Yeo Wan Ling
Singapore
“Thank you, Speaker. I have a clarification for Minister of State Jasmin Lau. In my speech on job redesign, I had asked for AI grants to be tied to mandatory job redesign requirements and productivity gains linked to worker outcomes.”
“Thank you, Speaker. Could the Minister of State elaborate on the specific fire safety protocols in place for HDB car parks with EV charging points, including detection, suppression and evacuation measures?”
“I thank the Senior Parliamentary Secretary. Could the Ministry give further clarifications on how it assesses PWM compliance in procurement processes, including whether firms have met, for example, training requirements for their workers under the PWM requirements?”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, 10 years ago, we built the foundations. Today, we are building the integration. And 10 years from now, I hope we will look back on this Bill as the moment Singapore chose to ensure that our next bound of growth is one that every worker can be part of.”
“As the Bus Contracting Model (BCM) enters its next phase, could a similar transformation support be considered for our bus captains? A refreshed BCM should be a win-win for commuters, operators and the workers who keep Singapore moving. Strengthening Transport Accessibility”
“And our local workforce must move up the skills ladder alongside industry transformations. In this new phase of labour transformation, I would like to put forward three Budget priorities. First, we must continue attracting top global talent in a way that strengthens, not substitutes our Singaporean core.”
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“Technological progress should make the work of drivers safer and more dignified, not cost them their livelihoods. As long as we redesign jobs for our drivers early, put proper transition arrangements in place and keep our drivers at the centre of that transition, technology can bring them new skills, new roles and a better future. (In English): Throughout my engagements, one question stayed with me: "Where do I fit in the future of transport?" Our responsibility is to ensure that every transport worker has an answer. That answer is not simply another training course. It is a pathway. A pathway to better skills, better jobs and better livelihoods. We may not be able to preserve every job exactly as it exists today, but we must preserve livelihoods and create pathways to the next good job. If we get this right, Singapore will not only remain as the world's leading transport hub, we will become something even more important – a transport hub where innovation advances together with workers, and where progress is measured not only by how far technology takes us, but by how far it brings our people along. Mr Deputy Speaker, I support the Motion.”
“As we transform the transport sector, let us also measure whether transformation is delivering what truly matters – not simply more technology, but better jobs. One possibility is a sector-level report card within our Industry Transformation Maps that tracks whether new and redesigned jobs are being created, whether these jobs are of good quality and whether they deliver what NTUC calls the "3Ws" – better wages, better welfare and better work prospects. Third, AVs must complement our drivers, not compete against them. The tripartite has already begun important work through various workgroups and steering committees to guide Singapore's national AV deployment. This is a nascent space and it is important that the Labour Movement continues to have a seat at the table. We will continue speaking up for workers on deployment concerns, liability and regulatory frameworks, and more importantly, how the AV industry can create good local jobs and build Singaporean capabilities. We look forward to seeing workers' views incorporated into MOT's national AV deployment plans. An example is that our drivers have also suggested prioritising AV deployment in areas where connectivity remains challenging or where there are transport gaps. I am glad this sentiment was also raised earlier by the hon Member Ang Wei Neng and his constituents. As a tripartite, we can and we must ensure that AVs become another opportunity to strengthen rather than weaken our workers' prospects and livelihoods. Mr Speaker, in Mandarin, please. (In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Our taxi drivers, private-hire drivers and bus captains are not afraid of new technology. They simply want to know that when AVs arrive, will there be a place for them?”
“Their years of road experience will strengthen the safety and operational readiness of future mobility services. The transition support we provide matters too, particularly for workers whose livelihoods depend on being behind the wheel every day. We should create more flexible training pathways, Place and Train programmes, strengthen company-level apprenticeships and expand flexible work arrangements to include flexible training arrangements. For technicians and skilled tradesmen, the shift towards electrification presents one of the greatest opportunities for workforce transformation. Singapore must position itself not only as a leader in electric mobility, but also as a regional centre of excellence for EV maintenance, battery systems and digital diagnostics. Roles such as EV technicians and EV technical specialists will become increasingly valuable as transport systems across the world become more technologically sophisticated. This is not just a Singapore trend. Around the world, countries are already investing heavily in these specialised capabilities. Mr Deputy Speaker, Singapore must seize this opportunity, not only to create better jobs locally, but to equip our workers with skills that are globally recognised, relevant and desired. They must see how our workers can progress from technician, to specialist, to diagnostic expert and eventually into engineering, supervisory and leadership positions. The recently launched Skills Pathway for EV Technical Specialists is an encouraging step in this direction. When workers can clearly see both the skills required and the pathway ahead, they are far more likely to embrace change with confidence.”
“Flexibility is not a convenience. It is one of the profession's defining features. Many drivers chose this career precisely because it allows them to balance caregiving responsibilities, family commitments and other life circumstances. If we want them to embrace lifelong learning, then our training ecosystem must be equally flexible. Mr Deputy Speaker, to make job re-imagination happen at scale, we must invest in our workforce with the same determination we have invested in our land, aviation, maritime and logistics infrastructure. Allow me to suggest three areas for action. First, transformation works best when workers help to design it. Job redesign must begin before disruption occurs, and workers and unions must be part of the conversation right from the outset. We cannot design the future of work without workers. This House unanimously passed the Motion on "An AI Transition with No Jobless Growth" in May. I encourage and urge the Government to continue working closely with NTUC, our unions and our Tripartite Jobs Council to identify how jobs are evolving, expand AI Ready SG to equip more workers with AI capabilities and encourage more companies to leverage our Company Training Committee grants to support job redesign and workforce transformation across the entire transport sector. Second, workers need visible and credible pathways into future jobs. For bus captains, future roles should continue building on valuable capabilities that they have already developed – managing commuters, responding to real-world situations and ensuring passenger safety. For our taxi and private-hire drivers, emerging opportunities such as safety operators and remote operators should provide meaningful pathways into the AV ecosystem.”
