Committee of Supply – Head S (Ministry of Manpower)

[Mr Speaker in the Chair]

Head S (cont) –

Resumption of Debate on Question [6 March 2025],

"That the total sum to be allocated for Head S of the Estimates be reduced by $100." – [Mr Desmond Choo].

Question again proposed.

10.33 am

The Chairman: Mr Louis Ng. Please take your two cuts together.

Cover Sexual Orientations and Gender Identities on TAFEP Website

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang (Nee Soon): Many in the LGBTQ+ community are relieved that Minister confirmed that discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity is covered under the Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices (TGFEP). This position is now reflected in Hansard on the Parliament website but strangely, not on the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP) website.

When someone faces discrimination or is handling a complaint about discrimination, do we really believe they will search the Parliament website on whether the discrimination is covered or will they search the TAFEP website?

It would mean the world to the LGBTQ+ community if the TAFEP website can finally explicitly state that discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity is covered under TGFEP, along with the other characteristics that TAFEP already lists on its website, including age, race, gender, religion, marital status and family responsibility.

Legislate Parent Care Leave

Next, many of us in this House have been fighting hard for parent care leave. We have been asking serious questions of why legislate childcare leave but not parent care leave. Are we signalling that looking after our children is more important than looking after our parents? Why provide parent care leave to all civil servants but not others? It cannot only be that civil servants need to look after their parents.

The Government has said repeatedly that we are an ageing population. The younger generation not only has to bear the tax burden but they will also need time to look after their parents, especially when they are ill. All Singaporeans need parent care leave and depend on us to legislate this so that all companies will provide parent care leave just like how childcare leave is provided and mandated.

Workplace Support for Caregivers

Miss Rachel Ong (West Coast): As companies enforce return-to-office measures, many caregivers, especially single adults supporting elderly parents and parents of children with severe disabilities, face growing uncertainty. For them, flexible work is not a convenience but a necessity for balancing caregiving and financial stability. Single caregivers form the backbone of informal caregiving, often juggling full-time jobs at the cost of career progression and retirement security. Some are even forced to leave the workforce entirely.

Since my 2022 speech on supporting single caregivers, we have seen progress. HDB now prioritises singles buying flats near elderly parents, and businesses must process flexible work requests, for which we are very grateful.

Yet, these policies fall short of guaranteeing approvals, leaving caregivers in limbo. Likewise, for parents of children with severe disabilities, flexible work is essential, not a preference. Without firm policies, many risk losing employment. How will the Government ensure that caregivers, especially singles supporting elderly parents and parents of children with disabilities, can remain in the workforce while meeting their caregiving responsibilities despite return-to-office mandates?

Updates on Tripartite Guidelines on Flexible Work Arrangement Requests

Ms Yeo Wan Ling (Pasir Ris-Punggol): Caregivers have shared that flexible work arrangements (FWAs) are their most preferred form of support in balancing work and caregiving. The launch of the Tripartite Guidelines on Flexible Work Arrangement Requests (TG-FWAR) in April 2024 is a significant milestone in this effort. These guidelines are designed to address the fact that every caregiver’s needs are unique, and that these needs may evolve depending on job requirements and business realities.

With more than 70% of Singapore companies already offering some form of FWAs, the focus going forward must be to normalise FWAs and the requests for them. FWAs implemented must be sustainable and create win-win outcomes for both employers and employees alike. Progressive practices, which include setting up clear outcome-based KPIs for employees, implementing more frequent and regular check-ins with staff, and upskilling or equipping human resources personnel with current FWA practices must also be encouraged. More resources must also be availed to lesser resourced small and medium enterprises (SMEs) on implementing programmes and policies for the long-term sustainability of FWAs.

Some progressive employers have started to work with the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) on the creation of employee attraction and retention programmes using FWAs, such as the NTUC C U Back at Work Programme (CUB). The CUB programme helps caregivers, especially women, return to work with flexible work options and flexible training schedules and, of course, an attractive pay package and, to date, we have placed close to 1,000 cubbies in the programme. We believe that the CUB and other FWA-centric programmes can be extended to help pregnant and/or single mothers to stay in the workforce and hope to expand the programme to cover such underserved segments of women and to include more professional, manager, executive and technician (PMET) roles.

I ask the Ministry for an update on the TG-FWAR and whether it can consider measuring its impact on women returning to work, given that employers and employees are not required to report outcomes. In addition, what can the Ministry do to support more flexible work opportunities to open employment options for more underserved segments of women, such as pregnant mothers, in a bid to promote more inclusive workspaces.

The Chairman: Senior Minister of State Koh Poh Koon.

The Senior Minister of State for Manpower (Dr Koh Poh Koon): Mr Chairman, I will now speak about the Ministry of Manpower's (MOM's) efforts to empower workers to build career health at all stages of their lives. I will touch on four groups: first, for the broad base of workers, we will help you build up your career health and resilience; second, for those who lose their jobs involuntarily, we will support you to bounce back into employment; third, for our senior workers, we will do more to uplift your productive longevity; fourth, for our migrant workers, we will continue to support and improve their well-being.

Our workers start from a good position. In the past year, we have enjoyed higher-than-expected economic growth and favourable labour market outcomes. Resident employment grew and median real income rose in 2024, reversing the previous year’s decline.

We must continue to embrace innovation so that workers can progress into better jobs and businesses can generate growth that uplifts all Singaporeans. We must also develop a future-ready workforce that can navigate changes in the job landscape and compete for good jobs.

Let me start with how we are supporting the broad base of workers to build their career health. Forward SG identified career agility and resilience as a key focus in our refreshed social compact. In this age of change and disruption, we need better awareness of our career prospects, keep our skills relevant, stay on top of the competition and seize new opportunities. To empower our workers to do so, we have launched Career Health SG, a nationwide initiative to help workers take charge of their careers and achieve their career aspirations.

How do we take charge of our career health? Well, just as we look after our physical health by eating healthily, exercising regularly and having periodic medical check-ups, we encourage all Singaporeans to take charge of their own career health through three simple steps.

First, assess. Just as we go for regular health screenings, we should regularly assess our career prospects and skillsets. Instead of waiting till something goes wrong, we should take proactive steps to identify our skills gaps and career opportunities.

Second, chart. Just as we develop exercise and diet routines, we should chart our career and training goals. We need to constantly review and update these career plans based on changes in the labour market and our stage of life.

Finally, execute. We need to act on our plans to seek better jobs, upgrade our skills and stay competitive in the job market.

So, assess, chart, execute – or ACE. By taking these three steps to take charge of one’s career health, we can ace our careers with better jobs, better wages and greater resilience.

To empower workers in this three-step journey, we are supporting our workers with jobs and skills insights to help them make informed training and career decisions. The CareersFinder feature on the MyCareersFuture portal is one example of this. CareersFinder harnesses Government data and artificial intelligence (AI) to provide workers with personalised guidance and recommendations for suitable jobs based on their skills and expertise, and training opportunities based on their career goals.

More than 55,000 individuals have used CareersFinder since its launch. We have seen encouraging signs of users broadening their job search horizons. Users have applied for a wider range of occupations, almost 40% more, after using CareersFinder.

Mr Gerald Giam highlighted the need to go beyond digital tools to support jobseekers with personalised and effective career coaching. For those who prefer in-person guidance, we have taken steps to make quality career guidance more accessible. We have piloted Polaris, where employed individuals can receive personalised career guidance from professionally certified career coaches.

Since November 2023, Polaris has benefited more than 620 individuals. Over 90% reported gaining clearer direction and higher confidence in planning their own careers. One such participant is Ms Joanne Wang, the Regional Head of Marketing at Timezone. At 39, Joanne signed up for Polaris to better plan for her career and improve her management skills. With advice from her WSG career coach, she decided to pick up professional coaching to further develop herself and her team. In doing so, she boosted her team performance and her own career satisfaction.

Jobseekers can also receive support from WSG’s Volunteer Career Advisors, who draw from their own industry expertise to provide peer-level support and career advisory. Under this initiative, individuals can receive sector- and occupation-specific insights to help them plan for their career or transition into new roles.

We also want to make quality career guidance even more accessible to all workers. Some may hesitate to go for career guidance because they are concerned about the cost and are uncertain about the quality of service providers.

Mr Patrick Tay and Mr Yip Hon Weng proposed to allow the use of SkillsFuture Credits for career coaching.

10.45 am

We are pleased to share that we have extended the use of the base tier of SkillsFuture Credits, which comprises the $500 opening credit and the one-off $500 top-up that was given in 2020, to all eligible career guidance services endorsed by Workforce Singapore (WSG). For a start, these credits can be used to offset Polaris' fees. The list of endorsed providers will be expanded progressively, to help workers access quality career guidance.

Beyond career guidance, Mr Gerald Giam also emphasised the importance of quality career matching services. As announced by the Prime Minister at the Budget, we will be expanding localised job matching to all Community Development Councils. This will enable jobseekers to find work near their homes to help them to balance work with personal commitments.

This will contribute to the diverse range of services in the employment facilitation landscape. These services support all jobseekers, including those returning after a career break. The services include: (a) career matching services offered by WSG’s Careers Connect, NTUC's Employment and Employability Institute (e2i) Career Centres, and Jobs and Skills Centres; as well as (b) services provided by WSG's appointed career-matching providers, like Ingeus and AKG.

