Environmental Public Health (Amendment) Bill

Order for Second Reading read.

3.44 pm

The Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (Ms Grace Fu Hai Yien): Mr Speaker, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time".

Singapore’s reputation as a clean city is a source of national pride. High standards of public hygiene have been a cornerstone of our good public health.

Over the years, we have introduced policies and programmes to shape social norms and keep Singapore clean and liveable. These include anti-littering campaigns, mobilising the community and uplifting the environmental services industry.

Internationally, Singapore is known as a clean and green city. Nine in 10 Singaporeans expressed satisfaction with the cleanliness of our public spaces and take pride in keeping Singapore clean, according to a survey by the Singapore Management University or SMU. But there is room for improvement.

We are overly reliant on efficient cleaning services. Public toilets in coffee shops and hawker centres are an area of concern and the cleanliness of bin centres and waste disposal areas need to be improved. One in five respondents to the SMU survey thought it acceptable to leave rubbish around if there was already litter in the area. One in three respondents believed that it is the cleaners' responsibility to return trays. Clearly, we still have some way to go to inculcate a strong sense of social responsibility in Singaporeans to do their part to keep public spaces clean.

At the same time, we remain vulnerable to public health threats. In 2003, SARS came to Singapore and claimed 33 lives. We have also had to tackle local public health incidents such as the gastroenteritis outbreaks that occurred over 2018 and 2019. Linked to contaminated environments, these outbreaks affected more than 1,200 people.

There are also waterborne health risks from pathogens that lurk in water, such as the Legionella bacteria, which can be transmitted through the inhalation of contaminated airborne water droplets. Aquatic facilities, such as swimming pools, spa pools and water playgrounds, and aerosol-generating systems, such as cooling towers, can harbour such bacteria.

Between 2000 and 2014, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported around 57 Legionellosis outbreaks associated with aquatic facilities in the US. More than 600 fell ill and six people lost their lives. Similar Legionellosis outbreaks have occurred in Australia, France and the United Kingdom. While such outbreaks have not occurred here, we must not be complacent.

For the past eight months, we have been battling the COVID-19 pandemic, a public health crisis unprecedented in scale and impact. Among the many lessons learnt, an important one is the need for high standards of sanitation and hygiene. COVID-19 will not be the last global pandemic that we have to face. We must shore up our public health defences and be ready to contain emerging outbreaks, when they come.

We can learn from some best practices internationally on managing public health risks more effectively. Take Japan. At the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, the Japanese football team and fans earned worldwide praise for practising social responsibility and cleaning up after themselves.

Other than public education, we learnt that a pillar of the national habit of cleanliness in Japan was its Building Sanitation Law. Large premises, such as schools and shopping centres, are required to conduct thorough cleaning periodically and undertake checks on pest control, indoor air quality and cooling towers.

Japan's legislation also places the responsibility for a building's sanitary conditions on its owners and formalises the role of environmental health personnel to oversee all environmental matters in the premises, including oft-neglected back-of-house areas, such as bin centres. This has fostered a strong sense of ownership on cleanliness.

South Korea is another example. It transformed its cleaning industry and processes following the deadly outbreak of MERS in 2015. Through courses by the International Sanitary Supply Association, cleaners are better-trained and certified on the correct cleaning procedures and disinfection methods.

In New York City, regulations were passed for cooling towers to be registered, tested and regularly maintained after a Legionellosis outbreak in 2015. This has enhanced New York's capability to manage waterborne public health risks.

These are useful lessons as we seek to strengthen our framework to keep Singapore clean.

We have adopted a multi-pronged approach to keep Singapore clean under the national SG Clean movement launched earlier this year. The SG Clean movement builds on existing hygiene measures and goes further to raise our standards in public hygiene and inculcate a culture of cleanliness, so that we can emerge stronger from COVID-19.

SG Clean has three key thrusts. First, raising cleanliness standards of premises by working with premises owners; second, transforming the cleaning industry to meet greater demands; and third, inculcating shared responsibility for cleanliness among individuals, as end-users and patrons of premises. Let me elaborate on these thrusts and explain how the initiatives under the proposed Bill fit in.

First, to raise cleanliness standards of premises, we must "Build Right", "Clean Right" and "Audit the Results". To "Build Right", we have incorporated in the building plan process, requirements on premises owners, such as the provision of sensor-operated toilet flushing systems and proper layout of bin centres. Well-designed and well-maintained infrastructure is an enabler of good public health.

To support premises owners in rejuvenating infrastructure, the National Environment Agency or NEA recently announced the Toilet Improvement Programme for hawker centres and coffee shops, to incentivise premises to renovate ageing toilet infrastructure.

"Clean Right" and "Audit the Results" are important steps where premises owners adopt proper cleaning regime as guided by NEA's advisories on cleaning and disinfection. And NEA's SG Clean Quality Mark certifies premises that adopt good cleaning practices.

A key part of the Bill is to support this thrust under SG Clean, by clarifying lines of accountability for maintaining clean premises and setting clear standards expected of premises owners. I will speak more on this later.

Second, we will continue to transform the cleaning industry to meet increased and more sophisticated demand for cleaning services. In doing so, we also hope to create more good jobs. The Environmental Services Industry Transformation Map or ESITM launched in 2017 has laid the foundation for this. For example, by driving technology adoption, upskilling the workforce and enhancing productivity through job redesign and outcome-based contracting.

Our cleaners are the unsung frontline heroes of the COVID-19 outbreak, working tirelessly to keep Singapore clean and safe. We will continue to support cleaners as part of the industry transformation journey. For example, we had introduced the Progressive Wage Model or PWM and PWM Bonus to raise employment standards, facilitate career progression and promote better wages for skilled cleaners.

Since we went into the COVID-19 period, NEA has also collaborated with training institutions to launch new Continuing Education and Training courses on environmental infection control to ensure that cleaners are trained to protect themselves against public health threats at work. Through this structured training framework, cleaners can become multi-skilled and expect to earn higher wages.

Third, we will promote good personal hygiene and social norms among end-users and patrons at premises. We launched a campaign under SG Clean earlier this year to promote positive behaviour in our shared spaces and stepped up recently with initiatives on returning trays and using public toilets responsibly in hawker centres and coffee shops. More than 5,000 SG Clean Ambassadors have stepped forward to spread SG Clean messages across the country.

All in, we have a sound framework that has enabled us to maintain good public health.

Mr Speaker, Sir, it is in this context that I am introducing the Environmental Public Health (Amendment) Bill. It will introduce three broad shifts in our approach to environmental sanitation and hygiene.

First, we will adopt a more proactive approach in guarding against public health threats and institute baseline environmental sanitation standards for routine and periodic cleaning across high-risk premises. For example, the standards will cover daily cleaning frequencies for high-touch surfaces, such as toilets and lift buttons and oft-neglected areas, such as bin centres; periodic thorough cleaning, say every six months, covering areas that are not easily accessible and not covered by routine cleaning; a pest management plan; and a cleaning and disinfection protocol. The standards will also specify desired outcome-based cleanliness indicators to be achieved and the tools and training requirements for workers to carry out cleaning effectively.

Second, we will work with industry partners to co-develop environmental sanitation standards applicable to their respective sectors and tailored to their needs. We will progressively implement these from mid-2021, starting with higher risk premises with immuno-vulnerable occupants, high footfall or a history of outbreaks, such as our pre-schools, schools, youth and eldercare facilities, hawker centres and coffee shops.

Third, we will place greater responsibility on the Managers of high-risk premises to ensure that the environmental sanitation standards are met. With the support of trained environmental control coordinators and environmental control officers, or ECCs and ECOs in short, the Managers will be required to implement environmental sanitation programmes developed for the premises by the ECCs and ECOs that meet the environmental sanitation standards.

To provide a pipeline of competent ECCs and ECOs, we will introduce a two-tiered competency-based framework. In general, premises, such as a pre-school or coffee shop, will require an ECC while more complex or multi-tenanted premises will require an ECO, with a higher level of competency to coordinate efforts amongst different tenants within the premises. This will provide a career progression pathway for ECCs to become ECOs, as they gain experience and upgrade their skills to take on more responsibilities. We expect to train 3,800 ECCs from the first quarter of 2021.

Similarly, we will proactively regulate higher risk aquatic facilities and aerosol-generating systems, to manage risks from potential waterborne disease outbreaks.

Mr Speaker, Sir, let me now highlight the main elements of the Bill.

The Environmental Public Health (Amendment) Bill establishes an environmental sanitation regime for specified premises, and regulatory regimes for aquatic facilities and aerosol-generating systems.

I will speak first on the environmental sanitation regime.

The new section 62A empowers NEA to designate, with Minister's approval, specified premises for which an environmental sanitation programme is required. The new section 99A gives powers to the Director-General to issue, approve, amend or revoke codes of practice and standards of performance with respect to the provisions of the EPHA, including programmes and measures relating to environmental sanitation.

A key feature of this Bill is to clarify the responsibilities for keeping specified premises clean. The new section 62B prescribes the duties of the ECC or ECO, which include developing an environmental sanitation programme for the specified premises, monitoring its implementation and recommending remedial measures to address any default in implementation.

The Manager of the specified premises must endorse and submit to the Director-General the environmental sanitation programme, implement the programme and any remedial measures recommended by the ECC or ECO. In accordance with the lines of accountability, the Manager will be responsible for any failure to implement the programme.

To ensure that ECCs and ECOs have the technical competence required to perform their roles, the new section 61A empowers the Director-General to register or refuse to register an individual as an ECC or ECO, and stipulates the circumstances under which the Director-General may suspend or cancel such registration. The new section 61B provides for appeals to the Minister against the Director-General's decisions made under section 61A.

Notwithstanding upstream preventive efforts under the environmental sanitation regime, we must be prepared to intervene at the first warning signs of a potential health risk. The new section 62C empowers the Director-General to issue directives to close any premises, clean or disinfect the premises or any public service vehicle, or take other necessary measures in respect of the premises or public service vehicle, to prevent or manage health risks or disease outbreaks.

Finally, we must ensure that the environmental sanitation regime is properly implemented and the directives are complied with. The new section 62D empowers the Director-General and authorised officers to conduct compliance checks and obtain documents and information for the purposes of the new sections 62A, 62B and 62C.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I will next talk about how the Bill strengthens environmental hygiene in higher-risk aquatic facilities and aerosol-generating systems under the new Parts VII and VIIA in the Bill.

Presently, swimming pools are the only type of aquatic facilities licensable under the EPHA. We will extend our licensing regime to more categories of aquatic facilities, such as multi-use spa pools and water playgrounds, which have become commonplace in Singapore. To effect this, the new section 63 requires the owner or occupier of any premises with a licensable aquatic facility to obtain a licence from the Director-General, prior to its use or operation.

