Teo Ser Luck
Singapore
“Mr Chairman, Sir, in the initial days when I set up offices overseas – whether it is China, Kuala Lumpur or Jakarta – I used a translator for the local contracts as well as for meetings. Lately, I have been using online platforms, especially in China and also in Malaysia.”
“So, in this day and age, with the world changing really fast, and with social media and information overload, how is the SPF or how is the Ministry going to maintain that public trust and confidence in our Police Force?”
“We have to put in some of these funds, for example, the $300 million additional funds put it into agri-tech, would the agri-tech in future provide a more comparative and affordable pricing for some of what it produces or these technology startups would be able to scale overseas, globally, have a commercial aspect to that.”
“Chairman, I am a heavy user of technology. And when I started on a technology project, I created a first layer of programming and algorithm where the machines started to learn. With more data collected, more and more, the machine gets smarter and it could make intelligent decisions or informed decisions for me.”
“We have tight regulations on financial institutions in their lending platforms and also non-bank lending platforms in regulating them, making sure that they do not go beyond their means to lend out to those that they cannot do the Know Your Customer survey or assess their credit readiness.”
“I believe there are three aspects of transformation that will impact the workers directly. First, the job redesign, change in the process, change in the scope of the job. Second, job shift, the job itself is no longer available and they have to change sectors. Changing sectors also requires a mindset shift.”
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“This underscores the importance of improving synergies across the whole-of-Government to ensure that there is a coordinated response to terrorist threats. As such, how is the SAF coordinating with other Government agencies to prevent and respond to the threat of regional terrorism today? Counter-terrorism Efforts Assoc Prof Fatimah Lateef (Marine Parade): The Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) has stated that some 18,000 National Servicemen (NSmen) will be put through counterterrorism training annually. There will also be other initiatives to help Singapore negotiate the current climate that we live in, which includes the Special Ops taskforce; the Army Deployment Force and, of course, the setup of the Island Defence Training Institute. They are, indeed, major changes and they come with strategic investments and commitment as well. What kind of scale of hardware and technological acquisition are we looking at? How are our plans able to cover our land and sea borders as well as our air space in terms of attacks and threats? We need to be ever ready to handle these extremely volatile situations, and how do we ensure that our men are all psychologically ready, knowing that they can be called upon anytime to protect Singapore? MINDEF also has broad goals for the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM) chairmanship. Can the Minister also share with us some of these, which include collaboration with ASEAN counterparts, including SAF and other Armed Forces that have got experience in dealing with a siege like the one in Marawi? Cyberattacks”
“Mr Chairman, as a responsible member of the international community, Singapore has long contributed to the international peacekeeping and humanitarian assistance missions around the world. And just last year, the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) deployed Chinooks and personnel to aid in the Hurricane Harvey relief operations in the US, sent an additional medical team to the defeat-the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) coalition in the Middle East, and sent humanitarian aid to the Philippines and Bangladesh. Will SAF continue to support such global security and international peacekeeping efforts? WOG Counter-terrorism Efforts Assoc Prof Dr Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim (Nee Soon): Mr Chairman, terrorism has continued to pose a major threat to the peace and stability of our region. The scale of terror threats in our region has grown. Last year, about 900 ISIS-linked militants took over the southern Philippine city of Marawi and displaced over 400,000 Marawi residents. It took a concerted effort between the Philippine Armed Forces and the Philippine National Police to recapture Marawi following five months of fierce fighting involving airstrikes and artillery fire. Terror groups today have also operated with increasing coordination and sophistication, with operational linkages spanning across national borders. The Maute group militants behind the Marawi siege had links with pro-ISIS cells and individuals in the region, and leveraged existing smuggling routes to move funds, people and arms through ungoverned spaces in the region. The Marawi siege in the Philippines showed us how militants can effectively organise themselves and pose a credible threat to homeland security forces.”
“What are the possible areas of collaboration? And what tangible outcomes can citizens and industries expect? Smart Nation for Citizens and Businesses”
“Mr Chairman, the Smart Nation project excites and raises a lot of high expectations amongst the businesses and citizens. However, many are still unclear and they all have different expectations of what is to come and what are the outcomes. Local startups and SMEs hope that the Smart Nation project could provide them with opportunities or even a lifeline for their businesses, and many look at the Smart Nation project as a way to innovate, create and bail out their businesses. Most of them hope to work with the Government in such projects. And learning from smart cities like Estonia and Barcelona, many of the local tech companies and industries over there were involved in the projects very early on in the stage. Smart Nation can become a platform and opportunity for our local businesses to scale their businesses locally and overseas. As we have the aspiration to become an innovation hub, we need to give our local businesses more opportunities to participate in the Smart Nation project. For individuals, there is a lot of expectation of what is to come, and whether they could catch up. Some of them wonder if this Smart Nation project is just another system to collect data, or just for data collection. Or would it be a very difficult transition, especially for the elderly? Or would this Smart Nation project make them smarter, as some joked? The private sector needs to be given a chance for projects to participate in the Smart Nation project, and individuals need to adapt and learn. But the Smart Nation project's success cannot be solely dependent on the Government's efforts. It needs to be a collective effort among the Government, citizens and businesses. So, I would like to ask PMO: how is the Government going to work with the industry?”
“I thank the Minister for the comprehensive reply. May I know if the SMEs can still continue to apply for their grants now and in the future through the SME Centres? The second question is, when the merged entity of Enterprise Singapore exists, would the account management be one single point of contact for all the SMEs?”
“The consideration is upon investigating on their valid claims or non-payment of salaries. Most important is to establish the facts. While we are investigating and trying to find out about the facts of the claim, we do not want the workers to be unproductive. So, there is an arrangement for them, if they so request, to transfer employers. That can be facilitated by MWC to enable them to continue to be productive.”
“We will continue to work with the employers, employment agencies, non-government organisations (NGOs) like MWC and CDE, to ensure that these foreign workers can work safely and be treated fairly during their stay in Singapore.”