WSG also works with employers to reskill and place individuals into good growth jobs under programmes, like the Career Conversion Programmes (CCPs) and Mid-Career Pathways Programme.

In 2024 alone, these programmes placed more than 56,000 jobseekers into jobs. Through these efforts, we hope to empower our workers to achieve their career goals. Workers must also play their part to proactively upkeep their skills, regularly review their career plans and seize good job opportunities at every stage of their careers.

Employers too, must play a role. Investing in career health is a win-win for employers and workers. Employers who do so can better attract and retain talent, sharpen their competitive edge and grow their businesses.

Assoc Prof Razwana Begum asked how we can support employers to promote lifelong learning and skills development for their employees.

The Government has continued to strengthen support for employers to invest in the career health of their workers, such as through WSG's CCPs. These programmes have resulted in tangible career outcomes for employees. A recent study by MOM economists found that the Place-and-Train CCPs increased participants' wages by more than 2% in the year of placement, with the impact rising to over 6% in the subsequent years. Participants also improved their employment retention compared to non-participants.

This shows that our efforts to reskill workers have an extended, positive impact on their wages and career longevity.

Beyond supporting employers, we are also working hand-in-hand with employers to co-develop effective solutions. Last year, MOM and the Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF) concluded the Alliance for Action (AfA) on Widening Access to Talent, which worked with businesses, and trade associations and chambers to develop practical solutions for skills-based hiring and workforce agility.

A key recommendation was to build employers' capabilities to guide employees in developing their skills and careers. This entailed providing resources for employers to engage their employees in meaningful career development conversations. In line with this recommendation, WSG has been piloting workshops for human resource (HR) professionals and line managers, to equip them to implement better-structured career conversations in their own organisations.

The AfA also found that employers who implemented an internal marketplace to support talent visibility and internal mobility better retained talent. One of the AfA member firms, Salesforce, introduced a Talent Community Platform with personalised career recommendations, training and resources for employees to navigate career paths within the company. As a result, Salesforce enjoyed higher talent retention amidst fierce competition, with their employees better able to plan for their careers and upkeep their skills.

MOM is working closely with tripartite and industry partners on resources to enable more employers, especially our SMEs, to implement their own internal marketplaces.

For employers to implement these recommendations successfully, they will need to strengthen their HR to move beyond support functions to play a more strategic role in championing workforce transformation. This means taking proactive steps to identify critical and emerging skills, and charting plans to fill those gaps in their companies through hiring and workforce development. Employers can tap on resources by the Institute for Human Resource Professionals, such as their job redesign playbook, to meet these increased demands on HR.

We will continue to support employers to strengthen HR capabilities under the Tripartite Workgroup on Human Capital Capability Development that the Minister just announced.

We will need the strong support of employers to uplift the career health of our workers and will continue to explore new ways to enable employers to do this while meeting their business needs. For example, MOM and SkillsFuture Singapore rolled out the Careers and Skills Passport, and are working with partners, like JobStreet, to use Government-verified jobs and skills data to facilitate job application and hiring. We encourage HR practitioners to tap on these initiatives to better understand their employees' skills profile. This will support training, development and deployment, and better support your business growth.

Few countries have invested in such a holistic and integrated set of efforts to support career planning and workforce development. This underscores our continued commitment to empower Singaporeans to thrive amid economic uncertainty.

Even as our workers build their career health and make progress along their career plans, life, unfortunately, can present curveballs. In a more volatile economic environment, more may face career disruptions due to factors beyond one's control. Therefore, to empower those who lose their jobs involuntarily to bounce back into employment, the Prime Minister announced the SkillsFuture Jobseeker Support scheme (JS scheme) last year.

The JS scheme is not just a safety net that stops one from falling but is instead designed to act as a trampoline that helps one to bounce back. Together with other SkillsFuture programmes, the JS scheme helps individuals better navigate their job search to regain employment, instead of rushing into ill-fitting jobs due to immediate financial pressures.

The JS scheme targets lower- and middle-income workers, and will provide eligible jobseekers with financial support of up to $6,000 over six months. This will help them to get through setbacks and bounce back stronger.

We will be setting aside more than $200 million for the scheme and expect around 60,000 individuals to be eligible for the scheme each year. This accounts for more than 60% of those involuntarily unemployed.

During my time as Deputy Secretary-General in the Labour Movement, I encountered brothers and sisters who faced retrenchment. Being retrenched can have a profound emotional impact, often triggering a mix of shock, fear, anger and even shame. Many shared with me that they experienced a deep sense of loss, not just of job or income but also of identity and purpose. Some may feel a loss of self-worth, especially if their job was tied closely to their sense of identity.

During our Forward Singapore conversations, participants shared that instead of just giving handouts, a well-structured job seeking process that provides professional career facilitation support can help them regain their confidence as they navigate the job market. The JS Scheme is therefore more than just financial payouts and a job. It includes a simple and easy framework to guide jobseekers along the activities that they should embark on, to equip themselves to find a job and re-enter the working world with confidence. This framework, called the "jobseeker support activities-based system", will guide our jobseekers towards re-employment.

Mr Yip Hon Weng and Mr Patrick Tay asked for more details on what the activities-based system will entail. With your permission, Mr Chairman, may I ask the Clerks to distribute a handout illustrating how this system will work.

The Chairman: Please go ahead. [A handout was distributed to hon Members.]

Dr Koh Poh Koon: Members may also access these materials through the MP@SGPARL App. As Members can see, jobseekers will be guided to complete meaningful activities like attending a career fair, updating their resume and going for career coaching. We have carefully curated these activities based on user research with jobseekers. Jobseekers have shared with us that the framework is useful in helping them to regain employment.

This activities-based system is also designed to ensure that jobseekers do not have to go through this journey alone. They can tap on WSG's resources and speak to WSG's career coaches, allowing them to benefit from professional guidance. Through these touchpoints, jobseekers will be more assured that they are on the right track to re-entering employment.

As jobseekers embark on these activities as part of their job search journey, we hope to build up their confidence. And when jobseekers eventually return to work, we hope they will regain their sense of identity and self-worth.

Let me illustrate how the JS scheme will work. Take Mr Lim, who is retrenched from his job due to company restructuring. The Taskforce for Responsible Retrenchment and Employment Facilitation makes concerted efforts to reach out to all affected retrenched workers, such as Mr Lim, to offer career matching services. Through this, Mr Lim books an appointment with a WSG career coach who provides him with advice on job applications based on his skills. He also applies and joins the JS scheme following the advice from his career coach.

During this period, Mr Lim makes use of the comprehensive employment facilitation support offered under the scheme, such as career coaching, SkillsFuture courses and career fairs. He also updates his resume and applies for jobs that match his skills, including those in less familiar roles or sectors.

By making good use of the comprehensive support under the activities-based system, Mr Lim receives the guidance and financial support needed to build up his career health and bounce back into a well-fitting job. Equipped with new skills and having found a new job, Mr Lim regains his sense of purpose and self-worth.

Throughout the process, Mr Lim is also able to focus on rebuilding his career, as the JS scheme provides him temporary financial support of up to $6,000 over six months. But I want to emphasise that the JS scheme should not be viewed in isolation. The Government, in fact, has in place various other schemes to provide financial support for those undergoing substantial reskilling or experiencing financial hardships.

For example, if Mr Lim enrols in long-form training while job searching, he can apply for both the JS scheme and the SkillsFuture Level-up Programme. Over a six-month period, he will receive up to $21,000, comprising $15,000 of training allowance and $6,000 of JS scheme support.

Jobseekers from households with financial difficulties may also receive additional social assistance from ComCare based on their needs.

The JS scheme will be launched in mid-April 2025 and WSG will be sharing more information on the application process ahead of its launch. Involuntarily unemployed individuals can also visit WSG and NTUC e2i's centres island-wide for support in their job search.

The JS scheme will be an added boost to Singapore's ecosystem of support for unemployed individuals, empowering them to take ownership in navigating a difficult chapter of their lives, to emerge with better outcomes. The key is providing jobseekers with financial assistance, complemented by a robust ecosystem of training and employment facilitation support. This way, we can strengthen our workers' career health and their longer-term prospects, and help them to rebuild their confidence to pursue better jobs and make bolder career moves.

This is part of our desired social compact, where the Government will support you through difficult times, while you take personal responsibility and make an effort to overcome career setbacks and bounce back stronger. Together, we will get through every setback.

Sir, let me now speak about our senior workers, a group that has dedicated their lives to nation-building and deserve special attention. Our population is ageing, and seniors today are living longer and healthier lives. We want to enable seniors to continue working if they wish to, so that they can contribute their expertise and accumulate more savings for retirement. This will also help employers meet manpower needs in a tight labour market.

Our policies over the past decade have paved the way for seniors to work longer. Last year, we announced that the retirement and re-employment ages will be raised to 64 and 69 respectively in 2026. This keeps us on track to meet our eventual goal of raising them to 65 and 70 respectively by 2030.

I am heartened that our Government and tripartite partners are taking the lead to implement the increases ahead of the national schedule. The Public Service and NTUC will be raising their retirement and re-employment ages to 64 and 69 this year, and SNEF has implemented the eventual goal of 65 and 70 since 2021. I encourage all employers to start preparing for next year's increases.

As seniors work, we will also help them save more for retirement. Since 2022, we have been implementing the Tripartite Workgroup on Older Workers' recommendation to increase Central Provident Fund (CPF) contribution rates for senior workers.