While we currently have regulations for aerosol-generating systems, such as cooling towers, we do not have a registry of these systems and their locations. To strengthen our ability to respond to potential health risks, such as in the event of an outbreak, the new section 66A requires the owner or occupier of any premises with a registrable aerosol-generating system to register it with the Director-General prior to its use or operation.

To prevent or manage potential health risks or disease outbreaks, the new section 64 empowers the Director-General to require the cessation of the use or operation of any aquatic facility, or class of aquatic facilities. This section also empowers the Director-General to require the cessation of the use or operation of a licensable aquatic facility if there has been a contravention of any applicable requirement. Similar powers are provided under the new section 66B for aerosol-generating systems.

We will introduce monitoring powers under the new sections 65 and 66C for the Director-General and authorised officers to conduct compliance checks on any aquatic facility or aerosol-generating system and to obtain documents and information to administer, enforce or ascertain compliance with the requirements in Parts VII and VIIA.

Mr Speaker, Sir, this Bill marks another milestone in our efforts to keep Singapore clean and safe. The state of public cleanliness reflects the character of our citizens. Through collective action and co-ownership, we will forge a cleaner, stronger and kinder Singapore for generations to come. Mr Speaker, I beg to move.

Question proposed.

Mr Speaker: Order. I propose to take a break now. I suspend the Sitting and will take the Chair at 4.25 pm.

Sitting accordingly suspended

at 4.05 pm until 4.25 pm.

Sitting resumed at 4.25 pm.

[Mr Speaker in the Chair]

Environmental Public Health (Amendment) Bill

Debate resumed.

4.27 pm

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang (Nee Soon): Sir, I love it when I bring my three daughters out by myself and have some Daddy-Daughters time while Mummy takes a break. It is precious quality time, which I wish I have more of.

I am glad to share that I no longer need to change nappies. They are big girls now and use the toilet. That is of course absolutely good news but also absolutely bad news at times.

Every time they say the words, “Daddy, I need to wee wee”, it sparks a mad crazy frantic race to find a toilet. Not just any toilet but a male toilet, which has clean seats, which my daughters can sit on.

That, unfortunately, is a hard thing to find, especially in coffee shops and hawker centres. The reality is that many of our public toilets stink. And I am not just talking about the smell. Often, seats are covered in urine and the entire facility is unhygienic.

Sir, my daughters and I are extremely supportive of this Bill.

This is a public health issue that we all need to tackle. It is also not just about toilets but about maintaining cleanliness in premises with high footfall and immuno-vulnerable occupants.

Sir, the Government Parliamentary Committee or GPC for Sustainability and the Environment strongly supports this Bill as well.

The GPC Members will share different perspectives on how we can raise our public hygiene standards. Together, our speeches will articulate four key proposals.

First, the GPC proposes that we implement a grading system to measure the cleanliness of public toilets and incentivise operators by linking these grades to licence renewal or tax rebates.

Second, the GPC proposes that the Ministry reviews and considers expanding the scope of premises covered by the Bill.

Third, the GPC proposes that cleaners be trained in suitable languages and formats, and be treated with fair labour practices.

Fourth, The GPC hopes that the proposed amendments will not result in an increase in the cost of living.

Sir, we all have a stake in public hygiene and the GPC has reached out to the public through social media for their feedback on this Bill. We will be raising some of the public’s concerns in our speeches.

I personally have four points to make.

First, I propose we introduce a grading system for cleanliness at specified premises, starting with public toilets at coffee shops and hawker centres. A grading system will help increase hygiene standards in public toilet. These standards have fallen in recent years, according to an SMU survey aptly named "Waterloo". Over 25% of the 6,000 respondents said they would not use the toilets in coffee shops and hawker centres.

Our GPC's own public consultation received many comments about bad experiences at such toilets. One commenter, Mr Tan, said, "Many of our friends have said they rather hold their tummies than to let it out at the kopitiam toilet."

But the problem affects us even if we avoid using the toilets. As Mr Jack Sim, Founder and CEO of the World Toilet Organisation said, "Remember that even if you do not use these dirty toilets, the cooks who prepare your food are using them. If there is no soap to wash their hands, you may be eating their dirt."

This is a very unpleasant thought but a very real possibility that we need to remember.

Sir, I believe a grading system for cleanliness will help. It can be similar to the Singapore Food Agency's Food Hygiene Recognition Scheme. Under that scheme, food establishments are rated for their hygiene and must prominently display the grade they receive – A, B, C, or under the new system, Gold, Silver or Bronze.

This provides an objective measure for the general public to determine the level of cleanliness of a food establishment. They can use this information to decide whether to purchase from a food establishment.

For a start, will the Ministry consider implementing a similar grading system for public toilets at coffee shops and hawker centres? A visible, objective benchmark gives operators something to strive towards and could help promote higher standards.

My second proposal builds on our idea of a grading system. Will the Minister consider linking the grading system to the licensing duration and licensing fees of coffee shops and hawker centres?

For instance, we could offer a slightly longer licence term or lower licensing fees for coffee shops and hawker centres that attain and maintain a certain minimum cleanliness grade. This provides incentives for premises that have done well, to keep up the good work, and for premises that have not done so well, to raise their standards.

In their speeches, other Members of the GPC – Ms Poh Li San, Mr Gan Thiam Poh and Miss Cheryl Chan – will also be sharing their views on a grading system and other incentives for maintaining public toilet cleanliness.

My third proposal is about training. I understand that the Environmental Control Coordinators or ECCs and Environmental Control Officers or ECOs, of specified premises will have to undergo training to be registered with NEA. But I am concerned that their training will not be conducted in suitable languages or formats.

Take, for example, an existing course offered by the Singapore Polytechnic for ECOs in the construction sector. It is conducted entirely in English and requires participants to answer 100 questions in a two-hour electronic examination. Many ECCs and ECOs in the cleaning industry are seniors and would likely struggle with the language requirement and the electronic test-taking component.

Can Minister share if such courses for ECCs and ECOs in the cleaning industry will be conducted in more languages and more accessible formats? It will help operators meet these new requirements without having to replace their existing staff. Let us not allow language barriers and teaching formats to get in the way of cleanliness and safety.

In their speeches, Mr Don Wee and Ms Nadia Samdin will also be speaking on grants to support cleaners in undergoing training courses and career development for our cleaners.

My last point is about labour conditions. Let us remember that higher hygiene standards also means more work for our cleaners.

Many are already struggling. Mdm Low, a 67-year-old cleaner, told the media that she cleans the toilets four to five times during each of her 12-hour shift. She said, "Just an hour after I finished cleaning, I come back to find unflushed toilets, water pooling around the basins, and sometimes puddles of urine on the floor."

One respondent to our public consultation also raised these fair questions. He asked, "Would not improving cleanliness at these places require more labour? How do we know that this would not add to the gruelling work that cleaners already have to do? How is the Government going to ensure safe and sustainable labour standards with added labour?"

Can Minister share how we intend to ensure that cleaners are treated with fair labour practices? I propose we start by raising the employment standards required of cleaning companies under the Enhanced Clean Mark Accreditation scheme.

Specifically, let us require that companies provide cleaners, whether foreign or local, with sufficient breaks and rest days without reducing their take-home salary. Our increased hygiene standards can only be sustainable if cleaners are well rested and adequately paid. Let us ensure they are.

Sir, I hope Minister can consider the proposals raised by the GPC. Ultimately, the GPC believes that public hygiene is everyone's personal responsibility and we need to go upstream to solve this problem.

While this Bill will help, we urge all Singaporeans to move away from the mindset that cleaners will be there to clean up after us. We should be a "Clean Singapore", not a "Cleaned Singapore". Notwithstanding our clarifications, the GPC for Sustainability and the Environment stands in strong support of the Bill.

4.35 pm

Miss Cheryl Chan Wei Ling (East Coast): Mr Speaker, I rise in support of the Bill. While COVID-19 has caused widespread economic hardships and taken a toll on many individuals, there are silver linings to this pandemic. Some silver linings include the rapid digitalisation of the economy and heightened awareness of public and personal hygiene. If Singaporeans, as a society are able to capitalise on these silver linings, we will be in a good or perhaps even better position after we ride out this pandemic.

During the early stages of COVID-19, there were campaigns encouraging the adoption of the 10 Steps Hand Wash, greater conversation on office culture where employees should not fear taking medical leave and not be in the office when unwell. These desirable social behaviours and conversations should be encouraged and continued even post-COVID. As COVID-19 is unlikely to be the last pandemic that the world will see and when the next Disease X may appear, it is a constant worry in the minds of healthcare professionals.

In view of this, it is of paramount importance and perhaps timely to take a more proactive and preventive approach in improving public health and hygiene. Afterall, these two areas are deemed as the first line of defence against any disease that we may have.

We, as a society should have higher expectations of what being clean and hygienic means. The achievement of this state should also be a collaboration between public users and the care-takers, instead of having the sole responsibility borne by the latter. Amendment to this Act is timely as it introduces the environmental sanitation programmes for premises designated by NEA, regulate aquatic facilities and aerosol-generating systems and mandates the need for registered Environmental Control Coordinators or ECCs and Environmental Control Officers or ECOs to have better oversight at the specified premises.

In view of this, I would like to focus on three areas and highlight how we can achieve the aims that are set out.

First, a greater emphasis on cleanliness in the public domain with the grading system for toilets. Dirty public toilets are a ubiquitous sight in Singapore and I am sure many of us have experienced this from time to time. As my colleague, Mr Louis Ng has just pointed out, from the recent study by SMU, it has revealed that there has been a dip in public hygiene standards in toilets at coffee shops and hawker centres since 2016. To address this issue, enforcement of environmental sanitation programmes and having standardised cleanliness metrics are necessary. The Happy Toilet Programme, which was introduced or started in 2003, is one of such programmes. However, it does not seem to have a meaningful impact to-date.

To reduce the viral gastroenteritis diseases and the related transmission in public spaces, there is a pressing need to markedly improve the conditions of public toilets across Singapore, whether it is from the coffee shops to those in the MRTs, schools, childcare and the eldercare facilities.

While public toilets are already required to be cleaned at regular intervals, having an industry standard metric of assessment on the desired level of cleanliness could better align everyone and better achieve the aim of improving public health and hygiene.

In the establishment of this industry standard metric of assessment, reference can be derived from the grading of hawker stalls based on the sanitation levels and conditions of management. Similarly, the grading of public toilets can be used as an objective assessment. By pegging the grading of public toilets to the Premise Manager's ability in running the entire premise would put some responsibility on these operators in upkeeping the high standards of sanitation in public toilets.

