services sectors collectively account for around one-eighth of S Pass holders. The Member is advised to refer to published data to get the information she is interested in.”
“The information can be found in the annual Labour Force in Singapore reports, which are available online. For the year 2020, for example, the information is contained in Table 35 (Resident PMEs) and Table 52 (Resident Own Account Workers). Longer time series data from 1991 onwards for these two groups is also available on MOM’s website.”
“The foreign workforce numbers published on MOM’s website are correct as of December 2020. The 32,200 “Other Work Passes”1 make up a small fraction of all work pass holders (2.6%). About 1% points are dependants of Employment Pass (EP) holders on a Dependant’s Pass (DP) who are holding a Letter of Consent (LOC). The remainder are largely dependants of Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents who are holding an LOC or pre-approved LOC (PLOC), who in fact make up the majority of “Other Work Passes”. Dependants of S Pass holders are not eligible to apply for LOCs. The proportion of “Other Work Passes” contributed by dependants of EP holders is expected to drop significantly over the next few years, as with effect from 1 May 2021, DP holders who wish to work in Singapore will have to obtain a relevant work pass. Therefore, it would not be meaningful to track the number of dependants of EP and S Pass holders issued with work passes under the “Other Work Passes” category going forward. The foreign workforce numbers as at June 2021 will be published on MOM’s website in September 2021.”
“The Member will know that monthly salary is one of the criteria for the Employment Pass (EP). The current minimum qualifying salary for EP holders is $4,500 for the youngest applicants (for the Finance sector, it is set higher at $5,000). The salary requirement increases with age to reflect the EP candidate’s experience and length of time in the workforce, and to provide sufficient protection for our mature workers. As such, the qualifying salaries for EP candidates in their 40s are around double the minimum qualifying salary for the youngest applicants. The median EP monthly salaries as of December 2020 in the Finance, Infocomm, Professional Services and Other sectors were around $12,000, $7,600, $8,800 and $7,600 respectively. Locals outnumber EP holders in every one of the salary bands and in every one of the sectors specified by the Member. As explained in the Ministerial Statements on 6 July 2021, competition between EP holders and locals is not a zero-sum game. In fact, the presence of EP holders who complement the local workforce with skills in short supply enables us to attract more investments and create even more good job opportunities for locals.”
“Employees are legally entitled to paid sick leave if they are medically certified to be unfit for work or are under quarantine. Employees who are denied their contractual or statutory sick leave entitlements can approach the Ministry or the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM) for assistance. In the past 12 months, TADM managed eight sick leave claims relating to COVID-19. All of these cases were resolved with the employers accepting the claims and making good on the payment following mediation by TADM. Despite the COVID-19 disruptions, employers have generally been responsible and supportive of their employees in the provision of sick leave. Some employers have exercised flexibility and compassion to provide additional paid sick leave to employees who have exhausted their leave entitlements. Others have allowed employees to count COVID-19 related medical certificates towards hospitalisation rather than outpatient sick leave quotas. We encourage employers to continue to be flexible in supporting employees’ needs amidst this pandemic.”
“MOM does not track unemployment rates based on last drawn salary, which can be influenced by several factors such as age, education, hours worked, industry and occupation. Instead, as with the approach taken globally by other national statistical agencies, we track unemployment rates disaggregated by age, gender, education qualifications and occupations. These figures are released on a regular basis through our labour market reports.”
“Employers must obtain their workers’ written consent when they apply to renew their work passes. For workers on work permits, employers are required to upload the workers’ written consent when submitting the application for renewal. For workers on employment passes or S Passes, employers must declare that they have obtained the written consent and may be called upon to furnish proof of such consent to MOM. In 2021 to date, MOM has received disputes from 23 migrant workers objecting to renewals of their work permits. Most of these disputes were resolved with the work permit holders deciding to either terminate their employment or continue their employment with the existing employer. There are currently three cases under investigation. Employers found to have falsely declared that they have obtained the workers’ written consent may be prosecuted under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act and fined up to $20,000 or jailed for up to two years or both. Similarly, workers found to have furnished false information to the authorities may have their work pass privileges curtailed. In 2021 to date, no such penalties have been meted out to employers or migrant workers.”
“MOM recently stated, via a Ministerial Statement on 6 July 2021, that we will do more to clamp down on egregious employers with discriminatory employment practices and alongside our tripartite partners, study various options to strengthen our efforts.”