As the Prime Minister had announced at the Budget, the CPF contribution rates for those aged above 55 to 65 will increase further by 1.5 percentage points in 2026. At the same time, the Government will extend the CPF Transition Offset for another year. This will help ease the transition for employers by covering half of the increase in employer contributions for 2026.

11.00 am

We will continue to enhance our current measures to enable our seniors to work longer. Today, the Senior Employment Credit provides up to 7% in wage offsets to employers who hire Singaporeans aged 60 and above earning below $4,000 a month. Since its introduction in 2021, more than 117,000 employers have benefited from the scheme, hiring over 514,000 senior workers, and around $1 billion has been disbursed.

As the Prime Minister announced at Budget, we will extend the Senior Employment Credit by one year to 2026. In line with the increase in the re-employment age to 69 in 2026, the qualifying age for the highest Senior Employment Credit wage support tier of 7% will also be raised to 69, up from 68 today. We hope this assures employers that the Government will support you to prepare for our ageing workforce.

Our efforts to help seniors extend their career runways have paid off. Our labour force participation rate for those aged 60 to 69 was 59.7% in 2024, up from 55.8% in 2019. We are proud to rank alongside the top five Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries.

But there is more that can be done. Today, seniors are leaving the labour force before 65, with many leaving in their 50s. Our labour force participation rate falls from 86% for those aged 50 to 54, to 67.9% for those aged 60 to 64, a stark decrease of about 18 percentage points.

This is due to various reasons. Some wish to slow down and focus on family or personal commitments. Others have not worked for some time and may need to refresh their skills to return to the workforce.

Mr Yip Hon Weng and Mr Sharael Taha have highlighted that all stakeholders must play their part to effect broader societal shifts to support senior employment. Workers will need to embrace career changes over longer working lives. Employers will need to redesign jobs and build capabilities for a multi-generational workforce. The Government will enable these shifts by working with our tripartite partners to develop targeted measures to drive senior employment.

This is the impetus behind the Tripartite Workgroup on Senior Employment, which I will be chairing alongside NTUC Deputy Secretary-General and Senior Minister of State Desmond Tan and SNEF's Vice President Ms Tan Hwee Bin. As announced by the Prime Minister at Budget, this will be a significant tripartite effort to review and refresh our approach towards senior employment. It signals our tripartite commitment to co-creating solutions that meet the needs of workers and employers.

The Workgroup will focus on two key objectives. First, to empower senior workers to be productive and employable. With longer working lives, workers will need to continually upkeep their skills and remain open to trying new things in their late-stage careers. Mr Desmond Choo and Mr Xie Yao Quan asked about what more we can do to train and place our senior workers. Through the Workgroup, we will study better tailoring such services to suit seniors' preferences and needs. For a start, WSG and its partners will provide targeted career guidance workshops for seniors to help them better plan for their later-stage careers.

Second, to promote age-friendly jobs and multi-generational workplaces. We want to support multi-stage careers, where workers can adjust their workload based on their needs and aspirations. For example, Mr Desmond Choo and Mr Mark Lee suggested to scale up job redesign and fractionalised work that caters to senior workers. We will explore these ideas and much more under the Workgroup.

To kickstart this journey, the Workgroup will convene an Alliance for Action (AfA) on Empowering Multi-Stage Careers for Mature Workers. This AfA will bring together diverse stakeholders to co-create new ideas and pilot innovative ways to make workplaces more age-friendly. This echoes Mr Sharael Taha's point on going beyond schemes to shift workplace culture. Instead of adopting a top-down approach, we want to take each step in collaboration with our stakeholders, so that positive change can truly take root and bear fruit.

The AfA will work towards two goals. First, we will engage citizens from all walks of life to develop insights on the challenges and opportunities of an ageing workforce. We will hear from current and future seniors, as well as management and HR professionals representing employers of different sizes and sectors. By engaging widely, we can hear directly from stakeholders and build an enduring social compact together.

Second, we will work closely with employers to prototype innovative solutions to better support senior employment. Participating employers will receive funding and consultancy support to develop new models customised to their business needs. We will be opening applications to join the AfA soon, and I encourage all interested employers to sign up and be pathfinders for your industries. In turn, the insights from the AfA will inform our approach towards senior employment.

Mr Chairman, allow me to say a few words in Mandarin.

(In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Since 2022, we have been gradually increasing CPF contribution rates for senior workers to help them save more for retirement. In 2026, the CPF contribution rates for those aged above 55 to 65 will increase by 1.5%. To help ease the transition for employers, we will also extend the CPF Transition Offset scheme for one year, which will cover half of the increase in employer contributions for 2026.

To better empower seniors who wish to continue working, we will set up a Tripartite Workgroup on Senior Employment this year, to review and refresh our senior employment policies. We will engage citizens and employers to better understand the challenges of an ageing workforce and identify ways to better harness the potential of senior workers. We will also pilot new ideas to enable senior workers to continue contributing at their desired pace.

(In English): Sir, another group we want to support is our migrant workers. We have made significant moves to improve their well-being in recent years.

Mr Louis Ng suggested increasing penalties for employment kickbacks. The collection of kickbacks is a serious offence, which MOM takes a firm stance against. The Ministry will not hesitate to press for the maximum penalties if a case warrants it. To date, the Courts have imposed substantial fines of $10,000 to $15,000 per charge or imprisonment terms.

On top of these penalties, the Courts will order offenders to surrender the monies they received from the affected worker if no restitution can be made. This ensures that offenders cannot retain the illegal kickbacks. We will continue to work closely with our stakeholders to stamp out kickbacks and ensure that our migrant workers are treated fairly.

Mr Chairman, in conclusion, the Government will be implementing several measures to empower Singaporeans of all walks of life to build their career health and seize good job opportunities. We will uplift different segments of our workforce so that no one is left behind.

We will continue to work closely with our tripartite partners and other stakeholders to develop a competitive workforce and support employers in their business growth. Together, we can sustain our economic growth and build a shared future for all Singaporeans.

The Chairman: Senior Minister of State Zaqy Mohamad.

The Senior Minister of State for Manpower (Mr Zaqy Mohamad): With your permission, Mr Chairman, may I ask the Clerks to distribute the handout detailing our efforts to support lower-wage workers? Members may also access these materials through the MP@SGPARL app.

The Chairman: Yes, go ahead. [A handout was distributed to hon Members.]

Mr Zaqy Mohamad: Thank you. Mr Chairman, for many years, tripartism has been the critical success factor to raising the incomes and skills of our lower-wage workers. This helps narrow the gap with the median and, at the same time, keeps this sustainable for businesses.

How has Singapore achieved this? Under the Progressive Wage Model (PWM), which was introduced in 2014, wage requirements are negotiated by tripartite consensus among unions, employees, employers and the Government. This results in meaningful wage increases for our lower-wage workers. Increases are set at a pace that is sustainable for employers and mapped out over a period, which gives predictability for contracting and business planning.

What does this mean for Singapore's workers and businesses and why does PWM work? PWM works because we do not just rely on a minimum wage line to boost wages – but we rely on PWMs that boost wages for workers across different sectors and occupations.

Negotiated PWMs are impactful because we can optimise wage increments in different sectors, taking into consideration workforce productivity, sectoral growth and business transformation. From a holistic perspective, this means that we can maximise the wage growth potential of different sectors, such as security, waste management and others, and help our workers and their wages to grow.

PWM is not just about wages. It is also about mapping out skills and career pathways. This supports productivity improvements and provides workers with progression prospects.

Collectively, PWM sets the pace for wage growth, with Local Qualifying Salary (LQS) shoring up as our last line. We have a progressive and sustainable system, one that works, unlike a traditional minimum wage system. PWMs form a network of ladders in the ecosystem, leading the way to improve the wage outcomes for our lower-wage workers.

Tripartism is, therefore, our "secret sauce" in providing that balance that, in doing so, we keep businesses sustainable, so that they can continue to hire workers and can sustain their wage growth over time.

We cannot take this balance for granted, nor should allow politics to take over and start auctioning minimum wage levels. We have seen how this has played out in many countries – a blunt minimum wage line determined by politics, or rather, auctioned by politics just to win elections.

Some are unsustainable and fail to be implemented; others are pushed through but the industry cannot keep pace. So, businesses just hire fewer workers or reduce their work hours. So, businesses lose out and workers lose out. Our tripartite partners are keenly aware of these drawbacks and therefore, for PWM, we negotiate outcomes in the best interests of our people's livelihoods and a sustainable economy.

In fact, why offer our Singapore lower-wage workers the minimum when they can already benefit from progressive wages today? Minimum versus progressive. Our suite of Progressive Wage measures – the PWM, LQS and the Progressive Wage Mark accreditation scheme – now benefit up to nine in 10 lower-wage workers today.

Mr Melvin Yong asked about the impact of our efforts and I am proud to share that our tripartite efforts have yielded good, tangible outcomes. Lower-wage workers have consistently seen strong wage growth.

From 2019 to 2024, real wages at the 20th percentile rose cumulatively by 5.9%, higher than the median worker at 3.6%. If Members will refer to the handout distributed, our Lower-wage Workers Chart, you will find a chart of all of our lower-wage workers' wage growth that is coming up, in the coming years, especially in the different sectors.