“They also have access to recreational areas and amenities, such as automated teller machines (ATMs), canteens and mini-marts, all within their dormitories. So far, 48 out of 50 large dormitories have been licensed. As announced in August 2016, factory-converted dormitories (FCDs), which are smaller, will also have to meet additional conditions, not just meeting the minimum standards but some additional conditions, including personal lockers to workers, and establishing a feedback mechanism and the installation of wi-fi. While the new requirements were put in place only in January this year, over 70% of these FCDs inspected already comply with these standards. And for many, before we even come up with the additional conditions, they have already implemented them. On FDWs, Mr Louis Ng asked if MOM had plans to support the CDE and employment agencies in their push for electronic payment of salaries for domestic workers as proof of salary payment in the event of a dispute. Our employers are required to maintain a record of the monthly salary paid to FDWs. Employers are also required to pay the FDWs' salary electronically if she so requests. Some FDWs may prefer to be paid in cash and to avoid being charged a fee if their bank accounts fall below the minimum sum required. But we are open to Mr Louis Ng's idea and we also support CDE's push for electronic payment. It is heartening to note that CDE is currently working with some banks to help FDWs set up bank accounts more easily and with better returns and we will help to facilitate that and support them. Mdm Chairman, migrant workers come here to earn a living for their families.”
“This Fund was set up in 2012 and more assistance can come out of the Fund to help the workers like a relief fund. We have seen MWC in action. As an example, MWC has been helping two Bangladeshi foreign workers who were badly burnt in a serious workplace accident since January this year. MWC has been working closely with like-minded partners like Silver Ribbon and Healthserve, as well as the hospital, to provide emotional, psychological and physical support to the workers. As the employer has exhausted his finances helping the workers, MWC stepped in to provide the workers with housing and financial assistance for the payment of additional surgery through the Fund. To better help foreign workers in need, MWC will set up a new office − it is an additional office − to be co-located with the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM) at the MOM Service Centre. This is in addition to their two offices, as I mentioned, and the other two offices are in Serangoon and Geylang. Foreign workers who need help can approach MWC at any of these three locations. Besides having a safe working environment, it is also important that foreign workers return to a clean and safe accommodation after a hard day's work. These standards ensure foreign workers have access to a cleaner and safer accommodation with amenities. It is exactly the reason why we implemented the Foreign Employees Dormitories Act (FEDA) from 1 January last year to regulate large dormitories that house 1,000 or more workers. These are mostly purpose-built dormitories (PBD). With the higher standards required under FEDA, foreign workers in licensed large dormitories are assured of safe and well-maintained living spaces.”
“Foreign workers today receive compensation for work injuries under WICA. When applying for or renewing the work passes of their foreign workers, employers are required to provide insurance policy details to MOM. Moving forward, MOM will step up efforts to ensure that the policies remain valid throughout the worker's work duration in Singapore. We will also want to educate and reach out and remind employers on the need to maintain insurance coverage for their workers during their stay. We will partner the General Insurance Association of Singapore and the Singapore Contractors Association Ltd on this front. Similarly, it is every employer's responsibility to ensure that salaries are paid on time. Where employers willfully refuse to comply with the law to pay the salaries due to their workers, MOM will take such employers to task. However, beyond punitive enforcement action against such employers, we should ensure that, in the meantime, foreign workers are provided with adequate assistance. In this case, my Ministry works closely with the Migrant Workers' Centre (MWC). Foreign workers who approach MOM on housing or other subsistence issues will receive timely assistance from MOM and our partners like MWC. MWC has been helping foreign workers with various employment issues since 2009. Such assistance includes providing housing and subsistence to workers in need, as well as advising and assisting the workers on the enforcement of Labour Court orders. In some cases, foreign workers have been provided with an ex-gratia payment if the prospects of recovering the monies were slim. MWC's aid to the workers is provided using the Migrant Workers' Assistance Fund (MWAF).”
“They take on demanding jobs that few locals want to do and jobs where there is a shortage of local workers. I agree with Mr Kok Heng Leun that we should ensure that our foreign workers are treated fairly and provided with good working conditions. Of course, it saddens me to hear such a story being related and we are continuously trying to tighten our process to make sure our migrant workers are protected. This would include ensuring that they have safe workplaces as well, and also that they receive their due salaries and get compensated if they are injured on their job. For foreign workers with valid claims of salary non-payment, MOM will help them see through their claim and allow them to change employer and stay on in Singapore, even if their employer terminates their work pass. However, not all foreign workers want that, because sometimes when you talk to them, they may not want to change employers. They may just prefer to return home after their claim is resolved. So, we need to have a lot of consultation and work with the workers as well. Mr Kok mentioned about the Korean system and the issues with recruitment cost. Our laws today already cap the costs that will be charged by the employment agencies to foreign workers to two months maximum or capped at two months of their salary. But we constantly learn from other countries and that will include the Korean system as well, and we will review and study it further. I would like to stress that it is every employer's responsibility to ensure their workers are well taken care of, their workplaces are safe and also to prevent accidents. In the unfortunate event of an accident, employers must additionally take care of their injured workers, help them recover from their injuries and assist them to return to work quickly.”
“The spirit of LEDS is for "One Stop Service" because we will bring all of our schemes and grants between the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) and MOM together. Companies which are willing to transform need only take the first step − approach any of the LEDS agencies or our LEDS partners, SME centres inclusive, or they can also approach NTUC-e2i and the TACs, and we will take them through this journey and link them up with these solution providers. To accelerate adoption, we are prepared to grant the prequalified solution providers and the solutions that are provided by these companies, temporary manpower support under LEDS. We want to scale up and help to ramp up this solution towards the sector. We need to enable those companies that provide these solutions. 2.00 pm This flexibility in manpower will only be granted to solution providers who have demonstrated to us that they can scale up and, at the same time, there is demand for their solutions and that they have also considered Singaporeans for these job opportunities before we allow for such manpower flexibilities. Mdm Chairman, as we strengthen the bridge of innovation, our target for 2017 is to support LEDS or to have more companies coming under LEDS, on top of the 2,100 companies that are already under the scheme. We are targeting at 2,400 companies this year alone and we want the sector to change, and we want it to be pervasive across all sectors. Our position is very simple – we hope that LEDS can not only transform a company but strengthen the sector as well, so that more quality jobs can be created. Mdm Chairman, Minister Lim also spoke about foreign workers being an integral part of our Singapore workforce.”