“Singapore takes its treaty obligations seriously. We have a longstanding policy to only consider ratifying an International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention if we can fully comply with it in law and in practice. That said, non-ratification of a Convention does not mean that our policies and measures are not aligned with the spirit of the Convention. We agree with the intent of the ILO Convention on Discrimination (Employment and Occupation), also known as C111, which requires ratifying member states to “pursue a national policy designed to promote, by methods appropriate to national conditions and practice, equality of opportunity and treatment in respect of employment and occupation, with a view to eliminating any discrimination in respect thereof”. In line with this, we require employers to treat all jobseekers and employees fairly based on merit. Employers who do not adhere to the Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices are investigated by the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP). Where there is evidence of discrimination, the case is escalated to MOM, which takes strong enforcement action against errant employers. In this regard, MOM also stiffened penalties in 2020. Besides enforcement, we believe that it is important to tackle discrimination through education. TAFEP has thus been underscoring the importance and benefits of fair hiring through mass media, collaboration with industry and community partners and workshops. We continually review how to better tackle workplace discrimination in line with the intent of C111.”
“Between 2016 and 2020, an average of 259 reports of Migrant Domestic Worker (MDW) abuse were made to the Police each year. The Police investigates all such reports of abuse of MDWs. The Police does not track specifically the number of reports of abuse filed by MDWs which are frivolous or vexatious. MDWs who are found to have lodged false reports of abuse to the Police may be investigated for providing false information to a public servant. If convicted, they may be punished with up to two years’ imprisonment, fine or both. Under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act (EFMA), employers are required to provide due care to the MDWs working in their households. When a complaint by an MDW is received, MOM will interview the MDW and the employer to establish the facts. This is to ensure fairness to both parties. MDWs found to have provided false information during investigations may be fined, imprisoned or both. They will also be barred from working in Singapore. Between 2016 and 2020, 14 MDWs were warned, seven prosecuted and both groups were debarred from working in Singapore, for providing false statements to MOM.”
“Employment agencies (EAs) are required under the Employment Agency Act to provide accurate information relating to the employment of any person. They are further required under the licence conditions to furnish the employment history and biodata of Migrant Domestic Workers (MDWs) to prospective employers. Between 2016 and 2020, out of 520,000 MDWs placed by EAs, a total of 30 complaints related to providing inaccurate or incomplete information were received from employers. Twelve complaints either lacked sufficient information to substantiate the complaint, or were caused by misunderstandings between employers and EAs. Eighteen of them were investigated by MOM. Six resulted in composition fine or warning issued to the EA. No further action was taken for the remaining cases as the EAs were able to provide documentary evidence that the employer had been provided with the information on the MDW. In cases where the MDW was unable to continue employment due to the EA’s failure to provide the relevant information accurately, the EA will have to either refund the fees paid by the employer or provide a replacement MDW. The provision of accurate information to prospective employers is important to facilitate informed decision-making by employers. MOM takes every complaint seriously and will take enforcement action against the EA if the complaint is found to be substantiated.”
“This includes offering organisations free access to mental well-being talks and workshops. Similarly, the Health Promotion Board’s (HPB) Workplace Outreach Wellness (WOW) Package also includes mental well-being programmes to strengthen workplace support for employees. Beyond supporting employers, these programmes are also readily available to help employees themselves manage stress and build mental resilience. Employers may also refer to the Tripartite Advisory on Mental Well-being at Workplaces for practical guidance, including recommendations and available resources, to support the mental well-being of their employees. We hope that all employers will provide their workers with a conducive and psychologically safe environment to conduct their work safely and healthily.”
“There was a reduction in the number of Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) composition fines (CFs) and notices of non-compliance (NNCs) for safety in 2020 to around 3,000, compared with nearly 9,000 in the preceding year. This is due mainly to the suspension of workplace activities in the second and third quarters of 2020 to manage the COVID-19 outbreak. Notwithstanding, the unsafe practices detected remain largely unchanged, with the most common being unguarded openings and open sides, poor maintenance of heavy machinery such as excavators, boom lifts and forklifts and insufficient safeguards when operating machinery. Preliminary investigations into the recent fatal accidents and ongoing inspections present a similar picture. However, while COVID-19 border restrictions have meant fewer workers, it is unclear the degree to which these factors have contributed to the increase in workplace injuries. Nevertheless, regardless of COVID-19, all stakeholders, especially employers are very clear that the safety of the workers cannot be compromised. With respect to mental well-being of the workforce, the WSH Council promotes this as part of its Total WSH programme and through platforms such as its annual National WSH Campaigns. This year’s campaign was launched in April 2021 and emphasises workers setting aside Care Time to pause at work to take care of their safety and health. Simple actions like having sufficient sleep, keeping hydrated and doing regular exercises can improve one’s physical and mental health and allow workers to become more alert to unsafe acts or conditions at their workplaces. The WSH Council’s Total WSH Programme guides employers on how they can manage safety and health, including mental well-being, at workplaces.”