And for sectors like security, for example, we have seen very good and strong progress. When it started in 2016, the PWM requirement was $1,300. Today, it is $2,870 and, by 2028, our security officers will have a minimum PWM markline of $3,530. That, I think, shows how progressive PWM is today.

It means that even though costs of living rose, the wages of our lower-wage workers rose even more. So, the wage gap between lower-wage workers and the median worker is also narrowing, even while median wages continue to rise.

In fact, a big part of this growth took place in the last three years, when tripartite partners agreed to expand PWM to three additional sectors and to two additional occupations. In the Department of Statistics' (DOS') latest report, income inequality in Singapore, as measured by the Gini coefficient, has declined steadily over the last decade. So, this bucks the trend, compared to many other countries where income wage gaps are widening. Here, we have seen the Gini coefficient reduced and I would like to think that PWM had played a role in this, too.

Sir, household income per member has also risen in real terms for households in the lowest 20% income group. So, I am hopeful that this will continue in the coming years. And this is a reflection of the tripartite partners' relentless efforts – our partners from the union, our partners from the employers, and as well as partners from the Government – for their unwavering commitment. I would like to applaud everyone involved for their contributions.

Besides tripartite partners to drive wage growth, the Government also provides lower-wage workers with additional support through the Workfare Income Supplement (WIS) Scheme, what we typically know as Workfare, and we have enhanced this further.

From January 2025, the qualifying monthly income cap for WIS has been increased from $2,500 to $3,000. And this ensures that WIS continues to help workers in the bottom 20th income percentiles, with some support for those slightly above.

WIS payments have also been increased. The maximum payment has been raised to $4,900 per year, up from $4,200. Those aged 60 and above will benefit from this highest payment tier, as well as persons with disabilities, regardless of age. WIS payments for all other age groups have also been increased. These enhancements to WIS will benefit about half a million lower-wage workers. In fact, in total, WIS payments will increase to $1.4 billion in 2025.

The Government will continue to work with tripartite partners to help lower-wage workers strengthen their wage and employment outcomes.

Mr Melvin Yong would be happy to hear that the tripartite partners are currently studying the expansion of PWM to the Pest Management sector and will provide more details in due course.

11.15 pm

Above all, as Mr Edward Chia, Mr Fahmi Aliman and Mr Neil Parekh highlighted, the key to raising wages sustainably over the long term is for both workers and businesses to become more productive. Businesses must transform low-wage jobs for higher value-add and improve the efficiency of their operations. At the same time, with better jobs created, there will be demand for new skillsets and competencies. Workers will need to upskill to seize these opportunities and we will step up our efforts to help them do so.

Since 2010, the Government has been supporting low-wage workers in their upskilling journey through the Workfare Skills Support scheme, or WSS. Currently, WSS is targeted at short courses that can be completed over a few days. It covers the opportunity costs of training for low-wage workers aged 30 and above. For example, those pursuing training on their own receive a training allowance of $6 per hour. However, low-wage workers stand to benefit more from long-form courses that provide more robust upskilling and reskilling, which are associated with more significant wage increments.

The challenge, of course, is that these take longer and the opportunity cost for low-wage workers is, therefore, also higher. As announced at Budget, we will enhance WSS by introducing a new tier of support in the form of WSS (Level-Up). This is targeted at helping low-wage workers who wish to pursue long-form training. Taking reference from the SkillsFuture Level-Up Programme, WSS (Level-Up) will provide low-wage workers who pursue long-form training with substantially higher training allowance, to cover the higher opportunity costs.

Full-time trainees will receive a monthly allowance set at 50% of their average monthly income based on the latest available 12-month period, and this, with a minimum monthly allowance of $300. Part-time trainees will receive a fixed monthly allowance of $300. This will benefit workers aged 30 and above, earning up to $3,000 per month. So, effectively, WSS (Level-Up) trainees will receive up to $18,000 per year for full-time training and up to $3,600 per year for part-time training. This is more than three times higher than the training allowance currently provided by WSS.

We also recognise that workers in lower-wage jobs may need more bouts of long-form training across their career stages. This is to acquire the necessary skills for more complex job roles, or pivot to new sectors. Hence, WSS (Level-Up) will cover up to 24 months of long-form training done before the age of 40 and another 24 months of long-form training after the age of 40.

WSS (Level-Up) will be rolled out from early 2026. I would like to assure Ms Mariam Jaafar and Mr Don Wee that we will work with tripartite partners to raise awareness of WSS (Level-Up) and help low-wage workers navigate their upskilling journeys. We will provide more details later this year. Ms Mariam Jaafar also asked if there are plans to extend WSS to low-wage workers aged 25 and over. We will keep this suggestion in mind, but at the same time, there are no plans to do so, as there are other schemes that younger workers can tap on, such as the ITE Progression Award and SkillsFuture Credit.

For low-wage workers to put their newly acquired skills to good use, businesses must also transform low-wage jobs for higher value-add and refine their processes for higher productivity. So, upskilling is just one half of the equation. There has been encouraging progress on the business front. In the retail and food services sector, businesses are adopting technological solutions, such as self-service systems and RFID inventory management. So, instead of routine tasks, retail workers can take on more diversified and higher-skilled jobs.

In outsourced sectors, such as cleaning, security and waste management, service providers are adopting robots and Internet-of-Things (IoT) solutions to reduce reliance on labour-intensive operations. So, existing workers can then be retrained and deployed to higher-value roles. The Government understands that it takes time for workers to upskill and for businesses to transform.

In the near term, businesses are also concerned about manpower costs. I would like to assure Ms Yeo Wan Ling that the Government fully recognises these concerns. We recognise that uplifting our low-wage workers will lead to some increases in manpower costs. But in a typical business organisation, low-wage workers account for a relatively modest share of businesses' overall manpower costs. They constitute only about one-fifth of our resident workforce and their wages are relatively lower to begin with. Nonetheless, we hear employers' concerns over the broader cost pressures.

As outlined by the Prime Minister at Budget, we are enhancing the Progressive Wage Credit Scheme (PWCS) support for businesses. We will raise Government's co-funding of wage increases to low-wage workers from 30% to 40% in 2025 and from 15% to 20% in 2026. This builds on three earlier rounds of PWCS enhancements.

In fact, since 2022, the Government has co-funded the majority of wage increases given to low-wage workers and this was added up to 75% and 50% in previous years. For wage increases given in 2022 and 2023, the Government has already disbursed $2.7 billion of PWCS. These co-funded wage increases were given to more than 520,000 employees by over 90,000 employers.

The upcoming PWCS enhancements will continue to provide short-term relief, but I strongly encourage employers to make use of this opportunity to accelerate your transformation, so that we can uplift low-wage workers sustainably over the long term.

Chairman, we have made good progress so far, but we must press on with our efforts to uplift low-wage workers. We must all work together to reduce income inequality, which can cause risks in society if left unchecked. The work continues ahead of us. Over the next two years, the tripartite partners will be negotiating the next bound of wage schedules for the PWMs. The Government has laid the groundwork for this through PWCS, which supports business transformation efforts and brings some relief to cost pressures. We hope that employers and consumers, too, will play their part in uplifting our low-wage workers.

Chairman, as we uplift the livelihood of our workers, we must also safeguard their lives. Our performance for Workplace Safety and Health (WSH), has improved over the years. Over the past five years, the workplace fatality rate has averaged at 1.1 per 100,000 workers. This places Singapore among the top performing countries, with just four OECD countries consistently performing below 1.0. We achieved this once in 2023. However, the recent increase in workplace fatalities in the second half of 2024 underscores the need for all stakeholders to remain vigilant and to prioritise workplace safety. While the WSH performance of sectors, such as manufacturing has improved, others can and must do better. We can certainly do much better for construction, which remains the top contributor of workplace accidents today.

Mr Melvin Yong asked for an update on the Safety Accountability, Focus and Empowerment measures (SAFE). All SAFE measures have been implemented over the last few years. They are a comprehensive set of measures aimed at enhancing collective WSH ownership. Take construction, for example. At the sectoral level, we enhanced businesses' incentive to prioritise safety by disqualifying poor WSH performers from tendering for public sector construction projects.

Construction worksites with contract value of $5 million and above are required to install a Video Surveillance System (VSS). This helps contractors to identify WSH hazards and facilitates MOM's investigations and deters unsafe behaviours. At the company level, chief executives and board directors in higher-risk sectors, including construction, must attend the Top Executive WSH Programme to understand their duties and learn how to foster good safety practices in their companies.

Beyond safety, we agree with Mr Melvin Yong that it is equally important to safeguard the health of our workers. Under the Tripartite Oversight Committee on WSH, more than 136,000 workers have access to the Total WSH Programme. So, moving forward, we will continue to work with industry partners, employers and unions to focus on areas of preventive health and occupational health, in support of national initiatives, such as Healthier SG.

WSH is a collective responsibility. Everyone must continue to do our part, to build a strong WSH culture. Company directors must drive home the importance of safety within their organisations and good WSH is integral to business success. Workers are responsible for following safe work procedures to protect themselves and others. Unions must advocate for safe, healthy workplaces and working conditions, for example, by developing WSH champions in each union. The public can report unsafe workplace practices to MOM, as each report can save a life.

Ms Jean See asked about shared responsibility for workplace safety in the creative industry. Service buyers must play their part by ensuring that their contractors, including freelancers, have the necessary competency to work safely. Contractors must work safely and not engage in risk-taking behaviour. The WSH Guidelines on Event Management provide practical guidance on health and safety requirements relevant to the creative industry. Together, we can achieve our WSH 2028 goal of reducing and sustaining the fatality injury rate at below 1.0 per 100,000 workers.

Chairman, I started my speech with how tripartism in Singapore is Singapore's "secret sauce" that empowers our low-wage workers. That, in turn, uplifts their families and communities. More than that, this harmonious partnership among our unions, businesses and the Government weaves the fabric of a resilient and prosperous Singapore. Let me end my speech with a verse from a Simon and Garfunkel song, “Bridge over Troubled Water”, reflecting the spirit of tripartism in empowering our workers in securing the success of Singaporeans and Singapore then, now and for the future.

"Oh! when times get rough and then friends can't be found,

like a bridge over troubled water,

I will lay me down,

like a bridge over troubled water,

I will lay me down."

The Chairman: Minister of State Gan Siow Huang.

The Minister of State for Manpower (Ms Gan Siow Huang): Chairman, much has been said about our workforce and workplaces transforming. What remains unchanged is our commitment to ensure that every member of society is able to participate fully in the workforce and achieve their aspirations. Allow me to, first, share how we are enhancing support for persons with disabilities.

To foster inclusive workplaces for persons with disabilities, we are developing a tripartite advisory for reasonable accommodations. Our objective is to raise awareness and shape mindsets around the concept of reasonable accommodations in the workplace, guiding employers and employees to discuss accommodations that will suit their specific work context and needs. This will support persons with disabilities in employment, giving them the chance to thrive in the workplace.

The Government also encourages the hiring and training of persons with disabilities through SG Enable's Open Door Programme, which provides grants and employment support services to organisations that hire persons with disabilities. Each year, about 630 persons with disabilities are successfully placed into jobs through this programme, and more than 80% of them remain in employment for at least six months.

To further facilitate the employment of persons with disabilities, MOM will extend the Enabling Employment Credit (EEC), for three years, until 2028. Under EEC, eligible employers of persons with disabilities receive a wage offset of up to $400 per month. This goes up to $800 per month for the first nine months of employment if the new hire was previously not working for at least six months.

Mr Sharael Taha and other Members would be glad to hear that since its introduction in 2021, the EEC has contributed to the steady increase in the employment rate of persons with disabilities, which rose from 28% to 34% over the past five years.

One individual who has benefited from the EEC is Emily. Despite the challenges she faces due to her intellectual disability, Emily has been keen to work and persevered through her job search. After completing training at the Centre for Inclusive Employment at the Enabling Business Hub @ Jurong, her job coach matched her to a job in packing and order fulfilment with Zyfas Pharma Pte Ltd Singapore, a pharmaceutical products wholesaler. With support from her job coach and supervisor, Emily is doing well in her job and has been converted to permanent employment since January 2025.

Besides attaining greater financial independence, Emily's new role has enabled her to become more confident through greater participation in the community.

We also want to support persons with disabilities to save more for their retirement needs. Today, under the Matched Retirement Savings Scheme (MRSS), the Government provides a dollar-for-dollar matching grant to encourage CPF top-ups for eligible Singaporean seniors from age 55.

11.30 am

As announced by the Prime Minister, the MRSS will be expanded to include eligible Singaporeans with disabilities of all ages from 1 January 2026. This will help individuals like Emily to accumulate their savings for retirement earlier. They will be able to benefit from the compounding effect of CPF interest over a longer runway. For example, a 25-year-old person with disability who receives a top-up of $2,000 every year up to the lifetime cap of $20,000 will receive about $110,000 more just in CPF interest alone by the age of 65, as compared to an individual who receives top-ups from 55 years old. We hope such efforts will help persons with disabilities build up their nest eggs early and approach retirement with a greater sense of security.

Let me move on to how we are strengthening employment support for ex-offenders. For ex-offenders looking to rejoin the workforce, the idea of reintegration can feel daunting at times. However, they are not alone in this journey. WSG partners with Yellow Ribbon Singapore, which provides employment assistance and post-placement support to inmates and ex-offenders.

These initiatives are further supported by the Uplifting Employment Credit which provides wage offsets to employers that hire ex-offenders. In 2024, the Uplifting Employment Credit supported the employment of more than 1,500 ex-offenders hired by about 700 employers.

Building on the positive responses, MOM will be extending the Uplifting Employment Credit for three years, until 2028. Under the Uplifting Employment Credit, eligible employers of ex-offenders can receive a wage offset of up to $600 per month for the first nine months of employment, amounting up to $5,400 for each new ex-offender hired.

One such individual who has benefited is John, not his real name, who secured employment with a communication services company in 2023. As an associate engineer, John provided backend support for customer accounts that were assigned to him. Over time, his duties expanded to include tasks like data analytics work. Today, John’s company continues to support his professional development by employing him in upskilling courses.

For John, the reintegration process has been challenging but rewarding. Reflecting on his journey, he shared: "The hardest part of reintegration was believing in myself again. I am grateful to the company for hiring me and trusting my ability to value add to the organisation. This job has been crucial in rebuilding that self-confidence". As John continues to grow in his new role, his success story is helping to reshape perceptions of ex-offenders, paving the way for more inclusive hiring practices in Singapore.

Next, I will share more on our efforts to support the employment of women and caregivers. Many women shoulder the caregiving responsibilities for their children, elderly parents or family members with disabilities. Some caregivers have had to take a break from their careers to care for their family members full-time. While others are able to continue working, they deal with challenges like burnout as they try their best to balance the demands from work and family. Whether at home or at work, we want women and caregivers to feel supported in managing their roles and be empowered to pursue their career aspirations.

Women in Singapore have made progress. The employment rate for women aged 25 to 64 increased from 73.3% in 2019 to 78.3% in 2024. This means more women who wish to remain in work or return to work have found the opportunities to do so. However, as Mr Desmond Choo, Ms Yeo Wan Ling and Miss Rachel Ong have pointed out, there is room to do more, and we agree.

Mr Mark Lee suggested better support for training of part-time workers. We are enhancing the Career Conversion Programmes (CCPs) to support reskilling of mid-career new hires and employees on jobs with flexi-load arrangements. CCPs provide employers with salary support when they reskill mid-career new hires or existing employees into growth job roles identified under the Industry Transformation Maps or Jobs Transformation Maps. These roles span about 30 sectors, including financial services, retail, built environment, and information and communications.

The CCPs currently cover only full-time jobs. However, from 1 April 2025 onwards, we will enhance CCPs to support reskilling of mid-career new hires and employees in jobs with flexi-load arrangements such as part-time work. To qualify, they must be reskilled into growth job roles and be employed on permanent terms or contract terms of at least one year.

For instance, a cybersecurity company looking to hire a part-time employee can now tap on the CCPs to hire and reskill a mid-career worker from another sector. During the training period, WSG will fund up to 90% of the worker's salary, capped at $7,500 per month.

Besides making part-time work more viable, we are building on our efforts to foster family-friendly workplaces so that workers can give their best at work and at home. Mr Louis Ng has called for parent care leave to support caregivers of elderly parents. We are open to ideas on how to better support caregivers, including those who wish to work. When considering additional leave, we must be mindful to balance caregivers’ needs with the potential impact on businesses. Working caregivers have also highlighted that flexible work arrangements (FWAs) are a more sustainable way to manage work and caregiving responsibilities, which is something that we have made progress on.

As Mr Sharael Taha pointed out, building inclusive workplaces requires a shift in workplace culture and norms. The Tripartite Guidelines on FWA Requests launched in April last year aim to facilitate this.

Mr Edward Chia would be glad to hear that we are working closely with trade associations and chambers, as well as our community partners, to raise awareness of the guidelines and help both employers and employees understand how the guidelines can help them.

Some partners have even gone further to develop resources to support their members in adhering to the Guidelines and implementing FWAs. For instance, the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) has helped raise awareness of the Guidelines through briefing sessions and these have reached more than 650 companies thus far.

Ms Yeo Wan Ling asked for an update on the outcomes of the Guidelines. As these Guidelines have only been in effect for three months, it will take some to observe its impact on workplace norms and culture. However, I am happy to see that the Guidelines have prompted more open conversations about FWA requests.

One such employer is Sheng Siong Supermarket. As an employer in the manpower-tight retail sector, Sheng Siong is leveraging FWAs as part of its strategy to retain employees. The company recently introduced staggered working hours for their office employees, as well as options for alternative work schedules for those in frontline operations. For example, instead of a standard six-day work week, frontline employees may request for a five-day, four-day or even three-day work week, with commensurate adjustments in the salary. With a formal FWA policy in place, Sheng Siong is able to observe trends in their employees’ needs, which helps the company identify ways to support their employees.

I am heartened that the proportion of firms offering FWAs increased in the last year from 68.1% in 2023 to 72.7% in 2024. Firms such as Sheng Siong are continuing to explore how they can leverage FWAs to better attract and retain talent.

On supporting women to take up leadership roles, Mr Desmond Choo suggested mandating that 40% of company boards comprise of women. I thank him for his support for women. But such measures to mandate some kind of quota, if there are not enough women who are ready for such roles, could actually unintentionally affect the credibility of women at the workplace over the long term.

Singapore has put in place voluntary targets to accelerate the representation of women on boards and we have seen good progress. Through the Council for Board Diversity’s efforts to shift mindsets of boards towards appointing more diverse candidates, as of end December 2024, the percentage of women on boards of top 100 Singapore Exchange-listed companies reached 25.1%, which is a more than three-fold increase from 7.5% in 2014.

To build inclusive workplaces we have taken steps to strengthen fair and merit-based employment practices. The Workplace Fairness Bill, which was passed earlier this year, will provide an additional layer of protection against workplace discrimination.

Mr Louis Ng suggested clarifying on TAFEP’s website that discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity is covered under the Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices (TGFEP). To reiterate, the Government does not tolerate any form of workplace discrimination, including discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

The TGFEP covers all forms of workplace discrimination and the listing on the website is not meant to be exhaustive. Highlighting selected characteristics or scenarios may not achieve this broader intent and may give the impression that characteristics or scenarios which are not mentioned are not covered.

I would like to reassure the Member that we will continue to collaborate with community groups to raise awareness on the TGFEP and refer any individual that faces workplace discrimination to TAFEP for advice and assistance.

On supporting the well-being of workers in the workplace, I would like to thank all those who have raised suggestions. Ms Hazel Poa suggested increasing the number of public holidays by three days for Hari Raya, Thaipusam and Chinese New Year. Assoc Prof Jamus Lim asked for the inclusion of Thaipusam as a public holiday, echoing similar requests by other Members such as Mr Gan Thiam Poh in the past.

The current configuration of public holidays in Singapore is the outcome of careful deliberations and consultations with various religious groups at the point of Singapore’s Independence. Over the years, we have learnt to live harmoniously as a multi-ethnic and multi-religious society, with everyone making some compromises for the greater good. We encourage employers to make it possible for Singaporeans of all faiths to observe their respective religious festivals. Maintaining the current balance has served us well, and it continues to be the sensible approach for Singapore.

Ms Yeo Wan Ling, Mr Edward Chia and Miss Rachel Ong asked how we can continue to promote mental wellness in our workplaces, especially amongst SMEs that may not have built up dedicated infrastructure to support such initiatives. To equip companies, especially SMEs, with the resources and know-how, the tripartite partners have rolled out various initiatives.

A key initiative is the Tripartite Advisory on Mental Well-Being at Workplaces introduced in 2020. It provides practical guidance on measures that employers can adopt, such as tapping on Employee Assistance Programme to offering counselling support for employees.

Beyond the consultations and workshops offered by the Total Workplace Safety and Health Programme, SkillsFuture Singapore has also funded various courses relating to mental wellness for self, peers and employees. Training Providers for such courses are able to contextualise the content to suit the needs of organisations, including SMEs.

Further support is also available through the Well-being Champions Network and National Council of Social Service’s Peer Support Specialist Programme, which offer additional resources and training for workplace mental well-being.

Mr Chairman, I will now say a few words in Mandarin.

(In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] To encourage employers to provide job opportunities for persons with disabilities and ex-offenders, MOM will extend both the Enabling Employment Credit and the Uplifting Employment Credit until 2028.

Under the Enabling Employment Credit, eligible employers who hire persons with disabilities can receive up to $400 per month in employment credits. This amount will be increased to $800 per month for the first nine months of employment if the newly hired employee with disabilities has not been employed in the previous six months.

Under the Uplifting Employment Credit scheme, employers who hire ex-offenders can receive up to $600 per month in credits during the first nine months of employment.

From 2026, we will also expand the Matched Retirement Savings Scheme to benefit eligible persons with disabilities regardless of their age. This will help them start accumulating retirement savings earlier and benefit from CPF compound interest.

11.45 am

(In English): With your permission, Mr Chairman, may I ask the Clerk to distribute an infographic that summarises the support schemes available at different life stages?

The Chairman: Go ahead. [A handout was distributed to hon Members.]

Ms Gan Siow Huang: Members may also access these materials through the MP@SGPARL application.

As Minister Tan See Leng shared yesterday, the Government is committed to supporting every Singaporean in their career journey at every life stage, and with greater support for those in need. While the Government has a role to play in empowering our people, we also recognise that true transformation requires the support and action of those at the heart of our economy – our businesses, workers, tripartite partners and community partners. For that, I thank all those who have worked closely with us.

Together, we can break down barriers, challenge stereotypes and continue to build an inclusive society where everyone has the opportunity to contribute meaningfully and play a role in our shared progress.

The Chairman: Our guillotine time is 12.25 pm. I see a couple of hands. I will try to get as many across as possible. The same usual request – keep your clarifications short and succinct. Mr Desmond Choo.

Mr Desmond Choo: Mr Chairman, just two clarifications.

One, why is the Ministry raising the S Pass qualifying salary despite the labour market being already quite tight and the potential economic headwinds? What is the expected impact on the local workforce's wages?

Second, MOM is raising the maximum employment age for Work Permit holders and aligning it to the local retirement age. Would the increase in the maximum employment age of Work Permit holders result in increased healthcare and insurance costs borne by the employers and also increase the competition for jobs with senior workers?

The Minister for Manpower (Dr Tan See Leng): Mr Chairman, I thank the Government Parliamentary Committee (GPC) chairman, Mr Desmond Choo, for raising the clarifications.

Our S Pass qualifying salary is benchmarked to the top one third of our local associate professionals and technicians' (APTs') wages. It does not lead market wages, but it is actually adjusted in line with what the prevailing wage is.

As I have shared extensively yesterday in my COS speech, we do this as we need to continue to raise productivity and not just have a case of just pure numbers coming in alone, but we do this to ensure our S Pass holders are of high quality. At the same time, we want to maintain a level playing field for our locals.

MOM has taken into consideration and we have heard from various trade associations and chambers on the rising costs of manpower as well as their constraints in hiring. Therefore, even though we have earlier announced this two years in advance and even though we are going ahead with the third step increase, what we have done this time round is to moderate the increase to give businesses more time to adjust. So, the S Pass qualifying salary announced this year will only apply to new applications from 1 September this year, 2025, and renewal applications for passes expiring from next year, 1 September 2026.

We have also said earlier on that we have announced this S Pass qualifying salary increase since COS 2022. This is 2025. We said that it is over three steps. This allows businesses the runway to plan ahead and to make the necessary adjustments.

To the second point about why we raised the maximum employment age, we took in feedback, significantly, again, from the different business chambers, the different trade associations. It is the collective feedback, working with all the different small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) on the ground, the general consensus is that once the workers have been here for quite some time, the skillsets, the experience that they have already gained, it would be a waste for them, after they reached a certain period or ceiling of maximum employment period, to leave the country.

So, what we did after taking their feedback into their consideration, we raised the maximum employment age for Work Permit holders so that we can give these firms the flexibility to retain their more experienced, more skilled workers.

Firms have the option and they are best placed for themselves to assess the benefits of retaining their more experienced workers against the potentially higher insurance costs that they may have to bear for these older workers. It is really their option. What we have done is to give them the breadth, the latitude and also the runway for them to assess what is in their own best interests.

I hope that gives you that reassurance.

The Chairman: Ms Jean See.

Ms See Jinli Jean (Nominated Member): Thank you, Chairman. I thank Minister Tan, Senior Minister of State Koh and Senior Minister of State Zaqy for their replies to my cuts. I have four questions.

I note that for specific occupations such as cooks, companies can hire Work Permit holders from Laos, Cambodia and Bhutan, in addition to another seven odd countries. I have three questions for the Minister. First, how will MOM step up efforts to foster inclusiveness and fair practices like reasonable work hours in the food sectors? Second, how will MOM help workers from these new Non-Traditional Source countries to acclimatise to the work intensity in Singapore? The third is to protect these new groups from being exploited by recruiters in their home countries. Is MOM planning to facilitate direct outreach and referral programmes to bridge them to jobs in Singapore?

To Senior Minister of State Koh, I would like to ask about the JS scheme. Could the scheme consider on a case-by-case basis self-employed persons such as creative freelancers who can prove income loss over a continual period because their jobs were cancelled or contracts were ceased when their work was offshored or due to AI substitution?

The Chairman: Minister Tan will take the first set?

Dr Tan See Leng: I thank Ms Jean See for her clarification. We have the Settling-In Programme. We are also socialising these Non-Traditional Source countries with many of the SMEs and also the business owners themselves. By widening it, we hope that they can assess for themselves these options.

We constantly take in feedback. We work with different agencies, not just working in an insular fashion within MOM itself. We work with, of course, security agencies, for instance. We work with our economic agencies, of which I am Second Minister for Trade and Industry. We obviously work with the Ministry of Trade and Industry to assess the fit.

Once they have buy-in from many of the business owners, the assessment is really up to the business owners to see whether they want to access the workforce from these Non-Traditional Source countries.

When they are onboarded, before they come into Singapore to work, they come in at our onboarding centres. There is a Settling-In Programme and orientation. What we hope to do is to also be able to socialise them to some of the expectations, the cultural norms, the living conditions and most importantly, what their rights are, the necessary helplines, the social agencies that are available to help them.

There will be an adjustment period. We will check on them. We have got different non-governmental organisations, including the Foreign Domestic Worker Association for Social Support and Training (FAST), which is a separate initiative from MOM's Assurance, Care and Engagement (ACE) division, to engage them, to assess the feedback. If they run into problems, we will not hesitate to step in. So, broadly, the framework is there for them to access.

At the same time, we are also very careful. We are very deliberate and very calibrated in terms of opening the Non-Traditional Source countries. We do not open it up in a very extensive manner. For a start, we extended it to Cambodia, Laos and Bhutan, because these are the countries that we do have very strong networks and also bilateral diplomatic ties with.

I think the Senior Minister of State will cover the balance of your questions.

Dr Koh Poh Koon: Sir, I thank the Member for her clarification about whether self-employed individuals are covered by the JS scheme.

To be clear, the JS scheme is aimed to cushion unemployment shocks as a result of economic transformation. So, it applies to employees, who have no control over the decision by their employers to retrench them.

Self-employed individuals do negotiate for projects on their own. Sometimes, even if the project cannot take place, it could well be a mismatch between what the self-employed person's expectation of his own remuneration from the project owner is, or it could just be a business deal that could not take place because the negotiation did not succeed.

I think it is very hard for us to prove a priori whether that kind of issue constitutes involuntary unemployment, which is quite different from an employee.

The Chairman: Assoc Prof Jamus Lim.

Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim (Sengkang): Sir, I appreciate Minister Tan's suggestion that there is an existing mechanism – the qualifying salary for S Passes and Employment Passes (EPs) – that may fulfil a similar function to levelling the wage incentives faced by employers choosing between the foreign versus local hire.

But respectfully, I believe that this would only work in a special case when wages for a given position are lower than the S Pass or EP threshold, which is currently set at $3,300 and $5,600 a month, although this adjusts upward with age and for rehires. But as long as the market wage exceeds this floor, which it could, for any given job in any given sector, although I acknowledge Minister Tan's point that it is pegged to the top third of overall salaries, then we could encounter a situation where a local could still be outcompeted by a foreigner so long as that Singaporean cannot accept a take home salary that is too low compared to a foreigner who is willing to accept a slightly lower gross income, but still receives a take home salary that is higher, just because —

The Chairman: Assoc Prof Lim, do you want to get to your clarification?

Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim: I understand. So, the question is, if the Minister could explain how the qualifying salary in such instances would address this situation?

On the call for the consideration of Thaipusam, I had cited in the conclusion of my cut former Minister EW Barker's implicit promise to revisit our public holiday schedule should our economy prosper. Could I ask the Ministry if there are no economic conditions or no level of prosperity under which the Government will be willing to consider the schedule of public holidays?

Dr Tan See Leng: I thank Assoc Prof Lim for his clarification.

My personal view, and I am not an economist, but I think he looks at it from a fairly theoretical and academic viewpoint. In reality, today we have a very tight labour market. I have repeatedly stated in this House that our businesses, our SMEs, our large local enterprises, these are owned and run by Singaporeans too. They have constantly harped on the fact that there are significant manpower constraints, resource constraints for them to grow and expand their business.

12.00 pm

So, in this kind of very tight labour market, when you peg it at the qualifying salaries at the top one-third of the respective sector, we are not setting up a new forward projected qualifying salary. The way we set the benchmarks is based on the prevailing salary of the top one-third of the EP and S Pass holders. [Please refer to "Clarification by Minister for Manpower", Official Report, 7 March 2025, Vol 95, Issue 160, Correction By Written Statement section.]

At those levels, what we have seen consistently – and this is real, the numbers, the statistics do not lie – over the last 10 years, I have stated, notwithstanding the fact that we have this qualifying salary, from 2014 to 2024, the number of EP and S Pass holders increased by 38,000. But over that same corresponding period, the number of residents holding PMET jobs increased by 382,000. This is a ratio of 1:10. I mean, that is our real experience.

For the record, in June 2024, the unemployment rate for Singapore Citizens was 2.8%, which is amongst the lowest in the world. And our definition of unemployment is at that spot in time.

If you look at our long-term unemployment, it is around about 0.7%, 0.8%. Long-term unemployment is defined as someone who is unemployed for more than six months. So, if you take off the unemployment rate of about 2.8%, let us say, take away the long-term unemployment rate of 0.7% or 0.8%, that 2% delta is actually churned within six months – these people find a new job, or they find something that fulfils their calling and they get on to a new career, perhaps to a new calling.

So, I want to again emphasise today: does anyone think that we have an issue? Our issue is a very, very tight labour market. We have Mr Mark Lee here, our Nominated Member of Parliament, who has repeatedly called for the Government to help businesses. He is from the SBF. You could check with him after this debate to see how tight the situation is.

Ms Gan Siow Huang: Chairman, as I said earlier, the decision on which public holidays to observe was only reached after very careful consultation with religious groups in Singapore in the past which, undoubtedly, required difficult decisions for the leaders from each faith to take. Any move to reinstate a festival, such as Thaipusam, as a public holiday, may invite competing claims from members of other communities, both religious and non-religious. Maintaining the current balance has served Singapore well and continues to be the sensible approach.

Regardless of the intervening years and the progress that we have made, this is a sensitive issue. We should not take Singapore's economic progress for granted and look to introducing additional public holidays at every opportunity. And while we cannot designate all important festivals public holidays, there must be understanding and regard given for Singaporeans to observe occasions that are significant to them. That is why we urge all employers to show understanding and flexibility in this regard.

The Chairman: Ms Yeo Wan Ling.

Ms Yeo Wan Ling: Chairman, I have two sets of clarifications.

The first set is to Minister Tan See Leng. Given that there could be other sources of labour which are in higher demand by businesses, could the Minister for Manpower explain how MOM decided on the list of countries for the Non-Traditional Sources occupation list?

The second set of clarifications is for Minister of State Gan Siow Huang. What is the current gender pay gap in Singapore and how does the Government plan to reduce it further? Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) careers are high-value career choices and can move the needle in further closing the gender pay gap. What more can the Ministry do to encourage young women to consider careers in STEM as well as equipping female mid-careerists to convert into STEM careers?

Additionally, given the recent development to support caregivers to stay in the workplace, what steps will the Government take to ensure that the gender pay gap does not widen further for female caregivers who opt for alternative work arrangements, including FWAs, due to caregiving responsibilities?

Dr Tan See Leng: I thank sister Wan Ling for her clarification. On how we decide on the list of countries to be included, we, like many, many other countries in the world, carefully regulate the profile of non-citizens for our beloved country, Singapore, including those who wish to work here. Our policy is shaped by our context. One constraint is that we are a small and very densely populated city state. And because of our constraints, we need to carefully, very delicately, balance infrastructure, security, social and economic considerations. Hence, MOM will never work in isolation. We constantly work closely, calibrating with other Ministries, other sector agencies to assess the suitability of new sources, taking into account the earlier considerations that I have elaborated on.

The Chairman: Minister of State Gan Siow Huang.

Ms Gan Siow Huang: Singapore's unadjusted gender pay gap has reduced from 16.0% in 2002 to 14.3% in 2023. Our adjusted gender pay gap, which adjusts for differences in occupation, industry, hours worked, age and education, narrowed from 8.8% in 2002 to 6.0% in 2023. Singapore's adjusted gender pay gap compares favourably with other countries, such as the United States and Canada, both of which are around 8%.

The key factor driving gender pay gap in Singapore is occupational segregation. In other words, there tends to be a lower share of females in higher paid occupations, such as business development managers, managing directors, chief executives and general managers. Likewise, for STEM-related occupations, there is still a higher proportion of men than women although the proportion of women in STEM jobs has increased over time from 28.8% in 2013 to 35.2% in 2024.

We will continue to work with tripartite partners and community stakeholders to support women's participation in the workforce and help them enter and remain in occupations of their choice, including in traditionally male-dominated industries. This way, women do not fall behind their male colleagues in terms of career, experience, progression and hence, wages.

This includes measures, such as FWAs, promoting shared-caregiving responsibilities at home, as well as career drives, networking and mentorship programmes. The Workplace Fairness Legislation will also help further reduce the gender pay gap, as women will be protected against discrimination based on their sex that could inhibit their entry into and progress in careers of their choice, especially in the male-dominated and higher-paying occupations.

The Chairman: There are still many, many hands from those who have filed four cuts. I will give the floor to Mr Leong. He only raised one cut, but it was a long cut. Mr Leong Mun Wai. He had raised his hand earlier.

Mr Leong Mun Wai (Non-Constituency Member): Thank you very much, Mr Chairman. I have four clarifications for the Minister.

First of all, I would like to thank the Minister for his energetic response to my arguments. I have always respected him for that. However, because I think our views are still very different, I have —

The Chairman: Mr Leong, remember my instructions to all.

Mr Leong Mun Wai: Okay, yes, Mr Chairman. So, first question, can I confirm that MOM still does not track the change in work pass holders that turned to PRs in the resident PME statistics? If yes, does the Minister agree that there is no way to conclude definitively that the existing resident PMETs have not been displaced and become underemployed because all the statistics that he has quoted are affected by this effect?

Second question, the platform workers are a good example of the underemployed. The Minister has admitted that about one-third of the platform workers, or 28,000, are involuntary. But for many of the balance of the 70,000 platform workers who have preferred platform work for flexibility, does the Minister think that low wages and poor prospects are also a factor in their decisions?

Third question —

The Chairman: Mr Leong, if I could ask, how many clarifications? Because I am conscious of the guillotine time. How many more clarifications?

Mr Leong Mun Wai: Two more.

The Chairman: Okay, make them short so that we can give enough time for the Minister to answer.

Mr Leong Mun Wai: Yes. Third question, the increase in part-time workers and contract work are also examples of underemployment. Can the Minister explain why we do not need to be concerned that the proportion of part-time workers out of all employed residents has increased from 8.4% in 2009 to 10.1% in 2023, and can the Minister quote the corresponding increase in resident contract workers in the same period, 2009 and 2023?

Last question, does the Minister agree that while wage growth may be faster than some developed countries like the United Kingdom, it is meaningless if the wage growth is still not enough to catch up with the escalating cost of living and housing prices in Singapore?

Dr Tan See Leng: I thank Mr Leong for his persistence, notwithstanding the fact that we went through quite a fair bit of exchange yesterday. I will cover some parts of his point just to put it to rest, hopefully once and for all, before I hand over to my colleague, Minister for National Development, Mr Desmond Lee, who will also talk about housing, in just a while. So, Mr Leong, please be patient. We are coming.

To the Member's clarification about part-time work and that he thinks that many of them are underemployed, I have actually shown in my explanation yesterday that the statistics that we have on time-related underemployment are very, very low and, in fact, it has dropped. I do not have the statistics offhand, but please refer to the Hansard on what I said yesterday. It was quite clear.

Since the Member persistently wants to keep harping on the division between foreign-born Singapore Citizens versus local-born Singapore Citizens, I just eyeballed the numbers, and I am happy to see what other statistics we can glean moving forward. But the majority, more than 63% of the increase over that period for the PMETs from 2014 to 2024 – more than 63% of that increase – is due to local-born Singapore Citizens. So, let me put that to rest once and for all.

12.15 pm

Please do not forget that many, many of our naturalised Singaporeans, many of our Permanent Residents (PRs) are married to a local-born Singapore Citizen, and I really hope we should not keep harping on a "us versus them" mentality, because Singapore is a largely immigrant nation. We are all here because we love this country. My father, and I am pretty sure Mr Leong's father, also were not local-born Singapore Citizens. I benefited from here, just as he has, and we both want to do our best to serve our country.

I will invite Minister Desmond Lee to respond to the clarification on housing.

The Chairman: I assume this is in relation to what Mr Leong raised in his cut.

Dr Tan See Leng: Yes.

The Chairman: Alright.

The Minister for National Development (Mr Desmond Lee): Mr Chairman, I would like to apologise to Minister Tan See Leng and Members who had filed cuts at MOM's COS, for taking up some time. I would like to make a clarification without distracting from MOM's debate.

Yesterday, Mr Leong made two points in his speech: first, he spoke about selective use of data on Singaporean and PR employment; and second, he said that Singaporeans today are worse off than in the past and he used the example of public housing, comparing the Housing and Development Board (HDB) affordability for university and Vocational and Industrial Training Board (VITB) graduates in 1979, with affordability today.

These were not raised at the Ministry of National Development's (MND's) COS at all. The Member did not speak at MND's COS, nor raise any clarification.

I checked and would like to make a few points to add to what Minister Tan said yesterday. He spoke about the situation, the improvements in our graduate situation, and I will talk about housing.

Sir, the Singapore in 1979 is, firstly, very different from the Singapore in 2025.

In 1979, only 4% of each cohort went to university. Today, it is more than 40%.

Mr Leong used the median wages of VITB graduates in 1979, but he did not mention that back then, only 9% of each cohort went to VITB. Today, around 60% of each cohort go to polytechnic and the Institute of Technical Education (ITE).

So, the vast majority of each cohort today go to university, polytechnic and ITE; compared to only around 13% going to university and VITB back in 1979.

Mr Leong was comparing housing affordability for a small group in 1979 with housing affordability for the vast majority of Singaporeans today. He also did not present the affordability picture for the majority of Singaporeans back in 1979, who were less well-educated, less skilled and earned much less in those early days of Singapore.

Second, the HDB flat in 1979 is also very different from the HDB flat in 2025. In the 1970s, HDB flats were simple, functional homes in estates with few amenities and very limited transport links. Today, our flats come with modern amenities, far better transport connectivity, offering residents a higher standard of living.

In 1979, only 68% of our population lived in HDB, of whom 62% owned their flats. This is not surprising because the university and VITB graduates that Mr Leong cited yesterday were at the higher end of the income spectrum. Today, more than 80% of Singaporeans live in HDB homes and over 90% own their flats. In fact, more than eight in 10 first-timer households who collected their keys to their Build-To-Order (BTO) flats and resale flats in 2024, used little to no cash to service their HDB monthly mortgage instalments.

Third, the housing market in 1979 was very different too. In the 1960s and 1970s, there was almost no resale market to speak of. It was early days. In the 1960s, buyers had to return the flat to HDB at the sum that was less than what they had initially paid for. In the 1970s, there was a very rudimentary resale market with strict conditions and limited financing. We were just starting out. Back then, there was limited potential for appreciation, it was not quite the store of value, it was a basic home and expense for Singaporeans.

The resale market only started to mature in the 1980s and 1990s, after changes in conditions for resale and mortgage financing policies.

Today, our HDB flats are both a home and also a store of value for Singaporeans, which they can monetise in their older years for retirement by selling on the open market, renting out a room or a flat, through our Lease Buyback Scheme and so on.

We also wondered why Mr Leong was so selective in using the year 1979; and we realised why. From 1968 to 1987, in the early years of HDB, we sold flats to Singaporeans and the flat price was fixed to recover cost. So, this most resembles the Progress Singapore Party's (PSP's) Affordable Housing Scheme. So, in a way, PSP's idea is not an original idea, but an idea adapted from the past.

HDB flats back in those days were priced based on construction costs. The PSP's Affordable Housing Scheme uses a similar idea. But construction cost then, as it is today, fluctuates based on economic factors, like labour availability, the price of construction material, global commodities like oil and so on.

In the 1960s and 1970s, construction costs were relatively low, but the turning point came at around 1979. Around 1979/1980, construction cost went up by 30%, because there was a construction boom which led to severe labour and material shortages. So, HDB flat prices went up by 15% in 1979, another 20% in 1980 and another 38% in 1981.

So, Mr Leong presents, selectively, the 1979 data, but does not mention what happens in the next one, two years. He did not share this with the House. In fact, the challenge of sharply fluctuating construction and therefore, HDB prices, according to the AHS, when pegged to construction costs, applies equally to the PSP's Affordable Housing Scheme.

Sir, we have long since moved away from the system where HDB flats were priced based on construction cost. In fact, we do not price flats to recover land and construction cost. We look at the market value of the flat, apply significant market discounts to bring the price down so that there are flats affordable to Singaporeans of different income levels. And then, we do means testing for explicit grants on top of the market discounts. This ensures HDB flats remain affordable to a wide range of incomes.

Sir, since the 1970s, we have matured and progressed as a society. We have improved our initial policies. We have developed our strong social compact where Singaporeans buy affordable housing, have a tangible stake in this country and form strong communities.

Sir, most importantly, what the PSP has suggested through the Affordable Housing Scheme is a major change from the social compact we have had all these decades. They want to go backwards to the time where housing was a shelter, an expense, and does not serve as a store of value and assurance for retirement, where Singaporeans do not have a stake when they leave, according to the AHS, just return keys, get some deposit back and move on.

Is this really the kind of Singapore that we want to have?

We have come a long way since 1979. We will continue to look forward instead to ensure that our policies remain relevant, effective in providing public housing that is affordable, accessible and inclusive for Singaporeans. I would like to thank Minister Tan. [Applause.]

The Chairman: Minister Tan See Leng.

Dr Tan See Leng: Sir, thank you for the permission to allow Minister Desmond Lee to respond on housing.

The Chairman: Minister Tan, a short one, because we are almost reaching our guillotine time.

Dr Tan See Leng: Yes, Sir. I wanted to reassure everyone, our economy grew significantly in the last decade. I have repeatedly spoken at length to this House and also, rebutted Mr Leong's allegations in terms of the statistics not being transparent.

I want to use, perhaps, a Cantonese movie anecdote and I will translate. It goes like this.

(In Cantonese): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] When I speak, you do not listen. When you listen, you do not understand. When you understand, you do not do it. When you do it, you do it wrong. When you do it wrong, you do not admit it. When you admit it, you do not change. When you change, you do not accept it. What then do you want me to do?

(In English): I have done my best repeatedly to explain to him over and over again, but he still refuses to accept —

The Chairman: Minister Tan, you might want to translate for those who do not understand Cantonese.

Dr Tan See Leng: I think that was the gist of it already, I have translated.

I want to reassure: while we may not be able to guarantee the same outcomes for all Singaporeans, but we will certainly do our level best that Singaporeans, at every stage of their lives, at every stage of their careers will have the same opportunities to upskill, to train and to upgrade. [Applause.]

The Chairman: Mr Sharael Taha and Mr Louis Ng, sorry, I know you filed four cuts but we have run out of time. Can I invite Mr Desmond Choo, if you would like to withdraw your amendment?

12.25 pm

Mr Desmond Choo: Chairman, I would like to thank Minister Tan See Leng, Senior Minister of State Koh Poh Koon, Senior Minister of State Zaqy and Minister of State Gan Siow Huang for their comprehensive responses and driving policy changes; and also Permanent Secretaries Ng Chee Khern, Jeffrey Siow, and their team of MOM officers, for their dedication in building a great workforce and workplace for Singapore and Singaporeans.

On that note, Chairman, I seek leave to withdraw my amendment.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

The sum of $3,584,806,700 for Head S ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates.

The sum of $119,216,800 for Head S ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates.