Terry Lee
Singapore
“Madam, the word "productivity" was mentioned by the Minister more than 10 times. I fully agree with him that we have to increase our productivity to enhance growth, jobs and sustain better wages for our workers.”
“Singaporeans need to be inclusively involved, helping each other to reach higher ground. Unlike the past, people had a common problem – poverty. Today, Singapore is a more diverse society with widening income gap. Some are richer while others are poorer.”
“It also helps to maintain our brain neural networks for a longer period. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why the healthcare sector has a very high re-employment rate overall. There was a philosopher who said that if you love your job and you are passionate about it, you do not have to work a single day of your life.”
“It tells us exactly the total earnings of the family and how many members in that household depend on the income. Here we are not considering that some families need more help, due to illness or other deficiencies. I leave that part to other schemes and many other helping hands.”
“Given our rapidly ageing population and increase in prevalence of chronic ailments, is there a sufficient number of physicians and nurses to manage the expected increase in demand for geriatric care? How many physicians are currently trained in geriatric care?”
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“Madam, the word "productivity" was mentioned by the Minister more than 10 times. I fully agree with him that we have to increase our productivity to enhance growth, jobs and sustain better wages for our workers. There are two clarifications I would like to ask the Minister: one, how do we measure and manage our progress, and what are the deliverables for unions and employers to achieve this and raise wages by 30% in the next 10 years? Two, since the labour movement is Singapore's core competitive advantage, what resources are we investing into strengthening bipartism at individual industry level to help achieve this?”
“Singaporeans need to be inclusively involved, helping each other to reach higher ground. Unlike the past, people had a common problem – poverty. Today, Singapore is a more diverse society with widening income gap. Some are richer while others are poorer. I would like to ask the Minister how do we encourage a truly inclusive Singapore. Sir, I trust that these considerations do not come as a surprise. While I rise in support for what I call the most Singaporean-centric Budget, I urge that we consider how it will be used and what real impact can be created on the ground. To have no one left behind, it will take more than this Government and this Budget. It requires everyone’s collective effort. 5.08 pm”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I congratulate this Government for its resolve that no one be left behind through this Budget. It was clear when the Minister delivered his speech, that this Budget reminds us to set our sights further into our future – a future where we need to place Singapore and Singaporeans on a higher ground. This is the only way forward where we can continue to enjoy a higher quality of life for generations that follow. The Government has just revealed in its goodies bag with something for almost everyone – from low-income to middle-squeeze and businesses. It addresses the present rising cost of living and focuses on capability building for companies and workers. So it shows we have heard the people and put their concerns at the heart of our plans. But the success for this Budget is its implementation. What must we do? The cornerstone for Singapore’s success is our strong tripartite relations. Unless we are able to harness the collective effort of the Government, employers and unions, we cannot hope to maximise the Budget. So, strengthening the very core and fragile tripartite relations from national level to individual companies becomes key in reaching our goals. There must be concerted and deliberate actions to do so. It will not happen by chance. For example in the area of Productivity and CET, how do we encourage companies to put the Budget to good use? We need to measure how companies can further improve their competitiveness and the quality of their workforce. Because if you cannot measure, you also cannot manage. Yes, we need to execute it well, and measure its implementation process, making quick changes where necessary. But most of all, we need everyone on board.”
“We should continue to provide opportunities for every worker to improve. In doing so, we will scale further heights as one nation. We already have a slew of workfare benefits such as the WIS and WTS in place. They are serving the purpose well as long as workers have jobs. But since our early days, it was education that brought our nation out of poverty and into a world-class city. It was that self-driven attitude and the spirit of meritocracy that allowed us to prevail against our natural limitations. Therefore, we should continue teaching people to fish for themselves instead of depending on others to fish for them, and we should help them fish more effectively. The Government must drive this message home through all its Ministries and Organs. We must continue to play a positive role model and encourage every company to do more for their workers, especially those who are low-skilled and low-wage. On this note, we can all do better to help our fellow Singaporeans and their families. For if we do not take care of our own, no one else will. In closing, I echo the call for inclusive growth and that we continue to find new ways for our workers to improve, our companies to prosper, and our nation to progress as one. 2.49 pm”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I rise in support of the motion to do more for low-skilled and low-wage workers. It is very important that no Singaporean be left behind as Singapore progresses economically. And perhaps that sharply and succinctly defines the spirit of inclusive economic growth. This is a call to review what we have already done and see what we can do better for these workers. During the last Budget debate, I spoke on the importance of forging a learning and training culture. I suggested that we should be less conventional in our approach. Instead of asking workers to come for training and upgrading, we can facilitate the training and go to them. We need to build learning communities in our heartlands. To promote a self-driven learning attitude, we need to integrate that with work. We can do more to strengthen On-The-Job-Trainings (OJTs), so that workers become more productive and companies can gain from it. The Labour Movement launched the Inclusive Growth Programme (IGP) in August 2010. And we are seeing more companies appreciating the importance of helping workers upgrade and how this translates into productivity gains for them. Employers are then expected to reward workers, sharing these gains with them – increasing their wages and improving their lives. The reward mechanism will persuade more workers that this is not lip service but it brings real benefits. This is the only way mindsets will change and growth can be sustainable. This is also how we can strive towards our national productivity targets according to the ESC report. I believe it is every worker’s dream to have a better life for himself and his family. It is the human natural survival instinct to change when it is beneficial.”
“It also helps to maintain our brain neural networks for a longer period. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why the healthcare sector has a very high re-employment rate overall. There was a philosopher who said that if you love your job and you are passionate about it, you do not have to work a single day of your life. So, with that, Sir, I support the Bill. 4.59 pm”
“They can assist these employers and companies to think out of the box and circumvent their options to facilitate their compliance with this Bill. Next, with regard to section 7 pertaining to the issue of re-employment and where a new contract of service is to be drawn up, will MOM be coming up with some suggested generic guidelines for employers? This I feel may be helpful to reduce or prevent unnecessary discrimination which has the potential to arise. Thirdly, pertaining to the new section 7C, Sir, on the offer of employment assistance payment to the eligible employees, can I again ask if there will be some guidelines from the Ministry? It is mentioned in the Bill that the tripartite guidelines must be referred to in these cases. Can I please enquire if the Ministry feels these current guidelines are sufficient and whether some revisions, edits and fine-tuning would have to be added on? Finally, Sir, one issue which I think is very crucial is that as we continue to retain our seniors and employ them right into their ripe old age, how do we promote health at the workplace and healthy lifestyle as well? After all, a majority of our working adults and seniors spend a significant portion of their day at their workplace. I would like to call upon MOM to work even more closely and further with MOH to come up with certain good health practices at work and, perhaps, even adopting some very good practices from overseas, such as the Japanese examples, to ensure that our workers stay healthy and have a good worklife balance right into their old age. After all, I strongly believe that work is good for us. Studies have shown that keeping active way into our senior and golden years delays the onset of Alzheimer's disease, dementia and cerebral atrophy.”
“I do, however, feel that a worker should have the flexibility to retire when he feels so. This Bill is also necessary to help reduce any abuse by employers, especially pertaining to matters of keeping the seniors employed, their re-employment and comparative remuneration. As MPs, many of us have heard our fair share of the challenges facing our seniors in their job maintenance or job hunt. This Bill, together with the Industrial Relations Bill which we have just debated recently, will certainly help and offer various options to employees to seek recourse for employment disputes. The Ministry of Manpower and the NTUC have been very strong advocates of hiring seniors and older workers. The passing of this Bill, Sir, will help drive the message home even further amongst all relevant stakeholders. This Bill will, no doubt, act as one of the signals to help increase compliance amongst employers. But it also means companies will now have to think of how best to utilise the skills of the seniors with an appropriate range and types of jobs. Sir, I do have three areas of concern I wish to highlight. Firstly, it pertains to some of the SMEs, especially the smaller ones, those with few employees and those dealing with specific types of trades. Currently we do see some from this group already facing a variety of challenges such as those pertaining to manpower and quota issues, that is foreign workers versus local workers. With this new Bill, Sir, I do hope MOM will give this group of companies some due considerations and, perhaps, some flexibility on a case-by-case basis. Perhaps there can be a targeted advisory task force set up to assist these SMEs with the variety of challenges they may face.”
“Some may be tempted to think it is their last lap when they reach 62, but we should discourage that thought. They need to keep upgrading and upskilling and do their best at work. They need to appreciate the importance of re-employment for their retirement. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I rise in support of this Amendment Bill but, at the same time, I urge that we remain vigilant and nimble in our approaches and policies. Though we are seeing hopeful signs in re-employment now, we must be careful that there are other challenges threatening its relevance. For example, we need to pay special attention to those who may not re-employed at 62. At the rate our population is greying, this possibility is further amplified. The United Nations reported that we have one of the fastest ageing populations. It was projected we will be the world's fourth oldest country in 2050. Re-employment is necessary because older employees are a precious resource to the Singapore workforce, especially in a tight labour market. The worst for anyone is to have no job, no money and poor health. Therefore, we must ensure that the majority of fellow Singaporeans can and will be re-employed. 4.54 pm Assoc. Prof. Fatimah Lateef (Marine Parade): Mr Deputy Speaker, it is very timely to introduce this Amendment Bill now. Why so? Firstly, it is at a time when our life expectancy is the highest it has ever been. Secondly, a significant portion of our seniors continue to stay active, both physically and economically. Yes, Sir, it is all about keeping people, who are economically active and capable gainfully employed till a ripe age, well into their golden years. This is also a platform for companies to maintain what I would call the 3Es: Experience, Expertise and Education, which can be shared with others.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, since 2005, the tripartite partners have embarked on a mission with the future in mind. We are faced with the certainty of a greying population while our birth rate lingers below expectation. These conditions define what we need to do today. Let us be clear that we are not introducing these changes as an austerity measure to combat budget deficits like in other European countries. But we are doing this when our employment rate is at the highest and unemployment is at the lowest. Therefore, our intention is clearly to help fellow Singaporeans better prepare for retirement and our companies to remain competitive. So let us not cast any doubt on the motivation, but let us also know that this is no silver bullet. For re-employment to work well, the perceptions and mindsets of both employers and employees are essential. The Labour Movement has been proactively engaging our unionised companies on re-employment over the last five years. Today, we have more than 1,000 unionised companies committed to re-employing about 9,800 employees. Five hundred of these companies have HR policies aligned to the tripartite guidelines. Our unionised companies and members are in a better position today with these experiences. [Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Matthias Yao Chih) in the Chair] Most employees will have some form of anxiety before they turn 62. Many of them understand that if they stop working it means no income but they may have many good years ahead and bills to pay. Companies need to engage their employees early before they turn 62, give them peace of mind and help them move on. They must have a fair chance to be re-employed. And they should be paid according to their contribution and not blatantly by age.”
“It tells us exactly the total earnings of the family and how many members in that household depend on the income. Here we are not considering that some families need more help, due to illness or other deficiencies. I leave that part to other schemes and many other helping hands. But I believe this fine-tuning will help us to be more focused. We have raised 14% in the operating expense for FY 2010, over FY 2009, and increased 8% of the operating budget in the same period for the income security policy programme. Since the economy is doing better, I hope an increase in the WIS will lead to helping more needy Singaporean families. WIS and Workfare Training Scheme (WTS)”
“Madam, the Workfare Income Supplement (WIS) scheme highlights the importance of helping low-wage workers especially those who are older. It provides incentives for them to find work and stay in work. Statistics show that over five years, from 2003 to 2008, average monthly household income rose 15.4%. That was a great improvement for the lowest income quartile. But this happened after a drop of 15.7% from 1998 to 2003, the preceding five-year period. On the average of 10 years, from 1998 to 2008, monthly household income, in fact, dropped 2.7%. Conversely, average monthly household expenditure rose about 3.5% for the same group during the same 10 years. Therefore, we need to do more for low-wage workers and those more vulnerable. 6.15 pm I would like to thank the Minister for revising the monthly income criteria upwards by $200 to $1,700. I am sure that this benefits more deserving workers and their families. But the Minister also told us earlier some 30,000 dropped out of the scheme from 2008 to 2009. Some of the reasons were loss of jobs, training and voluntarily stopping work. While I can appreciate most of them, I cannot quite pinpoint why going for training becomes a reason for dropping out of the scheme. On this note, can the Minister consider further tweaking the criteria to benefit more low-wage workers? One, we can exclude additional allowances and overtime payments from the monthly salary criteria. Such payments are usually not part of the basic salary and may not be permanent. Many low-wage workers feel that this inclusion is unfair as they have to put in extra hours of work. Abuses will happen if we are not prudent. The second point is to add a new criterion – per capita household income. This is more accurate.”
“Given our rapidly ageing population and increase in prevalence of chronic ailments, is there a sufficient number of physicians and nurses to manage the expected increase in demand for geriatric care? How many physicians are currently trained in geriatric care? Will there be incentive to encourage young physicians to specialise in geriatrics, as opposed to, say, cosmetic surgery? How will the expected rise in foreign worker levy affect the supply of nursing care, especially for our nursing homes? One way to keep healthcare cost low is to provide safe options and alternatives to biomedical care. Can the Minister comment on the role traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) plays in eldercare? Are the existing regulatory measures sufficient to raise the professional profile of TCM and level up the alternative healing sector to be effectively complementary to the former healthcare sector? Finally, what measures has MOH taken to avail support services to augment step-down home care for the chronically-ill elderly? Mental health”
“Mr Chairman, Sir, Singaporeans are ageing rapidly. The Ministerial Committee on Ageing reported in 2007 that by 2030, 20 years from now, one in five will be aged 65 and above, up from one in 12 today. It further projected that by 2050, 40 years from now, Singapore will be the fourth oldest country in the world. Currently there are segments within our population that face difficulties in travelling to the nearest clinic or hospital for treatments. Sometimes, these treatments or checkups can happen more than once in a week. Most patients have chronic illnesses that impede their physical mobility. To keep up with these treatments, patients sometimes find it stressful, a burden to the families and even contemplating suicide. In addition, caregivers of these patients are facing problems, such as time-off from work, job insecurity and higher transportation cost. In anticipation of our fast growing population, I would like to ask the Minister to seriously consider providing mobile medical services in their respective zones. Using mobile medical services to reach out to people less accessible is not something new. In other countries, it has been done to a large extent. Similarly, in Singapore, some of these mobile services are already provided by private institutions. However, they are not widespread and not affordable to the low-income families. I believe these mobile medical services will enhance workers' productivity and bring comfort and graceful living to the deserving old Singaporeans who have contributed much to the nation-building of Singapore. Adequacy of healthcare professionals Assoc. Prof. Paulin Tay Straughan (Nominated Member): Sir, my questions for the Minister are focused on the healthcare needs of our ageing population.”
“I hope workers will see better pay and secure jobs. This is crucial also to the man-on-the-street that we are doing all this to benefit Singaporeans. I believe we can do it, and help workers, especially low-wage workers. I am confident in the resolve of our tripartite spirit, but I am even more confident in the spirit of our fellow Singaporeans. We have proven that we have a strong will to survive since independence, and we have done well all these years. We have come far as a nation in a short time. This is not credit only to competent and clean leadership, but it is all the effort of every Singaporean. I believe Singaporeans understand that there are no magical solutions, and there is need for hard decisions sometimes. It is not always easy. Those affected are unhappy and that is natural. But I believe our track record in serving Singapore and Singaporeans stand unchallenged. Our children today have better lives, better future than many of us had in the past. But I hope all Singaporeans see both the opportunities and threats before us. We do not decide what they are. We alone cannot change the world. But we can decide how we react to them. And that decides how bright our future will be. We need everyone to do their part because a brighter future does not belong to a few. It belongs to all Singaporeans. Madam, I support the Budget. 5.59 pm”
“Our unions are already engaging employers on how to raise productivity and help workers see better days ahead. But this is largely within the unionised sector for now. We need to bring experiential learning to a new level, and the idea is to integrate a learning culture with work. For example, in the past, work is done manually. But as technology improves, work gradually moves online and on softcopies. But while learning certain software like Microsoft Word or Excel, there will be spillover in learning. People pick up other knowledge as well, like emailing or surfing the Internet. Madam, to effectively integrate a learning culture with work, especially for low-wage workers, we need to be focused, and practical in our approaches. We need to show our workers, how all this talk and being more productive and training makes sense to them. Not only at national level, but at a very personal level too. We need to make learning and learning communities a widespread reality. We need to integrate a learning culture with work. We can develop these ideas further. But it is crucial to recognise that the productivity we knew in the 1980s must evolve today. And it calls for us to find more creative ways to reach our goal. We are no longer dealing with labour intensive industries and work, but we are gradually moving into a new age of imagination and innovation. We need to remind ourselves that whatever we do, there is always a more efficient, faster, and better way of getting things done. As we call it in the labour movement, our CBF way. Unions believe there is always a cheaper, better and faster way of doing things. But we do not think that by lowering wages or cutting jobs is sustainable. As companies benefit from the Budget, embark on automation and training.”
“But it is a key area of concern, it decides how well or how badly people take to changes. In other words, the buy-in from everyone to give it their best shot, makes or breaks. It also decides if the changes are sustainable in the long-run. For a start, we can promote learning. Let us make learning easy, practical and bring it to the doorsteps. Learning need not happen in classes alone. It can be in our neighbourhoods, walkways and byways. We can free up our neighbourhood schools when there are no classes. Various social groups, educational groups, even businesses can use them to speak and introduce their area of expertise. We can use void decks to hold exhibitions too. There is a social purpose behind this, it promotes the corporate social responsibilities of organisations. But it also makes commercial sense, as it offers a cheaper way of promoting goods and services. But it must benefit Singaporeans. I know People's Association and the community centres are doing a lot to introduce courses, but more can be done to reach out to people, especially the low-wage earners. Madam, the idea is to allow learning to happen everywhere. But this should not compromise our efforts in stepping up on-the-job-training (OJT). Since workers face multiple challenges to go for training, let us bring training to them. Intensify OJTs in breadth and depth. This means programmes can be customised to build competencies as well as generic skills. Besides learning to be better in what they are already doing, they can be trained to take on higher-valued work, or to be more productive in what they do. There must be strategies for implementation, follow-ups and improvements. So we may also need to help management and HR practitioners to do this.”
“Companies that are successful will testify that a better equipped workforce reaps handsome profits, and create happier customers. They will also tell you, skills alone is not enough; you need a good corporate culture to support it too. A culture where people want to excel and improve, and are not afraid to make mistakes and take chances. They must not feel the threat of being thumbed down, or sidelined. The fear of failure and shame often hinders people to learn new things, and try new ways of doing things. But people must also understand that there are consequences to making mistakes. But if consequences are devastating, no one will "rock the boat", nothing will improve. There is a multitude of factors for success such as how learning costs are absorbed, and how companies recognise these efforts. Such factors drive home the point that management is serious about training, but they are also serious about putting what you have learnt to good use. At the end of it, good performers are promoted, while those who really tried but missed the mark, are given a second chance. These are important to spur a learning culture and innovation. But, a culture can only become successful when it leads to tangible benefits. For people to feel that upgrading and being their best is important, it must lead to better wages and better lives. Madam, changing cultures take time. They are long processes that must be managed carefully. If rushed through, the results may be worse from what we first imagined. And it will take double the effort to undo it. But positive starts lead to positive results. And to start the things right, we must put people first; we must look into their concerns, problems and feelings. The emotional state often gets missed when we race against time to see results.”
“We saw some heart-wrenching cases within the labour movement. Many are low-wage earners, and with only one skill in their working lives. They became victims of structural changes – and along with them, their families, children, and parents who are often of age. I know if they could provide a better life for their families, they will do it. And we know, from our early years, that better skills and knowledge is the key that unlocks the door to a world of opportunities. But some workers are trapped in a vicious cycle, trying to make ends meet is a daily question. What long-term aspirations could they have? Low-wage workers face a multitude of challenges in reality. They need to juggle between earning a living and time to care for their families, especially those living with aged parents with medical needs or those with young children. To some, one job is just not enough, they need another income. So the time and money needed to train, naturally becomes secondary. But "enlightened" employers who value training can help them overcome these challenges. It will be helpful if employers sent them for training during working hours, and help them with the cost. But we know employers, especially SMEs, also face difficulties with a lean workforce. Still, there is the need to train workers where possible, and employers are responsible for it. We can do more to help companies, especially SMEs. Through the years, we extended many helping hands to financially support employers to train their workers. I strongly believe training gives us the ability, capacity and confidence to be better at what we can do. But can you really train someone to be more productive? Or is it a question of attitude and corporate culture?”
“Mdm Deputy Speaker, I thank the Minister for addressing our pressing need for training in the Budget. I am confident that unions will close ranks with Government, and urge workers to press towards our goal – to improve productivity. Productivity is vital to sustain higher wages, and better lives. Like building a house, productivity is the foundation Singaporeans should build on. Continuous training are the bricks we use. But how well we build this house depends on the quality of our training, and its implementation – our cement. Lastly, the builder's skill is important. Not just the tripartite partners, but all Singaporeans have a role to play. We are all building towards a common brighter future. The link between being more productive and training must first be clearly established. Being better skilled does not mean I am doing my best. Doing my best with better skills does not mean I get a better pay too. But if everyone is doing their best, with better skills, then I think it makes a big difference to the nation as well as our pockets. This is because of the collective effort. Therefore, we need to ask ourselves: how can we inspire people to learn, and make the best of what they have learnt? How can we facilitate learning, so that people want to do it, and not feel forced to do it? How can training and being more productive be meaningful to workers, especially low-wage earners? The call to improve productivity is not new; we have heard it since the 1980s. But what has changed is our situation, especially after the recent global crisis. Companies have sped up their reorganising, and the world is evolving rapidly. As more companies re-engineer, some functions are offshored, and jobs are displaced. During the downturn, we lost 19,000 jobs.”
“These advantages, offered in an environment on par with developed economies put Singapore in a better position to attract and retain investments but that is not all. Over the years, we have painstakingly forged a strong tripartite relationship that enhances our competitiveness by ensuring stability in the way we resolve conflicts. This is our foundation for success and we must zealously continue to guard it. Other strategic advantages we offer businesses are our locality, our operational efficiency, a harmonious living environment among the many religions and races. Our high standard of living is certainly an advantage but it also comes with a cost and many workers are concerned that this cost will further rise while their income diminishes. This is especially worrisome for the low wage, casual workers and the middle income sandwich class. Definitely this has an impact on our social, economic wellbeing. Sir, as we read further, on this global trend in tax slashing across the world, the study also states that indirect taxes will likely increase to fund government budgets. Indirect taxes can hit companies as well as individuals. Therefore, I feel it is important that this amendment be sustainable and that the common man on the street must understand the long term effect of our decision. Having said so, I would like to ask the Minister: what the impact on Government tax revenues does this reduction have? How will the Government make up for the loss in tax revenues or are there alternative measures in coping with this fall in revenue? Mr Speaker, Sir, though I rise to support this amendment, and also feel it is timely, I am concerned about how these changes can affect the common man on the street in the longer run.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, thank you for allowing me to speak on the proposed Income Tax (Amendment) Bill, specifically on clause 33, Amendment of Section 43(b). This allows the reduction of the corporate tax from 18% to 17%. Post crisis, this amendment seem in line with tax movement in the world as well as in Asia. There have been many media reports on world economies slashing their tax rates to retain and attract investments. One such report was carried in the Straits Times in October this year. It is therefore timely that we also review our tax rates and its effectiveness. Currently, we rank third in the region for our low tax rates after Macau at 12% and Hong Kong at 16.5%. Unlike the West, the Asia-Pacific region still holds an average tax rate that is relatively in line with its previous year – falling from around 28.4% to 27.5% – an approximate of 0.9% drop. Therefore, our reduction of 1% is relative to the average tax reduction in the region. Nevertheless, we are still considered by many as a tax haven and this posed certain challenges with the crackdown by OECD on tax havens sometime back. But I am heartened to read that we are progressing well in graduating into OECD white list. This boost confidence between cross-border tax transparencies and investment will certainly help Singapore. As an advocator for workers, especially in these challenging times, I believe that these changes will improve our competitive edge and help retain as well as attract jobs for Singaporeans. Only when the economy thrives and people have jobs can we progress as an inclusive and competitive society. Besides low taxes, we also have a single tier tax rates and moreover, we do not tax on capital gains.”
“Sir, supplementary question. Would the Minister consider helping policyholders who are 65 years and above with discounted premiums?”