“Since the start of Phase Two (Heightened Alert) on 16 May 2021, MOM has received over 3,500 reports concerning Safe Management Measures at workplaces. Some of the reports were misunderstandings that were resolved following clarifications with the complainants. For example, there were cases of employers and employees misinterpreting the work-from-home requirement to mean that no employees could return to the workplace, when employees whose work is of a nature that cannot be performed from home are allowed to do so. For the rest, MOM takes a balanced and calibrated approach. Our goal is not to find fault with employers, or to penalise them unnecessarily. Doing so will put further stress on the business and may even affect the livelihood of the employees. Most instances of non-compliance are minor, such as employees improperly wearing masks, or employers not enforcing the use of workplace SafeEntry check-ins. In such cases, MOM will advise the companies to rectify shortcomings. In a small minority of cases (66 of the reports received), MOM imposed a composition fine. These include cases where safe distancing was not observed at the workplace and where employees were back at the workplace at their employer’s instruction, even though their work could be done from home. In our inspections, the identities of all informants are kept confidential. Employers therefore do not know if the visit is part of MOM’s routine inspections or arises from a whistle-blowing report.”
“This was addressed in MOM’s Ministerial Statement on 6 July 2021. Since 2003, all foreigners working in Singapore have not been allowed to contribute to CPF or receive CPF contributions from employers. The CPF system is designed to support Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents in their retirement, housing and healthcare needs. As foreign PMEs are not working in Singapore on a permanent basis, we are not responsible for their retirement adequacy or home ownership needs. CPF coverage and benefits are not extended to them. Foreign PMEs should make their own financial plans for retirement and can leverage on available financial products. The idea that this disadvantages Singaporeans is misconceived. We set a qualifying salary for Employment Pass (EP) holders in order to maintain a level playing field. The minimum qualifying salary is currently $4,500 for the youngest EP applicants. The qualifying salaries for older and more experienced EP candidates increase such that those in their 40s will need to earn around double the minimum qualifying salary for the youngest applicants. The setting of this qualifying salary takes into account CPF contributions as part of the cost to employers.”
“The number of human resource (HR) practitioners in Singapore has grown from about 23,000 in 2010 to over 40,000 in 2020. About nine in 10 of these are Professional, Managerial, Executive or Technicians (PMET) jobs in roles such as Learning and Development Manager, Performance and Rewards Manager and HR Operations Executive. Locals have consistently filled close to nine in 10 of HR PMET positions. More than eight in ten local HR practitioners have diploma or degree qualifications. About seven in 10 are women. HR practitioners are found across the economy as HR plays a vital role in supporting businesses. This is why MOM partnered NTUC and SNEF to set up the Institute for HR Professionals in 2017, to professionalise and upskill HR professionals through certification and training. We will continue to work with our partners and the industry to ensure that the HR sector continues to provide good jobs for locals.”
“The CPF system is designed to support Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents in their retirement, healthcare and housing needs. Long-Term Visit Pass-Plus holders married to Singapore Citizens are supported by other measures and such couples also receive support in the area of housing. If these foreign spouses are granted Permanent Residency, the requirement to contribute to CPF will begin. A spouse on Long-Term Visit Pass-Plus can support the family’s housing loan through cash. For HDB flat owners, HDB exercises flexibility and considers appeals to include the foreign spouse’s income for the computation of the loan amount on a case-by-case basis.”
“Nonetheless, we empathise with Singaporeans' concerns and apprehensions. So, I am therefore setting up a Tripartite Committee to examine if legislation is the best policy option to advance on the gains that we have made. Government, union and employer representatives will deliberate thoroughly whether legislation should be pursued, taking into consideration potential ramifications. The Committee should be able to arrive at a decision on the approach that is in the best interests of workers and Singapore. In conclusion, Mdm Deputy Speaker, Singapore has made good progress in giving opportunities to our workers and treating them fairly. Like many Members in this House, we want to build on the progress we have made. We want to work towards fairer and more progressive workplaces, while preserving our competitiveness. Legislation has its merits. It is not a panacea and it is not a silver bullet. We need a balanced suite of measures and to not be hampered by an overly rigid framework that hurts all parties involved. Only then can we continue to give Singaporeans the best chance to get ahead and to secure their livelihoods.”