“This is a good solution that can help manufacturing companies save carrying costs and also help them achieve a leaner backend operation. Thirty-one SMEs are using this solution today. These are just two of many prequalified solutions that have proven effective. Currently, we have 71 solutions, some off-the-shelf, spread across 17 industries that we are going to push out and make pervasive. Our objective is to accelerate adoption of these solutions, not just having one or two more companies doing this, but from "Addition to Multiplication", from individual firms to cluster- or industry-wide adoption. We know that this is not an easy task. We need to have a lot of handholding and encouragement to encourage the companies to come forward. We are going to adopt a three-pronged approach: engagement, access and support for faster development. First, engagement. Mr Chong Kee Hiong would be pleased to know that we will step up efforts to outreach through our network of 18 LEDS multipliers to reach out to more companies and industries. Roadshows will be organised, and more of them will be organised, for relevant prequalified solution providers to showcase their solutions to the companies. The LEDS Taskforce will also work even closer with industries, especially those that have lesser companies applying to LEDS or undergoing the Lean Management Change. They can be in the hospitality, landscape and cleaning industries, which are those that we hope to encourage more to move up the productivity index. We will also work with the relevant agencies that are championing some of the other sectors to push out more solutions to the companies. Second, we must continue to give companies ready access to all these prequalified solution providers.”
“With this solution, companies no longer need to rely on the conventional way of tracking manpower utilisation onsite by marking workers' attendance manually. For smaller companies, they can actually self-register through the system. This reduces the administrative burden on the operational staff so that they can spend more time on other higher value jobs. In addition, this management system allows users to generate detailed comprehensive graphical reports from the captured workforce data that they can use to enhance their operations. For example, project managers can use the reports to understand manpower utilisation onsite and improve the operational efficiency with better manpower planning and allocation. This solution can also help workers avoid salary disputes on working hours as it can be customised to integrate with any third-party payroll software, ensuring seamless transference of working hours for the employers to compute the salary payment. I am pleased to share that 90 SMEs have adopted this solution. The second solution is a shared-service solution that can be adopted by many manufacturing companies concurrently. It is an online B2B Industrial Excess Marketplace from Excess Inventory Guru Pte Ltd that provides a cloud-based platform for manufacturing companies to manage their online sale of excess inventory and automate some of their tedious and manual business operations. For this year's economic climate, this may be an important software platform for many companies out there. With this solution, companies can expect to reduce their excess inventory holding from 30% to 15% and achieve manpower savings of 10% as fewer workers are required to conduct stocktaking of the excess inventory items.”
“But this year, our objective, our focus will be to provide or to push out cluster solutions, as Minister Lim had mentioned, for groups of companies, cluster of companies, sectors and the industry. We want to make it as pervasive as possible. We already have some examples. There were 30 preschool centres that have actually outsourced their backend kitchens to a single centralised kitchen and a solution. They have reduced manpower savings by 50%. But we can do more. We want to make sure that it is pervasive and nurture more industry cluster-based projects to create a viral effect in adopting some of the solutions, whether it is technology or just process redesign. We will do this by supporting the development of "cluster" solutions that have been prequalified by IMDA and the sector agencies, such as SPRING Singapore, to be capable of driving productivity improvement, skills development and innovation across each industry. These include off-the-shelf technology and those solutions under the SMEs Go Digital Programme announced by the Minister for Finance in his Budget speech. Let me share with Members two solutions prequalified by IMDA. The first solution is the one that can be adopted at the individual company level that can also be scaled up for industry-wide adoption by multiple firms. This is the Biometrics Attendance Management System. It is very simple and is from a company called Intercorp Solutions. It uses highly precise facial biometric technology to capture and track real-time manpower utilisation, such as workers' attendance, working hours and productivity manhours spent onsite. It is a simple solution to use, off-the-shelf.”
“With greater confidence in using technology, he was also able to apply his newly acquired skills in his daily life, learning how to use the WhatsApp messenger to communicate with his grandchildren. As Mr Anwar improved his productivity and enhanced his skills − he has a good employer − his employer increased his salary by about 16%. This example illustrates that when a company innovates and transforms to become more productive, jobs improve and the workers benefit as well through acquisition of new skills and higher wages. It is a win-win for both firms and workers. Therefore, I fully support Mr Desmond Choo's very good suggestion to encourage firms which have received support for productivity improvement to share their gains with their workers, either in the form of higher wages or investment in their training. For some, this is already happening. Under LEDS, NTUC-e2i has already built in a wage increase requirement for supported workers − the IGP. For all firms, whether under LEDS or not, subsidies, such as the substantial training subsidies and absentee payroll, are provided for companies to continue to invest in upgrading workers. Mr Desmond Choo will be pleased to know that almost 1,100 SMEs were supported and 1,200 PMETs were placed under the P-Max programme in 2016. Nonetheless, we can do more to encourage productivity gains sharing. We will explore this with the LEDS Taskforce agencies in the coming year, and that will be our main focus. Mr Desmond Choo and Ms Jessica Tan asked how we are continuing our efforts to help more companies transform. I have just described the benefits that can be derived or gained from a single company or a single enterprise transformation.”
“Before the change, service crew either memorised or took down orders on paper, which is quite common if you go to some of the merchant shops or even the small restaurants. With over 100 items on the menu, this conventional method was unproductive and also prone to errors as some orders were missed out and this affected customer service standards. It was obvious that the restaurant needed some change. With support from NTUC-e2i and WSG, it introduced an integrated system to link up the ordering system with the point-of-sale (POS) system and the kitchen processing system. So, orders are now taken using tablets that relay the orders to the kitchen electronically, the service crew no longer need to memorise the orders or rush to the kitchen to relay the orders before they forget, and no orders will be missed out. As a result, the business operations are now smoother. The time taken from ordering to serving has been cut by 40%, table turnover is faster, customer satisfaction has increased and their customer base has expanded, too. Technology has also transformed jobs for workers and, most importantly, it has also changed the mindsets of workers. Now, they treat technology as their co-worker and also as a friend instead of as a threat. Let me give you an example − the same example − the service crew within the same restaurant, 65-year-old Mr Anwar Aziz Marican is one local worker who had benefited. As he is 65, he does not know technology nor how to use a tablet computer until this change. So, it is now easier for him to perform his service duties. He picked up the new skills, learning how to use technology, such as tablet computers.”
“Minister Lim Swee Say mentioned the importance of strengthening the bridge of innovation so that more companies can transform and grow and successfully cross both the technology gate and market gate. Companies which can do so will be better placed to tap on growth opportunities, contribute to our economic growth and create more quality jobs for our workers. Since its start in October 2015, when Minister Lim launched the Lean Enterprise Development Scheme (LEDS), to end-January 2017, LEDS had been "playing this bridge", the bridge of innovation. To date, 2,100 companies have signed up with LEDS and we are helping them to take steps to cross, especially the technology gate towards the market gate. The vast majority, close to 90%, of the 2,100 companies were helped by some form of digitisation or technology adoption or, for some, it is just simply outsourcing. This is how we are helping SMEs to go digital. It is not just the companies that have benefited from this, but workers have also benefited from improved productivity and technology adoption. Based on our analysis, nearly 10,000 good jobs are expected to be created by firms supported by SPRING under LEDS. For a scheme that has been about one year old so far, there is an average of 18% wage increase for those whose roles were redesigned or upgraded through LEDS projects supported by NTUC-e2i. I agree with Mr Chong Kee Hiong that success stories should be shared so that we can encourage more companies to come on board. Let me just share an example of how LEDS helped a small SME to benefit from LEDS. The example is "The Singapore Curry by Velu", a restaurant, a very small SME, implemented a very simple software solution to help them so that they can become less reliant on manpower.”
“Mdm Chairman, with your permission, may I display some slides on the LED screen?”
“I thank the Member for the supplementary question. Currently, employers are still primarily responsible for ensuring the safety and health of their employees at work. They are required to report any work-related injuries or OD when the reporting conditions are met. They should be promptly notified and be involved in the investigation process as well. But unlike injuries, the onset of OD, as the Member has stated, is usually gradual and, in some instances, the victim may have changed employers or the workplace may have ceased to exist. Hence, it could be difficult for the employer to detect and be aware of an OD under such circumstances. Therefore, we require the doctors to report ODs to give us a better picture of the occupational health situation. This is an approach that is similar to countries, such as Germany, Denmark and Hong Kong. More than 95% of the cases for injuries that MOM sees are reported by employers today. This is a relatively high compliance. We will continue to monitor closely before taking further action or impose further requirements on doctors. And yes, they can use the "iReport".”
“Madam, under the Workplace Safety and Health Act and Work Injury Compensation Act, it is mandatory and not voluntary, for employers to report any work-related accident resulting in an employee's death, or hospitalisation for at least 24 hours, or medical leave for more than three days. It is an offence for employers not to notify the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) of the reportable accidents. MOM has taken enforcement actions against errant employers for persistent late reporting of minor injuries after repeated reminders, or delayed reporting of a serious work injury. Since 2014, seven such employers were taken to task. Currently, injured employees, their dependants and representatives as well as doctors can submit an incident report directly to MOM online or in person if they are concerned that the employer may not report the accident. However, I would like to emphasise again that the primary responsibility to report accidents should rightfully rest with the employer.”
“The fundamental consideration is, firstly, to protect the interests of our local workers. That is the first and foremost. Secondly is that we also want to protect the interests of the foreign workers, the risks of them being exploited. For some industries, we do actually offer some flexibility. For example, in the services industry, within the same company, we do allow them to redeploy their Work Permit holders across different departments within the same business, within the same company. That is possible.”
“Mdm Speaker, we do not allow foreign Work Permit holders to engage in part-time work for several reasons. First, we expect employers to bring in Work Permit holders for specific, full-time jobs. Work Permit holders should not have the time to engage in part-time work on top of the work for their primary employer. Second, allowing part-time work may put Work Permit holders at risk of exploitation, especially if employers offer their Work Permit holders to do part-time work for other firms. Third, allowing part-time work may increase the overall demand for Work Permit holders, which would run counter to the national effort to restructure the economy and prevent over-reliance on foreign manpower. Firms should address their manpower needs by becoming more manpower-lean, or by redesigning jobs to be more attractive to locals, rather than by relying more on foreign workers. Finally, allowing Work Permit holders to do part-time work is likely to increase competition with locals for freelance jobs or part-time work. We offer support for companies through the Lean Enterprise Development (LED) scheme to transform and achieve manpower-lean growth. Many progressive companies have come forward to take up the LED scheme and we encourage more to do so.”
“For fair employment practices under the Code of Conduct, we need a tripartite agreement. So, we will take the Member's suggestion back for a tripartite discussion and look at some of the alignments before considering that to be part of the condition for tenders.”
“I agree. For the survey that we intend to conduct in the next session – the previous survey was done in 2014, so the next one is in 2018 – our intent is, of course, to survey both sides – employer and employee side – in order to get a better view about the sensing on the ground, so we will take that into consideration. As for whether there is enough enforcement that is effective, if you look at the numbers so far, there are about 400 complaints of all sorts of discrimination, not just race and religion. Race and religion make up about 10%. Between 2011 and 2015, on average, they made up about 400 of all the complaints. In 2015, that year itself, which is the latest survey, about 300. So, the numbers remain stable in terms of discrimination complaints of all sorts, which is, maybe, say, six areas, and a very small minority, about 10%, is on race and religion issues. We feel that with this stability – not that we can eliminate all the discrimination – the current practice of a multi-pronged approach – in terms of imposing the penalties of curtailing Work Passes, as well as TAFEP's counselling and advisory work with the companies and following up Page: 26 closely with the companies – has been effective. Especially when we look at the outcome, all the companies heeded the advice and there were no repeated cases. We will continue to monitor closely whether there are any such needs to increase the enforcement. As of now, we feel that the current multi-pronged practice has been effective.”
“In the process of investigation, we make sure that the companies rectify all their practices, especially to make sure that the non-compliance issues are rectified and they comply with the fair employment practices. Thereafter, TAFEP will share with and advise or counsel the employers on some of the good HR practices to make sure that it is done and all is complied with. We check back on them to make sure they comply. So far, there have been no repeat cases. We are glad that, so far, all companies have heeded our advice.”
“So far, we may investigate a certain case and after the investigation, we have issued warnings. Depending on the severity of the case, we have curtailed their Work Pass privileges as well. That, itself, has been effective because when we curtailed their Work Passes, over a specific period, it has an outcome. So far, all the companies have heeded and there were no repeat cases. It is a very positive outcome after we implemented some of the penalties. In terms of bridging the perception, MOM and our tripartite partners recognise that to eliminate discrimination, we need to spread the fair and inclusive employment practices message far, wide and deep. We will also continue to step up the public education awareness. Although the numbers remain stable, we know that, sometimes, you cannot eliminate all such cases. We have to continue to drive hard, drive the message out clearly. So, we are going to step up on public education. We are going to make people more aware and conscious, especially between the employers and Page: 25 employees. As for the recruitment practices, so far, individuals who know of such discrimination have approached TAFEP and informed us, and we would then start the investigation. On strengthening recruitment and hiring practices, TAFEP usually advises the companies to implement best HR practices and make sure there is compliance. Not only that, we are going to step up training for HR practitioners to ensure recruitment and selection are based on the principles of fair and merit-based hiring, and also publicise and share these best practices across all sectors.”
“I thank the Member for the questions. Let me just repeat the survey results. In the survey done by MOM in 2014, two in three firms reported that they implemented fair employment practices. The majority of those which did not, which is the one-third, were planning to do so. That survey was done in 2014. With reference to the Member's question about doing the survey again, we do that every four years. The last one that we did was in 2014, so the next one that we will be doing will be in 2018. As for recognising firms with good practices, TAFEP recognises employers that have good practices in creating an inclusive and diverse workforce through its Exemplary Employer Award. We are looking at six areas, mainly, age, race, gender, family responsibilities, religion and disabilities. This award celebrates the achievements of outstanding organisations that have implemented good practices in these areas and fair and progressive inclusive employment practices. TAFEP hopes to inspire many more firms to do so. Thirtytwo organisations have received this award so far since it was implemented in 2010.”
“MOM and our tripartite partners recognise that the key to eliminating discrimination is to spread this fair and inclusive message to all workplaces. TAFEP will step up its public education campaign to make people more conscious and sensitive in embracing diversity in a multiracial workforce. TAFEP will also ramp up training for HR practitioners to ensure recruitment and selection are based on the principles of fair and merit-based hiring, and publicise best practices in this area. Mdm Speaker, Singapore is a multiracial and meritocratic society. We should not condone discrimination of any form, including race and religion, in the workplace. We can succeed in eliminating workplace discrimination when everybody plays a part.”
“The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) takes a serious view of any form of workplace discrimination. We expect all employers to adopt the principles of fair and merit-based employment, in line with the Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices. In a survey conducted by MOM in 2014, two in three firms reported that they implemented fair employment practices. The majority of those who did not were planning to do so. To tackle complaints about workplace discrimination, MOM works with our tripartite partners through the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP). TAFEP, as the advocate and champion for fair employment practices, plays an active role in looking into such complaints and refers cases to MOM for investigation where warranted. Between 2011 and 2015, MOM and TAFEP received on average of about 400 complaints of alleged discriminatory workplace practices each year. Less than 10%, or about 30, of these relate to race or religion. Most of them were about unfair hiring practices, including posting discriminatory job advertisements and asking inappropriate questions during job interviews. The remaining concerned in-employment issues, such as poor grievance handling and lack of sensitivity in communicating company policies and practices. Prior to 2014, TAFEP took an advisory approach in counselling employers who were involved in such complaints. They have all heeded TAFEP's advice. Even so, we have taken stronger actions to deter workplace discrimination. Since then, 10 employers have received warnings for race- or religion-related discrimination, and another 12 employers have had their Work Pass privileges curtailed. While this twin approach of advisory and deterrence has been reasonably effective, we can certainly do more.”
“Mdm Speaker, with your permission, could I take Question Nos 10, 11 and 12 together?”
“We are monitoring the situation closely. So far, the number of complaints has remained stable. What we will do is to continue to educate and create greater awareness. TAFEP, as an advocate for fair employment practices, is enhancing and strengthening its educational efforts. We believe that this approach has worked so far as most employers engaged by TAFEP did rectify their employment practices.”
“I thank the Member for the questions. So far, we have received complaints of other attributes besides nationality, age and gender. We have received complaints based on attributes, such as race, language, religion, family status and others. Most of the time, we will investigate, gather the evidence and I am encouraged that most of the companies rectified their employment practices. For complaints related to attributes besides nationality, for example, age and gender, the number has remained stable. Age- and gender-related complaints accounted for about 20% of total complaints in 2015. We are monitoring the situation and will work with TAFEP closely. Whenever there is a complaint and a need to investigate, we will do so.”
“Mdm Speaker, we have employment laws that enforce against employers with discriminatory practices on age and gender. Under the Retirement and Re-employment Act (RRA), an employer cannot dismiss an employee on the grounds of age. The Employment Act (EA) and Child Development Co-Savings Act (CDCA) also protect female employees from being dismissed without sufficient cause during any stage of their pregnancy. The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and the Tripartite Partners also expect employers to implement fair and non-discriminatory employment practices in accordance with the Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices (TAFEP). This is why TAFEP, as the advocate and champion for fair employment practices, takes an active role in looking into complaints of such unfair employment practices and refers cases to MOM for enforcement, if found to be true. MOM takes a serious view of all forms of employment discrimination and, if employers are found to have engaged in such unfair employment practices, MOM will take appropriate enforcement actions under the RRA, EA or CDCA. MOM can also suspend their work pass privileges under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act. Any employee who feels discriminated against can approach TAFEP for assistance.”
“We are left with the SMEs to help themselves. Transformation is not easy, but nothing comes easy. But if we put our hearts and minds together, I am sure we can build and ride the fourth wave of economic success towards the future.”
“We note Mr Desmond Choo and Assoc Prof Daniel Goh have asked about Work-Life Grant adoption rates. The take-up of the Work-Life Grant is improving, from 287 applications in 2014 to 549 applications in December 2015. In particular, the take-up rate of the Developmental Grant, which defrays the cost of companies on a pilot scheme, is increasing. Mr Desmond Choo has asked about the Government's stance on legislating FWAs. In countries like the UK and Australia, the law provides employees with the right to request such arrangements, but employers also have the right to consider these requests and refuse them. Assoc Prof Daniel Goh had also suggested a similar arrangement. We need to carefully study the pros and cons of having such legislation in Singapore as being pro-business as well as pro-worker. How do we keep that balance? The success of it depends on integration of different factors, for example, the perception of such a practice within the society, and employers' and co-workers' attitudes towards FWAs. In other countries, FWAs are usually fairly prevalent before this legislation. That will not stop us from taking a review as well as making sure that we continue the awareness and education campaign. Fundamentally, employers and employees need to understand and be committed before such a culture can be in place. Chairman, a large part of this Budget is about helping SMEs in the industry, and our workforce to adapt and grow for better jobs and better careers. We rolled out so many different schemes – LEDS, LEDS Multipliers, HR certification and HR/HC, the Work-Life Grant. Most importantly, mindsets need to shift for SMEs need to have the spirit of enterprise to make the change, take that leap of faith and take action on it. The Government can only do so much.”
“And it is a very critical component and critical success factor for any good company that wants to retain its staff, wants to keep it more dynamic and also wants to recruit personnel. Ms Jessica Tan is right to highlight that FWAs can help businesses thrive, leveraging technology to do so, enhancing it. For example, hotdesking, working from home, working from any other place – it is a flexible workplace. We know that the majority of global businesses have reported increases in employee productivity and company revenue as a result of implementing Page: 114 FWAs. Microsoft is one of them. More businesses are recognising these benefits. The proportion of companies offering at least one form of formal FWA to their employees has increased from 38% in 2011 to 47% in 2014, but it is a never-ending effort to get more companies on board. I agree with Ms Jessica Tan and Mr Desmond Choo that more should be done. The Tripartite Committee on Work-Life Strategy (TriCom), which includes representatives from trade associations, has launched several initiatives. The Tripartite Advisory on FWAs was launched in November 2014 to help employers, supervisors and employees through the journey of implementing FWAs. But more efforts in awareness and education are needed. So, we rolled out the Work-Life campaign, which concluded in March 2016, to reinforce that FWAs would benefit both employers and employees. An online resource portal will also be launched to provide employers and employees with a one-stop access to resources related to the adoption of FWAs. Both initiatives are targeted to be launched in the second half of 2016. Moving forward, we will take a more targeted approach towards some of the sectors that are facing challenges to adopt the FWAs.”
“They have to move from focusing on operational and transactional approaches, to a more strategic approach, to look at how the company moves forward, forecast its manpower needs in the future. Employers expect that HR professionals can better apply these skills and align them to the organisation's goals. So, they cannot work in isolation. The HR strategy has to be integrated within the company. The committee is also recommending that we develop a pathway because of that requirement. Ms Thanaletchimi will, therefore be pleased to know that one of the initiatives being considered under HRSMP is the development of a National HR Professional Certification Framework. We are looking at setting up a system to certify HR professionals based on components, such as HR competencies, HR work experience, professional code of conduct and ethics. Also, they have to possess an understanding of local employment laws, regulations and practices. It is not just certification. It is a progressive learning ladder as well. This framework has to provide the HR professionals with a comprehensive roadmap to develop their own capabilities. They need to advance their careers through that. HR professionals, once they have gone through the process, can then better support businesses and also enhance their value to the organisation. 7.00 pm The work of the HR professionals has become more demanding. As the expectations increase from bosses to workers to everybody, sometimes, they are sandwiched in the middle. Many times, the expectation from the workers or the employees is about the work-to-personal time ratio. As Ms Jessica Tan had mentioned, how do you integrate that work and that life together? It is not easy to find that integration. We encourage FWAs in the workplace.”
“ROHEI Corporation, a local corporate training SME consultancy, is one such SME. They advocate "people above process", often going out of their way to nurture and guide their employees towards achieving their life goals. When their senior consultants in their 50s expressed interest to master different skillsets and practices offered by the business, the company readily supported and guided them to acquire those skills, even though they were close to retirement age. They wanted to ensure that their wisdom and skills could combine together to help the company. This ensured that they could continue to value add, even in Page: 113 their golden years. Every single person counts, they are our capital, they are our assets. But you need a good HR practitioner if you want to implement such a process. All HR practitioners now have more demanding jobs. To upgrade the HR practices in the different sectors, we need to upgrade their learning process. We need to upgrade their certification process as well. We formed the HR Sectoral Tripartite Committee (HRSTC) in September 2015 and it comprises unions, businesses, the Government and IHLs. They are currently developing a HR Sectoral Manpower Plan (HRSMP). Mr Melvin Yong has asked for an update. Over the last six months, the HR Sectoral Tripartite Committee has engaged over 150 stakeholders through six different engagement sessions. One recurring feedback is that they felt the need for HR to evolve to better support business strategy and to be more strategic, to think in the longer term and to be able to look at the macro view of the company; basically, to think like a chief executive officer.”
“But we saw a lot of progress and we want to work by sectors, clusters and individual companies. I fully agree with Mr Chong Kee Hiong, Mr Lee Yi Shyan and Mr Thomas Chua that more should be done to help more businesses to break these barriers and shift mindsets in order to achieve this. You have to think out of the box, change your mindsets to do so. But it takes the whole-of-Government as well to support such a transformation programme. This year's Budget has got a lot to do with Industry Transformation Programmes and LEDS plays its part to do so. LEDS also depends on good HR practices, and good HR practices require good HR and qualified HR professionals. In managing manpower and the workforce in a company, it has to go beyond HR or human resources. It has to go into human capital. It is not just human resource but human capital. There is a difference here, especially in the way we plan, and in managing the human resource within the company. HR is not just about plugging holes – when there is a job vacancy, you find a suitable person, you plug a hole here. A lot of times they are faced with situations which extend beyond recruitment, with retention, for example. We need a strategic and longer term plan. Look at every single individual, not just as a factor of production, but as capital for investment. Invest in them early, even for our mature workers. As Mr Thomas Chua has pointed out, companies will need to focus more on building and nurturing human capital, investing in identifying each employee's strengths and making the best use of differentiated talents. We have many good examples that did that, and many are SMEs. Sometimes, it is not about investing only in the young but investing across the board – young and old. Let me give Members an example.”
“But they could, because they felt that there were some basic processes that were the same and they could consolidate them. Page: 112 So, firstly, they achieved the objective of centralising shared services. The consortium will form a central processing unit or a shared kitchen, where the basic processes will be centralised. Basic processes involve preparing the certain basic ingredients – onions, cabbage, vegetables and so on. Subsequently, these will be delivered to the restaurants' individual kitchens for their own recipe so that they will prepare the dishes differently. That will differentiate their dishes. Secondly, they will automate, putting in new types of machinery and equipment in the central kitchen. For some, automation will be done in their individual restaurants, in their individual kitchens. That helps to upskill the workers too. The skills transfer is extremely important because they are building a sustainable pipeline of local Indian cuisine chefs. They want to have that pipeline, but this involves skills transfer and capability development and they need foreign chefs to come to Singapore to transfer skills and knowledge to locals during this transition. So, MOM provides two years' flexibility to retain S Pass chefs beyond the company's foreign manpower quota. These chefs are needed to impart skills and knowledge to local trainees who can take on such better jobs in future. With a pipeline of skilled Singaporeans ready to take on critical roles, these foreign chefs will then be released once the transition has been achieved. It is not easy to achieve such a manpower-lean state and we are still going through the process. In fact, we only appointed the multipliers in January this year and the scheme was only launched late last year.”
“There are also many who apply for other grants but achieve manpower-lean outcomes without needing temporary foreign worker flexibilities. We have more than 200 companies in that category. So, there is hope for higher productivity moving forward, because there is greater depth now in terms of their transformation and process change. We have studied all the applications and proposals and we found that there are three commonalties in this whole development and in their proposals. First, they centralise a lot of their operations. What this means is that they share facilities among groups of companies. We have more than 10 companies coming forward and saying, "Let us come together, take our basic processes and centralise them", thereby achieving some economies of scale and reducing wastage and then, through a hub-and-spoke kind of network, they could do their own differentiation. Second, they have an automation plan. This automation plan helps them to combine man and machine, as well as to put in machinery within a business process or operational process to make it more efficient. They also support job redesign and reduce lots of manpower wastage. Thirdly and most importantly, they develop new skillsets or enhance the skill development, especially for our local workforce. This imparting of new skills will align to our SkillsFuture vision and mission to enable locals to take on new types of jobs in future. So, if the company changes, the worker's job changes. Let me give Members an example. A good example comes from the Indian Restaurants Association (Singapore). Fourteen members of the Association collaborated to form a consortium. You are probably wondering how they can come together because they could be competitors as well.”
“This temporary foreign manpower flexibility can then be withdrawn. Thirdly, we will handhold the companies through the whole implementation process. It is not an easy process, but definitely achievable. Based on the applications that I have received so far, it is quite promising. But we want to do more. We need the arms and legs and we need the Page: 111 partnership of TACs to help us. We have appointed 10 of them. We call them the LED multipliers. They include the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry and NTUC's U-SME. The LED multipliers will educate and handhold companies in the whole application process. SMEs need not worry about whom to approach, because they can approach any of these 10 multipliers. Even the SME Centres, SMEs can approach them and the SME Centres will guide them through the process. So far, the LED multipliers have held four road shows, and I have participated in all of them, and we would want to continue to build up this outreach. To date, all the 10 multipliers have plans to engage their members. We will want to support them further. We are going to link up these 10 LED multipliers, not just with business advisors, but also consultants who are professionals in productivity as well as manpower-lean strategies and processes. Since the launch of the scheme, we have received applications from 79 companies, from a broad range of sectors, such as F&B, construction, food manufacturing, ICT and media, professional services, electronics, hotels, logistics, precision engineering and others. I am glad to see that the Member Mr Lee Yi Shyan has mentioned F&B. They form the majority of the applications. There will be a fair bit of transformation in that sector if more come forward.”
“This is what we call the power-to-weight ratio. If the power-to-weight ratio is high, you are super fit and super strong. If your power-to-weight ratio is one-to-one, then you can only lift your own weight, and that is average. We want the lean companies or manpower-lean companies to attain high power-to-weight ratio, and that would mean to punch above their weight. To achieve that, they have to undergo three phases. These three phases, simply put, include the current state of the workforce. Then their business processes will go through a transition of two years – with automation, productivity, process change, job redesign, putting in computerisation and changing the workforce composition in order to achieve the future state. These three phases will need to be supported by the agencies, policies and Government schemes as well. So, we are going to help SMEs undergo these three phases. First, we will assist them. We will assess all the proposals and see whether their proposals for productivity and being manpower-lean could really result in meaningful change within, say, two years. Second, one of the advantages of LEDS is that it could consolidate and integrate all the several other schemes into one. So, businesses do not need to worry about what schemes and what productivity grants to apply for. As long as they have the intent to become more manpower-lean, and they apply and are approved as an LED-supported company, we will help to coordinate all the different Government schemes needed for it to succeed. Within that coordination, we provide temporary flexibility in foreign manpower policy to help them. These foreign employees can then impart their skills and knowledge to our local workforce, so that locals can be upskilled and take on better jobs.”
“Applications for productivity schemes continue to go up. The question we ask ourselves is: why is the productivity index not going up as well? Productivity schemes and grants cover a wide area. They have breadth, but not the depth. So, many companies apply for productivity schemes and grants and they get the grants but the change is not comprehensive enough to attain a productivity Page: 110 movement or a lean manpower outcome. When I understood what the LED concept was about and the vision of what Minister Lim wanted to do, I thought: "This programme would build depth." It would require the firms to dig deep into their companies to look at the processes that they have and see what changes they would have to make, before they could start thinking about what productivity schemes or grants can be put in place. From concept, we developed it into a scheme. Chairman, with your permission, I have asked the Clerks to place a handout, entitled "LED Scheme – Integrated Support", on the hon Members' seats during the tea break. 6.45 pm LED hopes to achieve a few objectives: quality workforce, manpower-lean, developing Singaporean Core. If we achieve the three objectives mentioned above, we are going to be future-ready. It is about helping companies to become more manpower-lean and more productive. Over the last few days, in this House, many people used sports analogies, from marathons to high performance sports. I want to use these as well, since I am a very passionate sportsman. In the LEDS, it is really like weightlifting. You see some weightlifters are lighter but they can lift as much as those who are heavier in weight. By right, if you are heavier, you are supposed to lift more or lift the same weight. But some of them who are thin, they can lift the same.”
“Mr Chairman, I am addressing the House about LEDS. The economic environment situation is getting very real, so we have mentioned that there will be structural labour market challenges, such as slower workforce growth. Workforce growth will drop by more than half in the next five years. But there are also other challenges, such as external economic macro challenges, whether it is the US undergoing an economic recovery or China slowing its growth. There are also security issues around the world. We should also not forget that technology has advanced to the extent where startups are posing threats to traditional businesses. So, we hear a lot about disruptive technology. But more importantly, in fact, across the world, we are all facing productivity challenges. Productivity growth has challenged us and Singapore has to punch above its weight in order to ride to economic success. Companies are faced with this issue, especially SMEs. That is why we need SMEs to review and know what they need to do to enhance their processes to enable themselves to compete in the marketplace. Our policies also need to catch up. We need to make sure that we have an ecosystem and environment for SMEs to grow and help progressive businesses to undergo transformation. We hope that these companies, especially SMEs, which comprise more than 90% of our registered entities, will continue to build a Singaporean Core in a very manpower-lean economy. If it is going to be manpower-lean, companies will have to learn to survive in this very manpower-lean economy by being lean themselves. Late last year, Minister Lim Swee Say launched the LED concept. It is a pro-business and pro-worker concept at the same time. I was in MTI for five years working on productivity schemes.”
“Yes, we encourage engineers who are not in their profession to come back. There is today, based on feedback from the enterprises and the sector, a lack of engineers in the sectors. We encourage them and through different programmes of support. There are already current programmes in career support to bring them back, especially the matured engineers.”
“There are many positions with engineering graduates filling up the positions, both engineering jobs and non-engineering jobs. Majority of them are filled by locals. We will do our best, wherever we can, based on merit to give our local engineers and local graduates to be employed in Civil Service.”
“How many engineering positions in Government agencies and Statutory Boards are filled by foreigners? Will the Government lead by example? Employ just Singaporeans in Government agencies and Statutory Boards.”
“Employment of engineers will be based on skill sets. Some skill sets are, for example, software skill sets. Some are specialised skill sets which may not be readily available here. But in the public sector, majority of our engineers are locals. We will also do our best to make sure that our local engineers are given a fair chance and opportunity to take up positions. Engineers have skills that are functional. Their skills are applicable broadly across different sectors. Most of the engineers, if they go to the technical field, they can find job opportunities. Services as well. Many of these jobs are covered by engineers, even including the non-functional skills too. We respect the engineering profession, and we feel that engineering skills and engineers themselves need to be recognised and rewarded. It has to be based on two fronts: to make sure that engineers continue to stay in their sector and to have the technical skills. From the enterprise perspective, they need to have good human resources (HR) practices. These HR practices could mean identifying these engineers as human capital to be invested in and also to make sure that they can continue to deliver value. They need to have career paths, wage ladders, and good salary and progression plans for them. Industry as a whole will depend on the Sectoral Manpower Plan and the tripartite committee to look at the skills sets and the skills of the future to cover the skills gaps, so that we can build up the pipeline between schools and institutions with the industry. We need to build up more engineers for the sectors. That is exactly how we have been approaching it. Er Dr Lee Bee Wah: I think the Minister of State did not answer my first question.”