“Working closely with NTUC through the NTUC Company Training Committee initiative, SBS Transit consulted widely with workers before implementing a suite of predictive maintenance solutions from tyre and track inspections to facility management in its depots and interchanges. In doing so, SBS Transit developed new specialist capabilities. Through its Diagnostic Expert Scheme, workers could move into higher-value maintenance work with progressive career pathways, enhanced livelihoods and safer workplaces. In this case, technology did not replace our workers. It lifted our workers. Through our engagements, we also heard about the practical barriers our transport workers face as they prepare for transition. Unlike salaried employees, P2P drivers stop earning the moment they stop driving. Every hour spent in training is an hour of forgone income. For many, attending a course is not simply about setting aside time. It also means paying vehicle rental, covering operating costs and giving up precious earning opportunities. The opportunity cost of transformation is therefore much higher for our P2P drivers. If transformation is at too high a personal cost, even the best training programme will struggle to succeed. Our drivers are also deeply pragmatic about upskilling. They understand that they must continue learning to remain relevant, whether within or beyond the transport industry. But they have also told us, time and time again, that training must lead somewhere. It must open the door to real jobs, real opportunities and of course, sustainable livelihoods. After all, our drivers have mortgages to pay, ageing parents to care for and children to raise. Finally, any upskilling pathway must recognise why many entered the P2P sector in the first place.”
“For Mr Low, a taxi driver in his early 40s, it means having the flexibility to earn a living while caring for his 64-year-old mother and taking her for her medical appointments. For Aly, who drives a combi-limo, it means earning enough to provide a better future for her five young daughters. For Ah Ban, who proudly became Singapore's first EV taxi driver, it means continuing to build a career that he takes pride in as the industry evolves. And for Harry, after 31 years behind the wheel, retirement does not mean stepping away from transport. He imagines a future where owning an AV fleet with his friends becomes the next chapter of his working life – a retirement built not on stopping work, but on the experience he has spent three decades building. These are stories of real drivers and those are their real names. But this is what our workers are asking for. Not certainty about the future – none of us can promise that, but clarity that there is a place for them in it. As we continue building Singapore as a global business and transport hub, we must do more than create the industries of tomorrow. We must also redesign the jobs of tomorrow, making work safer, more productive and more meaningful, while keeping our workers' needs and livelihoods at the heart of every of these transformations. We have already seen how this can work in real life. To enhance workplace safety and raise productivity, SBS Transit envisioned a predictive AI-enabled maintenance solutions across its bus and rail maintenance operations.”
“", "And what support must we provide so that no worker is left behind?" Over the last few months, together with my union leaders and NTUC colleagues, I have spent considerable time on the ground through focus group discussions and individual engagements with bus captains, taxi drivers and private hire drivers. Every day, our transport workers witness our transport system transforming right before their eyes. They know AI and new technologies are changing the way we move. They are understandably anxious, but they are also curious. Following the Economic Strategy Review, our workers understand that Singapore must continue to innovate and remain competitive. They are not asking us to slow down. They are asking not to be left behind. Eve has been driving a taxi for the past 12 years. She put it more eloquently than I could ever. (In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Technology development is good. However, please do not forget our drivers. We must ensure that everyone move forward together with technology. (In English): Technology should move Singapore forward. But the true measure of progress is whether it brings our people forward with it. Mr Deputy Speaker, throughout these engagements, one message came through very clearly. Our transport workers are asking a deeply human question: "Where do I fit in the future of Singapore as a global transport hub?" Our workers want to know what opportunities technology might create, what skills they should begin building today and how they can continue contributing meaningfully tomorrow. Our workers ask for a fair and thoughtful transition, they want the assurance that they will not be left to navigate this change alone because the clarity they seek is not simply about jobs. It is about lives; it is about livelihoods.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Singapore has always been a place where the world arrives, connects and moves on. It is the result of decades of investment, sound policy and above all, generations of transport workers. Because of my work as the Executive Secretary of the National Transport Workers' Union (NTWU) and Advisor to the National Taxi Association (NTA), the National Private Hire Vehicles Association (NPHVA), I wish to take this opportunity to speak up for our transport workers as we advance Singapore's position as a global transport hub. As we discuss Singapore's future, let us also remember the people who make that future possible every single day – the bus captains, rail workers, taxi and private hire drivers, logistics workers, technicians, aircrew, seafarers who keep Singapore moving, often long before dawn and long after midnight. They are not simply part of our transport system, they are the reason it works. AI, robotics and frontier technologies will undoubtedly transform transport. Used wisely, technology can make work safer, more productive and more meaningful. But if transitions are poorly managed, they can also create uncertainty and definitely anxiety. As we embrace an AI-enabled transport system, especially one of global significance, we must re-imagine, with workers at the heart of the process, what jobs, skills and careers will look like in this future. And this begins with listening. Because when we truly listen to workers, we will stop asking: "Which jobs will disappear?", "How many jobs will be displaced?" Instead, we begin asking better questions: "What strengths do our workers already possess so that we can build the future around those strengths?", "What practical barriers must we remove if we want workers to embrace transformation?”
“Thank you, Speaker. I have a clarification for Minister of State Jasmin Lau. In my speech on job redesign, I had asked for AI grants to be tied to mandatory job redesign requirements and productivity gains linked to worker outcomes. And I am very glad to hear that the Ministry has set out expectations of companies that benefit from AI and a vision for good jobs in the AI age. I am also very happy to hear that you have committed by saying that public support will come with worker outcome expectations. Would the Minister of State be able to share what specific worker outcomes will be tracked and whether job redesign will be an explicit condition of our AI grants, or simply an expectation that companies are just encouraged to meet? And what kind of mechanisms will you be putting in place to track and recognise companies that do this job redesign well?”
“We sat with bus captains and asked them to walk us through a day's work, not what their job description said, but what they actually did. What they told us turned our assumptions upside down. On paper, we assumed driving was the core of a bus captain's job, perhaps, 80% of their tasks. Our captains told us it is closer to 20%. The other 80%, helping elderly passengers board safely, managing crowding, de-escalating difficult situations, giving directions, being a calm and reassuring presence on board and even telling passengers they can only have a singing performance when seated – these are deeply human responsibilities that no AV can replace. This has profound implications. If we had acted on our paper assumptions about the bus captain role, we would have misjudged job sizes, skill requirements and salary structures – creating inequitable outcomes for workers and human resource (HR) planning disasters for organisations alike. Getting the job description right is not a bureaucratic exercise. It is the foundation on which all of job redesign rests. Mr Speaker, the unions and the Tripartite Jobs Council will continue to walk the ground. But we cannot do this alone, not if we are serious about job redesign at scale. I call on the Government to resource this properly: to fund systematic study and mapping of actual job roles and workflows, so that job redesign is built on ground truths and not just assumptions.”
“First, consult workers deliberately, to really understand their work. As Executive Secretary of the National Transport Workers' Union (NTWU), I have seen first-hand what it looks like when tripartism works. Our management partners, SBS Transit, SMRT and others, have been preparing our bus captains and technicians for the advent of AI, electric vehicles (EVs) and AVs. Employers provide upskilling and training. Government supports companies and workers through that process. And unions, we do what we do best at: listening carefully on the ground to what workers truly need. It is exactly that ground listening that surfaced something we would have otherwise missed. Even as we move towards 50% of our bus fleet becoming electric by 2030, our bus captains flagged that EV training had important gaps. Unlike conventional buses that use mirrors, EVs use digital monitors and our captains told us about the time delay, the glare, the eye strain and in more severe cases, nausea. They asked for longer training and preparatory times. The union pushed for it with our tripartite partners and it was addressed. Mr Speaker, that is feedback no consultant's report would have surfaced. But it directly shapes bus design, driver safety and passenger experience. Workers know their jobs better than anyone. That is a resource we must keep on tapping. In anticipation of our first AV bus services, NTWU, last year, surveyed around 500 bus captains and technicians. One in three expressed concern that AVs would affect their jobs – job security was the top worry, followed by fears of pay cuts. Unsurprising. These are sentiments shared by transport workers worldwide. Yet one in three of our Singaporeans, also remained confident that drivers would continue to play an important role. So, we dug deeper.”
“Mr Speaker, not long ago, I was at a stop light in Punggol when an autonomous shuttle glided past. I was not the only one watching. Around me, drivers and pedestrians looked up – a mix of curiosity and something quieter. A low, humming anxiety, fringed with a dash of awe. And behind their eyes, a very human question: what does this mean for me? That image has stayed with me. AI and autonomous technology are transforming the way we work, live and play, faster than any technology humankind has seen. So, the question this House must answer today is not how these technologies work, but what we are doing – concretely, deliberately – to make sure our workers' lives and livelihoods are not left behind. Mr Speaker, that is what this Motion is really about. And I want to speak to it not with mere assurances, but with a plan. A plan for our workers, a plan for our union members, a plan for our brothers and sisters sitting up in the gallery supporting us in this Motion. The transformation is already happening, quietly, all around us. At Changi Airport, autonomous baggage tractors ferry luggage between terminals. At Marina Barrage Service Road, autonomous sweepers clear leaves and litter. At Pasir Panjang Terminal, driverless automated guided vehicles move containers between yards. And our first revenue-generating autonomous bus services are set to run on two routes in the second half of this year. Upskilling has rightly been at the forefront. But job redesign is equally critical to re-engineer existing jobs for new realities, to create new job types and to support workers through transitions as AI reshapes job longevity. And for job redesign to truly move the needle, it must be a genuine, ground-up effort with workers and their real workflows at the centre. Let me elaborate.”
“I thank the Senior Parliamentary Secretary. Could the Ministry give further clarifications on how it assesses PWM compliance in procurement processes, including whether firms have met, for example, training requirements for their workers under the PWM requirements? And the other one too, is well, I know he has talked about how Government contracts allow for re-negotiations, but are there other ways to make the procurement framework more agile to accommodate such changes, especially when we are looking at different wage rungs and different types of negotiations that have been done by PWM over the years?”
“Thank you, Speaker. Could the Minister of State elaborate on the specific fire safety protocols in place for HDB car parks with EV charging points, including detection, suppression and evacuation measures? And additionally, as EV adoption grows, how will standards be regularly reviewed and enforced, and whether there are plans to equip our neighbourhood, SCDF's and emergency response teams, which may include grassroots organisations like the People's Association's Community Emergency and Engagement (C2E), or even SCDF's First Responders with enhanced capabilities or training to respond appropriately to EV-related fire incidents? I do note that the risk may be quite different from normal cooking or lighted cigarette fires, which our grassroots organisations are more used to.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, 10 years ago, we built the foundations. Today, we are building the integration. And 10 years from now, I hope we will look back on this Bill as the moment Singapore chose to ensure that our next bound of growth is one that every worker can be part of. The Labour Movement stands ready and our unions, our Tripartite Jobs Council will continue to walk the ground and we will hold SWDA and ourselves to the standard of making transformation inclusive, practical and human-centred. To my resident at the Meet-the-People Session who just wants to know that someone is thinking about what comes next for her, I want to say: This is exactly what we are here to do today. I support this Bill.”
“If SWDA gets this right, AI-informed fatigue monitoring and job redesign can enable Sakthi to work a smarter shift structure, one that is informed by data about when fatigue peaks, that keeps him safe, keeps his passengers safe and keeps him economically active and contributing for longer. Older workers are experienced contributors who deserve workplaces designed with them in mind and not around them. David, not his real name, was a mid-career IT professional when his company restructured. He was retrenched at 52. While he searched for work, he turned to platform driving to keep his family afloat. The flexibility suited him. The income helped. But now, two years in, he reads the news about autonomous vehicles (AVs) and he comes to me with a question that I have heard more than once: "Ms Yeo, if the technology matures, what will belong of me?" He wants to reskill. He knows the window is open, but he cannot afford to stop driving. His family needs the income now, not after he has completed the training programme. If SWDA gets it right, David would have the access to structured financial support that allows him to transition gradually, to drive part-time while undertaking a credentialled reskilling programme connected to real employment pipelines in sectors where his original IT background, will open doors. Joanne, Sakthi and David, they are not unusual cases. They walk into my Meet-the-People Sessions. They sit across from me at kopi chit-chats. They come to our union dialogues. They are the reason this Bill matters, and the reason I hope we will measure SWDA's success not just by the programmes launched or grants disbursed, but by the number of real Singaporeans whose working lives genuinely change for the better.”
“Joanne, not her real name, spent nearly a decade out of the workforce, first caring for her young children, then for her mother who had a stroke. When she finally could return to work, she came to see me. She was 46. She had real skills, genuine experience and she was ready. But her retirement savings were depleted from years without Central Provident Fund (CPF) contributions. She had a caregiving gap in her resume and she needed to undergo re-training but had no financial buffer to sustain her through it. If SWDA gets this right, Joanne would be supported by a structured return-to-work pathway for caregivers – one that bundles caregiver respite support to free her time for training, a training allowance to sustain her through the programme and a CPF top-up in her first month back at work. Our NTUC's C U Back @ Work programme has shown us that this model works. Since we launched it in 2023, we have close to 1,000 CUBbies in the programme, and in 2025, we expanded it to professional, manager and executive (PME) roles, including accounting and office administration. SWDA must build on this, not reinvent it. And it must make these pathways permanent and accessible to all the Joannes across the whole entire island, not just those few lucky ones who were lucky enough to find their way to us. Sakthi – not his real name, but he will recognise himself – is a bus captain. He has been on the road for over 20 years. He takes pride in his work and his passengers know him by name. But here is what most commuters do not know. His lunch break is 25 minutes. Between runs, some breaks are as short as six minutes and he starts his day at 4.30 am. He can drive up to 16 runs in a day. And at 60 years old, the fatigue is real and it can be a safety matter, not just only a welfare one.”
“The merger of SSG and WSG must lead to bold steps, not incremental ones, to streamline programme delivery, simplify grant and funding administration, and take a genuinely customer-centric approach that puts real worker and employer outcomes right at the centre. I am confident that our ecosystem partners stand ready to work alongside SWDA in this – the Tripartite Jobs Council, our trade associations and chambers, employment agencies, and our unions, of course. They are already embedded in companies and communities across Singapore. They have the trust of workers and employers built up over years. SWDA must build on this, not bypass it. I want to make this call specifically: SWDA must establish regular, ongoing engagement with these stakeholders not just at the point of policy design, but continuously. The world of work is changing faster than any policy cycle. Policies that are not continuously grounded become policies that do not work. SWDA is also well-positioned to drive research to develop a data-driven view of jobs of the future and to deliver design grants that supercharge company transformation. This research role is important and I welcome it, particularly as companies and sectors embark on their starship enterprise reimagination journeys with their workers. Indeed, to go boldly where no one else has gone before. But in implementing transformation, SWDA must be a champion of a human-centric, worker-centric approach. This will make the difference between transformation that works for people, and transformation that works for productivity metrics alone. Mr Deputy Speaker, let me put faces to what success should look like and would look like, if SWDA gets it right. These are composite sketches drawn from real ground conversations. I have changed names.”
“For Chye Thiam Maintenance, embracing technology also brought in more business and with it, the ability to hire more and uplift more. This is the virtuous cycle we want to see: when innovation drives both enterprise growth and worker progression. Chye Thiam Maintenance is also an accredited training organisation, working with our agencies to build structured training programmes tailored to their workforce. This is important. What they have done is to build a wage and career ladder with support and guidance from our agencies. As a local company, Chye Thiam Maintenance shows us that with the right intent and support from the Government, transformation can be inclusive – not by asking workers to simply "keep up", but by enabling them to move forward. Mr Deputy Speaker, as we look toward the work of the SWDA, it must support more local enterprises and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) on their journeys and scale support as our local companies grow from SMEs to large local enterprises, so that productivity gains translate into more better jobs, better wages and, above all, greater dignity at work. Across all three companies, a common theme emerges. These employers adopted AI and technology to transform their businesses without leaving their workers behind. They built a culture of employee stake-holding in transformation and one of lifelong learning. Supported by grants and partnerships, they took on the responsibility of designing and delivering training. And their workers came out on the other side with better conditions, new skills and wage growth. That is the model exactly that Singapore needs to scale.”
“They have taken bold steps to reimagine not just their own operations, but the broader retail cluster, helping workers and Singaporeans begin to see and experience what an AI-enabled workplace could look like. So, my call to SWDA is this: support more of such companies. Enable them to experiment, to learn and to lead to boldly go where no one has gone before. And in doing so, light the way for their sectors and for Singapore's future of work. Mr Deputy Speaker, our Manpower GPC's third visit was to Chye Thiam Maintenance and I would like to dwell into this visit because it speaks to a segment of our workforce that is too often less visible in conversations about workplace transformation and that is of our lower wage workers and senior workers. Chye Thiam Maintenance is a homegrown company many of us would recognise from the orange and yellow vehicles that keep our estates, malls and highways clean. From a small family outfit, they have grown into a team of 3,500 strong. Over the decades, they have continued investing in technology and machinery and at every stage, their workers moved forward with these changes, not out of them. In the past two years, they introduced robo-sweepers and autonomous service vehicles. But the real story is what came with it – job redesign, skills upgrading and new roles. Workers trained to operate autonomous equipment now receive AV allowances, recognising their higher skills and responsibilities they carry. This is a small but important signal, that when work changes, we recognise and reward it differently. And the result is clear. Technology did not replace workers. It raised the quality of jobs, creating pathways for seniors and lower-wage workers to move into safer, more skilled and better-paying jobs.”
“I call on SWDA to support more companies, like SMRT, to ensure that workplace cultures support lifelong learning and to reward workers when they walk the talk. Our second visit took us to FairPrice's Store of Tomorrow at Punggol Coast Mall – Singapore's first generative-AI-powered supermarket. And Mr Deputy Speaker, as a Member of Parliament for Punggol group representation constituency (GRC), I felt a particular sense of pride that this innovation is rooted right here in our Punggol community. What I want to highlight is not the AI, impressive as it is, but how the transformation was designed. Staff was not presented with a finished product and told to adapt. They were involved from the beginning – shaping service design, store navigation, check-out and backend operations. Customers, too, were part of this co-creation. Many of these frontline staff are women, including mid-career returnees who came back to work after years of caregiving, not the typical profile technology is designed for. Yet because FairPrice chose to design with them rather than for them, the result is a system that works for staff and customers alike. The lesson is clear. When workers are treated as co-creators rather than recipients of change, transformation is smoother, adoption is faster and outcomes are better. SWDA must champion co-design not as a nice-to-have, but as a defining feature of how Singapore approaches workforce transformation. We know AI will reshape our workforce and our workplaces, but how it unfolds in practice will depend on pioneers on the ground. My Manpower GPC colleagues and I saw this firsthand at FairPrice – a company willing to reimagine not just its own operations, but the broader retail cluster.”
“As Manpower GPC Chairman, I recently visited three companies with my fellow GPC members to understand how tech-enabled, AI-powered business transformation and workforce upskilling are actually playing out on the ground, in real workplaces, with real workers. I want to share what I saw, because these visits were not just informative. They were instructive. Each company showed a different face of Singapore's workforce and, together, they speak to why SWDA's mandate is as important as it is. Our first visit was to SMRT Corporation. At SMRT, I witnessed what happens when a large employer commits fully to workforce transformation as a cultural and operational mission. SMRT has institutionalised the kaizen philosophy – a Japanese yet universal concept of continuous, incremental improvement – as a unifying mindset across all levels of the organisation. This is not a top-down directive. It is a shared way of working. Layered onto this, SMRT has adopted technology to unlock operational efficiencies – managing worker fatigue, boosting safety through predictive maintenance and redesigning workflows to reduce the physical burden on staff. And who benefits most from this? Their older workers. Workers who have spent decades on the job, who know every quirk of the system, every subtle sound that signals a problem and now working smarter. Following re-training and job redesign, productivity improved. And critically, their wages have increased. This is the promise of how continuous learning ensures that technology is done right: not replacing experienced workers but augmenting them. Giving them tools that honour their expertise, extending their working lives and rewarding their commitment.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, just last night, a regular at my Meet-the-People Sessions shared that she has started taking AI courses on her own. She is in her 50s and has worked as an HR administrator for over 20 years. She told me, "Ms Yeo, I am not worried about robots taking my job, I just want to know that there is something thinking about what comes next for me." That quiet anxiety is something we all hear often on the ground: not panic, not resistance, just a very human need to know that someone is watching out for you. Mr Deputy Speaker, that is why this Bill matters. I support it and want to speak to what it must achieve, not as policy, but as lived experience. I declare my role as the Executive Secretary of the National Transport Workers Union, the Assistant Secretary-General of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and Chairman of the Manpower Government Parliamentary Committee (GPC). And these are the lenses that I am using to speak on. Ten years ago, we established SSG and reconstituted WSG. One focused on skills, the other on jobs. That model served us well. But the world of work has shifted. Today, careers are longer but no longer linear. The idea of one employer, one skillset, one trajectory belongs to an earlier generation. At the same time, AI is shortening the half-life of skills. What took years to build can be reshaped within a few. So, the challenge is no longer just training workers or helping them find jobs. It is ensuring that training leads to jobs, jobs lead to wage growth and transformation produces gains that are shared with workers. That is the gap this Bill is designed to close. The formation of the SWDA is a strategic reset, bringing skills and careers into one continuous journey.”
“Mr Speaker, I thank the Senior Parliamentary Secretary for the reply. Could the Ministry elaborate how the Government ensures that platform operators have clearer responsibilities to their workers in such situations, particularly in terms of data, transparency and workers communication? So that our workers can receive timely information on changes that will affect their livelihoods and so that they can make informed decisions early. And also, in light of such exits, could the Ministry also clarify whether there are plans to put in place a more structured framework, including coordinated support across agencies and industries? I recall for this particular case, we had our Singapore Manual and Mercantile Workers' Association, as well as the National Delivery Champions Association from the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) coming in. But I do think that it would be good to have better coordination, so that there will be proactive matches to support our affected workers to alternative platforms or jobs. And how do we ensure that the workers do not face prolonged income disruption, as well as hardship, and what kind of supports do we have for them during this transition?”
“Mr Speaker, I thank the Senior Minister of State for his reply. Could he also share whether there are plans to strengthen early identification and intervention for students at risk of leaving school prematurely, including closer coordination with family and community partners, so that support can be put in place earlier to help them remain engaged in education or to transition more smoothly? I talk about this because I met up with a resident from Punggol, whose son was asked to leave school when he was in Secondary 3. And because of this, he was not able to get any certification. And I think after a year of trying very hard to get into another school, they were not able to do so, eventually, what they had to do is that they put the son in private tuition. Eventually, after a year, the school did accept him, but after that, he again got suspended. While we are talking about upstream and low stream, the other thing is also whether or not, the Senior Minister of State could also clarify, if the Ministry tracks the outcomes of students who leave school before completing their national certifications, in particular, how many have successfully transited into alternative education, like the ones he had pointed out, training or employment pathways? And what additional support is provided to those who struggle to reintegrate? I think at the end of it all, we just want to make sure that no student is left without a viable pathway.”
“As the Bus Contracting Model (BCM) enters its next phase, could a similar transformation support be considered for our bus captains? A refreshed BCM should be a win-win for commuters, operators and the workers who keep Singapore moving. Strengthening Transport Accessibility”
“A strong rail ecosystem depends not only on modern assets, but on a skilled and protected workforce. Bus Network and Workforce As the Bus Contracting Model marks its 10th year, it is timely for us to review how it is working – not just for operational efficiency, but for our bus captains. They remain the backbone of our public transport system. Yet today, starting basic salaries for new entrants remain around $2,250 per month. While advertised gross pay may range between $3,000 to $4,000 and beyond, a significant portion still depends on overtime, and this high overtime is actually structurally tied to this trade. This raises an important question: are we building a sustainable profession or one where earnings depends on longer hours? If we want to maintain a strong Singaporean core, we must relook bus captains pay, working conditions and career progression. Today, captains manage split shifts, short meal breaks, long hours, fatigue, changing commuter patterns and increasingly difficult commuter behaviours. With the rise of social media, they are also increasingly vulnerable to online harassment and doxxing when incidents are recorded and circulated. What more can be done to better protect their safety at work? Looking ahead, half of our public bus fleet is expected to be electric by 2030. Are our current training pathways sufficient to prepare bus captains for this transition? At the same time, with revenue bus AV services expected to begin in the second half of this year, we must ensure that affected workers are supported with clear career pathways and fair packages. Transformation should uplift, not unsettle. We have seen how the Rail Manpower Development Package supports rail workers through change.”
“Mr Chairman, my first cut on rail development. Chairman, as we continue strengthening our rail network, we must recognise that human capital is key to building a resilient and reliable rail ecosystem. With parts of our network ageing, including lines, assets and equipment, renewal and upgrading works will intensify. In this context, I would like to seek updates on what rail workers can expect in terms of fair competitive remuneration packages, training and safer workplaces. We appreciate that under the Rail Safety Report, there will be moves towards harmonised training for rail technicians. That is important. Today, there remains significant localisation across rail systems in maintenance practices, equipment and repair processes. Without harmonisation, workers' skills become tied to one system, one line or one operator. Harmonised training will help ensure that rail workers develop portable skills – skills that can be applied across different lines, systems and operators – strengthening both operational resilience and workers' long-term employability. I would also like to ask for updates on the extension of the 2019 $100 million Rail Manpower Development Package. While operators are given flexibility to deploy this grant, how can we ensure that its impact reaches a broader segment of all rail workers? For example, could sector-level key performance indicators be considered, such as equipping 50% of workers with new competencies by 2030? 4.30 pm Finally, as public transport evolves and more commuters use personal mobility devices and bicycles to complement their journeys, rail workers are increasingly required to guide commuters on safe and considerate practices. How can we better protect rail workers from verbal abuse or confrontation when they carry out these duties?”
“Chairman, my Punggol residents are watching the autonomous shuttle pilots with keen interest. These trials are an important step in understanding how AV services may eventually integrate into our wider public transport ecosystem, particularly in strengthening first- and last-mile connectivity. 4.00 pm At the same time, residents have practical questions. Cost is one. As AV services scale, will they remain affordable as part of daily commuting or are they a premium option? Confidence is another. Will there be deeper engagements with different groups, including seniors, who may feel uncertain about travelling in AVs? Adoption is not only about technology readiness, but public readiness. On the regulatory front, clarity is still needed. In the event of a malfunction or incident, where does liability lie? Will human operators or safety drivers be expected to bear responsibilities when system failures occur? We must also be honest that the workforce implications remain unsettled, especially for our bus captain and point-to-point (P2P) drivers. We have yet to clearly define what new AV-related roles will look like, what fair compensation should be and how career pathways may evolve from today's driving and technical maintenance roles into future AV jobs. As I had earlier highlighted in my Budget debate clarifications, while it is important for us to embrace new technologies, this must be done in a way that does not disrupt livelihoods. I therefore urge operators to work closely with our unions within our tripartite framework to co-create fair AV career pathways and ensure workers are supported through this transition. Progress should strengthen both our public system and our people.”
“Thank you to all who were involved in this very robust and rich discussion. Chairman, with that, I seek leave to withdraw my amendment. [(proc text) Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. (proc text)] [(proc text) The sum of $3,920,999,400 for Head S ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates. (proc text)] [(proc text) The sum of $178,690,100 for Head S ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates. (proc text)]”
“My clarification is for the Minister. In the Labour Movement, I have seen first-hand how PWM brings dignity, structured progressions into our workers lives when previously there was none. In this House today, I heard differing views questioning the relevance and efficacy of our PWCS and, thereby, impacting the PWM productivity and upskilling intents. When something has demonstrably improved livelihoods for thousands of Singaporeans is portrayed as burdensome or ineffective, it risks eroding confidence in policies that have made actual differences on the ground. There has been a diversity of views expressed today, including specific suggestions to policies, how will the Government take all of these on board?”
“While workplace issues have been closely examined, we must not forget the living conditions of our hardworking migrant workers. Many spend most of their time between dormitories and worksites, with limited opportunities to relax, socialise, or build community. Prolonged separation from families can also affect emotional well-being and heighten isolation. I acknowledge the Ministry's efforts to improve our dormitory standards. The partnership between MOM, NTUC and our Migrant Workers' Centre in managing recreational centres is a step in the right direction. These centres provide recreation, community activities and essential services such as groceries, remittance and telecommunications, serving thousands weekly. Beyond this, I call on the Ministry to continue investing in measures that strengthen our migrant workers' access to amenities and community spaces, ensuring that our migrant workers' living environment supports well-being, dignity and of course, social integration.”
“A merit-based workplace must give workers confidence that they have a future in a transforming economy. PWM has made important strides in raising wages for our lower-wage workers. PWCS has supported both workers and employers through this adjustment. We thank the Ministry for extending PWCS for another two years and note that PWCS, in its present form, was meant to be transitional. But in an era of AI disruption and given our structural limits on workforce expansion, productivity growth must increasingly come from upgrading jobs, not simply adding manpower. This makes our lower-wage workers more exposed to displacement risks if transformation outpaces reskilling. Could we therefore consider strengthening PWCS into a more sustained worker-support mechanism, one that helps SMEs upskill their lower-wage workers and move them into more productive roles, with structured career progression pathways and negotiated wage ladder increments? Progressive Wage Credit Scheme”
“If done right, this expansion can raise productivity across the workforce and support sustainable growth that delivers better wages and good jobs for all Singaporeans. Review of Employment Act”
“Mr Chairman, our approach to foreign manpower must go beyond access. Their deployment must drive productivity and translate into better jobs and stronger wage outcomes for Singaporeans. I note the Ministry's intention to add eight occupations from the social services, food services and transportation sectors to the Non-traditional Sources Occupation List (NTS-OL) in 2026. The NTS-OL is an important tool to address manpower shortages in critical roles. But as we expand it, we must ensure that access to foreign manpower does not simply relieve short-term labour gaps. It must actively support upgrading and reframing of jobs are they transform with AI and technology into attractive jobs for Singaporeans. I therefore call on the Ministry to accompany this expansion with clear productivity-linked conditions. Firms that access NTS-OL manpower should also commit to structured training for locals, skills transfer from foreign workers and job redesign that improves work processes. Where appropriate, access to NTS-OL manpower should be tied to demonstrable workforce upgrading plans, including career pathways for Singaporeans and measurable productivity improvements. Second, we should ensure that expansion does not suppress wage growth for vulnerable local workers. The Budget should support firms in redesigning jobs alongside workforce diversification so that productivity gains translate into higher wages, not simply labour cost substitutions. Finally, we must ensure that our workforce diversification strengthens the Singaporean core. This means embedding progression pathways, leadership pipelines and skills upgrading for locals into sectors where NTS-OL access is expanded. Foreign manpower must complement transformation, not replace it.”
“And our local workforce must move up the skills ladder alongside industry transformations. In this new phase of labour transformation, I would like to put forward three Budget priorities. First, we must continue attracting top global talent in a way that strengthens, not substitutes our Singaporean core. This requires stronger complementarity frameworks, clearer skills transfer expectations and leadership pathways for our locals. Second, as businesses face tighter margins, we must support transformation, not dependency on manpower expansion. Foreign manpower must be calibrated alongside deeper industry upgrading so that productivity, not labour cost suppression, drives competitiveness. Third, productivity gains must translate into real wage uplift, especially for lower-wage and at-risk workers. Job redesign and AI adoption must be linked directly to wage progression, so transformation narrows inequality rather than widens it because ultimately, every worker matters. [(proc text) Question proposed. (proc text)]”
“Stronger safeguards are needed to ensure timely notice fulfilment of payment obligations and clear records, whether defaults occur while also strengthening protections for their safety on the roads. Tripartism must continue to anchor this effort. The Platform Workers Trilateral Group demonstrated in 2025 how effective collaboration can address complex challenges, such as illegal platform work. Going forward, platform worker associations should and must remain a central pillar, strengthening partnerships to improve both livelihood resilience and safety outcomes for our platform workers. Today, my Government Parliamentary Committee (GPC) colleagues and fellow labour Members of Parliament (MPs) will share our views on how manpower policies must continue to secure good jobs for our Singaporean core, while powering economic progress within this land and infrastructural constraints of our little red dot. Because of this remains a delicate but necessary balancing act. We must enable time-crunched mid-career workers to upskill; without placing unsustainable pressure on employers in a tight labour market. We must provide assurance to IHL students entering a workforce where entry-level roles are evolving. We must ensure local-foreign workforce complementarity remains responsive, without compromising business agility. And we must strengthen income security, as workforce churn rises, skills half-lives shorten, caregiving burdens grow and cost pressures persist. There are limits to how much we can expand our foreign workforce, given infrastructure constraints and our social capacity. Our manpower strategy must therefore focus on transformation, not substitution. Firms must become less manpower-reliant even as they become more productive.”
“The key question is not whether transformation will happen. It is whether it will translate into stronger wages, deeper skills and better career pathways for Singaporeans. Our first Industry Transformation Maps (ITMs) were introduced in 2016. They were forward-looking then. But AI is reshaping industries at a speed that demands sharper, more dynamic responses. While some ITMs have been refreshed and augmented with Job Transformation Maps, we must now ensure they provide clear direction on: AI-driven business process redesign, timelines for workforce transition and credible pathways into new roles when existing ones are sunsetted. Equally important, we must ensure that employers bring their workforce along this journey. Displacement must remain the last resort. As industries transform, workplaces must become more inclusive and supportive, particularly for mid-career workers and those with caregiving responsibilities. While we have made meaningful progress and strengthening protections for platform workers in both livelihood stability and recent workplace safeguards, platform work remains inherently precarious. Recent platform exits remind us that workers remain vulnerable to sudden business decisions. At the same time, road safety is an increasing concern. The rise and group fatalities and injuries reported in 2025 underscores the risk that platform workers face daily. We need to move beyond baseline protections. As more Singaporeans rely on platform work as a primary livelihood, we must guard against platform consolidation creating a race to the bottom in payouts and incentives. When platform exit, workers should not be left exposed to delayed or unpaid dues.”
“Mr Chairman, I move, "That the total sum to be allocated for Head S of the Estimates be reduced by $100." Singapore is going through a period of profound labour change. We are seeing the effects of an ageing demographic and our total fertility rate is at a historical low. More workers today are also caregivers and women, who traditionally take up caregiving roles, continue to face the balancing act between work and caregiving. At the same time, our enterprises are navigating an uncertain global environment marked by higher costs and rising trade barriers. Alongside these changes, more Singaporeans are choosing platform work as a livelihood of choice, whether for flexibility, autonomy or income stability. And layered onto all of these is the advent of artificial intelligence (AI), which is already beginning to transform the very nature of work. Not just the jobs we do, but how work is organised, how skills are built and how careers evolve. Against this backdrop, Singapore's manpower policies must not only balance global talent attraction with local workforce protection, but must actively enable Singaporeans to thrive as workplaces evolve. In the last term of Government, MOM and our tripartite partners worked together to guide our workforce out of the COVID-19 crisis and enabled workers to benefit from the recovery. We secured better terms for lower-wage workers as well as platform workers, improved caregivers' access to flexible work arrangements (FWAs) and took early steps to prepare for a super-aged society. But as this new term begins, our labour and industry transformation policies face a far more complex task. AI is a gamechanger. It can augment workers or displace them, depending on how work and jobs are redesigned.”
“I have a clarification for Senior Minister of State Sim Ann. As the Ministry reviews the Road Traffic Penalty framework, will the Ministry also consider how penalties can remain proportionate and whether there will be continued avenues for education and support, especially for our vocational drivers, taxi, private hire cars (PHC), bus captains, whose work exposure on the roads is significantly higher, so that road safety improvements can be achieved without unintended livelihood cost?”
“How will these efforts further enhance Singapore's overall cyber defence resilience as part of a whole-of-nation approach? Projection for Defence Spending”
“Chairman, as a digital nation, Singapore's strength has also become our vulnerability. We rely heavily on online infrastructure for almost everything in our daily lives: communications, government services, banking, healthcare and commerce. This digital interconnectedness brings tremendous convenience and productivity, but without robust safeguards, it also exposes us to significant systemic risks. What concerns me most is how cyberattacks can directly disrupt the lives of ordinary Singaporeans, especially our most vulnerable communities. We have seen globally how attacks on power grids and critical infrastructure can trigger widespread blackouts, affecting hospitals where patients depend on life support systems, transport networks that workers rely on, and schools where our children learn. Cyber threats are no longer abstract. They have very real-world consequences. On the military front, the stakes are even higher. Cyberattacks can disrupt command and control systems, compromise intelligence and surveillance operations, and undermine the functionality of critical defence platforms. In a crisis, digital paralysis can translate into operational disadvantages. The pace of technological change is rapid and relentless. Emerging technologies, including AI-enabled cyber tools are reshaping the threat landscape. It is therefore imperative that the SAF continuously adapts to stay ahead of evolving digital threats. The establishment of the Digital and Intelligence Service (DIS) in 2022 marked a significant milestone in strengthening our defence posture in the digital domain. Can the Minister provide an update on how the DIS is building deep cyber capabilities, strengthening talent pipelines, and partnering industry and academia to stay ahead of emerging threats?”
“At the same time, clearer project scoping and sensible risk allocation will help SMEs participate with confidence, without overextending themselves. By widening access to ICT procurement opportunities, we support enterprise growth, deepen competition and build greater resilience into our public sector's digital transformations. Reserves, Disbursement and Procurement”
“Chairman, if we want businesses, especially SMEs, to work well with Government, their experience on GeBIZ must be efficient, transparent and fair. I propose that we refresh the Government Electronic Business System (GeBIZ) to streamline documentation, reduce repetitive submissions and make procurement more user-friendly. Lower friction encourages broader participation and stronger competition. Second, can the Ministry trial AI tools to strengthen procurement finance, audit and administration? AI can flag anomalies, speed up verification and reduce manual processing, while maintaining strong governance. The system should also automatically check that bids comply with the Progressive Wage Model and Local Qualifying Salary requirements before awards are made, ensuring responsible contracting. Finally, procurement should move more decisively towards outcome-based key performance indicators, accessing impact, not just lower costs. By modernising GeBIZ, we can make Government procurement faster, smarter and more aligned with our economic and social priorities. Procurement Opportunities for Businesses Government procurement must not only deliver value for money, it must also create fair opportunities for our SMEs. I would like to ask for an update on the expansion of the TenderLite to infocomm technology (ICT) contracts. Many smaller tech firms have strong capabilities in digital solutions, cybersecurity and AI, but struggle to compete in large, bundled ICT tenders due to scale and track record requirements. As agencies accelerate digitalisation, expanding TenderLite into ICT can lower entry barriers, allow smaller firms to build credentials progressively and strengthen our local tech ecosystem.”
“Chairman, supporting families in the workplace. First, on Flexible Work Arrangements (FWAs). FWAs must become workable norms, especially for SMEs. Many want to offer flexibility, but struggle with manpower constraints and workflow redesign. I therefore call for enhanced Budget support to help companies undertake meaningful job redesign for win-win FWA implementations. This should include stronger grants for human resources (HR) transformation, support for temporary backfilling and sector-based advisory teams to guide practical redesign. Flexibility cannot be layered onto outdated structures. Jobs must be redesigned so productivity improves alongside flexibility. That is how FWAs can become sustainable. Second, we should deepen Singapore's expertise in job redesign. As AI and new technologies reshape industries, investing in a stronger pool of certified job redesign specialists and workforce advisors will strengthen both family support and economic resilience. Third, childcare remains foundational. Through consultations with unions and our female workers, especially shift workers, we consistently hear that standard childcare hours do not match real work schedules. I therefore call for more resources to restart and expand extended hours and weekend childcare, particularly in estates with higher concentrations of shift workers, with manpower and wage support to ensure sustainability. These are workface enablers. If we align flexibility, job redesign and childcare with real work patterns, families will not have to choose between career and caregiving. Workplace Support for Families”
“Thank you. Prime Minister, our workers were very, very encouraged and inspired to hear that you will be personally overseeing the Singapore's AI transitions. With autonomous vehicle (AV) bus services expected to commence this year, as well as pilot AV shuttle services already underway, it is clear that the pace of change is accelerating. My question is, how will we ensure that sectors such as our bus industry and point-to-point transport sector are given sufficient time and structured support for these transitions? In particular, how do we sequence implementation so that technologies like AI and AV strengthen safety standards, uplift skills and enhance livelihoods, rather than become a source of disruption and anxiety for our workers?”
“Thank you, Speaker. For many young persons with disabilities and their families in the ITE system, the Work-Study Diploma pathway does offer very viable route towards a secure and meaningful future. However, given their condition, some may require a longer runway to secure a suitable host organisation, particularly as what the Senior Parliamentary Secretary had mentioned, if there needs to be job redesign or the workplaces to be properly resourced to be inclusive employment areas. Could I ask if the Ministry would also consider establishing and regularly updating a centralised repository of inclusive employers, for example, the companies recognised under the SG Enable Enabling Mark, to make this available to schools offering the Work-Study Diploma programme, especially, not just for the diploma but also for work attachments, industrial attachments? The other one too: would the Ministry also consider working with the schools and SG Enable to provide flexibility, especially with the extension of programme deadlines for our persons with disabilities, especially if they are unable to find a suitable host organisation within the stipulated deadline or timeframes, for reasons unrelated to their academic merits?”
“They require courage to change policies, faith to shift cultures, commitment to redesign systems and discipline to transform responsibly. If we are serious about building a Singapore that is not only competitive, but fair, kind and humane, then these must be the collective Singaporean ambitions that we have. Sir, I support the Budget.”
“The tripartite partners have also started discussions to understand the impact of autonomous driving on bus captains and maintenance personnel as well as future career development and renumeration arrangements. But when engaging with bus captains, I saw one thing more clearly. One captain told me that driving only accounts for 20% of her work. The remaining 80% involves serving passengers, assisting elderly and mobility-impaired individuals and handling emergency situations. This reminds us that when discussing this transformation, we cannot only look at the surface aspect of driving; you must truly understand what that job entails in real life. There are now also proposals for new positions, such as remote drivers. Upon further study, we discovered that these positions require skills like data analysis, which current captains may not immediately be able to handle. If we do not understand the true content of job roles, we may make the wrong judgement. Therefore, I call upon the Government to invest more resources in analysing job structures of various industries, clearly identify which functions can be assisted by AI and which must be completed by humans. Then, based on real circumstances, design training and transformation pathways. Technology can advance but transformation must be planned and have safeguards. (In English): Mr Speaker, today I have spoken about three priorities: inclusive workplaces for women in every season, a kinder workplace and responsible transformation. Inclusive workplaces for women mean moving policies for workplace culture shifts to take root. A kinder workplace means barriers must be redesigned away. Responsible transformation means understanding before replacing. These are not incremental tweaks. These are big hairy audacious goals.”
“We must also strengthen the Singapore Opportunity Index as a national signal that inclusive hiring is part of business growth strategy and not charity. Employers who invest in inclusive employment should see it reflected in how we assess opportunities and competitiveness. And importantly, we should build a national database of inclusive employers, a live resource base for job seekers with disabilities and their families. This will not only improve job matching but also make inclusion visible and measurable. NTUC will continue to do our part. Apart from FWAs, NTUC has secured stronger protections against workplace discrimination and I am glad that this helps to level the playing field for our working persons with disabilities. We are also working with tripartite partners on a Tripartite Advisory on Reasonable Accommodations to provide guidance on good practices that employers can adopt to make their workplaces more inclusive for persons with disabilities. I call for clear guidance and appropriate funding under the upcoming tripartite advisory, so that our employers can implement inclusive practices confidently. Mr Speaker, in Mandarin, please. (In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] AI will affect our nation's future development, but this transformation must be responsible. New technology should make people's lives and livelihoods better and brighter, not bring anxiety. The impact of autonomous driving technology on the bus industry is a concrete example. To this end, the National Transport Workers Union (NTWU) has already begun training on electric buses and autonomous driving with public bus operators.”