“So, on the one hand, legislation will provide a clear premise to publicise the names of companies found to have breached the law, but on the other hand, we should also be mindful of the unintended consequences. For example, if not properly designed, the legal framework could become overly onerous and inadvertently deter employers from setting up shop here and hiring the very groups that we seek to protect.”
“The Fair Consideration Framework (FCF) was also introduced to set clear expectations of employers to consider the workforce in Singapore fairly. More recently, we have also stiffened penalties for all forms of workplace discrimination. The current approach has worked well for us thus far. Employment outcomes for groups such as women and seniors have improved. And they are, in fact, better than in some advanced economies. If we look at the employment rate of women aged 25 to 64, it has risen steadily from about 66% in 2010 to 73% in 2020, holding steady amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Our adjusted Gender Pay Gap is also lower than in some advanced economies. TAFEP's experience has also been that most employers are cooperative in working with them to close HR gaps. In recent years, several Members have raised the possibility of legislation to give more enforcement bite to the TGFEP and the Fair Consideration Framework (FCF). We received similar feedback through the Conversations on Singapore Women's Development. We have never been closed to such suggestions. Legislation could give us more enforcement powers against errant employers beyond suspending work pass privileges and it can confer better protection on employees who whistle-blow. It can also send a clearer signal on what we, as a society, will not tolerate as bad behaviour on the part of employers. However, laws alone do not guarantee better employment outcomes. We must therefore carefully study our options. We must weigh the costs and benefits and we must determine what would work best in Singapore's interest and in the Singaporean context.”
“The work is, of course, never finished and we will continue to press on. Next, I will address workplace discrimination. I can understand the anxieties that Singaporeans feel in an open and competitive labour market. But I assure you that MOM deals with workplace discrimination with utmost seriousness. We will ensure that Singaporeans are considered fairly for employment opportunities. In my Ministerial Statement on 6 July, I elaborated extensively on how our work pass framework ensures that Singaporeans have fair access to jobs in a very dynamic labour market. However, I want to also reiterate the importance of staying and remaining open. The combination of skilled locals and a diversity of foreign expertise is a key competitive advantage for us in drawing many international companies here, creating more good jobs for Singaporeans. Beyond nationality-based discrimination, we will and we must also tackle other types of discrimination as well, including on grounds of sex, age, religion, race and disabilities and this must happen across all phases of employment. In fact, MOM has been working on this for more than two decades, progressively stepping up our efforts. We started with the Tripartite Guidelines on Non-Discriminatory Job Advertisements in 1999 and we formed the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices in 2006. We launched the Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices (TGFEP) in 2007, which clearly outlines the principles and the practices which employers must adopt at different stages of employment. Since 2013, we have penalised employers who do not abide by the TGFEP by suspending their work pass privileges. Ignorance is not an acceptable excuse.”
“Our close partnership with employers, with industry associations ensure that training is always relevant to employers' needs and this means our workers see direct benefits. Programmes such as the Technology in Finance Immersion and TechSkills Accelerator help Singaporeans gain exposure and experience in key tech areas in the financial services sector and allow company-led training programmes to accelerate professional development in 5G, Internet of Things and cybersecurity respectively. MOM is also working with sector agencies to develop Jobs Transformation Maps (JTMs) with detailed job-level insights on the impact of technology on each industry. We have already launched three JTMs: one for HR, one for logistics and another one for the financial services sector. We have plans for 12 more. These JTMs will be a useful compass to prepare all of our workers for the future of work. For example, following the financial services JTM, financial institutions have committed to reskill and to redeploy more than 5,000 employees to take on new and enhanced roles. We have also ramped up employment facilitation efforts through the SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package, placing more than 110,000 locals into jobs and skills opportunities as of end-April this year. To encourage local hiring, we introduced the Jobs Growth Incentive (JGI) in September 2020. Within six months it supported 42,000 employers who hired more than 270,000 new local workers. Mdm Deputy Speaker, all these programmes are for our Singaporean Core, from the young to the old, including those with disabilities as well as ex-offenders. In fact, our efforts to support our local workforce in tackling accelerated structural changes have been commended by the International Monetary Fund.”