And second, to elevate importance of social responsibility and communal attitude. By placing the entire responsibility on cleaning contractors or Premise Managers to raise the overall standards of public hygiene cannot be the only path forward for us. It is not only onerous on them but also not fair as the users play a big part of this eco-system. Thus, a collaborative ownership between the users and caretakers of these public facilities are required.

Let us just look 5,000 km beyond our shores. We see the shining example of Japan, a place that many would pride them for cleanliness, precision and advanced technology. When social responsibility is synonymous to a culture, even smart technologies can be incorporated at public facilities without fear of being damaged. Think of automatic flushes, bidet gadgets and recently "see-through" public toilets for people to inspect their cleanliness before using them. This indicates an upkeep of these clean public toilets is not just reliant on technologies alone.

The communal mentality is intrinsic and the Japanese way of life appears both in their personal as well as public spaces. Public spaces are used and treated with respect as the Japanese continually places the interests of the larger good before themselves.

Sometimes I wonder, why are the toilets, such as those in Changi Airport able to keep the high level of sparkling clean conditions whereas toilets in hawker centres and coffee shops leave much to be desired. How are we able to maintain our home toilets clean, yet unable to do so in the public? If I may posit, it boils down to context and our perception when using these public facilities.

The mentality that this is not my toilet and thus I am not bothered about ensuring the cleanliness and the state I leave it, as there is someone else who cleans after me. This deplorable mindset must change and has to change now. We are all users of the public good and only through exercising greater social responsibility can all these public facilities become more desirable. Perhaps, it is time we take a leaf from Japan, to adopt more communal attitude and let us be proud users of public facilities.

Little actions, such as ensuring that we do not squat on toilet bowls, do not sprinkle water on the floors after washing our hands, proper disposal of papers in the bins go a long way in ensuring the cleanliness of public toilets. If we are constantly mindful of what we are doing and treat this the same as our own home toilets, we should be able to do that in the public areas without any fear and without any issue.

For those caring for young children and seniors, we understand these groups are very vulnerable. We show our love and our care for them, and always want to ensure they receive the very best. It is not uncommon to hear of parents lamenting the unsanitary conditions they find in toilets or nursing rooms. And I think my colleague, Mr Louis Ng has expressed this quite well.

The impetus to change and care for the public toilets go beyond ourselves. It is also the message that we wish for our next generation to take away – that we care for our younger ones and our seniors and want to do right for them. Let us not falter and begin today by changing our habits in the use of public resources and treat it like it is our own home.

And lastly, to rethink the effectiveness of the carrot and stick approach and explore the public health behavioural science to shape societal behaviours and policies. As we emphasise the need for social responsibility, the question then arises on how do we create this sense of social responsibility to encourage users of public facilities to treat all these facilities with care and sanitation?

A direct approach would be the traditional use of fines. Fines has often been used to act as a deterrent for individuals to prevent undesirable societal behaviours, such as littering. Fines have been used so often that it has been a common joke that Singapore is nothing but a "Fine" city. While fines can be a quick means to temporary deter an issue, it may not necessarily nip the issue in the bud.

As society evolves, there is stronger call for Singapore to be a gracious and more caring society. Perhaps alternate and gentler ways could be explored in shaping positive societal behaviours.

UK's Behavioural Insights Team, also known as the Nudge Unit started in 2010 to apply behavioural science to public policy of which one approach would be the nudge which aims to "do more with less", making simple and small changes in the design of the environment to bring about greater change in societal behaviours.

The concept of incorporating behavioural sciences into policy-making is not a new one in Singapore. Several national initiatives had shown evidences of such deep thinking and the fusion of exploring behavioural concepts to enhance the effectiveness of these initiatives. This paradigm shift in the way of thinking should be lauded.

One such national initiative I would like to highlight is the Health Promotion Board or HPB's National Steps Challenge.

Under this challenge, the use of incentives was adopted to encourage development of good habits like exercising. While incentives can be considered as a "carrot" approach, how the challenge was executed revealed signs that it was carefully thought out to ensure that interest in the challenge is sustained and ultimately achieves the objective of encouraging a more active lifestyle. This challenge had a few waves to reignite and sustain interest after the initial novelty wears off. And most recently, HPB will also be partnering Apple to leverage on gamification to continue the excitement in this challenge and achieve its social objective.

In line with exploring the use of alternatives and behavioural science to shape societal behaviour, I would like to ask the Minister:

(a) Notably, a lot of extrinsic rewards have been used to spur a change in societal behaviour. Have we identified the sweet spot in the use of incentives. For example, the amount of incentives and the length of incentives given in the development of these good habits?

(b) Could we explore similar initiatives such as Nudges to encourage the behavioural change of users in public toilets? A well-known example to encourage people to take the stairs instead of the escalators would be the Piano stairs in Stockholm metro where melodious music is played when climbing or going down the stairs.

(c) Besides HPB, the Singapore Police Force has been exploring and getting ideas from the public and the Institutes of Higher Learning on the use of nudges to prevent the public from falling prey on scams. Could we better understand how effective behavioural sciences have been in policy making?

Mr Speaker, Sir, against the backdrop of COVID-19, the seasonal flu, the distant looming threat of Disease X, it is thus of paramount importance and interest that we now start working on preventive instead of reactive measures. COVID-19 is a clear reason why there is no better time than to begin these changes today.

As with all societal changes and benefits, it takes collective effort and thoughtfulness of every individual to effect the change over time. In the same vein, ensuring the high standards of sanitation requires joint efforts – from the users to the caretakers of the public facilities. Without which, the actions of a few could thwart the efforts of the broader good. I am positive that we as a nation would be able to come together and unite in working towards this aspiration of social good.

4.47 pm

Ms He Ting Ru (Sengkang): Mr Speaker, the COVID pandemic that is still affecting our lives has brought home the importance of keeping to high hygiene and cleanliness standards and ensuring that these standards are upheld at the risk of becoming threats to public health and safety.

The Bill before us implements mandatory cleaning standards for specified premises and will, indeed, go towards ensuring that premises which have poor hygiene standards may result in operators being held accountable. The aim is to provide enough of a stake that we would see improvements to our living spaces when they fall below acceptable levels.

[Deputy Speaker (Mr Christopher de Souza) in the Chair]

Yet while Singapore has an international reputation as a clean city and despite years of Clean and Green campaigns, I believe it is still important to ask ourselves if we are a clean city or a "cleaned" city, as a few of my colleagues have pointed out earlier. Are we truly a nation where individuals take responsibility to ensure that our environment is clean and hygienic or do we instead see it as someone else's problem? Do we make messes in our living environments and expect cleaners to do their jobs and clean up after us?

We all agree there is a big distinction in the society which is able to maintain high hygiene standards because people do their parts to keep clean compared with one where low-wage, low-status workers are employed to do their jobs to clean up messes that others have left behind without a second thought. What does it say about us as a people when we leave our food dishes and rubbish strewn all over the table after a meal and justify it by not wanting the poor cleaners to lose their jobs?

Like many point out, we also have much to learn from the experiences of societies such as Switzerland, Japan and Taiwan which maintain high levels of cleanliness with hardly any litter bins and street sweepers in sight. Such societies have evolved and have high levels of social consciousness where residents take pride in their surroundings. This extends to having a culture where people who are sick automatically wear surgical masks to avoid infecting other people without being mandated to do so by law. Residents also automatically sort their rubbish into different categories to facilitate recycling rather than rely on workers in waste processing centres to do it for them.

While living in Germany, I also remember being extremely conscious about how I would sort out my rubbish for fear of accidentally placing the recyclable materials in the wrong bin and possibly contaminating the material in the entire bin.

On a weekend trip to Switzerland, stopping for breakfast at a cafe, we witnessed a man at an adjacent table carefully sweeping up the crumbs of the croissant that he just ate before meticulously dusting them onto his plate and returning it to the waiter behind the counter.

Back in Singapore, our environmental services industry is estimated to employ approximately 78,000 workers with almost two-thirds of employed residents in the sector aged 55 and above. It is one of the industries targeted by our much-vaunted Progressive Wage Model which tells us that these are possibly low-pay, low-status jobs, a future which parents threaten their kids with if they do not study hard enough

The reality though, is that the pandemic and associated lockdowns around the world have shown that cleaners are key frontline workers keeping economies and societies running while running risks to their own and their families' health. The stigma associated with what is traditionally seen as an unskilled, unimportant job can undermine how we view public health and hygiene and lead to under-investment in the industry. This prevents the implementation of new technologies and digitalisation initiatives that would otherwise raise productivity and make such jobs less physically demanding on our older workers, but also removing some of the stigma associated with being a cleaner.

The wider point here is also one of sustainability, environmental, economic and societal. We are now facing an uncertain future where the planet is fast running out of time to deal with limited resources and effects of climate change are becoming more real. We can ill afford to use and consume as if our resources were unlimited. Likewise, our ageing demographics also tell us that there will come a point where it will become unrealistic to keep relying on low-wage, low-status workers, often either foreign or elderly, to maintain cleanliness standards while we continue to treat them as being unimportant and invisible.

Even if the cleaning industry looks to more long-term sustainable solutions to provide the services expected of them, we, as in society, must start developing the type of social consciousness required for each one of us to adopt a clean lifestyle. We could do so by having another look at our Clean and Green campaigns over the years to figure out what has been effective in the past. Have these campaigns overly emphasised fines, penalties and shaming for specific behaviours with less regard to the reasons behind our actions rather than address wider issues relating to shift in awareness that everyone has a role to play in keeping our shared spaces clean.

A coherent multi-faceted approach that starts from a young age and is tailored to fit our changing society needs to be taken – from punitive measures for those who litter and dirty the environment to public education campaigns at all levels about environmental protection, driving the need to reduce and better manage waste and to foster a pride in our shared spaces. Youth voices would be extremely important in this and we should fully involve the young from the start in our efforts to effect such changes and driving home the message that our reliance on cheap and elderly labour to clean up after us has to go.

Perhaps, it is also time that we look to wisdom espoused by Goethe who wrote: "Let everyone sweep in front of his own door, and the whole world will be clean." This is a shared philosophy that I hope will be one of the legacies that we leave behind for future generations of Singaporeans to come.

4.55 pm

Ms Joan Pereira (Tanjong Pagar): Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, the introduction of the Environmental Public Health (Amendment) Bill comes during a critical time. We are in the midst of a global crisis, unprecedented in its scale and impact. The pandemic is also a wake-up call, highlighting the importance of things that we have all taken for granted, such as environmental hygiene and public health.

This Bill mandates environmental sanitation (ES) standards for the cleaning and disinfection of high-risk premises.

This means that cleaning costs will go up. Most of us are aware that Singapore is clean because of the hard work of our many cleaners. However, if we all do our part and play a more active role to keep our public environment clean, our collective efforts can help keep costs down.

The high-risk areas listed in the Bill include toilets and other high-touch areas.

Many of our public toilets in coffee shops and hawker centres are often very wet. Sometimes, the wet floors and sink counters are due to leaky taps, shallow sinks and high water pressure or poor user habits. Wet toilets are both a physical hazard and environmental public health hazard.

I would like to suggest that the Ministry specify toilet design requirements to ensure that toilets are easier to maintain and kept dry. This set of specifications will also ensure that toilets that are being upgraded or built will be up to the ES standards. Useful features include better drainage, better ventilation to minimise foul odours and to speed up evaporation, hand-dryers that are right next to the sinks, and hands-free sensor taps and toilet flushes. With an ageing population, fall prevention should be a priority. Therefore, the floors of all public toilets should use non-slip materials or coatings. All toilets should be upgraded progressively, starting with the older and more poorly designed toilets. Sir, in Mandarin.

(In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Many of our public toilets in coffee shops and hawker centres are often wet. Sometimes, the wet floors and sink counters are due to leaky taps, shallow sinks and high water pressure. More often than not, the slippery floors are so because of poor user habits. Wet toilets are both a physical hazard and environmental public health hazard.

I would like to suggest that the Ministry specify toilet design requirements to ensure that toilets are easier to maintain and kept dry. This set of specifications will also ensure that toilets that are being upgraded or built will be up to the ES standards. Examples of useful features include better drainage, better ventilation to minimise foul odours and speed up evaporation, hand-dryers that are right next to the sinks, and hands-free sensor taps and toilet flushes. With an ageing population, fall prevention should be a priority. Therefore, the floors of all public toilets should use non-slip materials or coatings. All toilets should be upgraded progressively, starting with the older and more poorly designed toilets.

(In English): Coffee shop and hawker centre operators should tap on the recently launched Toilet Improvement Programme to make the necessary upgrades to their toilets and for proper maintenance. For individuals, public education on the correct toilet etiquette would be useful to keep our toilets clean and dry.

On the subject of sustainability, I am worried about the impact of higher cleaning standards on our environment. For example, more gloves and chemicals would be used. Is there a more sustainable way to clean and sanitise which can minimise the discharge of chemicals into our environment?

Sir, I look forward to the Minister’s response and would like to conclude with my support for the Bill.

5.00 pm

Mr Gan Thiam Poh (Ang Mo Kio): Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, the introduction of mandatory environmental sanitation (ES) standards will certainly receive overwhelming support if we consider the results of the Public Cleanliness Satisfaction Survey undertaken by SMU. According to the survey, around 97% of Singapore’s residents would like legislation to ensure higher hygiene standards for public spaces, including care centres for the young and elderly, and food establishments. Sir, in Mandarin.

(In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] There is room for improvement in the public hygiene standards of our hawkers centres and coffee shops. Given the large number of customers and thus, the heavy usage of the facilities, such as the tables and toilets, we need a lot more joint effort from all stakeholders to keep these places clean.

These food establishments offer a variety of delicious food at affordable prices for all. Based on this price level, the operators have budget constraints for the number of cleaners they can employ to keep the food establishments clean. If everyone makes a conscientious effort to pick up after themselves, return their trays, clean up their tables, refrain from littering, and so on, we will be able to enjoy a clean environment without paying unnecessary additional costs.

Another problem eateries have is the presence of pests. Food remnants attract scavengers such as cockroaches, rats and birds, amongst others.

Sometimes when I eat at these places, I see many of these ‘uninvited guests’ flying around and having a ‘party’. If you are not careful, you could be ‘bombarded’ and may get droppings on you. Sometimes I can see that the food on the tables nearby gets contaminated by these birds.

In recent years, many of these hawker centres and food establishments are forced to install nets to prevent birds from flying in. I would like to ask the Minister how effective these nets have been in reducing the incidents of birds flying in to look for food. Under what circumstances do we need to put in the nets and do the authorities have more plans to extend the installation of nets to more food centres and coffee shops?

(In English): Deputy Speaker, Sir, we should also review our pest control regime as pests are vectors for diseases. As the weather gets warmer, pest populations can expand quickly. We have to ensure proper management of food storage and food waste in our food centres.

Would the Minister also share the progress of the Tray Return Programme, the learning experience so far and what improvement measures may be introduced to boost public participation in this initiative? Would there be more incentives, more “carrots” to encourage more people to cooperate?

We may also consider more incentives for owners, stallholders or operators to improve their cleanliness scorecard. Hopefully, this would be a means to an end. Ideally, hygiene and clean habits should become part of our culture, something we all do instinctively, whether or not we would be rewarded for it.

The NEA launched the Toilet Improvement Programme which allows hawker centres and coffee-shops to apply for up to 90% funding to improve their toilets and level of cleanliness. This programme is up to the operators to decide if they want to take it up. However, I think the NEA may consider sending strong advisories to obviously poorly designed and maintained toilets to take up this offer and urgently overhaul their toilets in the interest of public health.

Last but not least, may I suggest that we provide incentives for the provision of enclosed areas in our food establishments for smokers. Setting up an enclosed area for them will help to ensure that other customers are protected from second-hand smoke. Would the NEA consider providing funding support under the same Toilet Improvement Programme for coffee-shops which do not wish to remove their smoking corners to build an enclosed area for smokers?

With that, I would like to conclude with my support for the Bill.

5.07 pm

Ms Raeesah Khan (Sengkang): Mr Deputy Speaker, Singaporeans see the importance of personal hygiene now more than ever. We see our fellow citizens taking ownership of the health of themselves and their families.

It was inspiring to see how quickly people reacted to the pandemic, abiding by regulations to wear masks, putting sanitisers in lifts and donating masks to those in need.

This Bill to amend the Environmental Public Health Act arises from the necessity of expanding this to our public spaces.

Singapore has run campaigns to encourage citizens to create a clean and green Singapore. From 1961 to 1989, the number of cleaners working in Singapore had declined from more than 7,000 to 2,100. However, this changed as our country got wealthier and had access to cheap labour.

Today, Singapore currently has an army of 58,000 workers in the cleaning industry.

Mr Liak Teng Lit, former Chairman of the NEA, reportedly once expressed that Singapore is not a clean City. It is a cleaned City. Mr Edward de Silva Chairman of the Public Hygiene Council in an article published by today noted that the reliance on cleaners is now entrenched in Singapore's mentality, and thus, it is worthwhile to consider that the overall cleanliness we have in Singapore may not be truly reflective of a collective civic-mindedness on the part of individuals to keep Singapore clean.

Where businesses and the state are concerned, the Bill goes some way to keep these stakeholders accountable for their role in maintaining public health.

At this juncture, I wish to raise a clarification about the specifics of the Bill.

Firstly, sub-section 2(b) in the new section 62A empowers NEA to designate certain non-publicly-accessible premises as specified premises under the Act, in particular clause B5 implies that NEA may do so for any premises or class of premises for which an environmental sanitation programme is assessed to be necessary to minimise, or alleviate the risk of, or to prevent or manage, an outbreak or spread of any infectious disease.

To this end, I would like to seek a clarification on how these assessments will be carried out. What are the parameters and principles underlying such assessments?

Mr Deputy Speaker, while we seek to improve public health standards via this Bill, I wish to stress the need to consider the broader landscape in which our system of public hygiene and sanitation operates.

The question of who will take ownership for a good quality of public health comes to mind. During the pandemic, we saw how dependent we are on foreign labour as a country to keep Singapore clean. Is this model sustainable? What happens if there is another situation that arises, or we do not have access to them.

We need to ensure that Singaporeans are empowered with a sense of ownership and civic-mindedness towards our country. I worry that with more guidelines, and thus potentially, the hiring of more cleaners, we start relinquishing our responsibility in caring for the environment and the people we share our surroundings with.

We can make comparisons with countries such as Japan and Korea – countries that are known to have a strong sense of civic-mindedness and for being clean, but I think we can draw inspiration from fellow citizens too. A resident by the name of Mr Tan, a senior citizen who I met recently on a house visit in Compassvale, shared that he and his neighbours take turns to clean their common corridor on a weekly basis.

We can also look at people who organise beach clean-ups at places like East Coast Park and Changi Beach, or those who organise ground-up initiatives to help those who are unable to spring-clean their homes.

We even count the World Toilet Man himself, Jack Sim, as a fellow citizen who has been a crusader of upholding good personal hygiene.

To encourage citizens to take ownership of their surrounds, we need to encourage civic-mindedness in youths by exposing them to more community-based programmes and weaving the themes of community building into our schools. We need to make students responsible for the cleanliness of their schools and we need to encourage people to recycle. The state should seek to improve recycling facilities in residential areas.

We can build on the reputation of a clean and green city. As we aim to improve sanitation standards in Singapore by way of legislation, let us bring cleanliness and civic-mindedness back as our common values, and move from being a being merely a cleaned city to a clean city.

5.13 pm

Mr Don Wee (Chua Chu Kang): Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I will deliver the first part of my speech in Mandarin.

(In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] I support the Environmental Public Health (Amendment) Bill introduced by the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment.

The ongoing global pandemic has given us a strong impetus to review our public hygiene regulation and enforcement framework. We should not miss this opportunity to raise the public hygiene standard. We should learn the lessons and the health reform opportunities presented by the pandemic. If we do not gain the experience nor reflect upon ourselves, we would waste this learning opportunity to enhance our ability to resist future health crises.

Introducing mandatory environmental sanitation standards for the cleaning and disinfection of high-risk premises is necessary and timely. Such premises include nursing homes, kindergartens, public toilets and rubbish collection centres. The new requirements will help our fight against COVID-19 and mitigate future public health risks.

One of the most common complaints about public hygiene is about the toilets in our hawker centres and coffee shops.

I would like to urge stall operators, coffee shops and eatery shops owners to leverage on higher standards of cleanliness to attract more customers and increase revenues.

However, owners and operators have often told me that they are worried about the higher costs of cleaning. They may not be able to absorb the higher cost and may need to pass part of it to their customers. They are concerned that they may lose some business as a result.

I also have some concerns with the requirement for premises managers to be identified and held accountable for adhering to the ES standards. I hope that for the implementation of this new measure, building and premises owners will be required to provide proof that they give premises managers the authority and requisite resources to carry out their duties. I seek the assurance of the Ministry that designated employees will not be held responsible in the event that environmental sanitation standards are not met due to insufficient resources. Take the two coffee shops at Brickland’s blocks 803 and 810 for example. The coffee shop aunties and assistants are my residents. They are managing 2 roles at the same time, making coffee, serving tea and cleaning as well. They are the frontline workers providing essential services, but their salaries are not very high. I am very concerned about their working conditions after the new regulations come into force.