“Mdm Deputy Speaker, I thank Mr Patrick Tay, Mr Saktiandi Supaat and Mr Louis Ng for sharing their views on strengthening the Singaporean Core and ensuring workplace fairness. They have been championing these issues for many years, together with other People’s Action Party (PAP) and Labour Members of Parliament, both past and present. I am grateful for their advocacy. These issues are indeed top of mind and longstanding priorities for MOM too. We will address them in two ways today: one, enabling Singaporeans to succeed as industries and jobs transform; and two, tackling workplace discrimination. I will speak on our key efforts in these areas and plans to strengthen fair employment standards. By accelerating technology adoption and equipping Singaporeans with skillsets for future jobs, we will enable them to seize new opportunities and succeed at the workplace. Businesses will also have a strong local talent pool to support their transformation efforts and growth to compete globally. This is a win-win for all of us. Jobs and skills for Singaporeans are at the front and centre of MOM’s as well as sector agencies’ plans. The 23 Industry Transformation Maps guide our efforts to upskill and reskill Singaporeans at various stages of their careers. Our graduates are equipped with industry know-how at our Institutes of Higher Learning and we support lifelong learning and skills mastery through the national SkillsFuture movement. Middle-age workers making mid-career switches are supported through Career Conversion Programmes or CCPs. CCPs provide up to 90% training and salary support during the period of training to employers who hire and reskill our mid-career jobseekers. Today, there are over 100 CCPs across 30 sectors and more are being added every year.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, I thank the hon Member for his suggestion. We certainly would encourage all companies who hire short-term workers for this particular pandemic to encourage them to go for training to convert them into longer-term job opportunities. There are many schemes available. There are also quite a number of task forces in which I personally chair and we drive, alongside with the other sector agencies to look at growth sectors. We have identified three of them: the wholesale trade, finance and infocomm. We encourage and we nudge many of the employees and workers to actually go for upskilling or reskilling to be able to fit into these new job roles and to pivot some of the existing career opportunities into newer ones. We will continue to provide support. Employers may face hiring challenges. They should also look to consider a wider range of jobseekers. Instead of thinking with the plug-and-play mindset, we would encourage employers to open up to consider hiring them, bringing them on board and placing them collectively in training opportunities that the Government has set aside and work towards making sure the upskilling and training of these workers into their relevant industries and the jobs would result in a much better fit. We also encourage jobseekers to stay resilient, to also keep very open minds to new opportunities and also to consider less familiar roles. So, if we all work together collectively and to the Member's point, I believe that we will come out and emerge from this crisis in a much better position.”
“Employers who hire jobseekers who need to reskill can also tap onto the career conversion programmes and these programmes provide substantial wage and training support in addition to the JGI. This year, we have catered capacity for 10,000 places in these programmes. Finally, the SGUnited Traineeships, Mid-Career Pathways and Skills programmes remain available.”
“Since the start of COVID-19, over 15,000 workers have been placed into public sector or Government-funded short-term roles under the SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package to support COVID-19 operations, such as swabbing, quarantine operations, implementing safe management measures and providing patient services. At some point and we certainly hope so, the demand for such roles will taper down. For the moment, however, these roles continue to remain in demand. Among those placed into short-term COVID-19 job roles, about three in 10 were temporarily re-deployed as part of the National Jobs Council’s efforts to support workers in hard-hit areas. For example, some flight attendants from Singapore Airlines worked as Care Ambassadors in hospitals. These workers remain as employees of their parent companies and most of them are expected to return to their parent companies when demand recovers. For the remaining workers, as well as those who are not able to return to their previous jobs due to reduced demand or who choose not to, our job matching services and ecosystem stand ready to help them. In 2020, the combined efforts of Workforce Singapore (WSG) and NTUC’s Employment and Employability Institute, or e2i for short, collectively placed close to 55,000 workers into suitable opportunities. It is, therefore, not beyond the ability of these networks to facilitate the job searches and to help them find placements in new sectors or activities where demand is rising. This is also supported by the Jobs Growth Incentive or JGI for short. JGI has been extended to September 2021 with eligible employers receiving support of up to S$54,000 per hire.”
“Yes, I would like to take Question Nos 18 and 19 together. Thank you for the reminder.”