I will continue my speech in English.

(In English): Customers, who desire cleaner toilets, also worry about the prices of their favourite hawker meals going up. We would also want to ensure that hawker and coffee shop meals remain accessible and affordable for the less privileged Singaporeans.

Another concern is the availability of manpower. The higher demand for cleaning due to the pandemic has already led to a labour shortage. This is a sector which attract fewer Singaporeans and on top of this difficulty, there is a limit on the number of foreign workers we can hire. Can we turn to technology for help? Perhaps, for some premises, it may be viable to deploy robot cleaners, for example. However, it would be challenging to use robot cleaners in the toilets of our hawker centres and coffee shops, due to the terrain and space constraints. Robots are also costly.

In the face of this manpower crunch, how are we going to meet the new environmental sanitation (ES) standards? Do we have plans to draw more Singaporeans or PRs into this sector or will we need to re-adjust manpower policies? Will higher wages alone be sufficient to attract and retain local workers? How will the Ministry persuade the Singapore public to pay more for local workers, while at the same time, ensure that the less privileged ones amongst us do not have to bear the burden of the higher cleaning costs?

In the face of limited manpower, we must help our cleaners to become more efficient and productive. The half-day cleaners' training programme launched by NEA and the Restroom Association last month is very useful. I seek the Ministry's assurance that it will become a permanent training programme, with refresher and upgrading courses in the future. This will ensure that our cleaners will meet ES standards and be equipped to deal with potential new health hazards.

I am also very glad to note the new Toilet Improvement Programme launched by NEA last Friday. Interested coffee shops and hawker centre operators may apply for up to 90% funding to improve the design and cleanliness of their toilets and adopt more effective cleaning measures. I strongly urge them to tap on this programme to fund the necessary renovations and measures.

New toilets can be redesigned to make it easier to be kept clean. For example, round sloped sinks are better than flattish square or rectangular sinks which tend to accumulate debris in corners. Taps, soap dispensers, toilet flushes and doors can be operable through sensors or with foot pedals.

In order for us to benefit from a higher sanitation standard, we must all take joint responsibility for our environment and do our part to keep our surroundings clean. There is thus an important role for public education. I am interested to hear more about the Ministry's efforts in this area.

Most of us recognise that we can do more to help at the individual level, as highlighted in the Public Cleanliness Satisfaction Survey, we found that 87% of the respondents think that Singapore is clean due to the efficiency of the cleaners. Therefore, Singaporeans' civil-mindedness has a lot of room for improvement. If each of us do our part and encourage those around us to do their parts, our collective effort will go a long way to keep Singapore cleaner, reduce the need for cleaning and minimise the cleaning costs. I would like to conclude with my support for the Bill.

5.20 pm

Mr Desmond Choo (Tampines): Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I stand in support of the amendments. The introduction of the amendments is timely considering that the COVID-19 pandemic has magnified the importance of individual and public hygiene. It is an excellent opportunity to improve the nation's public health infrastructure beyond COVID-19. A strong healthcare system needs an equally robust hygiene framework to keep up the fight against the current pandemics and future ones.

The amendments, which include the implementation of mandatory standards and greater accountability on stakeholders, complement the SG Clean Movement. The new rules will also play an integral role in increasing the effectiveness of safe management measures as we work towards a gradual and safe reopening of our economy. I will now detail two points for the consideration of the Minister and one query to allow for the better integration of the amendments for relevant stakeholders.

First, the benefits arising from the mandatory appointment of ECCs and ECOs in premises are two-fold: not only will it complement our efforts to improve public hygiene infrastructure, but it also fits well within our national push to expand upskilling and employment opportunities. In supporting these enhanced rules, I recognise that the Labour Movement has a pivotal role to play in ensuring that companies have sufficient trained workers to comply with the rules with greater ease.

Currently, institutions such as NEA and Singapore Polytechnic offer ECO training courses, but these might be tailored to old requirements for maintaining good environmental practices within construction sites. Our NTUC social enterprises can increase training capacity for ECCs and ECOs in line with the amended Section 62B. Additionally, we could potentially look into dove-tailing of ECC and ECO work with Safe Management Officer responsibilities to better coordinate businesses' efforts for safe re-opening.

Second, as we work towards baseline cleaning standards and increased public hygiene responsibilities, we must remember to keep broader goals in mind. We must progressively aim to shift from Government-led initiatives towards a structure where all stakeholders take ownership. To this end, I put forth two recommendations.

First, the new environmental sanitation programmes cannot work without well-trained workers. They must also be paid fairly so that we can attract more workers to join the industry. Businesses must adopt outcome-based procurement practices and Government give recognition to companies that work towards increased productivity with the adoption of technology. Businesses and Government agencies should award cleaning contracts to progressive employers who upskill and reward their workers. We should also be bold and look at ECO and ECC jobs as the pinnacle of the Progressive Wage Model or PWM for cleaners.

Second, we must recognise that Singapore relies heavily on cleaning services to ensure the cleanliness of public areas. Despite Governmental and businesses' efforts in working towards a cleaner Singapore, we must remember that this responsibility lies in the individual too. Take the example of returning of trays in Food & Beverage establishments. In the third Public Cleanliness Satisfaction Survey undertaken by SMU, 36% of respondents said they were unsure whether trays should be returned. Public education is thus, vital, in working towards a cleaner Singapore and this initiative will instil greater individual responsibility to keep Singapore clean.

Lastly, I have one query relating to the fines imposed in contravention of the amended sections. The contravention of the relevant sections in the amendments in section 62A(5), 62B(3), 62C(6), 63(2), 66A(7) by the Manager of any specific premises/owner/occupier would constitute an offence. Upon conviction, the offence attracts a fine not exceeding $5,000 on the first offence and a fine not exceeding $10,000 for the second or subsequent offences. This serves as an effective deterrent to the management of smaller premises, all those without as much resources. However, I am concerned that the deterrent effect of the fine may not be as effective for well-resourced entities. In the event of persistent contravention of the Act, will the Minister look into imposing non-monetary sanctions, including suspensions of operations to supplement the existing fine structure to send a stronger deterrent signal against non-compliance?

Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, despite the nation being labelled as one of the world's cleanest cities, we must continue to build on the efforts we have achieved thus far. Notwithstanding the suggestion, I stand in support with the amendments which will play an important role in chartering the nation's journey to successfully sail through the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.

5.25 pm

Ms Nadia Ahmad Samdin (Ang Mo Kio): Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, over the last year, we have seen our lives reshaped and reorganised by COVID-19. We have had to build up our resilience as a society, while we stay home to flatten the curve.

But not everyone could do this. "Stay home because we can't" – this was one of the viral phrases first expressed by essential workers. COVID-19 can be acquired through contact with surfaces contaminated with the virus and laboratory tests have demonstrated that the virus can survive on surfaces for two to three days. As such, ensuring environmental hygiene through regular cleaning and disinfection of places with high volume of people minimises the risk of transmission. During this time, many essential workers were required to step-up the cleaning regimes, their efforts on this front kept us safe.

As Singapore plans for Phase Three, gradually reopens and allows for more public movement, we must as a society remain vigilant. The events of the past few months have made a few things clear. Government and pandemic response teams need to be constantly receptive to new information and err on the side of caution and we must all play our part. The pandemic has highlighted the importance of civic mindedness and the responsibility shared between Government, businesses and the public to keep each other safe.

I am supportive of this Bill and have four points to make on the amendments.

First, the pandemic has highlighted the important role essential workers play in keeping Singapore safe. The establishment of the environmental control coordinator and environmental control officer roles can be a step towards elevating the essential worker and creating pathways for career development in environmental health as individuals become experts in the subject matter. They offer an opportunity for training, skill acquisition and capability development.

I sincerely hope that businesses will look inwards for talent that can be nurtured when thinking about these appointments, so as to enable our cleaners to develop new skills and earn more.

I also hope that the Ministry can provide employers with support on the above and discourage organisations from simply outsourcing these functions. I am unsure whether these roles, if fulfilled by part-time external workers, will have an actual effect on improving cleanliness standards. One suggestion would be for the Ministry to consider a reduction in training fees for businesses that send existing Singaporean employees to be upgraded and certified.

Second, one of the biggest lessons we have learned from COVID-19 is the importance of prompt and timely action in our response to pandemics. While I also support the move to expand the powers of the Director-General to issue directives to any entity or persons to clean and/or disinfect the premises from the first warning signs of a potential health risk or disease outbreak, we are also aware that viruses do not only have an impact on health, but also on the economy. These expanded powers include the possibility of the Director-General giving a directive to close the relevant premises, or any part of the relevant premises, for a period not exceeding 14 days for the purpose of cleaning and disinfecting – such cleaning and disinfecting to take place in a manner and within the time specified in such directive. The discretion to make these directives will need to be weighed carefully and I know that premise managers will be wondering what sort of manner and time period is likely to be specified, as businesses need to plan for these possibilities and this will incur cost.

I am also heartened that individuals who are required to carry out the disinfecting of the relevant premises will need to be provided with appropriate personal protective equipment. Sir, as highlighted in the earlier part of my speech, our cleaners are essential workers who play a valuable role in keeping society safe. We have seen instances in the early days of COVID-19, where conservancy workers and cleaners were merely equipped by their employers with masks, disinfectants and simple cloths.

In short, I would like to suggest the Ministry to take collaborative approach when working with premise managers and workers to meet the new standards set out in this Bill, especially in the early days of transition and to prioritise safety of our essential workers.

Third, I understand that the amendments also envision Codes of Practices which will set out sector-specific standards required as part of the ES regime. I would like to ask the Ministry when these Codes of Practices will be introduced and how much time the different industries will have to respond to these Codes. It would be helpful if the Ministry can explain why there are different sector-specific standards and whether ECC and ECO skills and training will be transferable across the industries.

Like we did with SARS in 2003, we have and we are still learning from COVID-19. While reactive learning is, unfortunately, going to be necessary when dealing with a pandemic, we can take a proactive approach by working with the public to transform Singapore from a cleaned city, to a clean city. We must find more effective ways of working with the public to imbue a culture of personal responsibility in the cleanliness of the facilities that we share, as they do in countries, such as Japan, which has a national habit of Marie Kondo-ing and keeping things clean and tidy. I believe that we must double down our efforts in building a responsible culture to keep our public toilets clean, return our trays and utensils so that food scraps do not attract unwanted pests which carry diseases, and picking up after ourselves in shared spaces.

Deputy Speaker, Sir, a few words in Malay.

(In Malay): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Frontline workers especially cleaners play a very important role in keeping the environment clean. With the establishment of new jobs such as the environmental manager, the environmental control coordinator and the environmental control officer, I hope that this will create new career development pathways for our frontline officers so that they can upskill and obtain better salaries. I hope that businesses will give priority to local workers to take on these new jobs.

However, these policies will not be enough in our efforts to combat the spread of the COVID-19 outbreak if Singaporeans do not play their part to maintain our environmental hygiene. Cleanliness is our shared social responsibility. We must cultivate good habits and promote a culture where cleanliness is prioritised no matter where we are, whether inside or outside our homes.

(In English): Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, ultimately, our laws reflect social norms and will only be effective when implemented well. Keeping Singapore clean is a shared responsibility, and even as the Ministry introduces heightened standards for the protection of our people, I urge the Ministry to work with industry and give sufficient time for industry and our workforce to respond.

Notwithstanding my suggestions expressed in this speech, I support the Environmental Public Health (Amendment) Bill.

Mr Deputy Speaker: Mr Derrick Goh.

5.34 pm

Mr Derrick Goh (Nee Soon): Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, a clean environment with good sanitation is something we cannot take for granted. For locations visited by COVID-19 patients, we follow the practice of disinfecting and deep cleaning residential, work or public places.

However, in situations related to cleaning of high-risk premises, such as pre-schools and eldercare facilities, and locations where many people share the same body of water or recirculated air, namely, (a) swimming pools, spas and water playgrounds and (b) central air-conditioning systems, there should be maintenance standards and practices set for these areas.

So, it is timely that the Government strengthens and mandates maintenance standards as well as placing accountability on premises managers that have aquatic facilities or licensable aerosol-generating systems. This will help reduce the risks posed by diseases and create a safer environment for all to live, work and play.

In support of this Bill, I would like to also highlight that more of us are working from home as a result of this pandemic, which have implications on the current way we regulate environmental public health. Given this recent trend, there are now more smokers as well as non-smokers who are working from home.

Many industry experts expect this new norm of working from home to continue well after this pandemic ends. This is due to the benefits of remote working for individuals as well as for corporates.

Over the last few months, I had received many feedback from residents about exposure to cigarette smoke floating into their flats from neighbours who smoke. This trend coincides with The Straits Times report that NEA received 11,400 cases of feedback for the period January to April this year. This represents a 21% increase in cases related to smoking in residential homes and corridors. As circuit breaker measures kicked in on 7 April, it is likely that the number of complaints to NEA could have been higher since the last report.

The dangers of second-hand smoke as a silent killer, the smell and residue from nicotine and the irritation to the nose and throat are well documented and have been discussed previously in this House, so I will not belabour this point.

Of the resident feedback that I have received about neighbours smoking, at least half of those were smoking near open windows or doors. Today, the solution to limit the effects of second-hand smoke floating from a neighbour is for the non-smokers to shut their windows or doors. This cannot be a fair outcome. A practical way is to perhaps require resident smokers to close their windows and doors when they smoke and, of course, to go down to the open spaces at the ground floor if they have kids around. This solution aligns to existing NEA regulations which require windows of private vehicles to be fully wound up so that the second-hand tobacco smoke is expelled when the driver smokes in certain areas.

A similar parallel could be drawn to the smoking rooms at hotels where doors and windows are closed so that the impact to other hotel occupants are minimised. In this way, a requirement like this will protect the rights of all parties concerned – for residents to smoke at home as well as non-smokers and neighbours to protect their health. In fact, this proposal provides the non-smoker the added option of closing their windows or doors.

I understand that while such a policy does not completely eliminate the impact of second-hand smoke, it can however significantly reduce the impact of smoke experienced by residents living next to a smoker neighbour. Importantly, this proposal is a balanced approach that draws a line and recognises the need for both sides and not just the party whose health is being endangered to play their part. It will also go a long way towards reducing the tension between neighbours as our living spaces become more compact. This will be yet another step taken in the right direction that does not add to the complexity of existing enforcement measures. I hope Minister Grace Fu will study this and consider amending the regulations in future to address this environmental health issue that is at the heart of many HDB and condominium residents. In Mandarin, please.

(In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] The COVID-19 pandemic has made us to be more concerned about our health. I support the timely amendment to the Bill to raise the hygiene standards of pre-schools, eldercare centres as well as swimming pools, water playground and the central air-conditioning systems, as well as to state clearly the responsibilities of premises managers. This is to better protect the health of our people and giving them peace of mind. I fully support this amendment.

At the same time, as a result of the pandemic, more people are working from home, including many smokers. Recently, many residents complained that second-hand smoke from their neighbours have forced them to close their doors and windows, which they felt was unfair.

I hope the Government will pay more attention to the health hazards of passive smoking. I think a feasible way is to require smokers to close their doors and windows when they smoke at home, so that their right to smoke will not be affected, and the health of their neighbours will be protected.

At the same time, this recommendation is in line with the NEA requirement for in-car smoking. Hotels have a similar practice for in-room smoking. Simple window closures will protect your health. I hope that NEA will study the feasibility on the suggestion in depth.

(In English): In conclusion, the new policies in this amendment will give residents greater peace of mind. In the longer term, this will be a significant boost to the environmental public health of all in Singapore. Sir, I support the Bill.

Mr Deputy Speaker: Mr Shawn Huang.

5.41 pm

Mr Shawn Huang Wei Zhong (Jurong): Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I stand in support of this amendment. Singapore must quickly fulfil the critical requirements to enable us to safely reopen our hub to the region and the world. It requires proper planning and implementation regimes to safeguard us from the spread of COVID and future pandemics.

We must also inculcate basic public health sanitation habits as part of our culture and DNA. It has to become our way of life. It is not solely the responsibility of the business owner or the manager of the premises. This is our shared responsibility to safeguard one another.

For this amendment, I would like to highlight that we will should also consider the impact and opportunities for SMEs and the environmental sanitation industry.

SMEs of specific premises will need to incorporate these new ECC/ECO requirements as additional compliance costs. SMEs may find it challenging due to their limited resources and limited manpower. Many are already managing different roles. In this climate, SMEs are doing their best to sustain their core businesses and protect the livelihood of workers. However, SMEs also understand the importance of these measures. A phased approach is needed to help SMEs implement these regulatory requirements to gradually achieve the required standards.

In the near term, we must ensure that there are sufficient resources for ECCs and ECOs to get trained, certified and avoid down time. There must also be sufficient sanitation service providers to ensure that it is priced competitively to help manage the operating cost of SMEs.

Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, in Mandarin, please.

(In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] SMEs have limited financial and human resources, which is a challenge for them. Many companies are already managing multiple roles. In this difficult economic environment, SMEs are doing their best to sustain their businesses and protect workers' livelihoods.

However, SMEs also recognise the importance of these measures. We should help our SMEs meet this new requirement. A phased approach is needed to help SMEs implement these regulatory requirements to meet the required standards.

In the near term, we must ensure that there are sufficient resources to train and certify ECO and ECCs to avoid work stoppage. There must also be sufficient sanitation service providers to ensure that prices are reasonable and help SMEs manage costs.

(In English): Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, in English, please.

Can I ask the Minister what measures will be taken to reduce bottlenecks during implementation and avoid unnecessary downtime for businesses? And what are the estimated annual costs and expected downtime for hawker centres, kopitiams, neighbourhood markets and small neighbourhood merchants?

With the limited manpower in Singapore, we must also be cognisant of how we help Singaporeans develop their full potential as they take on new roles. These skills must be multi-disciplinary, transferrable and relevant to a broad set of job opportunities. This is opportune to the industry to chart expertise development, career progression roadmaps and transferrable skills laterally and vertically within the sanitation and public health eco-system.

The training and upskilling of new coordinators and officers should be steeped in the understanding of business, law, science and technology. It should be a journey of building expertise and in the spirit of strengthening Singapore's resilience and relevance.

We need to make sure that no one gets left behind. We must design progressive steps for everyone to feel confident to have the capacity to build expertise and skills as a way of life.

We must remember that though it is important to safeguard and enforce higher standards of public health and sanitation, we must not forget that every step must be to build a stronger, more confident and competitive Singaporean workforce that is agile and competent. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I support the Bill.

Mr Deputy Speaker: Ms Poh Li San.

5.47 pm

Ms Poh Li San (Sembawang): Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I rise in support of the Environmental Public Health (Amendment) Bill.

I am in agreement with Minister for Sustainability and Environment, Ms Grace Fu, that "we need to strengthen Singapore's environmental public health resilience, to safeguard Singaporeans against the current pandemic and dengue outbreak, as well as future public health threats".

We must not further delay the important step in raising cleaning standards. According to a recent study by SMU, the cleanliness of our toilets has regressed compared to 2016. These invisible bacteria and viruses in the toilets are quite hardy unless they are being neutralised by disinfectants regularly. Frequent habits, such as using mobile phones while in the toilets, further exacerbate the transmission of diseases beyond the washroom. Hence, if the dirtiest places can be kept clean and generally germ-free, infectious disease transmission can be well-controlled at source.

I would like to touch on the importance of public education. It is common knowledge that when it is everybody's problem, then fewer people will act on it. Many public washrooms, especially in hawker centres and coffee shops, are not well kept. Unfortunately, there are many irresponsible culprits who reflect poor civic responsibility and leave the responsibility of cleaning up to the many senior uncles and aunties who have to clean for a living. It is only common sense that, even with the EPHA, it would be an uphill battle if users are irresponsible.

Another case of irresponsible people. Two weeks ago, during my house visit, I spoke with a resident who has worked for many years as a cleaner for Sembawang Town Council. This resident shared with me that it is very frustrating for him to keep cleaning the mess left all over the place. Items, such as empty beer cans and cigarette boxes, are often thrown on the basketball courts.

Good practices start at home and in schools. I recall when I was in Primary school, my school mates and I have toilet cleaning duties during our school camps. It was a little humbling at first but, after a while, we learnt to master the techniques of using different brushes and detergents for different locations. Till now, I continue using these skills I learnt in school and I will always keep my toilets at home sparkling clean. It may be a good idea to start training our younger ones from a tender age, so that they maintain these good habits into adulthood.

Let us all do our part and be more civic-minded when using the public toilets and consider the 59,000 cleaners who are already past 60 years old. Let us also consider who will be replacing these uncles and aunties once they stop working.

Next, I would like to touch on the amendments to strengthen environmental sanitation controls in premises. These premises apply to five categories with high footfall and immune-vulnerable occupants. They are childcare facilities, schools and youth facilities, eldercare facilities, hawker centres and coffee shops.

I would like to propose that we include sports facilities as a sixth category. Gyms, studios, sports halls and so on of all sizes and for various sports, during pre-COVID days, are often densely packed during the peak hours, with energetic sports enthusiasts who are frequently soaked in profuse perspiration after a good workout.

According to a 2014 study by the School of Public Health at University of Memphis, gym equipment can be dirtier than a toilet seat. For instance, free weights were found to contain 362 times more germs than toilet seats. Many of these sports venues, especially the gyms and studios, are enclosed within an air-conditioned environment, with no natural ventilation. The washrooms and shower facilities are also often packed, especially during the morning and evening peak periods. There are inconsistencies in the housekeeping hygiene standards as some gyms and studios ensure thorough cleaning and some do not. Young and old alike, everyone goes to the gym to keep fit and not to fall ill from a bacteria or viral infection. Hence, I urge MSE to consider the inclusion of sporting facilities under the scope of the EPHA.

On this note, would it be effective or fair to foist the responsibility and accountability solely on premises managers?

Under the environmental sanitation regime, the Bill will require premises managers to assume the responsibility to meet the mandatory environmental sanitation standards and take greater ownership to proactively clean their premises through the implementation of a systematic and preventative cleaning routine.

In childcare, schools, nursing homes and even sports venues, the users do pay sufficient regular fees and these fees will allow the business owners to provide a reasonable standard of hygiene and cleanliness.

However, we need to look into the hawker centres and coffee shops. We need to ensure that these premises meet the environmental sanitation standards. Most public toilets no longer collect a fee to use the toilets and the amendments to EPHA must not result in a regressive step where patrons are then required to pay a fee for the use of the washrooms. So, we need to look into the inevitable additional manpower and higher costs. These cost increases may be passed on to the tenants and, in turn, to the patrons in the form of higher food prices.

To nurture a proactive "keep-clean culture", I would also suggest MSE consider a carrot-and-stick approach rather than just a stick approach. We could incentivise premises owners to consistently maintain a high standard of cleanliness and hygiene, by providing a clean property tax rebate. Dedicated efforts and focus must be taken to consistently score well on every inspection. I think incentives will go a long way to motivate both the premises owners and the cleaning crew to do more than just the bare minimum.

Another suggestion is to promote active citizenry in reporting venues with poor sanitation standards directly via an app to NEA. The public can be the eyes and ears on the ground to help NEA inspectors focus on premises that require their attention. The premises owners must be taken to task. In addition, perhaps NEA could consider an annual contest for the public to vote in the top three venues with the cleanest toilets into the Hall of Fame, as well as the worst three venues with the dirtiest toilets into the Hall of Shame. No one wants to belong to the latter, so such a contest may put some social pressure to keep premises owners motivated and this could possibly be more effective than summons and fines by NEA.

Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, notwithstanding the above-mentioned suggestions, I support the Bill.

Now, I would like to conclude the key points raised by the Government Parliamentary Committee in Mandarin.

(In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Mr Deputy Speaker, I shall now conclude the key points and suggestions raised by the MCE GPC in Mandarin.

First, we suggest the implementation of a cleanliness grading system and also an incentive system which will link to the premises licence renewal or property tax rebate, so as to encourage proactive control of hygiene standards. Premise owners can also consider implementing operation processes or additional equipment that will raise efficiency of cleaning. For example, coffee shop owners can consider implementing a more effective pest control solution or automated vacuum and washing equipment. In addition, F&B owners can also attract more patrons by maintaining a higher hygiene standard.

Secondly, our country must raise the social consciousness where "it is everyone's responsibility to maintain public hygiene". In schools, teachers should teach the students the good habits of maintaining hygiene and cleanliness. At home, parents should also encourage their children to partake in the household chores. In public, citizens should also maintain the cleanliness of surroundings, to reduce the reliance on our cleaners.

Third, we suggest that MSE to deeply consider if the Bill should also include other premises that may pose threats to public health, such as sports facilities and religious worship venues. The reason is that other than COVID-19, there could be other more deadly transmission diseases in future. Therefore, we should start now and prepare ourselves well, to prevent such horrible viruses from endangering precious lives.

Our country currently has approximately 59,000 cleaners. Amongst them, about 40,000 are locals and most of them are above 60 years old. Therefore, the courses for Environment Control Coordinator designated by Amendments to the Environmental Public Health Act Bill, should be conducted in languages understood by the senior cleaners. Otherwise, the cleaners may not understand the course contents and find themselves failing the course and in turn losing their jobs. In addition, we also encourage Singaporeans from all walks of life, to express their gratitude towards the cleaners for many years of hard work and their contribution in keeping Singapore clean.

Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, on behalf of the GPC for Sustainability and Environment, we support this Bill.

Mr Deputy Speaker: Minister Grace Fu.

5.59 pm

Ms Grace Fu Hai Yien: Mr Deputy Speaker, I thank Members for their broad support of the Bill. Their thoughtful comments and suggestions reflect the importance that we collectively place on preserving a clean and healthy environment for Singaporeans.

Members have raised pertinent points which can be broadly summarised as follows.

First, while the environmental sanitation regime focuses on Premises Managers taking responsibility for the cleanliness of their premises, we must also instill greater social responsibility for public hygiene, especially on the part of end-users.

Second, even as we lean on Premises Managers to take concrete steps to improve cleanliness, we must help them manage compliance costs.

Third, we must build on the capabilities of all key partners within the cleaning eco-system, including the cleaning industry, cleaners, Environmental Control Coordinators (ECCs) and Environmental Control Officers (ECOs).

I fully agree. Let me address the issues.

Miss Cheryl Chan, Mr Don Wee, Mr Gan Thiam Poh, Ms Nadia Samdin, Ms Poh Li San, Mr Desmond Choo, Mr Derrick Goh, Ms Joan Pereira, Ms He Ting Ru and Ms Raeesah Khan have spoken passionately about the need for shared responsibility for public cleanliness, especially on the part of consumers and end-users. Members called for a shift away from the mindset of not caring about public spaces or amenities, simply because it is not our own.

Building shared responsibility is a key thrust of our SG Clean movement. We are working with partner organisations and SG Clean Ambassadors to communicate simple yet important social norms on cleanliness, such as binning used tissues and litter, and returning one’s tray at hawker centres.

We have also been exploring the use of behavioural science approaches to shape habits, as suggested by Miss Cheryl Chan and Ms Poh Li San. NEA has piloted the use of visual and audio cues to nudge users to return their trays at hawker centres. Mr Gan Thiam Poh would be happy to know that this helped to increase tray return rates at Zion Riverside Food Centre and Adam Road Food Centre by 19 percentage points and 42 percentage points respectively.

NEA has also piloted behavioural nudges such as placing posters with normative and emotive messages, in strategic locations, to encourage users to keep public toilets clean and dry. We will continue to push on this front.

Let me now touch on how we will manage the regulatory impact on Premises Managers which several Members, including Ms Poh Li San and Mr Don Wee, have raised. We fully appreciate the concerns of businesses, especially in this difficult economic climate that we are in right now.

Premises Managers should view the enhanced measures as the best insurance against potentially much larger costs should an outbreak happen due to unsanitary conditions. Businesses benefit from having good environmental sanitation that protects the health of their customers, employees and, as one Member has mentioned, the chefs that are working at the premises. Conversely, lapses in public health can cost them dearly. The F&B outlets and childcare centres involved in the gastroenteritis outbreaks in 2018 and 2019 know this from first-hand experience.

Against the backdrop of COVID-19, businesses are prioritising cleanliness and hygiene as assurance to customers and to woo them back. Over 24,000 premises have acquired the SG Clean Quality Mark which provides a stamp of assurance to occupants that the premises are clean. So, cleanliness at this time fully reflects the importance of environmental sanitation and public hygiene.

From the outset, we have adopted a pragmatic approach to ensure adequate standards, while managing the impact on businesses. We have been working closely with sectoral leads, such as MOE, MSF, Early Childhood Development Agency and Singapore Food Agency or SFA to develop environmental sanitation standards that take into account the needs and constraints of each sector.

As an illustration, let me share how we are working with SFA and coffee shop owners to implement an environmental sanitation regime, while managing business costs for coffee shop owners.

NEA is working closely with coffee shop owners to put in place a regime that is practical and effective. The coffee shop owner who is the Premises Manager may appoint his outlet supervisor as the ECC. Some Members have voiced concerns about many of our elderly cleaners not being able to meet the needs or the standards required of an ECC. Let me assure Members that we are not expecting all cleaners to be trained in an ECC function. Every coffee shop needs only one person to be appointed as an ECC and that person can be an outlet supervisor, doing it as part of his or her function.

The outlet supervisor, after the requisite training, will have the competencies to tailor an appropriate environmental sanitation programme and I would say here it is tailoring because we will come up with a standard template that the different sectors can tailor to their own circumstances.

Smaller coffee shops may face more manpower constraints. We understand that. So, taking in their feedback, NEA will allow a few small coffee shop owners to collectively appoint one ECC for their premises, for economies of scale if they should require so or should they prefer to do so. Alternatively, the owner may double-up as the ECC.

The environmental sanitation programme will focus on key areas that impact public health. For example, it will lay out daily cleaning frequencies for high-touch surfaces, such as seats and table-tops, as well as public amenities such as toilets. There must also be thorough periodic cleaning of hard-to-reach areas such as ceiling beams and overhead fixtures which can harbour rats and birds.

The coffee shop owner will be required to conduct a comprehensive pest management survey periodically, say once every six months. Such inspections can surface defects for rectification, such as crevices to be sealed. The ECC will be trained in the basics of pest management so he can monitor pest management works. These preventive measures, coupled with good housekeeping, go a long way in tackling the root causes of the pest issues highlighted by Mr Gan Thiam Poh.

Let me assure Ms Nadia Samdin that we will provide sufficient lead time for stakeholders to adjust to the new regulations. In the first half of next year, NEA will refine the environmental sanitation standards in consultation with industry stakeholders, issue the Code of Practice, and train the ECCs. The training syllabus, which focuses on the basics of hygiene, is applicable to all sectors.

Implementation of the environmental sanitation regime will commence from mid-2021. We will start with a six-month advisory period for sectors to gradually adapt to the regulatory requirements, before enforcement begins. So, that would take us to the end of the year and we will start enforcing in 2022.

Ms Poh Li San and Ms Nadia Samdin have asked to roll out the environmental sanitation regime to other premises and Ms Raeesah Khan has also asked about the framework in deciding which sectors to go first. So, we will start with implementation at higher risk premises with immuno-vulnerable occupants such as eldercare and childcare facilities; premises with high footfall such as coffee shops and hawker centres; or premises with a history of outbreaks. We will consider their suggestions when extending the regime to other premises in subsequent phases. This is also in response to Mr Shawn Huang's suggestion that we should phase out the implementation so that there is time for capacity to be built into the industry.

Mr Don Wee, Mr Gan Thiam Poh, Ms Poh Li San, Ms Joan Pereira and Mr Shawn Huang raised concerns about the cost impact of enhanced cleaning requirements. We will help businesses, especially the small players, manage costs.

One area is manpower cost. We will allow flexibility for Premises Managers of small businesses to double up as ECCs. An ECC will be allowed to supervise cleaning works at a few branches or outlets as long as he is able to handle the workload.

We will also help Premises Managers improve infrastructure and capabilities to enhance cleanliness, such as through NEA’s Toilet Improvement Programme for coffee shops and hawker centres which Ms Joan Pereira might be interested in. We are also exploring with SkillsFuture Singapore or SSG on the possibility of subsidising training costs for ECCs and ECOs, a suggestion raised by Ms Nadia Samdin.

The third cluster of issues, which was raised by Mr Don Wee, Ms Nadia Samdin, Mr Louis Ng and Mr Desmond Choo, is about future-proofing the cleaning industry by raising capabilities and supporting the workers.

As Mr Don Wee pointed out, the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated manpower shortages in the cleaning industry. Indeed, the industry is a growth area in jobs. And we want existing jobs to expand in skills and productivity so that more Singaporeans can get better paying jobs in the cleaning industry. This gives a strong impetus to accelerate the pace of digitalisation and automation in the cleaning industry to enhance productivity. This is a key thrust under the Environmental Services Industry Transformation Map.

Cleaning companies have tapped on the enhanced Productivity Solutions Grant to adopt technology to overcome manpower constraints. As of 30 September 2020, NEA has approved 791 applications, with a total grant amount of $15.3 million.

We are seeing some results. Lionsbot, a local start-up which sells and rents out cleaning robots, has seen an increase in demand for their robots, with 80% more inquiries since the pandemic started. LionsBot will be building 300 autonomous cleaning robots and progessively deploying them across Singapore to scrub, mop, vacuum, sweep, shine and even transport cleaning equipment. The cleaning robots can be rented by cleaning companies on a subscription basis so they do not need to invest in ownership and maintenance.

We are also upskilling workers in the cleaning industry. Workforce Singapore, in partnership with NEA and the Environmental Management Association of Singapore, has rolled out a new Place-and-Train Programme for Cleaning Specialists for Disinfection Services in August 2020. This programme enables cleaners and jobseekers to reskill to take on the role of a cleaning specialist.

Local cleaners performing general cleaning duties can also upgrade themselves by enrolling into the Continuing Education and Training courses on environmental infection control, with up to 90% training subsidy from SSG. With enhanced skillsets, these individuals can take on more specialised and skilled job roles that offer better salaries and career prospects.

As Members rightly pointed out, we must ensure that workers are fairly rewarded and can make a decent living. All cleaning businesses are required to provide wages stipulated under the Progressive Wage Model or PWM. With enhancements to the PWM, real median monthly gross wages of full-time resident cleaners have increased by 26% from 2014 to 2019, higher than the workforce’s median of 21%.

Other measures are in place to ensure fair labour practices in the cleaning sector. MOM worked with tripartite partners to encourage premises to provide rest areas for outsourced workers like cleaners. In view of the COVID-19 situation, NEA and MOM worked with tripartite partners to advise service buyers and providers to ensure the safety and health of cleaners, manage their workload, and remunerate them appropriately for additional responsibilities.

The effectiveness of the environmental sanitation regime does not just depend on the cleaning industry; it also requires that ECCs and ECOs have the knowhow to assist the Premises Manager. Mr Louis Ng and Mr Desmond Choo have spoken on this.

Training for ECCs and ECOs will be customised to their needs and literacy levels as far as possible. For example, to cater for adult learners, the course does not stipulate educational qualifications and can accept trainees so long as ECCs can attain Workplace Literacy and Numeracy or WPLN Level 5 for reading, listening, speaking and writing. ECOs will require WPLN Level 7, or Level 6 with two years of relevant working experience. This basic proficiency is necessary, as the ECCs and ECOs need to learn how to develop an environmental sanitation programme and convey clear instructions to cleaners.

Mr Louis Ng asked if the training course for ECCs and ECOs can be conducted in more languages and are suitable for seniors. Initially, training will be conducted in English but NEA will review the need to offer the course in more languages, depending on the trainees’ needs.

Taking into account employers’ needs, NEA will work with training providers to make the training course as concise as possible without compromising quality, and will provide bite-sized information or pictorial guides where possible.

As we gradually extend the environmental sanitation regime to more premises, there will be greater demand for competent ECCs and ECOs. In the next few years, we expect to enhance up to 15,700 ECC and ECO jobs under the environmental sanitation regime.

Several Members, including Ms Poh Li San and Miss Cheryl Chan spoke about public toilets, and the importance of practising social responsibility in keeping them clean. Mr Louis Ng and Miss Cheryl Chan suggested introducing a cleanliness grading system for public toilets and tying it to licensing duration or fees for hawker centres and coffee shops.

This overall approach of education and enforcement is broadly in line with our multi-pronged strategy to improve public toilet cleanliness.

Our first strategy is to improve design and infrastructure. As part of this, NEA is reviewing requirements for proper toilet design in the Code of Practice on Environmental Health, setting up model toilets in hawker centres and supporting infrastructure upgrade under the Toilet Improvement Programme.

Second, NEA will step up surveillance and enforcement. Through the environmental sanitation regime, we will foster effective cleaning of toilets by mandating baseline standards. This is complemented by training programmes for toilet cleaners. We have also tightened penalties against toilet lapses since 1 April 2020 and NEA will continue with surveillance efforts through regular inspections.

Third, NEA will ramp up public education and promote good toilet etiquette. You may have heard of our recent Public Toilet Cleanliness Initiative, where NEA partnered the Restroom Association of Singapore to promote good toilet habits.

In line with Ms Poh Li San’s suggestion on involving citizens’ contribution, and Miss Cheryl Chan made a smiliar suggestion, we have installed feedback panels in some hawker centre toilets, to gain insights on users’ perceptions and make more targeted infrastructural improvements and cleaning efforts. We are rolling out more initiatives. So, do look out for the “Loo of the Future” Challenge to crowdsource for innovative toilet design ideas in the coming months.

On Mr Louis Ng and Miss Cheryl Chan’s suggestion of a cleanliness grading system, our primary focus for now is to support the premises in achieving a set of baseline environmental sanitation standards.

Nonetheless, SFA will be introducing a new licensing and recognition framework for food establishments which will require them to have good track records on food safety and cleanliness. Major lapses in toilet cleanliness could conceivably affect their licence duration, which means they will have to go through audits more frequently, if they have a shorter licence duration. This will motivate coffee shops to maintain good track records and uphold cleanliness in their premises.

Mr Deputy Speaker, let me conclude. Public hygiene has always been a priority for the Government, but we must do more following COVID-19. This Bill marks a new milestone to keep Singapore clean by placing greater accountability on Premises Managers to strengthen public hygiene in their premises.

Notwithstanding the focus of the Bill, Members have also spoken passionately and more broadly on a host of other environmental public health related matters, such as pest control, bird nuisance, tray return, smoking and littering. For better focus on the Bill, I will not address them one by one, specifically. These interrelated issues show that public health is multi-faceted and the solutions must also be multi-factorial.

This is why all users must play their part if we are to truly move the needle on public hygiene. While the Manager can keep his place clean and safe, individuals must take responsibility to maintain good personal hygiene. This is not just about safeguarding public health, but also building a more gracious society. In properly disposing of our used tissues for example, we help protect our cleaners, many of whom are elderly, from biohazards in their work environment so that they can work safely.

Ultimately, public hygiene is a collective responsibility. I ask everyone to work with us to make Singapore a truly clean and liveable home, and instil a national culture of cleanliness. Good public hygiene will help us get over the current pandemic and be better prepared for the next outbreak. We must do our utmost to keep Singapore safer and stronger. Mr Deputy Speaker, I would like to speak in Chinese.

(In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Public hygiene must remain our first line of defence against disease outbreaks. The SARS outbreak in 2003 claimed 33 lives. The gastroenteritis incidents between 2018 to 2019, which were linked to contaminated environments, affected more than 1,200 people. The COVID-19 pandemic we are facing will not be the last global pandemic that we have to face. Hence, we must sustain our efforts in ensuring a clean environment and maintaining good personal hygiene. This will safeguard public health, and protect lives.

The Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment has introduced the Environmental Public Health (Amendment) Bill, as part of our SG Clean movement.

Through these legislative changes, we will set minimum environmental sanitation standards for specific premises and make Premises Managers responsible for ensuring that these standards are met. We will progressively implement these standards from mid-2021, starting with higher-risk premises with immuno-vulnerable occupants, high footfall or a history of outbreaks, such as our preschools, schools, youth and eldercare facilities, hawker centres and coffee shops.

NEA will work with sector leads and industry partners in the coming months to co-develop these environmental sanitation standards applicable to their respective sectors and ensure that the standards are customised and fit for purpose. We are mindful of the operating and compliance costs to premises managers amidst the current global economic downturn and will adopt a pragmatic approach to ensure that the requirements are robust and effective against disease transmission, while managing the impact on businesses.

6.26 pm

Mr Deputy Speaker: If we could have a moment of your time. You are about to exceed 40 minutes. Therefore, I would invite Leader to come forward to request an extension of the Standing Orders.

Ms Grace Fu Hai Yien: Thank you very much, Mr Deputy Speaker.

Debate resumed.

6.27 pm

Ms Grace Fu Hai Yien: Thank you very much, Mr Deputy Speaker.

(In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] By raising overall standards for public hygiene, we also hope to create new jobs and upgrade existing ones. For example, with the introduction of the environmental sanitation regime, we will require premises managers to upskill existing workers and some larger enterprises may employ new workers. These workers will undergo technical training to develop, implement and monitor plans to raise cleanliness in line with the environmental sanitation standards.

While the Government puts in place these measures to improve public hygiene in Singapore, it is also important that all of us, as end-users, customers or patrons, also play our part. This means taking a little more effort to do some simple things, such as binning our litter, returning trays after dining, and practising good toilet etiquette. It also means having a mindset of consideration for cleaners, and the next person who uses the same public facilities. Let us build a gracious society, and make Singapore a truly clean and liveable home.

Question put, and agreed to.

Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House.

The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. – [Ms Grace Fu Hai Yien].

Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed.