Committee of Supply – Head S (Ministry of Manpower)

The Chairman: Head S, Ministry of Manpower. Mr Desmond Choo.

Resilient and Inclusive Workforce

Mr Desmond Choo (Tampines): Mr Chairman, I beg to move, "That the total sum to be allocated for Head S of the Estimates be reduced by $100".

Mr Chairman, our workforce is ageing and growth is slowing to zero gradually. Therefore, we must have as high a workforce participation rate as possible.

Our female workforce participation rate has improved over the years. Over the last 10 years, it has improved from 58.1% to 62.6% but it still lags behind the rates for males. When women have at least one child, the participation rate drops by 10% to 16% compared to women with no children in 2018. This suggests that caregiving responsibilities reduces workforce participation.

There exists also a gender pay gap.

According to the Ministry's 2018 statistics, the unadjusted gender pay gap is 16.3%. Labour market factors such as men being overrepresented in higher paying occupations such as managing directors (MDs), chief executive officers (CEOs) and general managers (GMs) accounted for roughly 7% of the gap. The natural question is why not more women are taking on such top jobs? Some academics attribute this to women not taking on higher paying roles that tend to demand for work to be prioritised over personal responsibilities. Women are also increasingly better educated than men in Singapore, especially in the younger age brackets. Sixty-four percent of females aged 25 to 34 years old have university education compared to 56% for men.

Singapore's adjusted gender pay gap is 6% in 2018. This was 8.8% in 2002. There has clearly been progress over the years. What the adjusted gender pay gap means too is after adjusting for education, age, occupation and industry, women in Singapore earn on average 6% less than their male counterparts. This difference is magnified when we consider disparity over a 40- to 50-year-long career.

According to a Ministry of Manpower (MOM) study in January 2020, the authors stated that even though the model can explain more than half of the unadjusted gender pay gap, the unexplained component could reflect the effects of parenthood, caregiving responsibilities, unmeasured employment characteristics such as work experience, firm type and job scope as well as discrimination. The same study also observed that more women are primary caregivers and this could be one of the reasons for the gender pay gap.

In essence, the increase in caregiving responsibilities could have resulted in women exiting the workforce and also getting paid less. We need to tackle this structural problem of gender pay gap. I agree that it is multifaceted as the 2020 study has noted. I would like to examine two facets of this issue and suggest possible remedies.

Human Resource (HR) practices. Conceptually, the human resource practice of performance grading could have inherent biases against women. For example, if there is a good performance grade to be given and the choice between two employees, both are as good but one was away on maternity leave for 16 weeks, which employee is more likely to get the good grade? This is done for a good reason. The organisation should rightly reward the employee who have contributed more over the full year.

But we can imagine that if this persists over multiple childbirths and promotion depends on multi-year performance consistency, then we can imagine a mother's progression being derailed. It seems plausible that this could have resulted in women and mothers not being able to scale the heights of their professions. We must guard against such well-intended human resource practice driving unintended biases against women.

This is perhaps what we call the "motherhood penalty" and we owe a duty to doing right by our mothers.

The solutions are not easy to come by. In 2018, Iceland passed the Equal Pay Standard legislation, which requires companies with 25 or more employees to prove that they pay employees of all genders equally for the same work or work of equal value.

Under the Equal Pay Standard, companies must undergo a certification process every three years, during which they are required to analyse their wage structures, identify and rectify any gender-based wage disparities. Failure to comply can result in fines and sanctions. Iceland's pay gap closed by 3.4% subsequent to this passing of the legislation.

While this might be too bold a move for us at this stage or needs to be contextualised to our needs, there are other steps that we can take.

First, there must be greater disclosure and transparency in the gender composition of senior management roles and compensation. Some employers are rightly concerned about wage transparency, but we can do so like today when board directors' fees are declared in broad tiers. It is still a positive step forward. We can start with the listed companies in the Public Service. Greater transparency and reporting requirements can spur organisations to review and improve or change their practices.

I encourage HR practitioners to examine and improve upon the performance evaluation criteria that have embedded undue biases. For example, ranking a mother on maternity leave with other colleagues on the same basis is inherently biased.

Next, we must broaden our caregiving support. There are entrenched societal norms of women in Singapore. Women often bear a disproportionate burden of caregiving responsibilities and this can be at the expense of their careers. How do we help them to manage their careers and caregiving duties?

This caregiving is beyond those required for children. It includes supporting elderly parents too. We must support our women better, affordable childcare, flexible work arrangements (FWAs) and flexible caregiving policies. We have indeed made strides in ensuring affordable childcare and I look forward to the release of the tripartite guidelines on FWAs.

I hope that we can also consider implementing leave policies to support employees in caring for elderly parents, particularly considering Singapore's ageing population. Employers have reasonable concerns because there would already be too many leave provisions when manpower is already tight. The reality is maternity and childcare leave consumption will continue to decrease because of our low total fertility rate.

The statistics also show that caregiving can take a worker out of the workforce. Some have questioned, could a few days of caregiving leave make a difference? My answer is yes, because it underscores our commitment to helping our workers. We have to start somewhere, no matter how small the first step is.

The number of employers offering paid family care leave in Singapore has doubled from 15% in 2012 to 30% in 2020. This is indeed encouraging. But we must remember that workers' caregiving responsibilities will only increase in the future. We must start addressing this now. Our workers need our support to care for their dependents, young and elderly alike. I wish to call on all businesses in Singapore to take concrete steps in re-examining their leave policies and consider offering caregiving leave. In the longer term, I hope to see the implementation of paid statutory caregiving leave for all workers.

Closing the gender pay gap requires us not to only confront the societal and caregiving expectations of women, but also the structural barriers that limit women's economic opportunities.

Mr Chairman, next, I will speak on supporting our older workers to stay gainfully employed. I have spoken on the importance of harnessing the experience and expertise that our older workers bring to the table, especially in light of our ageing demographics.

We have made significant strides in raising the retirement and re-employment ages for Singaporean workers. And I am heartened that our older workers do appreciate our efforts in doing so. I understand from the Ministry that between 2017 and 2021, around 97% of resident employees were offered and accepted re-employment contracts after reaching the retirement age. Could the Ministry clarify how many percent of these employees were offered re-employment contracts of one year and whether the re-employment contracts were subsequently extended?

On training our older workers, the findings from the National Trades Union Congress' (NTUC's) survey conducted in 2022 underscore the keen interest older workers have in upscaling. Yet, six out of 10, or of all workers, were of the view that older workers were given fewer training opportunities as compared to the younger ones. Re-employed workers might get even less training opportunities.

On another front, as training participation declines with age, it is crucial to implement age-universal job redesign strategies. Ironically, older workers actually need more training because their odds of skills obsolescence are higher.

The PW Mark was implemented to distinguish employers that have leaned into providing progressive wages voluntarily. We can consider distinguishing progressive and inclusive employers which have significantly improved their business processes, training and job roles to help older workers succeed. Incentives can be provided to such employers, especially in the absence of the WorkPro.

Perhaps there is now a renewed need to reinstate WorkPro, which was previously implemented, as a scheme for companies to receive grants of up to $425,000 to implement age-friendly workplaces with an emphasis on retaining older workers.

Question proposed.

Future-ready Workforce

Mr Xie Yao Quan (Jurong): Chairman, what might our future workforce look like? First, it will become more inter-generational because our population is ageing, and people are working and staying in the workforce longer. At the same time, because of more rapid technological changes than ever before, the difference in backgrounds, mindsets and skill sets across different generations will become sharper.

Second, there will be more churn in our future workforce for all of us, again because of the pace of change. Our economy must allow for creative destruction to stay relevant and vibrant, but for the individual, churn in one's career is tumultuous. We must help Singaporeans cope.

Third, there will be a greater need for our future workforce to engage in agile and deep learning throughout life to deal with churn. We must create a pervasive culture of learning and skilling throughout life in Singapore.

Fourth, amidst these challenges, there will be growing needs for FWAs because our family structure is getting smaller and so caregiving burdens are more concentrated on individuals. At the same time, our knowledge of care itself has become more advanced, whether it is for seniors, special needs or mental health. And so, the caregiving demands of tomorrow will be far greater and we need FWAs.

Fifth, our future workforce will be increasingly cross-cultural because there is simply not enough of Singaporeans and we will need human capital from around the world.

Amidst this confluence of complex changes, how does MOM plan to develop a future-ready workforce that is more inter-generational and cross-cultural, more prepared for a new normal of churn, more engaged in agile and deep learning throughout life and more flexible in its work arrangements?

Career Health Initiatives

Mr Liang Eng Hwa (Bukit Panjang): Chairman, at last year’s MOM Committee of Supply, the Manpower Minister announced the setting up of a new feature in the MyCareersFuture portal known as the CareersFinder. Perhaps because of his medical background, he couched it as a tool to keep tap of our career health; very much like physical health.

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When I heard of it last year, I thought it was a refreshing approach to encourage workers to take stock of the state of their career health; starting with better insights and awareness of our own employability situation and thereafter taking proactive and purposeful steps to keep career health in good shape.

The CareersFinder beta version was launched in third quarter last year. It uses the data on skills adjacencies and jobs churn in the workforce to help workers discover the personalised upskilling needed and identify possible career opportunities based on their individual profiles.

By harnessing the power of artificial intelligence (AI) and the data, it is hoped that the efficacy of job matching can be improved and friction reduced. This new feature is particularly important and useful to those in their mid-careers; who tends to be more career vulnerable and hence need better career agility and resilience.

In my conversations with those in their mid-careers, many have concerns on the durability of their current skill sets and jobs, and how the fast-paced technology advancement such as AI and blockchain would impact their jobs and career development.

In that context, can I ask the Minister for an update on the CareersFinder beta? How has been the take up and has it achieved the outcomes intended? Also, as a whole, how can the various career health initiatives benefit individuals, employers and the economy?

On the upcoming support to assist the involuntarily unemployed jobseekers, I know the details of the support measure is still to be finalised; nevertheless, can I ask if the Minister can share the broad principles and the parameters that will be featured in this new scheme? Has the Government taken in feedback from the public and as well as the tripartite partners in the design of the support scheme?

Support for the Involuntarily Unemployed

Mr Sharael Taha (Pasir Ris-Punggol): Temporary financial support for the involuntarily unemployed is not something new in Singapore and for some residents, the ComCare does just that.

Some countries have practiced some form of support for the involuntarily unemployed but many end up with poorly designed unemployment benefits which can inadvertently make it more attractive for involuntarily unemployed workers to stay unemployed rather than to return to the workforce.

How has the Ministry incorporated learnings from these countries and feedback from the public and tripartite partners in the design of the upcoming support scheme for involuntarily unemployed jobseekers? How will the support scheme be administered? What is the anticipated average duration of support required for the involuntarily unemployed? How do we ensure that while the support scheme must assist the involuntarily unemployed, it does not make it more attractive for the involuntarily unemployed workers to stay unemployed? Can we ensure retraining and upskilling using SkillsFuture credit and actively searching for jobs including compulsory attendance for career, curriculum vitae and interview coaching be prerequisites for support?

Sustaining Wage Growth

Mr Edward Chia Bing Hui (Holland-Bukit Timah): Mr Chairman, firstly, I commend the expansion of the Government's Progressive Wage Credit scheme, which significantly aids businesses in supporting higher wages. In the medium term, wage increases can only be supported along with productivity increases. Hence, we need to continue assisting employers in creating an environment conducive to workers' training to increase workers’ productivity and support employers to realise enhanced firm productivity. What are MOM’s plans to support our employers to do so?

The rise in Local Qualifying Salary (LQS), as announced in Budget 2024, from $1,400 to $1,600 indicates broader cross-sector backing to uplift lower-wage workers. Nevertheless, as the Progressive Wage Model (PWM) expands across additional sectors and wage ladders commence from an average of $2,650 for an entry-grade security officer, and $1,915 in the food and beverage (F&B) sector, how will LQS support a greater number of lower-wage workers? I seek MOM to share the number of lower-wage workers expected to experience wage increases due to the elevated LQS.

Yet, there are many challenges faced by employers, such as escalating utility costs and increasing manpower expenses. I wish to highlight the shared responsibility of consumers and employers in supporting lower-wage workers here. What are the strategies to enhance consumer awareness of the PWM Mark to bring the consumer's role to the forefront in supporting businesses committed to fair wages?

Mr Chairman, Singapore must maintain its openness to talent and uphold global connections, particularly amidst declining local labour force growth stemming from our ageing population and low birth rates. As we remain open, it is crucial to continuously review and calibrate foreign workforce policies. How can we ensure that these policies contribute to Singaporeans' real wage growth? Is it timely to establish clearer distinctions between various work passes based on the specific job appeal to Singaporeans? Alongside these distinctions, should we adjust the dependency ratio ceiling to ensure that enterprises have the necessary manpower to thrive while ensuring equitable access and higher wages for Singaporeans?

It is important to note that existing foreign worker levies, LQS and the PWM are effective levers to support higher wages for Singaporeans.

The persistent challenge of not being able to send workers for training due to manpower shortages necessitates a nuanced approach. As part of the strategy to ensure that foreign workforce policies foster business growth while enhancing collaboration with local talent, I propose implementing temporary quota increases contingent upon commitments to human capital development and local worker training.

Furthermore, I suggest that the temporary quota be linked to a commitment to participate in the Institute of Human Resources Professionals' (IHRP's) human capital diagnostic tool (HCDT) professional programme and to implement its recommendations. This approach allows time for local workers to engage in training, leading to overall improvements in human capital development within firms and maximising Singaporean workers' growth potential.

Programmes such as SkillsFuture Level-Up, and various improvements to SkillsFuture, is a key pillar to empowering Singaporeans to take up good jobs. With enhanced SkillsFuture funding, the challenge is to ensure that employees, while in their jobs, can identify and acquire new skill sets aligned with corporate objectives. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) without an HR business partner (HRBP) role may face difficulties in corporate alignment. Chief HR Officer (CHRO) as a service can be a solution to mimic the HRBP role and maximise the translation value of SkillsFuture credits.

The increased disruption in job scopes highlights the need for improved job redesign capabilities, especially with the support for acquiring new skills in Budget 2024. Developing measurement tools and benchmarks for equitable assessment of salary ranges for newly acquired skill sets is crucial.

We need to support employers to drive transformation by redesigning jobs for new and emerging opportunities. Job redesign can also help to assimilate older workers as they reach retirement and extend their working duration. Coupled with FWAs, it will create the nexus for a future-ready labour market. Hence, I would like to ask MOM how are we empowering employers to re-design jobs. How are we empowering workers to improve their career health?

Retrenchments, and "Hand" and "Heart" Work

Mr Pritam Singh (Aljunied): Chairman, according to the preliminary estimates released by MOM, retrenchments in Singapore have more than doubled in 2023 from 2022 to 14,320 cases. Recent stories about ongoing retrenchment and redundancy exercises in companies such as Lazada and Electrolux have only intensified discussions in public about retrenchment.

With the threat of retrenchment for our workers all too real, it comes as a surprise to many Singaporeans that the right to retrenchment benefits is not enshrined in legislation here in Singapore for any category of worker. Generally, benefits upon retrenchment depend on the company's policy of severance package and retrenchment benefits, as well as the terms of the contract of employment.

In the LifeSG guide on retrenchment benefits, the prevailing norms on paying retrenchment benefits are around two weeks to one month for each year of service, with unionised companies seeing one month of salary for each year of service. In contrast to our prevailing practice, many jurisdictions around East Asia have enshrined both the right to some form of retrenchment benefits and the amounts to be paid.

For instance, under Part 5A of the Employment Ordinance in Hong Kong, both the right to severance payments except in cases of dismissals and the amount of severance payment to be paid are enshrined in legislation. Malaysia regulates both the employment termination and layoff benefits regulations. Thailand's Labour Protection Act also determines the severance pay amount for workers depending on their employment period. South Korea grants full-time employees severance pay under the Labour Standards Act regardless of reasons of termination. Taiwan sees employers liable to pay severance pay under the Labour Standards Act. Indonesia has a minimum statutory severance and long service pay. In general, such payouts are close to a month's wages for every year of service.

In 2018, I asked the previous Minister of Manpower how it ensures companies pay retrenchment benefits that meet industry norms as defined by the tripartite standards for companies that retrench workers for reasons not related to financial distress.

The Minister confirmed that according to the MOM's survey on retrenchment benefits in 2017, around 90% of establishments which retrenched workers paid retrenchment benefits while more than 70% of them paid benefits which met or exceeded prevailing norms.

Sir, the Forward Singapore exercise made it a point to identify Singaporean workers who undertake hand and heart work, such as trade professionals like electricians and plumbers, as well as those in the healthcare and aged care sector. It called to ensure that they are rewarded fairly, since these workers contribute to our collective higher standard of living. In view of the respectable number of employers according to the Retrenchment Benefits 2017 report who are already providing retrenchment benefits meeting or exceeding the prevailing norms, I ask MOM to review its position on retrenchment benefits and progressively consider mandating retrenchment benefits for hand and heart workers to nudge employers to do so.

At the same time, we should also look at mandating retrenchment benefits for workmen and employees covered by Part 4 of the Employment Act to start with. Some groups I mentioned are the most deserving among us with wages below the median and it is crucial that we pay special attention to them. Legislating their right to retrenchment benefits would be one concrete way of supporting workers in the name of Forward Singapore.

Tradesperson Jobs

Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song (Aljunied): Sir, there are approximately 186,000 craftsmen and trades workers in Singapore. Their median salary is $2,700 and their median age is 56 years. Over 70% are foreigners. The low wages, ageing workforce and heavy reliance on foreign labour in this crucial sector is concerning. I acknowledge the efforts by MOM, industry associations, unions and institutes of higher learning (IHLs) to professionalise these trades. However, attracting young Singaporeans remains a pressing challenge.

To overcome this, we need to first boost societal respect for the skilled tradesperson or tradies as they are affectionately called in Australia. Schools and trades associations can create greater public awareness about what tradies do. They are not all dirty, difficult and dangerous jobs. For example, licensed plumbers often do more supervision and inspections of plumbing works than the dirty work themselves. Young people who prefer working with their hands should be encouraged to consider skilled trades instead of forcing themselves to study an academic subject they have little interest in.

Second, we need to lower the barriers for entry for Singaporeans to become licensed tradespersons. All courses and mentorship programmes leading to licensing should be more subsidised under SkillsFuture, even for workers under 40. And more places should be set aside for Singaporeans.

Third, to raise incomes of skilled tradespersons, agencies must rigorously enforce regulations against unlicensed individuals performing tasks that are legally reserved for licensed tradespersons. This will uphold the required quality and safety standards and prevent licensed tradesperson's earnings from being unjustly undercut by unlicensed competitors.

Sir, for avoidance of doubt, I declare that I am the director and shareholder of a company that provides technology solutions to training providers.

Progressive Wage Model (PWM) for Skilled Tradesmen

Ms Yeo Wan Ling (Pasir Ris-Punggol): As we look towards building a resilient and future-friendly workforce, it is crucial to recognise the invaluable contributions of skilled tradesmen in essential professions like plumbing, electrical work, air conditioning servicing and mechanical repairs. Our skilled tradesmen and women have forged fulfilling careers over the years, but as Singapore transforms itself economically over the years, these are taken for granted, but essential trades are at risk of a diminishing Singaporean worker base.

We must continue to make these trades exciting to attract new talents such as youths and mid-careerists. To achieve this, we must provide clarity on the career pathways for those entering the skilled trades. Given that master tradesmen are forged from a blend of strong foundations in theory and practical unique ground experiences, it makes sense to reintroduce the apprenticeship programmes. Apprenticeships can offer clear milestones and support to progress to the next levels.

This includes opportunities to attain certifications, licences and eventually to become master-level tradesmen. From our discussions with our trade associations and guilds, master-level tradesmen can earn upwards of $8,000 a month, particularly if they become business owners. Clarity on career progressions is essential as many may not be aware of the potential for growth and advancements in this field.

To this end, NTUC has started work on the career progression model to better the viability of such trades as livelihoods.

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How would the Ministry further the career progression model through tripartism? Would the Ministry further their work with trade associations and guilds, to not only highlight the career paths available, but also in articulating clear wage and career progression levels?

Mr Chairman: Mr Patrick Tay, you can take your two cuts together.

Bolstering SkillsFuture to Empower

Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan: I am glad that we have seen a series of enhancements to SkillsFuture at Budget and at the Ministry of Education's (MOE's) Committee of Supply debate earlier. PMEs, especially those above 40 years of age, are anxious about the prospects of their employment and employability. I have three suggestions for MOM to bolster SkillsFuture to empower Singaporeans.

First, with the new growth sectors and crafts and to meet the needs, passion and interests of Singaporeans, especially PMEs who are looking at career conversions, can MOM consider expanding the range of courses and programmes beyond the current suite of CCP offerings?

Second, mindset shift training as well as career coaching and counselling are key to reducing unemployment and under-employment and increase employment and employability. I hope as we strengthen the career health of Singaporeans to provide greater support in this space, including to employers and placement arms and intermediaries, such as e2i.

Third, with the SkillsFuture training allowance support just announced, which will be up to $3,000 per month for Singaporeans to undergo programmes at our IHLs, I suggest for MOM to review the current CCP training allowance rates during the training stint and period.

Strengthening the Singaporean Core at Workplaces

I wish to ask MOM for the status of the Strengthening of the Singaporean Core efforts in Singapore. I am aware that work for the Workplace Fairness Legislation is under way. On the same note, can MOM also update us on the Fair Consideration Framework, the status of the triple weak watchlist, and the number and type of cases reported, investigated and closed at the Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practice (TAFEP).

I also wish to ask if the Minister has any updates, now that COMPASS has been in action for the past six months, and the review of the Employment Pass (EP) qualifying salaries?

By the same token, human capital practitioners, practices and processes are key to foster a fair and inclusive workplace, including one with a strong Singaporean Core. I am aware IHRP is doing good work to certify human capital practitioners with the Institute for Human Resource Professionals (IHRP) certification, as they are also the national Job Redesign Centre of Excellence to help companies, including through their human capital diagnostics tool, to level up companies' practices and processes and productivity.

Can MOM progressively mandate the certification of HR practitioners with the IHRP certification? And in the interim, perhaps companies should have at least one IHRP-certified HR professional before they can be allowed to hire foreign manpower. I think the upcoming Workplace Fairness Legislation is an opportune time to push this ahead and perhaps, even incorporate some of these primers on the upcoming piece of Workplace Fairness Legislation into IHRP syllabus, as well as certification.

Foreign Manpower Framework

Mr Desmond Choo (Tampines): Mr Chairman, with an ageing population and local workforce growth that is slowing to zero, we need to augment our workforce with either more capital or labour, so that Singapore's economy can continue to maintain its vibrancy.

Without a thriving economy, everyone suffers the adverse consequences of wage stagnation and loss of jobs. But we need to do it carefully to maintain the centrality of a Singaporean Core. That must be our unwavering commitment to our Singaporean workers.

There have been significant moves, especially the COMPASS scheme and the Shortage Occupation List (SOL). Can the Ministry update on how COMPASS has helped to support Singapore's economic needs since its implementation? And how has SOL allowed companies to fill hard-to-fill jobs or roles, so that companies can continue to preserve and create jobs for locals?

Our local workforce has also been improving in quality, with median wages increasing annually. This is also evident amongst the graduates. Based on the latest Graduate Employment Survey, the median gross monthly salary amongst fresh graduates in full-time permanent employment increased by 2.7%, to S$4,313 from S$4,200 in 2022. The figure increased by 10.5% between 2021 and 2022.

This also means that we need to ensure that our EP holders must not unduly compete against them because EP holders tend to have more work experience and might be prepared to take a lower pay. How would the Ministry adjust the qualifying salary to balance the needs of our Singaporean Core and business needs?

Shortage Occupation List – Manpower Gaps and Opportunities

Mr Pritam Singh: Chairman, SOL in the COMPASS EP framework offers a pathway to acquire 10 to 20 extra points towards the 40 points required for an EP, beyond the standard metrics, to ease the filling of known skill gaps in our economy with foreign labour. To gauge its effectiveness so far, I would like to ask: (a) what percentage of EP applications, since September 2023, have taken advantage of the bonus points prospective EP applicants receive; (b) has publishing SOL increased the absolute quantity or quality of applications to these occupations compared to pre-COMPASS? What specific SOL jobs continue to lack applications or suitable candidates despite these incentives? Can MOM name these jobs and briefly outline what it thinks could be the root causes of their lacking suitable candidates thus far?

Given that it has been almost six months since COMPASS was introduced, does the Ministry have a view on whether the SOL mechanism is effective as a signal to companies and foreign labour? More importantly, for such identified talent shortages, we should also ensure Singaporeans are trained to fill these gaps.

In view of the wider-ranging announcements made to the SkillsFuture Framework, including the SkillsFuture Level-Up Programme, how does the Ministry work with MOE and other agencies, like SkillsFuture, to systematically nudge Singaporeans into these occupations and sectors with training opportunities? We need to ensure that local workforce development is not just reactive but predictive, aligning closely with future industry needs.

Sir, in 2022, the Harvard economist Lawrence Katz wrote a paper reviewing four US sectoral employment programmes under the umbrella of Work Advance. These programmes – targeting a mix of US lower-wage workers, high school graduates and young adults – combine training, job placement and support services aiming to transition participants into higher-wage jobs within specific sectors. Sectors were chosen because of local labour market demand and long-term career prospects, for example, healthcare, IT and manufacturing.

The evaluations revealed substantial earning gains of 14% to 38% for participants about a year after training completion, with gains persisting from five to 11 years after participation in the programme. The success of these programmes was attributed to targeted skills training, certifications recognised within the industry, comprehensive wraparound support services, as well as leveraging community-based organisations with deep local knowledge to facilitate recruitment.

In this light, Sir, particularly in view of enhancements to SkillsFuture at this Budget, how does MOM plan to report on the success or otherwise of the initiatives, to improve the employability prospects of the broader Singaporean workforce to fill the strategic gaps in our economy on an ongoing basis?

Complementing Local Workforce

Mr Sharael Taha: Chairman, there are many industries in Singapore that are growing and competing for local workforce. SkillsFuture provides the platform for the current workforce to develop the skills required in the economy and WSG supports with assisting the workforce with job placement and career conversion through programmes, such as CCP.

While we strengthen and provide the opportunity for our Singaporean workforce, we must continue to remain open and connected to support economic growth. Can the Minister provide an update on how our foreign workforce policies will continue to support our business needs, while ensuring that local workers can continue to compete fairly for good jobs? And while the number of Work Permit holders have rebounded post COVID-19, how does the Government intend to manage the inflow of Work Permit holders, given the resource and infrastructure constraints?

Mr Chairman: Mr Mark Lee, take your two cuts together.

Manpower for Strategic Economic Priorities (M-SEP) Scheme

Mr Mark Lee (Nominated Member): Chairman, can MOM share insights on which sectors have successfully utilised the M-SEP Scheme and the key lessons and best practices enabling its wider applications?

Furthermore, is there consideration for allowing firms in the M-SEP scheme to gradually increase their foreign worker quota up to 5%, based on exceeding local hiring or training targets within two years, rather than maintaining a fixed threshold?

Finally, might MOM extend the scheme beyond two years for companies that notably advance Singapore's economic goals and invest in local talent, while also adjusting renewal criteria to accommodate the varied growth and development across industries?

Service Industry – Foreign Worker Quotas

Chairman, the current tight labour market highlights the challenges that businesses across the diverse services industry face. This sector includes a wide range of businesses, from modern services, like financial, insurance and infocomm service, to lifestyle services, such as hospitality, retail and food services; it also encompasses transport and storage services, and community, social and personal services.

The unique workforce composition and varied demand and supply dynamics within each sub-sector demonstrate that the existing one-size-fits-all quota system for foreign workers does not adequately address the specific needs of these industries. Given that certain job roles within the services industry consistently struggle to attract local talent, perhaps a more talented approach to managing foreign worker quotas is necessary.

As such, would implementing a sub-sector specific quota system, addressing jobs like heavy vehicle drivers and certified opticians, could be a more effective tool in managing manpower needs, ensuring that areas with persistent low take-up rates by Singaporeans receive the necessary support.

Therefore, could the Minister consider initiating a targeted review in selecting sub-sectors of the services' sector, and a nuanced approach can be selected sectors to show overall productivity growth, if given extra manpower.

Anti-discrimination at the Workplace

Ms He Ting Ru (Sengkang): Sir, the upcoming Workplace Fairness Legislation (WFL) will be important in ensuring that certain groups do not experience discrimination at the workplace. I would like to share views on several key areas.

First, the Tripartite Committee recommended that WFL only cover direct discrimination. This means that workers may still be exposed to indirect discrimination, discrimination-related harassment, as well as discrimination by association and perception.

The laws of many countries already prohibit all these forms of discrimination, and the Tripartite Committee's recommendations are inconsistent with our obligations under international law, including Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), which require us to prohibit all forms of discrimination.

TAFEP, which is meant to run alongside WFL, also do not address the types of discrimination mentioned above. As a first step, will it be made clear that all of these different forms of discrimination are prohibited under the guidelines?

Will MOM also commit to a timeline to update WFL to protect Singaporeans from all forms of discrimination at the workplace in the next five years?

On grievance handling, the processes in WFL must be inclusive and accessible to all who may face barriers when seeking redress, whether because workers have disabilities or have difficulties navigating a perceived intimidating tribunal system, in a language they are not familiar or comfortable with, MOM must pay attention to their particular needs to ensure that they are able to exercise their rights under WFL on an equal basis as others.

This also extends to the mandatory mediation and Employment Claims Tribunal. More needs to be done to ensure that workers who face barriers are able to access justice if they have been discriminated against at the workplace.

The Committee further recommended an expansive approach to prohibit all acts done to victimise an individual who has reported their employer for workplace discrimination. However, are workers protected from retaliation for reporting forms of discrimination that are not prohibited under WFL? Can MOM clarify if the WFL's prohibition against retaliation would also protect employees who report their employers to TAFEP for forms of discrimination that are not prohibited under WFL?

Next, on the gender pay gap, I was disappointed that WFL does not include any mechanism to address this. Other developed economies have taken steps to legislate salary and transparency to address the gender pay gap. I reiterate the Workers' Party's manifesto's call, that employers with 10 or more employees should be required to report to MOM the gender pay gap for the same job description. This information must be made publicly available in aggregate form. Only with such publicly available basic data on a regular basis could we have a better idea of the problem and move to close the gender wage gap.

On information to be provided by jobseekers, MOM has accepted the Committee's recommendation to prohibit the use of words or phrases in job advertisements that indicate a preference for a protected characteristic. But we can include the prohibition of asking for other information, such as last drawn salary, relationship and NS PES status.

An employer should be exempted from this prohibition, only if such information is a genuine and reasonable job requirement, a concept already used in the Committee's final report. The burden should be on the potential employer to explain why such personal information is needed when requesting the information.

Finally, for reasonable accommodation, the Tripartite Committee recommended that this be covered by an advisory instead of legislation. However, many countries already recognise the right to reasonable accommodations and the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has also called on Singapore to adopt legal provisions to recognise the denial of reasonable accommodation as a form of discrimination, not just in the employment context, but in all areas of life.

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Enhancing Wage Support and Retirement

Mr Yip Hon Weng (Yio Chu Kang): Chairman, the issue of retirement adequacy lies close to the hearts of many Singaporeans.

The recent Forward Singapore initiatives, including the Majula Package, increased Enhanced Retirement Scheme (ERS) payouts and so forth, are commendable steps towards strengthening retirement adequacy and our social compact. They promise support for seniors who need more help, ensuring greater peace of mind, especially in this inflationary environment. Can the Minister elaborate on how these changes and initiatives translate to tangible benefits for citizens, especially those who require more support?

Next, the Silver Support Scheme (SSS), continues to play a critical role in ensuring financial support for vulnerable seniors. However, with the rising cost of living, is the current SSS quantum adequate to meet their basic needs and maintain a decent standard of living? Can the Minister elaborate on plans to review and potentially adjust the Scheme's payout to reflect evolving needs?

These policies represent a renewed commitment to a multi-pronged approach involving the Government, families, employers and the wider community. By working together, we can create a supportive ecosystem that empowers our seniors to retire with dignity and security.

Central Provident Fund (CPF)

Ms Hazel Poa (Non-Constituency Member): Mr Chairman, I had previously asked why the Matched Retirement Savings Scheme (MRSS) did not cover seniors above 70. The Progress Singapore Party welcomed the announcement in this year's Budget that these seniors will now be covered by the MRSS. As I discussed in my speech on the Public Finances Motion early this month, the Government likely earns a higher return from investing CPF savings with GIC than the interest rate it pays to Singaporeans. This difference goes into the Reserves, instead of CPF accounts.

The hon Member Mr Louis Chua has pointed out in his Budget speech that, over the years, many Members of Parliament (MPs) from all sides have been urging the Government to let CPF members benefit directly from the higher returns. The Progress Singapore Party shares their views and urges the Government to be transparent about the returns it has earned on investing our CPF savings and find a way to give this back to CPF members. We can adopt a different approach based on age. Younger CPF members with more than 20 years to go before their retirement, can take more risk for higher returns. Those who are closer to retirement, should lean more towards risk-free returns.

Can the Government consider setting up two options? One for risk-free returns as in the current arrangement; and another option, which incorporates some risk, like pegging to the GIC's annual investment return or other investment options. Allow younger CPF members who are prepared to take some risk to allocate some of their savings to the latter option, but gradually adjust the proportion allowed downwards with age, so that the portfolio becomes lower-risk as they age. CPF returns can also be raised through the Lifetime Retirement Investment Scheme (LRIS), which was recommended by a CPF panel in 2016 and accepted by the Government.

In November 2023, my colleague Mr Leong Mun Wai asked why LRIS has still not been implemented. The Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister have since replied on different occasions, that further studies need to be made. But the Government has had almost eight years to study this. I call on the Government to make a decision soon. LRIS can also be implemented in conjunction with my proposal of age-related allocation. The LRIS can be one of the options that takes some risk. The allocation caps can then limit the risk of this option.

Next, I will touch on the closure of the special account for CPF members above age 55. The Minister has said that the closure of the Special Account (SA) is not aimed at saving interest monies. But if the SA savings go to the Ordinary Account (OA) instead of the Retirement Account (RA), the Government can be expected to save on interest payments. What is the amount expected to be saved?

If this is not about saving money, can the Government channel any interest savings towards paying higher interest for those with low balances? For example, by raising the threshold for additional 1% interest from the first $60,000 to the first $100,000, or pegged to the basic retirement sum (BRS). The Progress Singapore Party notes that the maximum amount that CPF members can keep in their RA will be increased four times the BRS. What is the reason for capping this amount? Why should we stop CPF members from enhancing their retirement adequacy by putting more into their RA if they wish to do so? Does this impose additional cost on the Government? Finally, will the Minister consider adjusting the MediSave annual withdrawal limit every year, in line with healthcare inflation, just like the way BRS is adjusted yearly?

The Chairman: Mr Louis Chua, you can take your two cuts together.

Enhancing CPF Returns

Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis (Sengkang): Chairman, I would like to once again take the chance to raise concerns that I have previously voiced out in Parliament over the past three years and also earlier this year, during the debate on our reserves.

There are already certain financial instruments available for members to invest their CPF balances, under the CPF Investment Scheme. However, for the benefit of all Singaporeans' retirement, we need to ensure that the long-delayed LRIS is implemented. As described in a poster explaining the benefits of the LRIS, such a scheme involves low fees, is simple and fuss-free. CPF savings are pooled together with other members to enjoy economies of scale, investments follow a market index and there are fewer choices and less headache over which funds to choose and does not need active management to adjust risk.

Against the backdrop of inflationary pressures and headwinds in the global investment environment, I hope that the Minister will not respond to this cut calling for the LRIS to be implemented as soon as possible, once again, by saying that he will provide updates when ready; but that he is now ready to provide updates.

CPF Ordinary Account Reform

Chairman, I would like to once again repeat my call for us to reform the long-outdated and archaic formula in which OA interest is computed. This was last changed in 1999, when the ratio of fixed deposits to savings was updated from 50-50 to 80-20 to reflect the longer duration that CPF OA monies remained with CPF Board. A reform is a long due.

As shared by the Monetary Authority of Singapore in its reply to my Parliamentary Question, deposit rates are set competitively in the market. Apart from basic savings accounts, consumers can choose from a range of other savings and fixed deposit products with higher interest rates offered by banks. Yet, despite much higher market rates for both fixed deposits and savings deposits, the CPF deems the level of deposit interest rates to be an unbelievable 0.66% for the period from August 2023 to October 2023. The least we can do is to reflect prevailing rates in the market. I hope the Government will proactively review CPF interest rates to ensure their relevance in the prevailing operating environment.

The Chairman: Mr Desmond Choo, you can take your two cuts together.

CPF Special Account

Mr Desmond Choo: Mr Chairman, the recent announcement of the closing of the SA for CPF members above the age of 55 years old has generated much discussion. This is not surprising because of how central CPF savings are in providing for retirement adequacy. A key factor contributing to its effectiveness is the provision of high and risk-free interest rates on CPF monies.

With CPF contributions earning up to 4.08% per annum on the ordinary account, Singaporeans benefit from a secure avenue for retirement adequacy. In a world of financial uncertainty, the CPF scheme offers guaranteed tangible benefits to every Singaporean and bolstering our economic resilience. This is also testament to the effectiveness of the CPF system.

Could the Ministry shed more light on why is it timely to make this policy move to close the special account now? How many CPF members will be affected by this closure? And how many CPF members would benefit from the raising of the ERS?

During my recent House visit, a Tampines resident shared with me that it was logical to earn fixed deposit rates. The money should be naturally locked up in for longer and not withdrawn easily, as in a savings account. However, she was concerned about what are her options going forward if she exceeds the enhanced retirement sum. It is understandable that residents would want to maximise their retirement monies, especially as we are likely to be in a higher inflation rate but slower growth environment for quite some time. Can the Ministry provide more information on its website or other channels on the options that residents could explore if they wanted to get more than the 2.5% from the OA?

Majulah Package

The Majulah package will benefit our lower- to middle-income young seniors. Together with the Pioneer and Merdeka Generation packages, it provides for a robust social compact. It is also very good news for caregivers and homemakers, who prioritise the well-being of their loved ones at the expense of putting off their careers. While the Earn and Save Bonus component of the Majulah Package offers support to eligible working caregivers, there remain concerns for those who have not been working or of low income.

First, for the lower income, would the package allow them to achieve basic retirement adequacy by the time they retire? Second, for those who are not working, such as the homemakers and caregivers, without the Earn and Save component, achieving retirement adequacy would appear to be more difficult.

I have two suggestions for the Ministry to consider. First, for the lower-income employed residents: to provide a higher quantum of top-up so that they can achieve the BRS. The current way of topping up or supporting such residents is via ComCare or other forms of social assistance. Topping up via work can preserve work ethics and the dignity of work. Second, for the homemakers and caregivers: to expand upon the quantum of matched retirement savings so that employers and family members can help them to reach BRS. The current limit is up to $600 top-up per year. This would likely not be enough, especially for those who have been homemakers or caregivers most of their working lives.

Such earned or matched top-ups are also aligned with our social compact. Those who have contributed and needed help, would be helped by those with more. It also acknowledges the value of unpaid labour and provides them with enhanced financial security in retirement.

Expanding Home Protection Scheme (HPS) Coverage

Mr Ong Hua Han (Nominated Member): Chairman, the Home Protection Scheme (HPS) serves as a crucial safety net for Singaporean families, ensuring they can continue to reside in their HDB flats even if they were to lose income earning capacity due to unforeseen circumstances. HPS should go beyond the standards set by private mortgage insurers.

In the past three years, about 1.2% of HPS applications were not approved due to serious pre-existing medical conditions. We must expand HPS to ensure that most Singaporeans, including Persons with Disabilities (PwD) breadwinners with a track record of employment, have access to comprehensive protection of their most precious asset – their home. Could MOM consider reviewing the HPS risk assessment framework so that more in-need families, who cannot turn to private insurers, get the coverage they need? After all, we are talking about public housing not private properties.

Foreign Domestic Workers' (FDWs') Welfare and Employers' Rights

Ms Sylvia Lim (Aljunied): Sir, foreign domestic workers deserve to be protected. They live in their employers' homes and are potentially vulnerable to ill-treatment and abuse behind closed doors. Employers who ill-treat their workers must be punished in accordance with the law. On the other hand, some complaints are unfounded. Some employers have been victims of frivolous complaints.

Let me just take one scenario. After the worker has successfully entered Singapore at the cost of an employer, the worker makes a complaint in the hope of changing employers or a desire to return home. Based on the accounts of some employers who have been subject to investigations, they did not know what to expect of the protocol or procedures to be adopted. The investigations could take weeks and months, during which, the employer's eligibility to hire a replacement helper would be suspended, disrupting household arrangements. In other cases, the decision may be made to take no further action against the employer. Nevertheless, an advisory might be issued to the employer not to commit offences in the future. This could happen even when the employer was never interviewed by the investigators. How does MOM balance the need to safeguard workers' welfare and at the same time, ensure that investigations are efficient and employers are accorded due process? Will advisories serve as adverse records against employers if they wish to hire other helpers in the future?

Leave for Singles and Family Care

Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim (Sengkang): Currently, under the Child Development and Co-Savings Act, working parents are eligible for up to six days of paid childcare leave a year. While I suspect that many parents find this insufficient, especially if they have multiple children – each with unique contingencies that could keep them out of school, I wish to speak about how there remains a symmetry between childcare and eldercare leave.

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As our demographics evolve and ever more children find themselves providing care to elderly parents, they find that there is no equivalent support for them as they ferry their parents to and from medical and related care appointments. This is especially trying for those who are an only child of a single children living with their elderly parents, who generally default into the role of being the primary caregiver.

This has, unsurprisingly, resulted in caregiving employees facing depression and reduced quality of life as shown in a 2021 Duke-NUS study. And this is disproportionately borne by women, as revealed in a 2019 report published by the Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE).

While civil servants have two days of parental care leave, a benefit that half of the Service exercise and an average of taking both days, there is no equivalent entitlement for the private sector. Some employers have been willing to voluntarily offer such leave but the share is trifling at just 13%.

I propose an expansion of family care leave. This is an idea that has bipartisan support. Member Mr Louis Ng has tirelessly advocated for paid parent-care leave and as, if I heard correctly, Mr Desmond Choo just now; so has my former colleague Mr Leon Perera.

As a start, we can include two days of paid leave for the only child of aged parents as well as singles living with their elderly parents. While it may seem like an additional cost for businesses, the resulting improvement in economic security and well-being of these employees is more than likely to pay for itself in terms of elevated productivity and reduced turnover.

Menopause Support for Female Workers

Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: Sir, the number of women aged 40 to 59 in the labour force has risen by 97,000 from 2012 to 2022. Many in this group of workers will be undergoing perimenopause, which can present various physical and emotional challenges that may impact their well-being and work performance.

Awareness of the health-related impact of perimenopause on women's well-being does not seem be widespread in Singapore. The Straits Times, in a piece titled "Is Singapore ready for menopause wave from a super ageing society?" interviewed women who quit their jobs or suffered through the pain at work. This loss of productivity may ultimately be costly to businesses and the economy, not to mention the human toll it takes on female workers. Based on a National University Hospital (NUH) study and extrapolating for the current mid-life working population, as many as 388,800 women may be bearing the ill-effects of perimenopause at work

It is important for employers to recognise and accommodate these changes and foster a supportive work environment that addresses the unique needs of these women. It is notable that the United Kingdom and Australian Parliaments have convened Member of Parliament-led consultations to raise awareness nationally.

In Singapore, we can start with incentives for women who turn 45 to seek pre-emptive check-ups and for those who need physiotherapy for their joint and muscle pain to either subsidise the treatment or give them time-off for it. If women are forced to cut short their working life during their menopause transition, their health and finances may worsen and our economy will lose out on their valuable contributions. This scenario is entirely preventable.

Support for Caregivers

Ms Yeo Wan Ling (Pasir Ris-Punggol): Given that women traditionally take on the brunt of caregiving duties at home and that there are some 260,000 women of economic age not in the workforce, more must be done to support women workers to stay or return to the workplace. The implementation of flexible work arrangements (FWAs) is critical in this support and we see tailwinds with the adoption of the tripartite standards for FWAs and the upcoming Tripartite Guidelines for FWA requests. However, a multifaceted approach is needed.

Would the Ministry consider the provision of more caregiving leave to support our workers in an ageing Singapore and can the coverage of existing leave policies be expanded to include a wider range of family members requiring care? Will there also be additional support for women returners in the form of more paid training support to ensure a smooth transition back to the workforce?

Employment Support for Caregivers

Miss Rachel Ong (West Coast): Chairman, many caregivers seek employment to cover expenses for dependents, like individuals with disabilities or seniors, often needing jobs with flexible work arrangements due to caregiving demands. In exchange for greater flexibility in schedule, caregivers sometimes settle for low-paying roles that may not match their education levels or skills.

The financial strain of caregiving can be great, especially if they have had to quit their jobs or reduce their working hours to be a caregiver. This problem is particularly pronounced where the caregivers are single. May I ask, what employment support will be made available to caregivers to PWDs and seniors? And for caregivers who are single, whether there is additional support for them?

FWAs

Ms Yeo Wan Ling: FWAs have become a key consideration for caregivers and senior workers deciding to stay or return to the workplace. It is arguably also a rising consideration for younger workers who choose to work flexibly so as to pursue side gigs and taking on higher degrees. As more employers embrace FWAs and as the dust settles on the implementation and proliferation of FWAs, it is important that fair workplace norms be created in the support of win-win employer-employee outcomes.

Employers must see productivity gains in the introduction of FWAs and employees must be fairly assessed and treated when it comes to performance appraisals, work assignments and their requests for FWAs. Beyond acceding to more family care and caregiving leave, which may prove to be untenable in the longer run, employers see FWAs as a more sustainable way to support their workers.

However, it is important that for true sustainability, FWAs be rolled out in planned, managed ways so that productivity is not impacted and trust continues to be built between employers and their workers. To this end, what will the Ministry be doing to further equip and support our companies in the redesign of their job roles and in the re-engineering of their work cultures?

Some companies have also expressed their concerns as service providers in third-party outsourcing business sectors, such as cleaning and security. They have shared that while they hope to implement FWAs in their industries, which faces manpower crunches, service buyers may continue to stick with more traditional contracts that are not outcomes-based. How will the Ministry be promoting and closing this gap as we move towards FWAs as a nation and economy?

Indeed, the need for job redesign is critical in the role of FWAs to fair worker outcomes. The Women and Family Unit of the NTUC has been advocating for FWAs, long before COVID-19. In the earlier days, some industries have pushed back citing reasons that the nature of their job types make FWAs untenable. This includes jobs in healthcare, services and manufacturing.

However, FWAs are not only about work-from-home. They too include part-time work and remoting from a regional office and flexible hours. I am glad to note that post-COVID-19, our Healthcare Services Employees Union have partake in a pilot to introduce flexible loads and flexible timing for our healthcare frontliners in hospitals.

In the wide scale introduction of FWAs, how will the Ministry encourage more sectors to roll out FWAs creatively and fairly? In an introduction of the upcoming Tripartite Guidelines for FWA requests, what measures will the Ministry take to guard against employers rejecting without fair and proper consideration on employees – rejecting requests for FWAs citing business reasons?

Removing Barriers for Seniors to Work

Miss Rachel Ong: Chairman, as Singapore's population continues to age and birth rates decline, it has become increasingly important to support the physical and financial independence of our seniors in order to ease the economic burden on the workforce.

The good news is with better education and skill sets, we would expect to see seniors open to staying economically active for a longer time, whether for financial reasons or just to stay active. Forty-one percent of the labour force now holds at least a university degree, a significant increase from just 27.6% in 2010.

However, seniors who are not pressed financially, may like to work part-time after retirement to balance leisure time and professional engagement for a healthier pace of life. Others would like to reduce work hours due to health reasons and supplement retirement income against rising costs.

What plans are there to support older persons who are willing and able to contribute to work, but with reduced hours? Will the upcoming Tripartite Guidelines on Flexible Work Arrangement Requests, include considerations for older workers who require both reduced and flexible work hours due to age-related health issues?

More Inclusive Workforce

Mr Yip Hon Weng (Yio Chu Kang): Chairman, today, I want to focus on two key aspects of building a more inclusive workforce: harnessing the potential of senior workers and fostering FWA.

First, as Singapore's population ages, raising retirement and re-employment ages is a positive step in the right direction. However, maximising their potential requires more than just extending their tenure. Can the Ministry share plans to support structured career planning, re-employment opportunities and job redesign to harness the potential of senior workers?

Second, FWA unlocks true inclusivity in our workforce. I commend the Public Service for leading the way. It is encouraging to see more companies implementing diverse and sustainable approaches since the pandemic. These include work arrangement autonomy, flexible hours, compressed workweeks, remote work and job-sharing.

The key message is this: output, not location, should matter. FWA empowers a diverse workforce to thrive, regardless of personal limitations or preferences.

However, extending flexible work opportunities to the frontline, shift and blue-collared workers present unique challenges. To truly foster inclusivity, can the Ministry share on strategies that cater to diverse roles and responsibilities? This could empower individuals like caregivers, PwD and others who require flexibility to join or remain in the workforce.

FWA benefit employers too. Looking at Singapore's best employers ranking list, working from home is clearly a key factor, with Google topping the list for its hybrid work arrangements even after the pandemic. Let us move beyond simply offering FWA as a benefit. Let us strive to make FWA the norm, accessible to everyone regardless of their profession or position.

Updates on FWAs

Mr Sharael Taha: Chairman, I am heartened to see that while we work on growing our economy and equipping our workers with the right skill set, we are also focusing on strengthening our social compact by ensuring growth is inclusive and with work-life balance for workers.

Flexible work arrangements will be a key enabler for this, but it must be done in a way which balances the needs of both employers and employees. FWAs can form of flexible time, flexible place and flexible load. Does the Minister have any updates on the guidelines on FWAs and how its adoption in the public and private sector can be encouraged?

How do we harness the potential of senior workers, mobility-challenged residents, caregivers and women back to work through FWA? Have our guidelines moved the needle for hiring them? How do we assist companies to manage FWA request while maintaining harmony, fairness and productivity in the workplace?

Seniors in Employment

Ms Rahayu Mahzam (Jurong): Chairman, NTUC U Women & Family and PAP Seniors Group collaborated recently, to conduct a survey for Singapore residents above the age of 50 who are currently working. Most of those surveyed were in favour of raising retirement and re-employment ages. Nearly 88% support a retirement age of 63 and above and around 80% support a re-employment age of 68 and above. The findings also highlighted that concerns relating to negative employer attitudes and age discrimination ranks high at 63.4%.

Indeed, these are real concerns among the older workers. PAP Seniors Group has been engaging with many of them. In Bukit Batok East, I also received feedback and appeals from more senior workers who feel that they are not given the job just because of their age. At times, they feel gradually cast aside at work and eventually asked to leave on the pretext of poor work performance.

A lot has been done by the Government to change attitudes, including by giving employers incentives to hire senior workers and supporting the redesign of jobs. Could the Ministry share some of the latest efforts and plans to continue building a conducive environment for seniors to participate in the workforce?

We should leverage on the voices of advocates who care about the plight of older workers. There are also more enlightened employers who have good practices that should be emulated. What more can these employers and community partners, like seniors groups do? How can they meaningfully champion the cause and amplify their efforts?

Jobs for Seniors

Mr Keith Chua (Nominated Member): Mr Chairman, every senior should be given the opportunity to decide how they wish to live out their older years. Some may choose to retire at a suitable point; others may desire to continue working for a few more years or perhaps find meaningful engagement in serving the community.

In order to have the ability to make choices, financial considerations will be one major factor. Some seniors may need to work a little longer to build up enough retirement adequacy. To facilitate this, we may need to bring forward the current timing of raising the retirement age to 65.

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Employers need to appreciate the experience and value of seniors in various vocations. To all employers currently providing job opportunities for seniors – thank you very much.

May I enquire, what are some ways the Ministry can encourage employers to retain seniors or to give suitable second career opportunities to seniors? Secondly, will consideration be given to raising the retirement age to the next level before 2030?

Advisory on Reasonable Accommodation

Miss Rachel Ong: I am encouraged to learn that one of the recommendations put forth by the Tripartite Committee on Workplace Fairness involves the issuance of a Tripartite Advisory on providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities.

It is imperative that individuals with disabilities are not unfairly excluded from job opportunities simply because they require reasonable accommodations. These accommodations are crucial for both employers and employees to achieve their full potential and drive business success. They can encompass a variety of adjustments, such as physical modifications, changes to job tasks, technological aids, as well as fostering understanding and support from colleagues.

While some employers may view reasonable accommodations as optional, we must recognise that for persons with disabilities, these accommodations are essential for their livelihood.

As the Tripartite Advisory on Reasonable Accommodations is currently in the form of guidance rather than a legal requirement, it is crucial to monitor its implementation and effectiveness among employers, as well as its impact on individuals with disabilities. May I request the MOM to provide updates on the roll-out of this advisory to employers, including details on how and when it will be implemented, as well as the metrics that will be used to evaluate its success?

Additionally, I am curious to know if there are plans to eventually incorporate reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities into Workplace Fairness Legislation in the future.

Ensuring Effectiveness of Work Injury Compensation Act (WICA) System

Ms He Ting Ru (Sengkang): Sir, how is the Government ensuring that insurers are adequately compensating injured workers under the Work Injury Compensation Act (WICA) which applies to both local and migrant workers? Insurers obtain premiums paid for by employers and have incentive to keep costs low by limiting insurance payouts. Yet, insurers, instead of MOM, are now in charge of adjudicating work injury claims, unlike in the past.

Can the Government release the code of conduct for insurance companies for transparency, including whether there are procedures for workers to hold the insurance companies accountable and the timelines for their claims. How long have insurers taken to process claims, for example, and how many claims have been rejected?

Empowering SEPs to Proritise Workplace Safety and Health

Ms See Jinli Jean (Nominated Member): Chairman, businesses in sectors such as creative, media, coaching and delivery have evolved their business models to tap freelancers as the main labour pool. These businesses prefer freelancers for their expertise and responsiveness. They also prefer freelancers for efficient budgeting as labour can then be reflected as a unit cost.

Oftentimes, the commoditisation of freelancer services meant that businesses were conditioned to find ways to spend less on freelancers as a component. This included holding back from providing injury coverage to freelancers, whether by direct insurance or by preferring freelancers who include the cost of injury insurance into their fees.

The commoditisation of freelancer services also means that at work sites, businesses might prioritise business needs over the health and safety of freelancers.

For instance, post-pandemic, it was common to hear of freelance production crew working on shoots for 16 or more hours at a stretch just so that the production house could compact filming into one day and thus save on venue and equipment rental costs. Upon shoot completion, these freelance crew must still make the trip to return the production equipment, thus many might only call it a day after nearly 20 hours at work.

Should a freelancer get injured during work, past cases have shown that it could be very trying to obtain compensation from the business for the freelancer’s medical bills and downtime. This is especially difficult if the freelancer was injured badly because of the work or work conditions.

While the tripartite standard on procurement of media freelancers’ services urges adopters to provide insurance for freelancers on-set for injury and gear damage, this is not a pervasive practice.

Likewise for freelancers who provide exercise coaching or delivery expertise, they are often instructed to adhere to work instructions set out by service buyers and intermediaries. In the course of work, they might injure other persons or property by accident. Again, it is seldom that the service buyer and intermediaries provide the freelancer liability insurance via direct coverage or or by engaging freelancers whose fees have factored in liability coverage. A lack of injury and liability insurances thus exposes the freelancer to risks that he or she is not equipped to deal with.

In this regard, I would like to ask if the Minister would consider directing service buyers and intermediaries to be responsible for the workplace health and safety of the freelance or self-employed service providers that they engage? This could mean that the service buyer and intermediaries provide the freelance service providers with injury and liability insurance via direct coverage or engages freelance service providers who already possess coverage of such insurances.

As businesses continue to restructure and de-risk, it would take collective will and guardrails than mere goodwill to ensure that workers, whether employees or freelancers, are valued as contributors and their safety and health at work regarded and prioritised.

Predatory Employment Contracts

Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis: Chairman, I wish to raise the issue of predatory employment contract terms, which many Singaporeans, especially of a younger disposition, may be unknowingly entering into.

To better protect our Singaporean workers and educate them on their rights to fair employment and rein in errant employers who make use of unfair terms in employment contracts to gain advantage at the cost of employees' well-being, it is critical to examine some practices and review whether we need to re-examine our stance of not introducing regulations against these. Some examples of these unfair or predatory employment terms are in the position of early termination fees, training recovering fees, replacement fees and other financial penalties that arise when an employee decides to leave a workplace. These terms are often justified by employers as necessary to protect their commercial interests, but in practice, restrict the avenues for alternate employment.

Another example is in the position of non-compete clauses or restrictive covenants into certain employment contracts which do have any basis beyond sharing the same industry segment. A recent example is that of retrenched Lazada employees who are bound by a lengthy 12-month non-compete clause covering an extensive list of technology, retail and logistics companies which extend far beyond the firm's key competitors, according to a news report.

Chairman, I urge the Government to investigate how prevalent such practices are in Singapore and whether or not they are justified in the ordinary course of business for an employer.

The reality is that even though a contract should ostensibly be entered into by willing parties, the imbalance in economic circumstances and bargaining positions between Singaporean employees and employers leaves little room for employees to challenge such unfair employment terms.

Further, employees may not see it as in their interest to embark on their new career by going through Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM) or the courts before they even start work. As my Sengkang colleague shared in Parliament earlier this year, even if these are unenforceable in the court of law, the danger is that they have a chilling effect on employee rights even before they can be potentially challenged.

Pernicious Non-competes and Junior Workers

Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim: Non-compete clauses are included in many modern labour contracts and impose restrictions on a worker joining or otherwise doing business with a rival firm even after employment with the firm in question is over, usually for a specified period of time. Many companies sign non-competes in the name of protecting proprietary knowledge. In addition to the benefits to the employer, employees may also benefit, assured that its trade secrets are safe, the firm may be more willing to invest in their workers. Non-competes can also promote efficiency since companies are reassured that knowledge transfer within the firm do not come back to bite them after staff members depart.

But non-competes can have detrimental effects on worker rights and freedoms. After all, the contract literally constrains what an employee can do even after they are no longer employed. Evidence also suggests that it suppresses wages and can depress innovation.

In Singapore, many non-competes have been declared invalid or unenforceable, but restraints have nevertheless been imposed under certain circumstances. Yet regardless of the law, many non-competes have become ever more common in local labour contracts. Perhaps more perniciously, they are now increasingly found even in contracts for mid-level employees, not just top management, where the cost-benefit calculus in permitting such clauses are even more shaky. This was amply on display during the recent Lazada trade layoffs, where retrenched workers found themselves bound by a year-long non-compete, adding insult to the injury of losing their job. Given the effects of non-competes on the competition in the labour and product markets, policy-makers should not abrogate oversight of such clauses to the judicial system alone, but exercise an interest in its regulation.

The Government, under the tripartite framework, has indicated that it is developing a set of guidelines on the inclusion of non-compete clauses in local employment contracts. I would like to go a step further and urge the Ministry to consider either providing strong guidance against non-competes or even banning them outright, especially for mid-level and low-level employees. This could be defined by salary of, say, less than $10,000 a month and/or complemented by job scope for all non-C-suite executives. This applies especially to sectors where the frequent movement of employees is a matter of course, such as healthcare and infocomm technology (ICT).

The problem with non-competes is not just about whether or not they are legally enforceable. Indeed, in a recent case, e-commerce firm Shopee failed to prevent an employee from joining a rival firm despite the presence of non-compete clauses. It is instead the chilling fact that the mere presence of such clauses has on employees, especially mid-level ones that may be less familiar with human resource matters and labour protections when they seek to pursue other job opportunities. What may be worse is absent regulation or guidance. HR departments may simply include such boilerplate language in standard contracts. This inadvertently erodes employee rights and diminishes labour market vitality, regardless of whether they do or do not carry the day in court.

Review of the Employment Act

Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan: The last round of Employment Act review was passed in 2018 and effective April 2019. With the rise in median wages, changes in the nature of work, workforce and workplaces, I am asking if MOM will embark on a review of the Employment Act with our tripartite partners. I want to draw attention to three areas which needs to be reviewed.

First, to raise the salaries caps of workmen and non-workmen prescribed in Part IV of the Act. I opine that both the salary caps as stipulated in section 35 of $2,600 and $4,500 respectively should be raised.

Second, there continues to be questions in the interpretation of section 18A of the Employment Act on transfers which impact workers affected by ongoing company restructuring, mergers and acquisitions. Can MOM review section 18A as part of the Employment Act review and issue a set of tripartite guidelines in the interim to provide guidance on what falls within and outside of section 18 of the Employment Act.

Third, is the provision on "dismissals" under section 14. At present, I am aware that employers terminate employees with notice pay but without giving reasons for the termination. It therefore makes it difficult for employees to bring a case of unfair dismissal against the employer. I propose that employers should be required to give their reasons for termination or discontinuation of employment explicitly in all cases of cessation of employment initiated by the employer.

Employment Act Threshold Salaries

Mr Raj Joshua Thomas (Nominated Member): Sir, Part IV of the Employment Act provides certain protections for more vulnerable workers including provisions for rest days, hours of work and overtime pay. The Employment Act currently sets the threshold salary at $2,600 for non-workmen and $4,500 for workmen.

As elaborated by Deputy Prime Minister in his Budget speech, the wages of lower-income workers have grown faster than the median wage over the past decade. This is one of the impetus for the increase in the Local Qualifying Salary.

As the Part IV threshold was last amended in 2021, I would like to ask the Minister if there any plans to review the threshold to reflect current wages and anticipated wage growth. It would be useful to give employers sufficient lead time to accommodate any intended changes.

Adequacy of Workers' Dormitories

Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis: Chairman, employers of work permit holders have been sounding the alarm bells on surging costs of workers' accommodation. Ministry statistics show that median monthly rentals for a bed hit $420 at the start of last year, up from $280 four years before. That is an 11% annual inflation rate, which is not entirely unexpected given the number of migrant workers in the construction, marine and process sectors is 18% above pre-COVID-19 levels and at the highest for all the years MOM has published statistics for.

In the 2010 Construction Productivity Roadmap, the Government set a 20% to 30% improvement in site productivity by 2020. The final outcome was 19.5% in the decade past. I understand that there have been no new targets since with the only productivity related target being the design for manufacturing and assembly adoption in the 2023 Built Environment Industry Transformation Map. But this is a target for process adoption rather than a target for productivity outcomes per se.

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A meaningful target is important because it helps us understand how much we can raise productivity before we need to increase capacity for workers.

Conversely, if in the meantime, we are unable to increase productivity and reduce manpower reliance as fast as we would like, we need to ensure that companies are able to access adequate accommodation at reasonable standards and prices so as not to have soaring costs passed through to end consumers eventually, which appears to be what is going on now.

The MOM shared that migrant workers' numbers cannot keep rising and hence the Government should also look to organic ways of retaining talent among work permit holders, which would also improve productivity. One way is to reduce repatriation of workers who have years of experience here. There are workers who are already socially integrated and have picked up English or even Mandarin during their stay. Workers who are more familiar with Singapore's work practices can hit the ground running without needing training from scratch.

Currently, workers can only obtain a new job without their current employer's consent during the 14- to 21-day window before the work permit expires, meaning the employers who anti-competitively want to prevent other companies from hiring their workers in future and for long period to block them from doing so. Qatar has a 90-day grace period after the expiry of a permit during which a worker can change jobs without employers' permission.

We should look to tilt the balance of power to the worker because this is healthy for the industry and workforce.

Fair Treatment for Migrant Workers

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang (Nee Soon): In my Budget speech, I shared about how our policies on migrant workers differentiate between "us" Singaporeans and "them" migrant workers.

First, many workers do not have enough space. Our current dormitory standards require at least 3.5 square metre per resident. We are asking dormitories to only increase this by 0.1 square metre within the next six years. By contrast, our full-time National Servicemen (NSFs) have at least seven square metre per resident. Will the MOM ensure that migrant workers have at least the same amount of space as our NSFs?

Second, many workers do not have safe food. Singapore Food Agency (SFA) requires all catered food be consumed within four hours after it is prepared and be labelled with a "consume by" time-stamp.

Workers tell me that many of them are catered food without the time-stamp and they regularly consume food way past the four-hour timeframe. Will the MOM ensure that food catered for workers in dormitories comply with existing food safety requirements?

Third, and lastly, many workers are made to pay illegal kickbacks. Kickbacks are a form of corruption but are punished less severely. Will the MOM increase penalties of employment kickback offences to be equivalent to corruption offences and have better whistle-blower protections?

Discouraging Hasty Reparations

Ms He Ting Ru: Sir, on the topic of creating a sustainable workforce, can MOM ensure that if migrant workers lose their job after filing a complaint, the worker will have at least one month to look for a new job before they are repatriated? Workers sometimes face retaliation by employers when they make a complaint. Employers can cancel work permits and repatriate the worker. This repatriation can take place virtually overnight. This applies to domestic workers too. Currently, employers can decide unilaterally whether to send a domestic worker home or to allow a transfer.

Reform of these rules will help Singapore utilise available labour quickly in a tight labour market as well as retain workers who are already here and have the language and work skills to fit in. After all, workers who have fallen out of favour with one employer may be well-liked and seen as productive by another.

Workplace Safety and Health

Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye (Radin Mas): Mr Chairman, over the past three years, the spotlight has been on workplace safety and health (WSH), ever since the COVID-19 pandemic caused a spike in the number of workplace fatalities and injuries. I filed numerous Parliamentary Questions (PQs) and raised two Adjournment Motions on the need to keep our workers and workplaces safe.

I was therefore happy to hear from MOM that the annual workplace fatality rate has dropped to 0.99 per 100,000 workers in 2023, five years ahead of our WSH 2028 goal. This was only possible through the collective efforts of the tripartite partners and buy-in from both workers and supervisors on the ground to engender safer work environments.

But we cannot rest on our laurels, as it only takes a momentary lapse and fatalities will spike again. How does MOM intend to build on this positive trend to ensure safer and healthier workplaces moving forward? Can MOM share how are the respective sectors doing in terms of major workplace injuries?

In October 2023, the workplace safety demerit point system was extended to the manufacturing sector. Has this move been effective, and can MOM consider extending this to other high-risk sectors?

Lastly, I hope that MOM will consider my repeated calls for there to be a mandatory WSH representative in every company, regardless of size and industry. Workplace safety and health must be a foremost concern and priority in every company.

Lower-wage Workers – PWM

Ms Yeo Wan Ling: Uplifting our lower-wage workers is a whole-of-society effort. Besides employers, consumers and service buyers in third-party contract models such as those seen in the security and cleaning sectors, everyone must unite in support of lower-wage workers, actively renegotiating contracts and endorsing companies with the PW Mark. I thank the Ministry for an earlier tripartite advisory on best sourcing practices, giving guidance on the adoption of fair and transparent procurement practices.

However, service providers have continued to cite difficulties in renegotiating longer-tail contracts without fear of future consequences such as unfair debarment. Some others share that contracts are renegotiated with downgrading of worker skill sets to avoid paying the higher PWM wages. What more can the Ministry do to further educate the service buyers and their procurement managers on PWM best practices?

Will there be better protections for service providers facing unfair and unsustainable contract negotiations due to PWM introductions?

Uplifting Lower-wage Workers

Mr Yip Hon Weng (Yio Chu Kang): Chairman, the well-being of our lower-wage workers is critical to a fair and inclusive society. Therefore, I would like to commend the efforts taken to uplift their wages and working conditions through the PWM.

Can the Minister share an update on the progress of the PWM expansion across different sectors? Are we on track to achieve the intended outcomes, particularly in ensuring lower-wage workers receive liveable wages that reflect their contributions in this inflationary environment?

Is there a plan to review and potentially further raise the LQS to benefit a larger pool of lower-wage workers?

While government policies play a vital role, collective action is key to truly uplifting lower-wage workers. In this regard, I would like to highlight two important stakeholders.

First, employers. Investing in upskilling and training lower-wage workers not only increases their productivity and employability but also empowers them to access higher-paying jobs. Can the Ministry explore further initiatives with relevant agencies to incentivise upskilling programmes for lower-wage workers across more sectors?

Second, consumers. Supporting businesses that have attained the PW Mark showcases our commitment to ethical and responsible consumption. Can we partner with the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) to raise public awareness about the PW Mark and encourage conscious consumer choices that reward good practices?

Mr Sharael Taha (Pasir Ris-Punggol): Chairman, we have made progress in uplifting wages of lower-wage workers. Workfare Income Supplement (WIS) and PWM are two important policies that must go hand in hand to uplift the wages of lower-wage workers.

Firstly, what is the progress on the expansion of the PWM?

I welcome the raising of the income qualifying cap from $2,500 to $3,000 for those 30 years and older. What will be the percentage of workers who will benefit from WIS with the higher qualifying cap? What is the target of lower-wage workers that the Ministry would like to provide support for?

The raising of Progressive Wage Credit Scheme ceiling from $2,500 to $3,000 and raising of the co-funding level for the increase in wages of the lower-wage workers from 30% to 50% shows the Government’s commitment to help increase the wages of the lower-wage workers while helping businesses with this wage cost increase. How long will these co-funding levels last?

The support of consumers and employers are integral in this success. How has the PW Mark assist businesses?

Mr Mohd Fahmi Aliman (Marine Parade): Chairman, in light of the recent adjustments to the LQS it is evident that Singapore remains steadfast in its commitment to ensuring fair wages for local workers while maintaining effective quota controls. Whilst LQS will help workers, some employers have raised concerns over the upcoming increase in LQS, noting that it elevates business costs.

Therefore, could MOM share how it will work with employers to ensure that the increase in LQS is bearable and not too onerous for them? Furthermore, the planned increase in the Progressive Wage Credit Scheme wage ceiling to $3,000 in 2025, accompanied by a $1-billion top-up to the fund, underscores the Government's commitment to enhancing support for lower-wage workers. This enhancement not only provides financial relief to employers but also empowers workers to pursue higher standards of living and greater financial stability.

In this context, I would like to enquire about MOM's comprehensive strategy for implementing these measures effectively and ensuring that they reach a broader spectrum of low-wage workers. Additionally, could Minister elaborate on initiatives aimed at encouraging consumer support, such as the PW Mark, and strategies for fostering employer investment in upskilling low-wage workers to enhance their earning potential and overall well-being?

The Chairman: Order. I propose to take a break now.

Thereupon Mr Speaker left the Chair of the Committee and took the Chair of the House.

Mr Speaker: Order. I suspend the Sitting and will take the Chair at 3.20 pm.

Sitting accordingly suspended

at 2.57 pm until 3.20 pm.

Sitting resumed at 3.20 pm.

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

Debate in Committee of Supply resumed.

Head S (cont) –

The Chairman: Minister Tan See Leng.

3.20 pm

The Minister for Manpower (Dr Tan See Leng): Mr Chairman, I thank Government Parliamentary Committee (GPC) MPs and others who have deep interests in MOM's work and spoken in support of our workers and our employers. Let me first give an overview of the labour market.

Overall, the labour market expanded in 2023. Resident employment grew in sectors with higher productivity or pay, such as financial and professional services. Resident unemployment rate remained low at 2.7%. This is one of the lowest amongst OECD countries. Real income fell slightly last year due to higher inflation, similar to what many other countries also experienced. However, businesses are more optimistic this year.

Our recent surveys indicate an improvement in hiring and wage growth expectations from employers. Nevertheless, the risks of near-term headwinds remain and this will weigh on our labour market in the year ahead.

Beyond the near-term headwinds, we will continue to face tight labour market constraints. Our population is ageing. Our birth rate continues to fall, despite our best efforts. We have to confront a slowing local workforce growth. If we continue on this trajectory, our workforce will taper off and decline.

In the next decade, it will become harder for us to sustain high economic growth primarily from workforce growth. The only sustainable approach is to pursue productivity-driven growth and that is enabling our local workers to move up the value chain and taking in foreign workers who can complement our local workers.

Many people have asked me what keeps me awake at night. Members of the House, keeping our competitive edge is what we should all be concerned about. If we do not succeed in sustaining our productivity in the next 10 years, my worry is that we will suffer real declines in economic growth. Businesses and talent will find Singapore less attractive. As a result, we will create fewer good jobs for Singaporeans and incomes will stagnate. You have seen this story play out in other mature economies, whether in Europe, Asia or elsewhere.

However, Singapore has a chance to write a different story. There are exciting developments on the horizon. With the accelerating pace of transformation, there will be more opportunities in new areas like the green economy and artificial intelligence, or AI.

Mr Edward Chia asked about how we plan to improve the productivity and competitiveness of our workforce. I could not agree with him more that maximising our human capital is key. This means improving the skills profile of both the local and the foreign workforce and ensuring that our employers put these skills to the fullest use. As our economy transforms, we must also channel more workers to the more productive areas of the economy. We have to rally and unite our employers and workers towards achieving a new Forward SG social compact. I will elaborate on these points further.

In my MTI speech, I spoke about how the Government will support businesses in unlocking resource constraints. I will build on this in my MOM speech by sharing how the Government will work hand-in-hand with workers and employers for a brighter future.

Our priorities for this year are centred on three themes: Strengthening you, Uplifting you and Caring for you.

Our first focus is to "strengthen you", by helping businesses become more productive and helping workers to take on better jobs. I will provide an update on our efforts to spur business transformation through our foreign workforce policies. We will also help employers strengthen the capabilities of their workforce and empower our local workers to take charge of their career health and seize new opportunities.

Our second focus is to "uplift you", to ensure no one is left behind. As announced at Budget 2024, we will roll out the Majulah Package to support our "young seniors", who are currently in their 50s and early 60s. Senior Minister of State Koh Poh Koon will recap the measures to provide greater assurance for our seniors who may be more vulnerable. Senior Minister of State Zaqy Mohamad will elaborate on how our tripartite partners work hand-in-hand to uplift our lower-wage workers.

Our third focus is to "care for you", by fostering more inclusive and fair workplaces. We will empower senior workers to continue working, if they wish to, by raising our retirement and re-employment ages. Minister of State Gan Siow Huang will provide more details and she will also be giving updates on other workplace policies.

The Government will continue working closely with our tripartite partners on all three focus areas. On this note, I would like to express my deepest appreciation to President Sister K Thanaletchmi, Secretary-General Brother Ng Chee Meng, Immediate Past President Sister Mary Liew from the NTUC, Brother Dr Robert Yap, President of the Singapore National Employers Federation, or SNEF, and to all of our sisters and brothers in NTUC and SNEF for their strong support in the past year and the years ahead. [Applause.]

Let me start with our efforts to strengthen businesses and workers. I will first share our approach to spur business transformation through our foreign workforce policies, before outlining our efforts to empower our local workers.

As an open economy, we will need to welcome global talent to compete on the world stage. But as a small country, we cannot increase the number of foreign workers indefinitely due to resource constraints. We have to, therefore, be very selective about the quality of foreign workers that we take in and ensure that they are deployed in the more productive areas of our economy.

So, with this in mind, we introduced major changes to our work pass framework over the past two years. In January 2023, we launched the Overseas Networks and Expertise Pass, or ONE Pass. It is a highly selective pass and is aimed at facilitating the recruitment of top global talent who possess valuable networks, as well as deep skills and expertise.

In an era where talent is scarce, businesses follow talent. Our ONE Pass holders are the proverbial "rainmakers". While they are not large in numbers, they are the creators of opportunities and they generate good jobs in their respective fields.

We have received good interest in the ONE Pass. As of 1 January 2024, we have approved nearly 4,200 ONE Pass applications. Let me share with Members two examples.

Mr Phil Inagaki is the Managing Director of Xora Innovation, an early stage, deep-tech investment platform of Temasek. Before he assumed his current position, he founded and raised US$120 million in funding across five startups in businesses and industries, such as AI, clean energy and semiconductors. He helps our local startups translate scientific breakthroughs into commercial successes.

The ONE Pass is also targeted at talents in areas, such as sports, arts and academia. Assoc Prof Marco Tomamichel from the National University of Singapore is an example of academic talent. His work focuses on quantum cryptography, which allows sensitive information to be encrypted and decrypted securely. Our young local Singaporeans have also benefited from attending his many courses.

In 2022, I announced the Complementarity Assessment framework (COMPASS). It assesses Employment Pass (EP) candidates more holistically, based on individual and firm-related attributes. This has been implemented in September last year. Businesses, as well as HR professionals, have welcomed the introduction of COMPASS. The transparent criteria provided clarity for their manpower planning. With the enhanced Self-Assessment Tool, businesses can see how their potential applicants fare on COMPASS before submitting their application. If their candidates cannot pass COMPASS, businesses will know precisely why and what they need to do to pass.

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To ensure that the quality of our foreign workforce improves in tandem with our local workforce, I have said previously that the minimum costs of hiring for S Pass and EP holders would be pegged to the top one-third of our local associate professionals and technicians (APTs) and professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs) respectively. By regularly updating the qualifying salaries based on the set wage benchmarks, we ensure a level-playing field for locals. For the S Pass, we had previously announced a three-step increase in the S Pass qualifying salary and levy with the next step taking place in 2025. Therefore, there will be no adjustment to the S Pass qualifying salary and levy this year.

For EPs, in line with how the benchmarks have moved, we will be increasing the EP minimum qualifying salary from $5,000 to $5,600 per month. For the financial services sector which has higher wage norms, this will be revised from $5,500 to $6,200 per month. The EP qualifying salary will also continue to increase progressively with age.

MOM has heard the concerns from the various TACs, such as the Singapore Business Federation, on rising costs of manpower and constraints in hiring. The revised EP qualifying salary will only apply to new EP applications from 1 January 2025 and to renewal applications from 1 January 2026. This means that firms with existing EP holders have a longer runway, potentially up to 2028, to manage the impact of these changes and prepare their hiring plans.

Even as we continue to attract top talent to grow our economy, our work pass framework needs to be strengthened to ensure that firms develop their local workforce and treat locals fairly. Mr Desmond Choo and Mr Patrick Tay asked how our EP framework and Fair Consideration Framework will help to achieve this.

Under COMPASS, firms with a lower local PMET share relative to their sector will score fewer points on the firm-level criteria, making it harder to pass COMPASS. These firms are hence incentivised to improve their local PMET share.

The Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP) has been engaging and supporting firms that score poorly on firm-related attributes under COMPASS, to help them improve their workforce profile and adjust to COMPASS. More than 440 firms have attended TAFEP's workshops over the past year. Firms with unfair hiring practices will still be taken to task under the Tripartite Guidelines for Fair Employment Practices (TGFEP) and under the Workplace Fairness Legislation in the future.

Mr Pritam Singh and Mr Desmond Choo asked about the effectiveness of the Shortage Occupation List (SOL) in easing skills shortages. The list was designed to award bonus points on COMPASS to EP applicants filling acute occupational shortages in areas of strategic importance for the economy. As COMPASS, was only implemented in September 2023, my update is therefore based on very preliminary data.

The proportion of EP holders in shortage occupations has increased since COMPASS was implemented, which shows that the list reflects real shortages in the industry. 20% of new EP holders in these shortage occupations used the bonus points to pass COMPASS. Therefore, the SOL is very helpful in ensuring that COMPASS does not hinder business growth because of shortage of skills locally.

As we transform our economy, some sectors in the green economy and agritech will inevitably have shortages. This is especially so as these sectors are still nascent and we are pivoting to anchor them here along with the talents needed. While we partner agencies in recruiting them here, we are also contemporaneously investing in developing our local talents for these jobs.

To Mr Singh's question on how MOM works with agencies to develop the local pipeline in areas of skills shortages, we are doing this systematically. As part of the process for evaluating occupations for the SOL, MOM considers sectors agencies' commitments to develop the local pipeline to address shortages in the medium-term in addition to the extent of the skills shortage. We evaluate progress on these commitments when we refresh the list every three years.

Work Permit Holders are also a critical part of our labour force. Many support essential services that local workers do not want to do. Mr Mark Lee suggested re-evaluating the foreign worker quotas for foreign manpower for services sub-sectors facing manpower challenges, for specific job roles. Mr Edward Chia supported granting additional foreign worker quotas to firms upon commitments to human capital improvements and training for local workers.

On the other hand, our fellow MP, Mr Sharael Taha asked about how the Government intends to manage the inflow of Work Permit Holders, given our resource constraints.

This is therefore the tension that we grapple with constantly. To Mr Lee and Mr Chia's concerns on whether employers have sufficient manpower, the overall numbers speak for themselves – the number of Work Permit Holders today has surpassed the COVID-19 levels in 2019 by 12.2%. But nevertheless, let me still respond to their specific suggestions.

On Mr Lee's suggestion, we already provide targeted flexibility for some essential job roles with limited automation and localisation potential. We will continue to review the areas where more flexibility may be required. However, there is a limit as to how much further we can differentiate to more granular job areas within the services sub-sectors. There are also practical challenges as job roles today can be very fluid and firms can circumvent our rules by declaring a business activity or job role in an area with more generous quota.

On Mr Chia's suggestion, training can take many different forms. For example, workplace learning, such as on-the-job training, can help employers better manage the challenges around sending staff for external courses. It would not be viable for us to give additional quota to every single company that invests in training of their local workforce. It can also be counter-productive, as the availability of cheaper foreign labour reduces the incentive for employers to re-design jobs and reskill their workers for greater productivity gains. Instead, we support firms in developing their local workforce. I will provide greater clarity in the next segment.

As Deputy Prime Minister Wong has emphasised, transformation is the only way that Singapore can achieve productivity-driven growth. Our Work Permit framework will therefore need to evolve to spur business. The overall direction is clear – we need to improve the quality of our Work Permit Holders and manage overall numbers. To this end, as announced at MTI’s Committee of Supply on Friday, we will be making changes to the foreign workforce policies in the marine shipyard sector as a first step.

The Dependency Ratio Ceiling (DRC) for the marine shipyard sector will be gradually reduced. As a first step, the DRC will be reduced from 77.8% to 75%. In addition, the levies will be increased. For basic-skilled R2 Marine Shipyard Work Permit Holders, the levy will be increased by $100; from $400 to $500. For the higher-skilled R1 Work Permit holders, the levy will be increased by a smaller amount of $50; from $300 to $350. Changes to the DRC and levies will take effect from 1 January 2026, to give businesses lead time to adjust.

Mr Mark Lee also asked for an update on the Manpower for Strategic Economic Priorities Scheme (M-SEP). M-SEP provides additional, time-bound Work Permit and S Pass quota to firms that contribute to Singapore's economic strategic priorities. Firms from sectors, such as construction, manufacturing and retail, have benefited from M-SEP since its inception a year ago. We will take in Mr Lee's suggestion as we finetune the scheme, alongside industry feedback.

Let me now turn to strengthening our local workers.

The Forward SG Report has identified career agility and resilience as an important focus in our refreshed social compact. We encourage workers to take charge of their own career health. Because in this age of change and disruptions, they should have better awareness of what their career prospects are, keep their skills relevant, stay on top of the competition and seize new opportunities.

Mr Patrick Tay and Mr Liang Eng Hwa have asked about how the Government will work with employers, workers and intermediaries to adopt a collective mindset of building career health. Mr Xie Yao Quan also asked about our plans to develop a future-ready workforce. The Government cannot do this alone. We will need a whole-of-society effort involving workers, employers and labour market intermediaries.

I will start with how we are supporting employers. Employers that support the career health of their workers will be able to better attract and retain talent, tapping on adjacent talent pools to grow. With an agile workforce, employers will be able to quickly pivot to new opportunities in a more complex and a more uncertain economic environment.

To help employers respond and plan for business transformation, the Government has launched the Jobs Transformation Maps (JTMs). A total of 16 JTMs have been completed, covering some 1.5 million resident workers. We will progressively launch four more in new growth areas, such as generative AI and sustainable finance. These JTMs will help employers better understand how to redesign jobs and how to reskill workers for new jobs.

However, reskilling workers for new roles can be costly upfront and employers bear the risk that some workers may not adjust well to the demands of the new jobs. Hence, Workforce Singapore (WSG) offers the Career Conversion Programmes (CCPs), to co-share costs with employers who reskill new hires or existing workers for new or enhanced job roles.

Between 2017 and 2023, over 7,300 employers and 47,000 workers have benefitted from the CCPs. One such worker who benefitted was Mr Poh Teck Hian. With the support of WSG, he secured a Senior Project Manager position with MDesign Solutions Pte Ltd, which is a Precision Engineering firm. His employer enrolled him in the CCP for Advanced Manufacturing Engineer to enhance his skills in robotics and electronic firmware. He is performing well in his new role, leveraging on his past engineering experience and the new skills he has picked up from the CCP.

To Mr Patrick Tay's suggestion, I am happy to announce that we will be enhancing our CCP to provide greater support to employers.

First, we will increase the salary support caps. For mature or long-term unemployed workers, the maximum salary support will be raised from $6,000 to $7,500 per month. For other CCP participants, we will increase the cap from $4,000 to $5,000 per month. This means that employers can receive up to $45,000 of salary support for each worker for a six-month conversion programme.

We will similarly increase the monthly training allowance cap for attachments under the CCPs, from $4,000 to $5,000. We will also expand CCP for existing workers within the company. Today, CCPs can only be used to reskill existing workers in jobs that are at risk of redundancy. Going forward, we will support employers who are proactively reskilling existing workers to take on new growth job roles.

On Mr Tay's suggestion to expand the range of CCPs, WSG will continue to review the programme offerings in consultation with the industry. I would urge and encourage all employers to get in touch with WSG to explore how they can tap on the CCP to meet their talent needs.

3.45 pm

The Government is not doing this alone. We are supporting NTUC to set up more CTCs to work hand-in-hand with company management to drive business and workforce transformation. We are working with NTUC, SNEF and other TACs in the financial services, ICT, retail and precision engineering sectors to implement structured career guidance workshops. This will equip line managers and HR with capabilities to support their workers in developing career development plans.

Finally, MOM and SNEF has set up the Alliance for Action, or AfA, on Widening Access to Talent last year. This AfA, led by Dr Bicky Bhangu from SNEF and Ms Aileen Tan, a HR Master Professional, is working with progressive businesses and TAC leaders to develop practical solutions to support skills-based hiring and workforce agility.

As employers transform their businesses, as they raise productivity, workers will benefit from more meaningful jobs and improved wages. Workers must also be motivated to better plan for their own careers, pick up relevant skills and venture beyond their comfort zone.

Business leaders have consistently told me that overseas experience is valuable for career progression and, in particular, for corporate leadership positions. We will do more to help. To support Singaporeans to venture overseas and progress in their careers, the Government will work with businesses to expand overseas opportunities for PMETs.

The Minister for Trade and Industry announced that the Government will introduce the Global Business Leaders Programme, or GBLP, to support businesses that send their Singaporean workers with leadership potential on overseas postings. The GBLP adds to the existing range of leadership development programmes.

To complement these leadership development programmes, WSG will launch a new Overseas Markets Immersion Programme, or OMIP. The OMIP aims to encourage businesses with overseas expansion plans to send employees with little to no overseas market experience for overseas postings. Employees will benefit from reskilling through on-the-job, in-market training in global or regional roles offering good prospects, whether in technology, business development or beyond. Our businesses will also be better positioned to expand and to compete in overseas markets, with a strong globally oriented team. The OMIP will provide financial support to the companies. More details on the GBLP and OMIP will be announced in the next few months.

To take advantage of programmes like the CCPs, GBLP or OMIP, workers will need to be better equipped to make informed training and career decisions and longer-term career plans. This is why we launched the CareersFinder feature on the MyCareersFuture portal last year. CareersFinder harnesses data and AI to help Singaporeans to explore pathways to acquiring new skills and reach their career goals.

In the first six months, more than 15,000 individuals have used CareersFinder. The early signs are encouraging as we find these workers do go on to broaden their horizons by applying for jobs across a wider range of occupations.

As Taylor Swift aptly puts it from her hit song, "You belong with me". Tell me about your dreams, I think I know where you belong. I hope it is with Forward SG. We will empower Singaporeans to seize their dream career opportunity by helping them take charge of their career health.

We are looking at ways to enable workers to better signal their skills to employers or potential hirers, so that they are better recognised and rewarded. This will strengthen the linkage between skills acquisition and career progression. We also want to make career guidance, both in-person and through AI-enabled digital platforms, more accessible to even more Singaporeans.

Mr Pritam Singh asked about how we intend to report on the success of our initiatives to improve employment outcomes for Singaporeans. I would like to assure the Member that our broad indicators have shown that our efforts thus far have been quite successful.

Resident employment is expanded annually, even through the recent pandemic and our labour force participation remains high at 68.6%. In 2023, the resident unemployment rate was stable and low at 2.7%. The resident long-term unemployment rate also remains low at 0.7%. Real wages have grown over the longer-term, underpinned by sustained productivity growth.

Mr Sharael Taha and Mr Liang Eng Hwa have asked for an update on the financial support scheme for involuntarily unemployed jobseekers. As Deputy Prime Minister said, we will announce the scheme later this year.

We have considered feedback and suggestions from tripartite partners and the public, including recommendations from the NTUC-SNEF PME Taskforce in 2021 and the Citizens' Panel on Employment Resilience in 2023. We are close to finalising the scheme parameters and I want to assure the House that we have indeed looked at best practices around the world. For example, our payouts will be conditional on jobseekers making the effort to actively search for a job. This will avoid the unintended consequences faced by other countries in implementing similar schemes.

Ms Yeo Wan Ling, Mr Pritam Singh and Mr Gerald Giam asked if we could better recognise the contributions of tradespeople and make skilled trades more attractive for Singaporeans.

As mentioned again in the Forward SG Report, the Government will work with the Labour Movement, industry and communities of tradespeople to develop and testbed initiatives to professionalise skilled trades, such as developing structured training and career pathways. We will study interventions for electricians first, with a view to scaling to more occupations.

On Mr Pritam Singh's proposal to legislate retrenchment benefit, including for those in "hands" and "heart" roles, we have no plans to do so. This is consistent with our stance on retrenchment benefit for all employees. Legally mandating retrenchment benefit will affect the viability of businesses which are already in financial difficulty and put existing employees at risk. Additionally, the businesses that can afford to pay more will default to the legislated minimum.

I am going to move to the next section on uplifting you and how we ensure that no one is left behind.

Securing better jobs during an individual's working years empowers and enables you to be financially secure when you retire. We want to assure Singaporeans that as long as you work and contribute consistently to CPF, you will be able to meet your basic retirement needs.

Over the last decade, the proportion of active CPF members setting aside their Full Retirement Sum, or FRS, at age 55, either fully in cash or a mixture of property and cash, has improved from five in 10, to seven in 10 today.

Therefore, it is not as alarming as what the Leader of the Opposition characterised retirement adequacy to be: a "serious and ongoing concern". Even then, the Government is committed to uplifting Singaporeans who need more help as part of our refreshed social compact.

At Budget 2024, Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced a significant suite of retirement adequacy measures.

First, the $8.2 billion Majulah Package. The Government has enhanced the Majulah Package, after it was announced at the National Day Rally last year, to support all Singaporeans born in 1973 or earlier. This includes the Pioneer and Merdeka Generations. The Majulah Package is now expected to benefit 1.6 million Singaporeans, up from around 1.4 million Singaporeans previously estimated.

Second, enhancements to the Workfare Income Supplement, Silver Support Scheme and the Matched Retirement Savings Scheme.

Third, moves to rationalise the CPF system, in particular the closure of the Special Account, or SA, and the raising of the Enhanced Retirement Sum, or ERS.

With your permission, Mr Chairman, may I ask the Clerks to distribute an infographic. This infographic illustrates how every older Singaporean will benefit from our comprehensive suite of measures for retirement adequacy. Members may also access the infographic through the SG Parl MP mobile app.

The Chairman: Yes. Please proceed. [A handout was distributed to hon Members.]

Dr Tan See Leng: Since Budget 2024, there has been much discussion on the closure of the SA for CPF members aged 55 and above. Many, including Mr Desmond Choo, have asked why the Government is making this move now.

The core principle behind closing the SA is to "right-site" CPF monies, such that only CPF savings committed for long-term retirement earn the higher long-term interest rate. The closure of the SA, together with the significant suite of measures for retirement adequacy that we will be rolling out, is part of the evolution of the CPF system.

Fundamentally, the CPF system is designed to provide for members' basic retirement needs, as well as support their housing and healthcare needs. These are our core priorities.

With rising incomes and savings of fellow Singaporeans, stable CPF returns and trust in the CPF system, many of us would like to save more than the FRS. Some hope for higher investment returns; others hope to leave a bequest.

We will work hard at providing stable returns appropriate for savings that can be withdrawn in the shorter term, as well as those set aside for longer term retirement needs. And as the CPF system evolves, the fundamental objectives of addressing retirement, housing, and healthcare needs remain, for all Singaporeans.

Let me explain why this evolution is necessary.

When CPF was first introduced in 1955, Singaporeans had little retirement savings. As our economy grew, subsequent cohorts benefitted from high employment rates and strong wage growth. As a result, Singaporeans today can set aside more in their CPF accounts. The number of members voluntarily topping up their CPF accounts has more than doubled from 2020 to 2022, demonstrating strong trust in the CPF system.

The number and proportion of CPF members with withdrawable SA balances has also increased and will continue to do so. This is not consistent with the principle that only long-term savings should earn the higher long-term interest rate.

During the Budget debate, Ms Foo Mee Har said that closing the SA "affects many middle-income seniors" and suggested for a "fairer option" of grandfathering the SA for existing members aged 55 and above.

Ms Foo Mee Har's suggestion will inadvertently create a generational divide, benefiting the current generation of older Singaporeans, while disadvantaging younger Singaporeans.

Those affected by the move are generally the more well-off. Only 8,400 members, who are relatively high-income earners, representing less than 1% of members aged 55 and above, will not be able to fully transfer their SA savings to their Retirement Account (RA), as we raise the ERS to four times that of BRS.

In other words, more than 99% of CPF members aged 55 and above today will be able to transfer all their SA savings to their RA, to continue earning the higher long-term interest rate and receive higher retirement payouts, should they wish to do so.

I hope Ms Hazel Poa and Mr Leong Mun Wai can see that closing the SA is not a move to save interest payments. These remaining 8,400 members, the less than 1%, with higher balances can transfer their CPF savings to the RA of their family members or grow them outside the CPF system.

Nonetheless, I note Ms Foo Mee Har's support for the raising of the ERS, from three times to four times of the BRS, from 2025. This move is indeed intended to help the broad middle. To Ms Hazel Poa, the ERS cap on RA balances is necessary to ensure that the CPF system continues to serve the broad majority.

With the raised ERS, a member turning 55 years old in 2025 can receive about $3,300 per month of CPF LIFE payouts at age 65, if he chooses to top up to the raised ERS, up from about $2,500 today.

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We recognise that close to 720,000 members with withdrawable SA balances, with a median balance of about $2,000, may experience some loss in liquidity. These members have a few options to choose from when the SA is closed next year.

First, these members with the median balance of about $2,000 in the SA can retain these balances in the OA for liquidity. Compared to the SA, there will be lower interest earned, with a difference of about $3 per month, or about $30 per year – at the median.

Second, they can choose to invest in safe instruments, such as Singapore Government Securities through the CPF Investment Scheme.

Third, they can top up their RA, up to the raised ERS to receive higher retirement payouts.

Finally, they can also choose to withdraw their monies to invest outside the CPF system.

Mr Louis Chua said that interest committed to CPF LIFE "will not accrue to the CPF holder" but is pooled together for all members. Let me explain why this risk-pooling is necessary.

CPF LIFE is an insurance scheme that addresses the risk of outliving one's savings by providing members with lifelong monthly payouts. This risk-pooling allows CPF members to get monthly payouts for as long as they live. Upon a member's passing, any unused premium is refunded to the member's beneficiaries.

Hence, members need to be clear about what they are getting with their RA savings. CPF LIFE is a form of insurance. It is not an investment vehicle. Each member will need to assess for themselves what level of retirement payouts they desire. I would also like to highlight that CPF LIFE premium continues to earn interest, which is factored into members' CPF LIFE monthly payouts that will last as long as they live.

The Business Times published an article, about a week ago, that called CPF LIFE "the best annuity in the market". Members today are allowed to opt out, if they have a pension or an annuity that pays the same or higher monthly payouts for life. If Mr Louis Chua knows of any similar or better products, he, too, can apply to opt out of CPF LIFE.

The Government is also not locking up members' savings. By age 70, members are required to start drawing down on their CPF savings through retirement payouts. And this is in line with CPF's core objective of providing a lifelong retirement income.

In fact, some members have written to me, requesting to defer their payout start age to beyond 70 years old. But it is not possible. We want members to enjoy their hard-earned monies by that age.

With all these clarifications, I trust that Members of this House and Singaporeans will better appreciate why we are closing the SA for those aged 55 and above. As Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said, the changes announced are "very much in line with the purpose and intent of the CPF", which is for retirement, for housing and for healthcare.

It is a matter of principle: it is not about saving costs for the Government. Nearly all CPF members can continue to earn the higher interest rate, if they choose to transfer their SA savings to their RA. Furthermore, the SA closure should also be seen alongside the other significant measures that we are making, to boost the retirement adequacy of Singaporeans.

We must evolve our CPF system, while retaining its focus on serving the broad majority and providing more support to those with less. I am heartened that MPs, like Mr Neil Parekh, have expressed support for this as a step in the right direction.

Ultimately, we want to assure Singaporeans that the Government remains committed to uplifting those who need more support. The Government is therefore rolling out the Majulah Package to support our "young seniors" who are currently in their 50s and early 60s. Our young seniors face unique challenges. Compared to younger Singaporeans, they have generally earned less during their working years, and they have a shorter runway to benefit from recent improvements to the CPF system.

Many of them are sandwiched between caring for both the young and the old in their families. The Majulah Package has three components.

First, the Earn and Save Bonus of up to $1,000 per year. The Earn and Save Bonus will cover around seven in 10 older employed Singaporean workers, who are lower- to middle-income, earning up to $6,000 per month, with more support going to those earning less. The first Earn and Save Bonus will be credited into your CPF account in 2025, based on the work done last year.

Second, a one-time Retirement Savings Bonus of up to $1,500 for those with lower CPF retirement savings. This bonus will be credited into your CPF account by the end of this year.

Third, a one-time MediSave Bonus of up to $1,500. We recognise that healthcare cost is a concern for all. Hence, all older Singaporeans will receive this by the end of this year.

Beyond the Majulah Package, the Government is also enhancing existing schemes to help those who may need more support. We will further enhance the Workfare Income Supplement scheme to help our lower-wage workers build up their retirement savings. We will spend around $300 million more, spending a total of around $1.4 billion in 2025. This will benefit around half a million lower-wage workers. Senior Minister of State Zaqy Mohamad will provide more details.

We will update the Silver Support Scheme to better support seniors who have less for retirement. We will spend an additional $260 million, spending a total of around $860 million in 2025. About 290,000 Singaporeans will benefit.

We will enhance the Matched Retirement Savings Scheme, or MRSS, by increasing the annual matching cap from $600 to $2,000 per year and extending the scheme to those who are older than 70 years old. This will double the number of eligible Singaporeans to about 800,000 per year.

In addition, we will proceed with the next step of the increase in senior workers' CPF contribution rates. Senior Minister of State Koh Poh Koon will elaborate on these schemes to support older Singaporeans in his speech.

To address the concerns raised by Mr Desmond Choo and other Members, caregivers and homemakers, who are unable to work and are, thus, ineligible to receive the Earn and Save Bonus, still benefit from the MediSave Bonus, Retirement Savings Bonus, enhanced Silver Support Scheme and the MRSS.

A "young senior" who will benefit from the Majulah Package is Ms Caroline Ng. She is 54 years old this year, and lives with her husband and son in a 4-room flat. Together with her sister-in-law, Ms Ng is also supporting her elderly mother-in-law. Ms Ng and her husband are in a sandwiched phase of life: 上有老，下有小.

Ms Ng started her career in HR, but stopped working to take care of her young son then and the elderly in her family. As her son grew more independent, Ms Ng rejoined the workforce in 2020, with the guidance of a career coach from WSG. She subsequently took a temporary career break and she is now looking forward to return to the workforce again.

Ms Ng is excited about the Majulah Package, because the Earn and Save Bonus and Retirement Savings Bonus can help her set aside more CPF savings, as they translate into higher retirement payouts. In addition, Ms Ng, her husband and elderly mother-in-law will also receive the MediSave Bonus to pay for their own healthcare needs. I am happy to hear that in her free time, Ms Ng volunteers as a Silver Generation Ambassador, engaging seniors in her community through home visits and encouraging them to stay active.

Speaking of active ageing, another young senior who is looking forward to the Majulah Package is Mdm Norizan. She is 59 years old this year and works in the F&B industry. Mdm Norizan enjoys working at her F&B outlet and interacting with customers from all walks of life. Mdm Norizan believes in the value of keeping her mind and body engaged, and that is why she is keen to continue working for as long as she is able to.

Mdm Norizan said that she is very appreciative of the Earn and Save Bonus, which gives an added boost as she carries on working. I hope that the Earn and Save Bonus will encourage many more older Singaporeans, like Mdm Norizan to continue working, if they can and if they wish to.

Let me now address Members' queries on other aspects of the CPF system. Ms Hazel Poa suggested to improve flexibility and returns on CPF savings. I would like to remind the Member again that the primary purpose of the CPF system is to help CPF members save for long-term retirement needs. CPF balances earn returns pegged to market instruments of comparable risk and duration, but the investment risk is entirely borne by the Government.

CPF members, who have the appetite to take on more investment risk for potentially higher returns, can participate in the CPF Investment Scheme. However, I would like to remind members that higher returns come with higher risk. Ms Hazel Poa and Mr Louis Chua called on the Government to implement the Lifetime Retirement Investment Scheme, or LRIS.

With the benefit of hindsight on historical returns these few years, it is easy to comment on what should have been done. Although the current outlook for 2024 has improved, there is still considerable uncertainty, with risks tilted to the downside. No one can be sure how the markets will move.

Hence, as per Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong's and my previous explanations to Mr Louis Chua, it is not straightforward to introduce the LRIS. The LRIS will introduce a new element of risk for retirees. Regardless, we will continue to study the LRIS proposal, and we will work on making the CPF system even better for Singaporeans.

Mr Saktiandi Supaat and Mr Louis Chua talked about the interest rate peg for the OA. The Government is aware that the OA interest rate has remained relatively stable, while yields of market instruments of comparable risk and duration have increased.

But let us take a long-term view. Over the past two decades of low-interest rate environment, we have paid 2.5% interest, as well as extra interest, while the market was paying well below that. On average, the annual OA interest rate was 1.7 percentage points higher than the 12-month fixed deposit rates, from 1999 to 2021.

Nevertheless, we are still monitoring the situation, we will continue to review our CPF interest rates periodically, to ensure their relevance in the prevailing operating environment.

Mr Ong Hua Han suggested expanding the Home Protection Scheme, or HPS, to cover more members with pre-existing conditions. Let me explain. The HPS today already covers members with pre-existing health conditions, including PwDs, if they are assessed to be generally in good health. Nearly all HPS applications are issued covers. In the last three years, about 1.2% of HPS applications were not approved due to serious pre-existing medical conditions.

Nevertheless, we are reviewing ways to further expand the coverage of the HPS, but we also have to take into consideration the affordability of premiums across the wider group. Hence, taken together, the significant suite of measures that I have talked about will ensure that the CPF system retains its focus on serving the broad majority, while uplifting those who need more support. We want to assure Singaporeans that you can retire with peace of mind in your golden years.

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Moving on to my final point on "Caring for you".

We want to provide all Singaporeans with opportunities to participate in our transformation journey. The Government will work hand-in-hand with employers and workers to build more inclusive and progressive workplaces.

For seniors who wish to continue working, our tripartite partners have agreed in 2019 to increase the retirement and re-employment ages to 65 and 70 by 2030. We successfully made one round of increase in July 2022. Today, I am pleased to announce that we have reached a tripartite agreement to implement the next round of increase to the retirement and re-employment ages. In 2026, the retirement age will be increased from 63 to 64 while the re-employment age will be increased from 68 to 69. Minister of State Gan Siow Huang will share more.

MOM will also introduce two important Bills in Parliament this year.

First, we recognise the importance of fair workplaces. This is why the Government accepted the recommendation by the Tripartite Committee on Workplace Fairness to introduce a new Workplace Fairness Legislation. This will further strengthen protections against discrimination and provide greater assurance to workers who wish to report grievances. We note Ms He Ting Ru's views and we look forward to discussing this Bill robustly in the House in time to come.

Second, we will update our regulatory frameworks to strengthen protections for our platform workers. This will include areas, such as housing, retirement adequacy, work injury compensation and representation.

Let me now conclude.

Whether you are a youth starting your career, a mid-career worker looking at the next steps or a senior in your golden years, the Government will walk every step with you.

For youths, we will empower you to plan out your careers and seize new opportunities. For mid-career workers, we will equip you with the means to stay relevant and competitive. This includes replenishing your skills to stay ahead and reskilling support if you want a career change. For seniors approaching retirement, you will be able to meet your basic retirement needs as long as you have contributed consistently to your CPF. We will continue to strengthen support for those who may need more help along the way.

Workers can also look forward to more inclusive and progressive workplaces. These measures support a refreshed social compact to take us forward together.

We are aware that some of our policy measures announced today will have an impact on business costs. However, I must emphasise – and I want to seek everyone's support, understanding and indulgence – that a significant part of the cost increase is going towards uplifting our local lower-wage workers and improving the livelihoods of our fellow Singaporeans.

At the same time, when we also look at the profitability of our businesses, we still remain competitive compared to other economies. Therefore, I hope that our employers can support us and carry the shared burden and responsibility of our refreshed social compact. With the Labour Movement, employers, workers, and Government working hand-in-hand, I am confident that we will build a better future together!

Mr Chairman, let me now say a few words in Mandarin.

(In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Over the past year, I have participated in many conversations under the Forward Singapore exercise and heard the aspirations of Singaporeans regarding employment and retirement. MOM deeply understands and pays close attention to the anxieties and aspirations of Singaporeans for the future. Regardless of your age group and challenges you face, we will walk with you.

If you are currently employed, the Government will launch a new Overseas Markets Immersion Programme to support you in taking on overseas roles and expanding your horizons. If you are looking to switch jobs, the CareersFinder feature on the MyCareersFuture website can recommend suitable jobs and training courses to help you better plan your career. Employers can also tap on the Career Conversion Programmes to hire new talent.

For lower-wage workers, the Progressive Wage Model (PWM) can provide you with better income security and career progression. This year, we will raise the Local Qualifying Salary (LQS) and enhance the Workfare Income Supplement (WIS) to provide additional support. If you are currently over 50 years old, we will provide greater support through the Majulah Package. This $8.2 billion package consists of the following three components:

First, if you continue working and earn a monthly salary of $6,000 or less, you will receive an Earn and Save Bonus of up to $1,000 per year. Second, Singaporeans who have not yet attained the Basic Retirement Sum in their CPF accounts can receive a one-time Retirement Savings Bonus of up to $1,500. Third, all Singaporeans above 50 years old this year can receive a one-time MediSave Bonus of up to $1,500 to help you with medical and insurance expenses.

In addition, the Government will gradually raise the retirement and re-employment ages and increase the CPF contribution rates for senior workers to help you accumulate more CPF savings.

For vulnerable groups and retirees who need more support, we will enhance the Silver Support Scheme and the Matched Retirement Savings Scheme to strengthen your financial security in retirement.

At different stages in life, we all have different pursuits. In our youth, we are full of ambition, believing that we have innate talents and hoping to build a grand career. In our prime, we continue to improve and challenge ourselves, aiming to reach new heights in our careers. In our golden years, we hope to enjoy a peaceful retirement and, at the same time, contribute our wisdom to guide the next generation. As the saying goes, the younger generation will surpass the older generation. We hope that our next generation can make greater contributions to society.

As we journey towards our goals, setbacks are inevitable. During the lows of our lives, we all hope to have close friends by our side, sharing our joys and sorrows and helping us through the difficult times. This reminds me of a well-known song by Wakin Chau, "Friends": "Friends never feel lonely, a true friend will understand."

The Government and our tripartite partners will stand shoulder to shoulder with employers, workers and Singaporeans. This is our social compact. As long as we can unite and support each other, we can certainly progress towards a brighter future.

The Chairman: We will take the clarifications at the end. Senior Minister of State Zaqy Mohamad.

The Senior Minister of State for Manpower (Mr Zaqy Mohamad): Mr Chairman, earlier, Minister for Manpower outlined how MOM will strengthen efforts to uplift our lower-wage workers. In my speech, I will elaborate on: the positive impact of our tripartite approach to uplifting lower-wage workers and how we will build on our efforts; secondly, how we have strengthened our HR capabilities; and third, our progress in improving Workplace Safety and Health.

With your permission, Mr Chairman, may I ask the Clerks to distribute a handout detailing our efforts to support our lower-wage workers? Members may also access the handout through the SG PARL MP Mobile App.

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

Mr Zaqy Mohamad: Chairman, tripartism is at the centre of Singapore's approach to uplifting lower-wage workers. Over the years, the Government has worked closely together with employers and unions to support the advancement of lower-wage workers in a sustainable manner so that everyone can enjoy the fruits of Singapore's growth. Progressive Wages and Workfare are a big part of our collective efforts.

Progressive Wages are implemented in two ways.

First, the PWM provides for career and training progression pathways for lower-wage workers in sectors and occupations with many of such workers, ensuring that wages rise sustainably. Members may refer to the info sheet for PWM for the ladders and trajectories and their salaries.

Second, for the remaining sectors and occupations, local workers must still be paid at least the Local Qualifying Salary (LQS), if their employers hire foreign manpower. The Government provides employers with transitional co-funding of wage increases for lower-wage workers, through the Progressive Wage Credit Scheme (PWCS). Through Workfare, the Government further supplements the incomes of lower-wage workers to help them to save more for retirement and support them for upskilling through training.

This year is a momentous milestone in Singapore's journey of uplifting lower-wage workers, as it marks the 10th anniversary of our first PWM. Together with other tripartite efforts, PWMs have supported lower-wage workers in seeing sustained and meaningful wage growth over the past decade.

Real incomes of lower-wage workers at the 20th percentile have risen cumulatively by 30% from 2013 to 2023, faster than the median worker at 22%. Over the past two years, we have expanded Progressive Wages to cover even more lower-wage workers and this follows the release of recommendations by the Tripartite Workgroup on Lower-Wage Workers in 2021.

Mr Sharael Taha and Mr Fahmi Aliman asked about the progress of our efforts.

Today, more than 155,000 lower-wage workers across nine sectors and occupations are covered by the PWM. This is more than five times the coverage in 2020. So, we have expanded quite significantly since 2020.

In addition, over 105,000 lower-wage workers are covered by the LQS requirement. Our suite of Progressive Wage moves – comprising PWMs, LQS and the Progressive Wage Mark accreditation scheme – now benefit up to nine in 10 of full-time lower-wage workers today. In a tight labour market, lower-wage workers who are not directly covered by Progressive Wages should also see increases in their wages.

Mr Fahimi Aliman and Mr Yip Hon Weng asked about how we will build upon existing efforts to uplift lower-wage workers.

A key step that we will take is to raise the LQS threshold. The LQS threshold ensures that locals are employed meaningfully, rather than on token salaries for firms to access foreign workers. We regularly review the LQS threshold to keep pace with rising local wages and maintain the effectiveness of our foreign workforce controls.

The Government last updated the LQS threshold in 2020 before the pandemic. We recognised that firms needed time to comply with the new LQS requirement, which came into effect in September 2022. So, local wages have increased with our recovery from the pandemic and we are thus adjusting the LQS threshold.

As announced by Deputy Prime Minister at Budget, the LQS threshold will be raised from $1,400 to $1,600 for full-time local employees, to better support our lower-wage workers. We will also raise the LQS threshold for part-time local employees, from $9 per hour to $10.50 per hour.

Correspondingly, foreign worker quota computation will be adjusted.

To be counted as one local workforce count (LWC) for the purpose of foreign worker quota for firms – or one LWC – the local worker will need to be paid at least $1,600. This is up from $1,400 today. For firms hiring part-time workers, locals who earn at least half the LQS are counted as half an LWC. With the LQS increase, such locals have to be paid at least $800 – up from $700 today. These changes will be implemented on 1 July 2024.

On the Government’s part, we will continue providing lower-wage workers with additional support through Workfare, to complement our Progressive Wage efforts. Workfare comprises two key pillars: the Workfare Income Supplement (WIS), and the Workfare Skills Support Scheme (WSS). Over the years, the Government has steadily strengthened our Workfare support for lower-wage workers.

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As announced by Deputy Prime Minister at Budget, the Government will further enhance Workfare. From 2025, we will raise the qualifying monthly income cap further, from $2,500 to $3,000, for both WIS and WSS. Mr Sharael Taha would be pleased to note that this ensures Workfare continues to help workers in the bottom 20th income percentiles, with some support for those slightly above.

We will also raise WIS payments. We will increase the maximum payment to $4,900 per year, up from $4,200. Those aged 60 and above will benefit from this highest payment tier for Workfare, as well as all persons with disabilities regardless of age.

Payments for all other qualifying age groups will also be increased. Those aged 30 to 34 will receive a maximum payment of $2,450 per year; those aged 35 to 44 will receive a maximum payment of $3,500 per year; and those aged 45 to 59 will receive a maximum payment of $4,200 per year. These enhancements will benefit around half a million lower-wage workers. In total, WIS payments will increase to $1.4 billion in 2025, up from $1.1 billion last year.

Another key step that the Government will take is ensuring employees are aware of the Progressive Wages they are eligible for. We thus launched the Progressive Wage Portal (PW Portal), earlier in January.

Even as we support our lower-wage workers, we also understand and are aware that employers face uncertain economic conditions. Many employers have done their part. They have continued paying their lower-wage workers good wages and upskilled them – even for those not on PWM, and despite challenging economic conditions.

We need to be mindful of the impact of Progressive Wages on employers in the short run. We should ensure that as we uplift lower-wage workers, we do not inadvertently harm workers’ prospects, or risk widespread job losses.

Hence, in 2022, the Government introduced PWCS to co-fund wage increases that employers give their lower-earning employees. PWCS provides transitional support for employers to adjust to new PWM and LQS requirements, and encourages voluntary wage increases for lower-wage workers.

Through PWCS, the Government has supported meaningful wage increases for lower-wage workers. For wage increases given in 2022, the Government disbursed about $1 billion of PWCS to employers. This co-funded the wage increases given to more than 345,000 employees by over 70,000 employers. The median monthly wage increase supported by PWCS was about $300.

To Mr Sharael Taha’s query, the Government will indeed continue providing transitional support to employers through PWCS over the next few years. As outlined by Deputy Prime Minister at the Budget, the Government will further enhance PWCS this year to help employers cope with PWM and LQS increases amidst a more challenging economic environment.

First, we will increase the Government’s co-funding for wage increases given in 2024. This builds on earlier enhancements in 2022 and 2023 at 75% co-funding. With this year’s enhancement, the Government will co-fund up to 50% of wage increases given by employers to eligible lower-wage workers in 2024, up from the original 30%. This includes workers who are not covered by any PWM.

Second, we will raise the wage ceiling in 2025 and 2026 to $3,000, up from $2,500 per month. With this enhancement, PWCS will continue to support increases of wages up to $3,000 beyond 2024. Full details are at the PWCS website.

Collectively, both enhancements will offset a significant proportion of immediate cost pressures on employers arising from our efforts to uplift lower-wage workers, and mitigate cost transfer to consumers.

To provide for these enhancements, Deputy Prime Minister has announced a top-up of $1 billion to the PWCS Fund. This brings the total PWCS budget to $6.2 billion. Together with the increased Workfare payments of up to $1.4 billion per year – $6.2 billion for PWCS and $1.4 billion per year in Workfare payments – I think that is quite significant. I hope Members can see that the Government has committed and invested significant resources into strengthening and supporting our lower-wage workers.

However, the Government cannot single-handedly drive the growth of lower-wage workers’ incomes, nor can we co-fund wage increases given to lower-wage workers indefinitely. This is not a sustainable approach. As Mr Edward Chia, Ms Yeo Wan Ling and Mr Sharael Taha said, uplifting lower-wage workers is a whole-of-society effort.

Workers need to improve their skills, so they can be as productive as they can be in their jobs, as their wages rises. Firms and industries must also transform.

Lower-wage workers tend to be in frontline roles, where their productivity growth is heavily dependent on how the firms and industries that they work in operate. This means that transformation must also take place at the firm- and industry-level, as Mr Edward Chia said, so that we can narrow the wage gap in a sustainable way.

Industries must therefore accelerate the pace of their transformation journeys, taking guidance from the Industry Transformation Maps (ITMs). Employers must accelerate their individual business transformation plans and drive productivity gains within their firms, through better technology and processes. Employers can find support through Government schemes, such as the Productivity Solutions Grant. Employers can also consider working with NTUC to set up CTCs and tap on the NTUC CTC grant to transform businesses, redesign jobs, and improve work prospects for their employees.

Service buyers have a role to play too. Where there is a need to renegotiate existing contracts for compliance with Progressive Wages, service buyers and service providers should work together to come to a mutually agreeable solution. Above all, service buyers should embrace outcome-based contracting, which focuses on specifying clear and deliverable outcomes, rather than the exact number of workers for individual tasks. This allows service providers to deliver quality services using less manpower, and enables employers to pay higher wages to their lower-wage workers using productivity as a tool.

Last but not least, consumers can make their choices count, by purchasing from businesses accredited with the PW Mark. Today, over 4,400 businesses are PW Mark-accredited, and more are coming onboard each day. Supporting PW Mark businesses means supporting lower-wage workers. Both you and I can make our purchase matter and help uplift lower-wage workers more sustainably.

Chairman, I move on to HR and strengthening HR capabilities. HR is a key enabler for workforce and business success, and. MOM remains committed to strengthening employers’ HR capabilities.

Mr Edward Chia asked how MOM is empowering employers to adopt job redesign. WSG, in collaboration with IHRP, launched the Job Redesign Centre of Excellence (JRCoE) last November. JRCoE serves as a one-stop centre to equip enterprises with capabilities to transform their business and workforce through job redesign. Around 20 Trade Associations and Chambers have pledged support for the JRCoE and will be encouraging their member companies to incorporate job redesign in HR practices.

Moving on to workplace safety and health (WSH). I would like to assure Mr Melvin Yong that fostering safer and healthier workplaces remains a key priority for the Government. In 2023, our workplace fatal injury rate fell to 0.99 per 100,000 workers. This is the first time it has fallen below 1 per 100,000 workers, aside from 2020 when COVID-19 disrupted work. Only four OECD countries have achieved this consistently – the United Kingdom, Netherlands, Sweden and Germany. If we can sustain this, this puts us among the top performers of workplace safety and health in the world.

We have achieved this milestone five years ahead of target year 2028 because of the Government’s close partnership with employers and workers, and certainly with the help of the labour movement as well. I thank the Member and my colleagues in the Multi-Agency Workplace Safety and Health Taskforce (MAST) for their commitment to improving safety in our workplaces.

The key challenge moving forward – and our goal has to be this – to sustain the rate at below 1. It has to be sustained. This requires all stakeholders to press on with our collective efforts.

Business leaders must continue to reinforce a strong and pervasive culture of workplace safety excellence, and invest in WSH technologies. Unions must advocate for safe, healthy workplaces and working conditions.

On the ground, proper risk assessment and management must be done. Workers must continue to follow safety protocols, speak up to improve WSH practices, and call out safety risks.

On our part, the Government will continue to push out the Safety Accountability, Focus and Empowerment (SAFE) measures announced last May, and strengthen WSH ownership of employers and workers through programmes and resources.

We will continue to closely monitor sectoral WSH performance. Key findings for 2023 will be shared in the WSH National Statistics Report scheduled for release by this April. Through our collective efforts and vigilance, I believe we can sustain our achievement in 2023 for the long term.

Ms He Ting Ru asked about the compensation under the Work Injury Compensation Act (WICA). Insurers have to adhere to claims, processing standards and guidelines, including how compensation is computed. The median time for designated insurers to process a WIC claim is about six months, and processing time varies depending on the complexity of the case. The Government reviews the WICA system regularly.

In fact, just this February, MOM announced increases to the WICA compensation limits to keep pace with wage growth and rising healthcare costs. These changes will be implemented from November 2025. We will continue reviewing WICA regularly to ensure that workers have access to expeditious and fair compensation in case of work injury.

The Government is committed to working hand-in-hand with employers, service buyers, consumers and workers themselves, to build a safer and more inclusive workplace. We must continue to progress together as one people to ensure that no worker is left behind and that all workers have the opportunity to achieve their fullest potential. Mr Chairman, allow me to recap some of MOM’s efforts in Malay, please.

(In Malay): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Over the years, the Government has worked closely together with employers and NTUC unions to support the advancement of lower-wage workers in a sustainable manner. Together with other tripartite efforts, PWMs have supported lower-wage workers in seeing meaningful wage growth. Real incomes of lower-wage workers have risen cumulatively by 30% from 2013 to 2023, faster than the median worker at 22%. PWM workers, in particular, have seen strong wage outcomes.

Here, I recall the situation of workers like Ms Sivamani Taigrajan. As a new auxiliary security officer when she started working in 2005, Ms Sivamani earned a monthly salary of $800. Throughout her nearly 20-year career in the security industry, Ms Sivamani has continued to upskill and take on greater and new responsibilities, guided by the PWM framework for the Security industry.

Now as a security supervisor, Ms Sivamani earns a monthly salary of $3,250, which is a significant progress from her initial monthly salary of $800. This demonstrates the effectiveness of the PWM in supporting meaningful wage increases for our workers, as they enhance their skills and productivity.

Today, 155,000 lower-wage workers across nine sectors and occupations are covered by a PWM. This is more than five times the previous PWM coverage in 2020. Under the PWM, workers can receive annual wage increases and expect to earn at least the relevant PWM salary. For example, cleaners will see their pay rise to at least $2,420 per month by 2028. In addition, over 105,000 lower-wage workers are covered by the Local Qualifying Salary (LQS) requirement, where firms employing foreign manpower must pay all their local workers at least the LQS.

Together with the Progressive Wage Mark accreditation scheme (PW Mark), our suite of Progressive Wage measures comprising the PWMs, LQS and the Progressive Wage Mark – now benefit nine in 10 of full-time lower-wage workers today.

The Government is strengthening our efforts to raise the salaries and well-being of our lower-wage workers. First, we will raise the LQS threshold from $1,400 to $1,600 for full-time local employees from 1 July 2024. We will also raise the LQS threshold for part-time local employees, from $9 per hour to $10.50 per hour. Second, we will enhance Workfare to further strengthen our support for lower-wage workers to help them to save more for their retirement.

In the years to come, I would like to give my assurance to Members in this Chamber that the Government will continue to work together with employers and NTUC to ensure that everyone advances and enjoy the fruits of Singapore’s growth together, as one, through the good times and the bad times.

4.45 pm

The Chairman: Senior Minister of State Dr Koh Poh Koon.

The Senior Minister of State for Manpower (Dr Koh Poh Koon): Mr Chairman, I will now speak more about MOM's measures to uplift Singaporeans and workers who may be more vulnerable. This includes our efforts to boost retirement adequacy of our seniors and improve protections for our workers. I will also cover our ongoing efforts to support the well-being of our migrant workers.

To boost the retirement adequacy of our seniors, the Government will introduce the Majulah Package to provide more support for our "Young Seniors", as well as seniors in the Pioneer and Merdeka generations. These generations have generally earned less over their lifetime and had a shorter runway to benefit from the improvements to our CPF system.

We want to assure Singaporeans that as long as one works and contributes consistently to CPF, you will be able to meet your retirement needs through CPF payouts.

But what about those who are not able to work and contribute consistently to their CPF accounts? Some may accumulate less CPF savings due to low wages during their working years. Others may not work consistently due to caregiving responsibilities or disabilities.

As Mr Desmond Choo and Mr Yip Hon Weng and other MPs at the Budget Debate have rightly pointed out, we will also need to boost the retirement adequacy of these groups. Families, employers and the community play a key role in supporting our seniors. This is an important part of our social compact and the Government will continue to encourage and support this. The Government will enhance our support in the following ways.

First, to allow senior workers to accumulate more in their CPF accounts, we will continue with the planned increase in senior workers' CPF contribution rates.

Second, we will continue to encourage family, employers and the community to support our seniors with lower retirement savings by enhancing the Matched Retirement Savings Scheme.

Third, we will also enhance the Silver Support Scheme for seniors who had low incomes during their working years and have less family support.

As Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced at Budget, we are committed to raising the CPF contribution rates for senior workers. We have implemented the Tripartite Workgroup on Older Workers' recommendation to increase the CPF contribution rates for senior workers since 2022 and will continue to do so in 2025. The Government will continue to support employers with the CPF Transition Offset for the first year of implementation of this increase. I want to also thank our tripartite partners for their continued support. These recommendations are necessary so that our senior workers can enter retirement with more confidence.

Even with the increase in senior workers' CPF contribution rates, some seniors may still face challenges in accumulating their CPF savings for retirement. We want to supplement efforts by families, employers and the community to help these seniors to save more.

In 2021, the Government introduced the Matched Retirement Savings Scheme, or MRSS, as a pilot. Under the MRSS, the Government provides a dollar-for-dollar matching grant on cash top-ups made to the Retirement Account of eligible senior Singapore Citizens aged between 55 and 70 with lower retirement savings. The matching grant is capped at $600 per year. Anyone can make these top-ups – individuals themselves, family members, employers and the community. In the first three years, about 172,000 Singaporeans have benefited from the scheme. The Government has provided matching grants of about $200 million thus far.

The positive response for MRSS showed that financially savvy members have chosen to make top-ups to loved ones' CPF accounts as a way of growing their retirement savings. Thus, as Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced in his Budget speech, we will continue the scheme beyond the pilot and enhance the scheme in two ways from 2025 onwards.

First, the MRSS will be extended beyond the current age cap of 70. I am glad that Ms Hazel Poa agrees with this move. The number of Singaporeans eligible for the enhanced MRSS will thus double to about 800,000 per year.

Second, Mr Desmond Choo would be glad to hear that the maximum matching grant quantum will be increased from $600 to $2,000 per year. A $20,000 cap will apply over an eligible member's lifetime. So, an eligible senior who receives annual cash top-ups of $2,000 for 10 years can see his retirement savings increase by about $48,000, which translates to about a $260 increase in his lifelong monthly CPF payouts.

As our seniors enter their golden years, many of us want to better support them in old age. In fact, many of us regularly give them cash allowances to cover their daily expenses. So, I would urge more Singaporeans to consider topping up their parents' CPF, too. This can be done in regular, small amounts.

Take, for example, 35-year-old Ms Tay. She has been giving her parents monthly cash allowance since she started working. On top of that, Ms Tay has a GIRO arrangement with CPF Board since 2018 to make monthly cash top-ups into her parents' Retirement Accounts. Her mother is also eligible for the MRSS. So, when the MRSS was introduced in 2021, her mother benefited from the dollar-for-dollar matching of her GIRO top-ups. Ms Tay said that MRSS is a good initiative to get Singaporeans to top up their parents' Retirement Account and earn the risk-free CPF interest rates.

With the upcoming enhancements to the MRSS to increase the annual matching grant quantum, Ms Tay intends to also increase her cash top-ups so that she can help to increase her parents' monthly retirement payouts. For those who choose to follow in Ms Tay's footsteps, the Government will augment your efforts by providing the MRSS matching grant to eligible seniors.

The community can also use the MRSS to support those who need more help. A good example is Fei Yue Community Services. In 2021 and 2022, they identified seniors living alone in rental flats in their community and worked with members of the public to raise over S$300,000. The donations were credited as cash top-ups into the Retirement Accounts of over 500 senior beneficiaries.

Another community partner of MRSS is Tsao Foundation. Since 2021, Tsao Foundation has been encouraging seniors to save more for their retirement. Tsao Foundation provided additional cash top-ups so that the seniors under their programme receive the maximum annual matching grant from the Government when they top-up their Retirement Account. Tsao Foundation intends to further extend its campaign so that more seniors can benefit from MRSS.

In addition to the increase in senior workers' contribution rates and MRSS enhancements, Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and the Minister have also shared that the Government will be enhancing the Silver Support Scheme. The increase in Silver Support Scheme quarterly payments by 20% to keep pace with inflation should address Mr Yip Hon Weng's concerns.

We will continue to review the Silver Support Scheme regularly to target support at seniors who need it the most while ensuring that the scheme remains fiscally sustainable.

All in all, the enhancements to the CPF system enable a whole-of-society effort to support the retirement adequacy of our seniors. Individuals, employers, family members and the community, all of us can do our part to fortify our social compact and build a community that is kind and cares for one another. This is the essence of the Forward Singapore Exercise led by Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.

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

(In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Through conversations with the people, we have come to understand that many Singaporeans approaching retirement age are very concerned about their retirement adequacy.

The Government has introduced the Majulah Package and other new measures to enhance retrenchment adequacy to meet the basic retirement needs of elderly Singaporeans. We will collaborate with families, community groups and employers to provide more assistance to vulnerable elderly Singaporeans.

The Government will enhance the Matched Retirement Savings Scheme starting from 2025. The annual matching limit for eligible elderly Singaporeans' Retirement Accounts will be raised to $2,000, with a lifetime limit of $20,000. Anyone can make contributions to the Retirement Accounts of elderly Singaporeans, including CPF members themselves, family members, employers or even the community groups. I encourage children to regularly contribute to their elderly parents' CPF accounts.

The Government will also provide dollar-for-dollar matching to help increase their retirement savings. If eligible elderly Singaporeans receive $2,000 in cash top-up annually, their retirement savings will increase by about $48,000 over 10 years. As a result, their monthly payout from their CPF LIFE will increase by about $260.

The Government will also assist elderly Singaporeans with lower CPF savings and less family support through the Silver Support Scheme. Starting from 2025, the Silver Support Scheme quarterly payment will increase by 20% to help cope with inflation. The per capita monthly income ceiling for eligible households will also be raised, benefitting about 290,000 elderly Singaporeans. To achieve this, the Government will allocate an additional $260 million in 2025 with total annual expenditure reaching $860 million.

The Government is committed to helping elderly Singaporeans with their retirement security, allowing them to enjoy their golden years. To achieve this goal, we also need the collective effort of the whole society. Therefore, I encourage families, employers and community groups to reach out and lend a helping hand to those in need around them, so that elderly Singaporeans can have a sense of security in old age and enjoy a “springtime” retirement.

(In English): Sir, let me move on to the issue of employment protection for our workers.

Ms Jean See asked how freelancers can be protected for workplace safety and health risks. Under the Workplace Safety and Health Act, service buyers have a duty to ensure the safety of contracted freelancers who work under their direction or at their work premises. If a freelancer is injured at work, he or she can pursue a civil claim against the service buyer. Compensation will depend on the facts of the case. For certainty of coverage, freelancers should consider personal accident insurance for their own financial protection in case of injury. As their own boss, freelancers have control over their business model and pricing to negotiate key service terms with service buyers, such as fees and whether to include the cost of their insurance coverage within their contract pricing. The Government will continue to work with associations to provide guidance on what businesses should do when contracting with freelancers.

Ms Jean See also raised various suggestions at the Budget Debate on how to better support freelancers. We will take these suggestions from the Labour Movement into account as we review how to better protect workers.

Beyond work injury compensation, the Government is also committed to ensuring that our employment regulations remain relevant and provide sufficient protection for employees, while maintaining a competitive business environment that continues to generate good jobs.

Mr Patrick Tay and Mr Raj Joshua Thomas suggested several areas within the Employment Act for review. The Government reviews the Employment Act regularly together with our tripartite partners, taking into account changes in the nature of work, workplace arrangements and workforce profiles. I thank Members for their suggestions, which we will take into consideration when we next review the Employment Act.

In the meantime, I would like to assure members, such as Mr Louis Chua and Assoc Prof Jamus Lim, that the Government will continue to work closely with our tripartite partners to ensure that exploitative employment practices do not become the norm in our workplaces.

To Assoc Prof Jamus Lim's suggestion to legislate against restraint of trade clauses for employees who are of a certain pay grade, theoretically, this sounds like an easy thing to do. But in practice, the specific types of jobs that interact substantively with an employer's legitimate business interests will depend on each employer's business considerations and structures as well as other case-specific factors, such as the nature of work that the employee is engaged in at that time and the position of the employee within the organisation. It will not be appropriate nor feasible for tripartite partners to take a one-size-fits-all approach and prescribe exhaustively the specific circumstances in which restraint of trade clauses are reasonable. Employers should assess if there is a genuine need for restraint of trade clauses to protect legitimate business interests based on principles that the Courts have already previously set out.

5.00 pm

In the meantime, I urge employees who believe that they have been subject to such practices to seek assistance from their unions or the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP). Members would be aware that tripartite partners are releasing guidelines on the use of such clauses in the second half of this year. These guidelines will shape the norms of behaviour to strengthen fairness in the use of such clauses in employment contracts.

As the Minister mentioned, we are strongly committed to strengthening Singaporeans' job prospects and career health. At the same time, we need to transform the migrant worker ecosystem and improve their well-being. Through collaborations with more than 160 partners, including stakeholders like dormitory operators and non-Government organisations (NGOs), we have made significant improvements in migrant workers' well-being in a holistic way, from their workplace concerns to housing, healthcare and their social needs.

MOM has made significant moves in migrant worker housing in 2023. We expanded the scope of the Foreign Employee Dormitories Act to cover all dormitories housing more than six workers to ensure dormitories are well-managed with good health and safety standards in place. We also announced the Dormitory Transition Scheme to transition almost 1,000 existing dormitories to improve standards by the year 2030.

And by 2040, all regulated dormitories, including new and existing ones, will meet even higher dormitory standards. These measures will strengthen public health resilience and better prepare us for future disease outbreaks.

Mr Louis Chua mentioned the need to ensure that companies are able to access adequate accommodation at reasonable standards and prices. Pre-COVID-19, the number of dormitory beds available was sized to adequately meet the demand, with a healthy 90% occupancy rate. When the economy reopened after COVID-19, employers were desperate to catch up on projects that were delayed by COVID-19 and have been hiring more migrant workers.

Today, the number of Work Permit holders in the construction, marine and process sectors is 20% higher than pre-COVID-19 days. This led to a market-induced relative shortage of dormitory beds.

MOM has been working closely with key stakeholders to make more dormitory beds available to accommodate this growth, while ensuring they meet MOM's dormitory standards. Since December 2022, 17,000 more dormitory beds have been added through various measures. About 47,000 more will be available over the next few years, as seven more purpose-built dormitories come into operation.

These measures have helped to alleviate pressure on the broader housing market and rental prices. However, the growth in the migrant worker population has outpaced the increase in dormitory supply.

It is not sustainable to keep building migrant worker dormitories or adding more beds to house new workers, because when the catch-up projects are eventually completed and the excess workers return to their home countries, we may end up swinging to the other extreme and end up with an excess of dormitory beds.

Thus, the more sustainable way forward is for employers to reduce their reliance on migrant workers by adopting productivity measures. I am glad Mr Louis Chua agrees with us that this is the right thing to do. This is why we have the Skills Recognition Framework in place, which encourages employers to retain experienced and skilled Work Permit holders through lower levies.

Ms He Ting Ru suggested that employers should be required to wait one month before repatriating migrant workers. Her concern is that repatriation may arise from retaliation by the employer. Should this be the case, they should approach MOM. When migrant workers are on-boarded, we inform them of their rights and avenues to seek help if they are unfairly treated. Upon notification, MOM will investigate and issue a special pass to allow the worker to remain in Singapore until investigations are completed.

If employers have been found to be victimising their employees, enforcement action will be taken against the relevant employers. I hope Ms He Ting Ru does not forget that, at times, migrant workers themselves are at fault, leading to the end of the employment relationship. For example, if a migrant domestic worker has been mistreating children in a household, I think it would not be reasonable to expect the employer to continue keeping the migrant domestic worker in the household and providing for her upkeep instead of repatriating her immediately.

Mr Louis Ng asked how we will safeguard the well-being of migrant workers and ensure that they receive fair treatment. As the Member has previously raised similar questions in Parliament, I will just provide a brief overview. In setting the minimum living space per resident for dormitories, we have to balance liveability against costs and land-take considerations. The new dormitory standards are in line with the standards set by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), for workers' housing.

On food hygiene, employers and dormitory operators must only procure food from licensed food establishments. MOM also conducts regular inspections on dormitories to check that food delivered to the dormitories is protected from contamination until it is collected by the residents.

Mr Louis Ng suggested to increase the penalties for employment kickbacks. Currently, offenders may be sentenced to imprisonment of up to two years, fines of up to $30,000, or both, for each worker affected. Thus far, the penalties imposed by the Courts have not reached the maximum fine or the imprisonment term. This indicates that the current caps remain sufficient. We have also strengthened protections for workers to encourage them to come forward early without fear of reprisal, as we will facilitate a change of employer if necessary. Workers can also report kickbacks through multiple avenues, such as our MOM hotline or to our FAST team officers deployed on the ground or through the FWMOMCare app.

Since 2022, we have implemented the Primary Care Plan to improve access to healthcare for migrant workers and established the Friends of ACE network to expand our outreach efforts. We will continue working with partners to enhance programmes and events in the Recreation Centres to better meet migrant workers' social needs.

Mr Chairman, to uplift Singaporeans, the Government has put in place measures to boost the retirement adequacy of our seniors and improve protection of our workers. At the same time, we have continued to transform the migrant worker ecosystem by improving existing housing and healthcare needs and increasing engagements with our migrant workers.

We will continue to work closely with stakeholders, including our tripartite partners to implement the initiatives I have shared about. With the support of the whole-of-society, I am confident that we can uplift those who are more vulnerable among us as we build a shared future together.

The Chairman: Minister of State Gan Siow Huang.

The Minister of State for Manpower (Ms Gan Siow Huang): Mr Chairman, I thank Members who have given suggestions on upholding inclusivity and fairness at the workplace.

In our refreshed social compact, we want to ensure that all members of our society can participate in the workforce. One key group are our senior workers. Given our ageing population and slowing workforce growth, it is important that we help every worker contribute as much as they are able to, for as long as they wish.

Let me share how we will continue to support our senior workers. Several Members, including Senior Minister of State Heng Chee How, Mr Desmond Choo, Mr Yip Hon Weng, Miss Rachel Ong, Ms Rahayu Mahzam and Mr Keith Chua, have spoken on this subject. The Retirement and Re-employment Act protects seniors from age-related dismissal before reaching the statutory retirement age. Employers must offer re-employment to eligible senior workers up until the statutory re-employment age.

In 2022, we raised the retirement and re-employment ages to 63 and 68 respectively. As announced by Minister Tan See Leng, the tripartite partners have agreed to raise the retirement and re-employment ages further to 64 and 69 respectively in 2026. This will bring us another step closer to our eventual goal of setting retirement and re-employment ages at 65 and 70 respectively by 2030.

I would like to thank SNEF and NTUC for their strong support to make this possible. Credit goes to employers and our union leaders on the ground as well. Over nine in 10 senior workers who were eligible and wished to continue working were offered re-employment in 2023. To ensure that the next increase is implemented just as smoothly, I encourage employers to start planning early.

Some will need to adjust their manpower and upskilling plans to retain their senior workers. This is why we are taking a stepped approach and announcing the increase early. Come 2026, employers who have prepared well will be better placed to tap on their senior workforce to meet their business needs.

Our employment rate for seniors aged 65 to 69 is now ranked third compared to OECD countries, increasing by almost five percentage points, from 43.8% in 2018 to 48.3% in 2023.

Among our younger seniors aged 55 to 64, the employment rate also rose, from 66.8% to 70.0% over the same period. But we can do more to support our seniors. As Miss Rachel Ong has highlighted, senior workers have much expertise to contribute, but some may prefer to reduce their work intensity as they age. Workplaces with flexible work arrangement (FWA) provisions will be better able to tap on our growing pool of senior workers. Mr Yip Hon Weng asked about plans to harness the potential of our senior workers. The Government will provide support to employers who want to improve their HR capabilities to manage an ageing workforce.

Employers can tap on the Part-Time Re-employment Grant, or PTRG, which we extended last year to support more flexible work options for senior workers. Employers can enjoy up to $125,000 in grant support under the scheme. As of December 2023, with the support of PTRG, more than 6,300 employers committed to provide part-time re-employment under their HR policy. This is expected to benefit around 50,000 senior workers.

The PTRG also supports employers in implementing structured career planning, or SCP. SCP is a process where employers systematically engage their employees and plan out their training and career development goals to align with business needs. This is particularly useful for employees who are approaching retirement. Through PTRG, employers can access free training to learn how to conduct SCP with their employees.

Employers can also receive support through the Senior Employment Credit. The SEC provides wage offsets to employers who hire Singaporean workers aged 60 and above. The support given is significant. In 2023, we disbursed $315 million, benefiting about 90,000 employers that hire more than 400,000 senior workers.

However, supporting seniors to remain in the workforce is not just a matter of creating job opportunities. Employees must also do their part. Most senior workers today are re-employed in the same job role. But with longer lifespans and careers and a faster pace of economic change, we should not expect to perform the same job role year after year. Senior workers must also keep pace with changes in the labour market and be open to learning new skills or trying out new roles.

[Mr Speaker in the Chair]

I highlighted earlier how FWAs are useful in helping seniors stay in the workforce longer. The benefits go beyond senior workers. Miss Rachel Ong, Mr Sharael Taha, Mr Xie Yao Quan and Ms Yeo Wan Ling have pointed out that more workers will be caregivers in the future, given our ageing population. The working caregivers will need to manage work responsibilities while taking care of elderly family members at home. FWAs will be useful in supporting such caregivers. Of course, other workers can also benefit from FWAs. With more flexibility, they can better manage their time so that they can attend courses and pick up new skills. Some may be senior workers themselves and prefer a more flexible workload.

In 2007, a Tripartite Workgroup recommended greater provision of FWAs to bring more women back to work. Since then, the tripartite partners have launched various initiatives to increase FWA adoption, including providing grants and incentives. The Tripartite Standard on FWAs was introduced in 2017. Since then, over 12,000 employers have adopted the Tripartite Standard. Beyond our tripartite partners, I would also like to acknowledge the many individuals who participated in our Citizens' Panel and Alliance for Action on Work-Life Harmony in 2019 and 2021 respectively. Diverse stakeholders, including employers, employees and HR practitioners, came up with ideas and even co-developed resources to improve work-life harmony, including on FWAs.

The experience has taught us three lessons so far.

First, there is no one-size-fits-all approach in implementing FWAs. There are different types of FWAs – flexi-place, flexi-time, flexi-load. Each company needs to find an equilibrium that helps them stay productive while meeting their employees' needs.

Second, trust between employers and employees is critical for FWAs to work well. Employees should be reasonable in their requests, deliver work outcomes as they work more flexibly, and not see FWAs as an entitlement. Employers, on the other hand, should have a process to evaluate FWAs objectively and communicate their decisions to their employees.

5.15 pm

Third, FWAs are sustainable only if they make business sense. Ms Yeo Wan Ling had earlier asked if the workgroup could consider asking companies to prove they have started on job redesign if they wished to reject FWA requests. Actually, from our public consultations, many employers already recognise that FWA provision can help their companies better attract and retain talent. It would be in their interest to support their employees' requests for FWAs. However, employers have also to consider the impact on the team, business and the clients besides the needs of the individual employees. FWAs will not be sustainable if they lead to higher business costs and lower productivity at the company level.

Based on these principles, we convened a Tripartite Workgroup in September last year with two objectives in mind.

First, the Workgroup will develop a set of Tripartite Guidelines on FWA Requests. To do so, we consulted with employees, employers and HR professionals and studied other countries' approaches to encouraging FWA adoption.

We found that in countries with legislation on FWAs, such as the UK, Australia and New Zealand, such legislation typically mandates requirement around the process of requesting FWAs, but do not mandate that businesses provide the FWAs requested. Employers retain their prerogative to decide whether to grant the request, given their business context and the employees' needs. These findings are consistent with what we heard during our local consultations, where both employers and employees agreed it was important to have a clear process for employees to request for FWAs and for employers to assess if the arrangements could work for their businesses.

As Mr Sharael Taha had raised earlier, employers will need to manage FWA requests while ensuring their workplaces remain harmonious and productive.

In designing such a process, tripartite partners, too, felt that it was important to avoid creating a litigious workplace culture that could cause more disputes. So, instead of taking a legislative approach, we will use Tripartite Guidelines to set out how employees could request FWAs, as well as how employers should consider these requests and communicate the outcome to their employees. And these Guidelines will be mandatory. Most importantly, we must maintain workplace trust and harmony during the process. The Workgroup has been consulting with stakeholders on the scope of the Guidelines and will finalise our recommendations soon.

Shaping stronger norms around flexible workplaces will complement our existing leave policies to better support working caregivers. Assoc Prof Jamus Lim, Mr Desmond Choo and Ms Yeo Wan Ling have called for additional caregiver leave. However, FWAs are a more sustainable way to support caregivers than providing additional leave of one or two more days, which could negatively affect the employment of the very group that we are trying to help.

Second, the Workgroup is looking at how to support employers to implement FWAs across different industries and job roles productively, recognising that some job roles may be suitable for some types of FWAs but not others. For instance, it may not make sense for restaurants to have frontline staff telecommute. However, firms can still allow for individual flexibility while sustaining their operations, such as by implementing flexible shift systems.

Ms Yeo Wan Ling asked about providing support to ensure win-win outcomes for FWAs; while Mr Yip Hon Weng asked about catering FWAs for diverse roles and responsibilities. The Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices and Institute for Human Resource Professionals (IHRP) will curate training and resources to help supervisors and HR practitioners implement FWAs, redesign jobs for FWAs and manage workers on flexible work, so that they can achieve their full productive potential at work.

Employers can also leverage existing grants, such as the Productivity Solutions Grant (PSG), to offset financial costs of adopting FWAs. Ms Yeo Wan Ling would be happy to know that under the PSG, firms can receive support to improve their productivity by engaging a consultant to redesign jobs or upgrade their HR systems. Firms can also work with NTUC to form a Company Training Committee (CTC) and access funding support through the CTC Grant, to redesign jobs for better business and worker outcomes.

Service buyers can also do their part by implementing outcome-based contracting and specifying service rather than headcount level requirements, as per the Tripartite advisory on best sourcing practices. This gives service providers more flexibility in deployment, making it easier to provide the employees with FWAs.

Next, I will share more on our efforts to support the employment of caregivers returning to work, especially women. We have made good progress in this area. Our employment rate for women aged 25 to 64 has increased from 72.3% in 2018 to 76.6% in 2023. Nevertheless, we recognise that women continue to take on more of the caregiving load at home. As Mr Desmond Choo highlighted, this indirectly widens the gender pay gap.

One of the key factors driving Singapore's gender pay gap is occupational segregation. In other words, there tends to be fewer women in higher paying occupations. This could be because women are more likely to take time-off to focus on caregiving and may not be able to fully realise their career potential. FWAs can help to address this partially by enabling both men and women to contribute more equally to caregiving duties.

Employers should also adopt merit-based appraisal systems that evaluate each employee, including working parents, fairly and objectively.

Ms He Ting Ru's call for employers to be mandated to report their gender pay gap regularly may not be the best way to address this issue. It may hurt women's employability if employers choose to hire fewer women to boost their gender pay gap numbers. Countries, such as Canada, which require such reporting have an adjusted pay gap of about 8%, higher than Singapore's 6%. We should and will continue to focus on helping more women take on good jobs and fulfil their career potential.

Miss Rachel Ong asked about what kind of employment support will be available for caregivers to seniors and persons with disabilities, many of whom may also be single and the sole caregiver and breadwinner.

Some of these caregivers may wish to return to work after having taken a break from their career. Such caregivers usually need more support as the job landscape may have changed while they were away. And WSG and NTUC's e2i provide career-matching services and reskilling support to help such individuals return to work.

WSG launched the HerCareer initiative in June 2022 to bring together employment facilitation programmes, supporting female jobseekers. Since then, WSG has engaged nearly 16,000 women at its career events. WSG also runs workshops in collaboration with its partners to support women in returning to work.

We encourage women who are looking to return to work to tap on these resources. One example is Ms Nurhani Binte Zailani Shatifan, a 51-year-old mother of five, who used to work in the travel industry but became a caregiver to her parents during the COVID-19 pandemic. Like many caregivers who had left the workforce for some time, she faced challenges when seeking to return to work in 2022.

However, Nurhani did not give up. She signed up for WSG career coaching, which helped her with interview preparation, giving her a confidence boost before each interview. In a post-COVID-19 world, virtual meetings have become more common. Nurhani enrolled in Yayasan Mendaki's Women@Work programme, where she learnt how to facilitate Zoom meetings. She also had the support of a mentor through NTUC's Women Supporting Women programme, who encouraged her and other women on the same journey. Armed with these resources and a positive attitude, she secured a position with INSEAD Business School as an Events Coordinator. It is a job that she enjoys and continues to learn and grow in.

Thanks to these many efforts, more women are participating in the workforce. Since 2018, the number of women who were successfully placed in jobs through WSG's programmes has nearly doubled, increasing from 13,000 to more than 26,000 women placed annually.

Mr Gerald Giam has called for greater workplace support for women undergoing menopause.

Menopause is a natural phase in life that all women experience as we get older. While some may experience some discomfort, most women continue to live normally and contribute actively at work. Women who experience severe menopausal symptoms can seek subsidised medical treatment at public healthcare institutions – including physiotherapy – and take sick leave to rest properly, just as we do for any other medical need. It is useful to increase awareness among women on how we can take charge of our health as we get older and be better prepared for menopause.

To Mr Gerald Giam, while it sounds good to advocate for workplace support for women undergoing menopause, we need to be careful not to stereotype women of a certain age group as it could hurt their employability unintentionally.

Building inclusive workplaces allows everyone to thrive at work regardless of background. This includes creating opportunities for persons with disabilities to take on jobs aligned with their skillsets and aspirations. The Enabling Masterplan 2030 sets out a clear roadmap to support the employment of persons with disabilities.

Last year, we enhanced the Enabling Employment Credit (EEC), which provides wage offsets to employers hiring persons with disabilities. The enhancement supports those who have not been in work for at least six months and benefitted more than 10,000 persons with disabilities last year. SG Enable also launched the first Enabling Business Hub in December 2023, bringing employment opportunities and support closer to where persons with disabilities live.

Through the collective efforts of the Government, employers and the wider community, the employment rate for persons with disabilities has increased steadily to 33% in 2022 to 2023. This moves us closer to the target of 40% by 2030 under the Enabling Masterplan 2030.

As Miss Rachel Ong and Ms He Ting Ru highlighted, it is also important to enable persons with disabilities to undertake meaningful jobs that make good use of their skills.

One way is by providing them with reasonable accommodation at the workplace. MOM will work with NTUC and SNEF to develop a Tripartite Advisory to guide employers on modifying jobs and workplaces to support persons with disabilities. We encourage employers to embark on such efforts, including tapping on existing support, such as SG Enable's Open Door Programme Job Redesign Grant to do so. More details on the Tripartite Advisory will be released when ready.

Next, on Migrant Domestic Workers. Migrant domestic workers (MDWs) remain an important avenue of support for many of our households. While the vast majority of MDWs and employers enjoy harmonious employment relationships, there may be occasional allegations of wrongdoing made against the MDW or the employer.

Ms Sylvia Lim asked how allegations of ill-treatment are investigated.

MOM will look into all cases that are brought to our attention. Allegations are investigated thoroughly, impartially and fairly. If there is evidence of abuse, we will refer the case to Police for investigation. If there are allegations of breaches under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act, such as denial of rest day or late payment of salary, MOM will speak to both the MDW and the employer, without taking sides. We will also review other objective evidence if available, such as CCTV recordings or accounts from other witnesses, sometimes neighbours, as part of our investigation. If the allegation is substantiated, enforcement action will be taken.

On Ms Sylvia Lim's question on whether advisories are taken into account when the Ministry determines employer suitability to employ other MDWs in the future: an advisory serves to remind the employer of their rights and responsibilities, it will not affect their eligibility to hire MDWs in the future.

While these processes may cause some inconvenience to the parties involved, they are necessary to safeguard the well-being of MDWs, especially those who are working in Singapore for the first time. It also provides an opportunity to help employers and their MDWs to resolve issues and improve their working relationship.

Mr Chairman, the Government is committed to enabling more progressive and inclusive workplaces where everyone can contribute meaningfully according to their unique strengths and interests. We will work hand-in-hand with our tripartite partners, employers and workers to secure a brighter future for all.

The Chairman: We have time for clarifications. Mr Desmond Choo.

Mr Desmond Choo: Thank you, Chairman, I have two clarifications. The first is for Minister. It is very good news that we are adjusting the EP qualifying salary. It will help our younger Singaporeans to get jobs. But we also have the Shortage Occupation List. Does making access easier to EPs via the Shortage Occupation List undermine our efforts to localise or bring in more of our Singaporeans into these jobs?

The second one is for Dr Koh. Dr Koh, it is very good news to adjust the $600 matching to $2,000, I think it will help a lot of the lower-wage Singaporeans. My point is on the $20,000 lifetime care. Firstly, are there many of our Singaporeans reaching that cap, or already exceeded, so that is why we have a $20,000 lifetime matching limit; and under what circumstances will MOM look to lifting or adjusting this cap?

Dr Tan See Leng: I thank Mr Choo for the clarification. First, as I have shared earlier on, the COMPASS framework was only implemented on 1 September 2023. So our statistics have been based out of five months. Hence, in my earlier reply to the Leader of the Opposition, I had qualified that this is very preliminary. But we are seeing very early, promising signs that it is a mechanism that it did not in any way hinder firms – particularly firms wanting to grow their talent and particularly in sectors where there is a shortage of workers today.

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The measures that we put in place include working with the industry and tripartite partners to constantly curating that list. We review that list every three years. In fact, we can add on or remove on a yearly basis. So, it is actually quite responsive.

To that end, there are also newer areas where the sectors are fairly nascent. I mentioned two: one is in the green economy; and the other is agri-tech. In those areas, while we allow bonus points for these companies or businesses to bring in foreign talents, we are also simultaneously ramping up our investments to train, to upskill and to ensure that the skillsets are being transferred to our locals as well.

It is a multi-system moving along to ensure that whatever we lean forward on, that shortage would be alleviated because our locals would then step in to replace that virtuous ecosystem. I hope that gives you the reassurance.

Dr Koh Poh Koon: Sir, I thank Mr Choo for that clarification question. Let me explain the MRSS is targeted at seniors with lesser means and lower retirement savings. The enhancements to provide the $2,000 per year matching grant annually and $20,000 matching grant over a lifetime, as a cap, are, in fact, a significant increase from the current scheme and can help to increase eligible seniors' CPF savings, as I had explained in my main speech, by about $48,000 over 10 years. This is already going to give them about $260 per month of extra payout.

I understand that it may not help all eligible seniors meet their BRS. The fact is that it is not meant to do that. It is actually part of a whole suite of measures, including other schemes that support retirement. For example, the Majulah Package, as well as the Silver Support Scheme, will also help to boost the retirement adequacy.

For those who may already have a certain quantum in their CPF and they are not eligible, for example, for the MRSS, what certain family members can do is to continue to top up the senior's account and enjoy tax benefits of up to $16,000 a year for those kind of top-ups that do not attract any matching grants from the MRSS.

So, I think we are just encouraging everyone to look at this as a means which can catalyse more support for our seniors. It is not meant to bridge the gap with the BRS.

The Chairman: Minister Tan, you wish to add some more points?

Dr Tan See Leng: Apologies, I just wanted to remind Members of the House and, in particular, Mr Desmond Choo, that notwithstanding the Shortage Occupation List, all companies, when they bring in an EP, have to fulfil the minimum qualifying salary. That qualifying salary, as I have just shared, would be raised for an entry level EP and the EP qualifying salary would also rise accordingly with age. So, that is the base and after they have fulfilled the base, the SOL, the bonus points would kick in.

So, in that sense, we continue to ensure that companies do not use it to circumvent whatever framework and principles that we have.

The Chairman: There are at least nine Members who have raised your hands. I will be fair to every Member. Anyone who attempts to make a speech, I will cut you off. Mr Pritam Singh.

Mr Pritam Singh: Thank you, Chair. I will be brief. Thank you to Minister for responding to my cut on retrenchment. Just a quick question, for the companies that currently pay retrenchment benefit, how many of them pay more than the recommended retrenchment benefits as listed by the tripartite partners?

Secondly, I understand every four years, MOM carries out a survey on retrenchment and in the last report – I understand that it is publicly available – is Retrenchment Benefit 2017, published by MOM Manpower Research and Statistics Department in September 2018. Can I confirm with the Minister that the Ministry is going to continue publishing surveys on retrenchment benefit every four years?

Dr Tan See Leng: I thank the Leader of the Opposition for his clarification. I do not have all the numbers with me currently. I will revert with regards to his question on whether they pay over the recommended retrenchment benefits. From the survey, nine in 10, or 90%, of them pay the retrenchment benefits, typically ranging from about two weeks to a month per year of service.

For the ongoing surveys, we hope to sharpen the survey each time we conduct it, using the insights that we have from previous surveys to make it even more precise, because it allows us to better plan our policies. As I said, we will constantly work hard at improving the livelihoods for all of our workers. I hope that gives you the reassurance.

The Chairman: Mr Melvin Yong.

Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye: Thank you, Chairman. I have two questions for Senior Minister of State Zaqy.

One, can MOM provide an update on the Multi-agency Workplace Safety Task Force (MAST) the safe measures that were implemented and what is their effectiveness since implementation?

The second question: what are the other measures that MOM has put in place to improve workplace safety outcomes and shape the behaviour of both employers and workers?

Mr Zaqy Mohamad: I thank the Member for his question. Indeed, last year we had a challenging period when we had to implement the heightened safety period (HSP) because of the high spate of fatalities during that period.

As I shared, in 2023, we improved the situation. Our workplace fatality injury rate fell to 0.99 per 100,000, which puts us among the top four around the world. I think that this in, itself, hopefully, gives us the first step in terms of our measures. What is key is to sustain this: to keep below one per 100,000 workers. Because after you get there, you do not want to be called a one-hit wonder. You hope to be Taylor Swift with 20 years of success.

What is more important is that we have to engage all stakeholders to press on with the efforts. This has to start from the top. Therefore, for many of our leaders, especially in critical, high-risk industries, we have already made it mandatory for all leaders and CEOs to be put through the top leaders' leadership training.

Another Member spoke about how we need to put in WSH representatives, but I think that itself may not be sufficient. I have been on enforcements with some of our MOM officers as well on the ground, when you speak to some of the leaders who have contravened our regulations, some of the comments that come back from business owners or even directors are that, "Hey, I had my safety audit done, this was done by someone," and it cannot be that way.

If you want to create a safety culture, it has to come from the top, because leaders decide on the resources, leaders invest in the kind of equipment, processes, how the workers work, what kind of construction methods you use, for example, are all determined at the top. The top has to be accountable too. Therefore, among the things that we have done following HSP, was to up the accountability, not just at the worker level, but leader level.

If you look at construction, for example, we made it accountability down to all the subcontracting levels and not just the first or second layer subcontractors. I think there are shifts in enforcement and regulations. And this has to continue. On top of that, I think we are moving towards more use of technology.

For sectors such as construction, for example, we have put in place video surveillance, which is mandatory now. And very soon, we are also putting in analytics to layer on top of this, with the use of AI because we want to make it more effective, more productive, so that our workforce and our workplaces can be safer. So, I hope that assures Members.

But certainly, I would welcome if NTUC would like to enforce and encourage, or strongly mandate its employers to also put in WSH representatives, especially from the Labour Movement, to push forward the agenda to make sure that all our workplaces, especially unionised companies take the lead and set shining examples for industries.

The Chairman: Assoc Prof Jamus Lim.

Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim: Thanks, Chair. Two questions from me.

One for Senior Minister of State Koh. I appreciate that there are practical considerations that lead to the need for flexibility, whether non-compete clauses should be allowed for mid-level employees. But surely, he would agree with me that the default should be that these clauses do not apply. After all, the Government routinely imposes hard thresholds for all manners of policies and relaxes them through an appeals system. It strikes me as much more efficient and consistent with worker rights if these were discouraged by default with special cases allowed into tailored employment contracts.

For Minister of State Gan, would the Ministry be able to explain why childcare leave is a legal entitlement, but eldercare leave is not? Again, I am not speaking up against childcare leave, but is the Ministry implicitly sending some signal that childcare is privileged relative to elderly care?

Work from home arrangements, while an important complement to family care leave, should not be a substitute for those days where flexible work, as useful as it is, does not quite offer the same freedom as actual paid leave.

Dr Koh Poh Koon: Sir, to answer Assoc Prof Jamus Lim's question we need to understand that there is no default job description in any job. So, there is no way to have a default restriction against restriction of trade clauses for a particular job. Unless there is a standard job that is available for which we know what a worker does from one company to the next, it is very hard to prescribe in law what the default position is, which is why the Court takes a case-by-case approach, but lays out principles in which why some of these clauses are non-enforceable. And that is why it is so difficult to have a one-size-fits-all approach. The job title of a clerk in one company can mean one thing in one company and mean another thing in another company. So, it is very hard for us, a priori, to determine what is the default baseline for a job requirement.

Ms Gan Siow Huang: First of all, the Government recognises that caregiving of parents is an important responsibility, especially with Singapore's ageing population. We are committed to providing caregivers with the necessary support so that they can fulfil both their work and the caregiving responsibilities. I think we need to get this straight. And I am sure the House agrees with this position.

Even without any legislated mandatory requirement, many progressive employers have already stepped up to introduce caregiving-related leave provisions beyond what is currently mandated as part of the HR strategy to attract and retain talent. In 2022, about 59% of employers voluntarily provided additional paid caregiving leave, such as family care leave. More than 4,000 employers have also adopted the Tripartite Standard on Unpaid Leave for Unexpected Care Needs.

We know that in a survey, a recent one by NTUC, 85% of working caregivers indicated that FWAs were their most preferred mode of support compared to paid caregiving leave, which was favoured by 64% of caregivers. I think this is likely because FWAs are sustainable and provide flexibility in meeting diverse caregiving needs.

For instance, if a family member requires assistance with daily activities, such as medication and meals, FWAs will be more useful than leave in enabling caregivers to meet those needs. The Government has also strengthened other areas of support for caregivers of seniors, including those who have to juggle between work and caregiving roles.

Caregivers can tap on a range of care services, such as home and day care, to support the care and social needs of their elderly loved ones. There are also various respite care options in senior care centres and nursing homes to help caregivers look after their seniors for short periods of time, including over the weekends.

The Chairman: Mr Yip Hon Weng.

Mr Yip Hon Weng: Thank you, Chairman. My clarifications are around the topic of retirement adequacy. With the closure of the SA, could MOM clarify what happens to CPF members who have made CPF investments using their SA? Two, the Majulah Package should not be limited to those born in 1973 or earlier. Can I ask the Ministry whether they would consider extending this to the younger cohorts when they reach 50 years old in the future?

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Dr Tan See Leng: I thank Mr Yip Hon Weng for his clarifications. Members can continue to hold their existing CPF Investment Scheme (CPFIS) Special Account investments until they decide to sell or when the investment matures, upon which the proceeds will then be paid to the member's Retirement Account, up to the Full Retirement Sum. Any remaining balance will be paid to the Ordinary Account. Members may, of course, continue to invest their OA savings under the CPFIS (OA) if they are eligible.

Can I request the Member to repeat his second clarification?

Mr Yip Hon Weng: Second clarification revolves around the Majulah Package. I do not think that it should be limited to those born in 1973 or earlier. So, whether the Ministry will consider extending this to younger cohorts when they reach 50 in the future.

Dr Tan See Leng: Thank you. To Mr Yip's point, successive generations of Singapore Citizens have seen improvements in their lives. This is in tandem with Singapore's economic growth and also significant investments made by our Government in education, healthcare and social security.

Those born in the generation between 1960 and 1973 and earlier had lower incomes over their lifetimes. They also have less time to benefit from the more recent improvements to the CPF system, and they have less runway to build up their retirement savings. So, younger cohorts would have a longer runway to benefit from the more recent enhancements to the CPF system. For example, the extra interest on CPF accounts, the Workfare Income Supplement scheme and all the Career Conversion Programmes that we put up.

But we do not rest here. We constantly and we will continually review the need to provide additional support for Singapore Citizens with greater needs, especially when they draw near to retirement.

If we look at it today, even for those generations, for instance, the Pioneer or Merdeka Generations, and for the low-wage workers, we continue to enhance the Workfare Income Supplement scheme. For the Pioneer and Merdeka Generations, we continue to enhance the Silver Support Scheme and the Matched Retirement Savings Scheme. Earlier on, I gave a list for each one of the schemes, how many hundreds of thousands of Singaporeans will benefit. So, existing eligible Singapore Citizens will benefit, even if they do not meet the age criterion for the Majulah Package.

The Chairman: Ms Jean See.

Ms See Jinli Jean: Chairman, my question is actually to Senior Minister of State Koh. I understand that some of the measures that will be introduced will strengthen vulnerable workers. So, I would like to ask if one of the measures would include actually reviewing the 2018 Tripartite Workgroup Recommendations for Self-Employed Persons, because I feel that there is a need to be more affirmative in how we address these vulnerabilities.

Dr Koh Poh Koon: Sir, the simple answer to Ms Jean See is yes, we will continue to work with our tripartite partners to look at these guidelines from time to time and this will take a Tripartite approach to see what is relevant at this point in time.

The Chairman: Ms Yeo Wan Ling.

Ms Yeo Wan Ling: My clarification is for Minister of State Gan. Can the Tripartite Guidelines for Flexible Work Arrangement Requests take into account jobs for which FWAs are deemed not appropriate due to business reasons and require employers to explore and provide alternatives to workers in these job roles, such as more time off or more caregiving leave? And also, how does MOM intend to enforce the Tripartite Guidelines given that some errant employers might not choose to comply with these guidelines, given that it is not legislation?

Ms Gan Siow Huang: The tripartite partners have recognised that there is no one-size-fits-all approach towards FWAs. I have spoken repeatedly that what works for one company may not work for another. There are different forms of flexible arrangements: flexi-time, flexi-load, flexi-place.

That said, in designing the Tripartite Guidelines, we are mindful to not take an overly rigid approach that risks creating an adversarial workplace culture. The Tripartite Guidelines will focus on requiring proper consideration of flexible work arrangement requests and not mandating the employers to provide flexible work arrangements.

Preserving this mutual trust and understanding between employers and employees is important for the flexible work arrangements to be sustainable. Employers will need to see that flexible work arrangements make business sense, that it helps them to attract and retain workers or lead to a productive workforce for them to sustain the practice of providing flexible work arrangements.

As such, we will continue to educate and equip employers on implementation of various types of flexible work arrangements so that they can identify and provide the appropriate flexibilities that are feasible, taking into consideration business operations while also supporting the employees' needs.

Ms Yeo Wan Ling also asked about employers that do not comply with the Tripartite Guidelines. We will apply a calibrated and enabling approach, at least, in the initial implementation of the Tripartite Guidelines, which will include providing employers with templates, guides and training to equip them to comply with the Guidelines.

In the event of breaches, employees may seek help from TAFEP, and TAFEP will then reach out and guide these employers to put in place proper processes as well as to reassess the requests for flexible work arrangements by their employees.

The Chairman: Mr Louis Chua.

Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis: Chairman, two clarifications. The first is that it is hard not for some to see it as a form of carry trade whereby the Government is borrowing at 2.5%, 4% from Singaporeans while the GIC makes 7%, both of which in the long-term. So, the question is: if we already have the CPFIS, can we not allow Singaporeans to co-invest part of their savings?

Second, on LRIS, I recognise the Minister's point about risk and that was what the Deputy Prime Minister mentioned as well. But in the advisory panel report, they have also noted that this can be overcome via the use of the glide path of the Lifecycle Fund. So, would the Minister not agree that with the implementation of LRIS, at least, based on the numbers they suggested, this would be beneficial for Singaporeans in the long-term?

Dr Tan See Leng: I assume the Member has directed that question at myself. On the first part in terms of the difference between GIC returns and CPF interest rates that both Mr Louis Chua and Ms Hazel Poa talked about this has been discussed earlier at the debate on the Motion on Public Finances on 7 February 2024. I do not want to go too much into details. But it is always very easy from the point of investment to look at hindsight because hindsight is perfect. I have done a lot of investments in my past life. There are a lot of "I should have done this, I should have done that". We need to understand that while GIC's historical 20-year returns have exceeded CPF interest rates, this is really looking at it backwards.

Above all, I think Mr Louis Chua, as a financial analyst, it is always very good to look at past historical records. But to make a projection in the future, I seriously wonder how many people can be that spot-on and precise in terms of projecting future returns and on a guaranteed basis. For the 20 years of historical returns, even though GIC has exceeded CPF interest rates, there is no guarantee that GIC's future returns will always exceed CPF interest rates in every year.

So, if we pass some of these returns directly to members, there will be significant year-to-year fluctuations in the interest rate that members receive. I wanted to set that basic principle. So, what the Government has done is that it has used our buffer of net assets to ensure that CPF members receive fair and stable interest rates to grow CPF balances for retirement adequacy.

That is the underlying principle. And I have said before that since CPF started in 1955, the three core priorities are: (a) to fund retirement adequacy for our members; (b) to provide housing; and (c) healthcare.

To the Member's LRIS point, we said we are not putting it in abeyance. We have considered and we continue to consider in terms of making sure that the returns are stable. The last three to four years, the Member, as an analyst, would also agree with me, does he not, that we have gone through an extremely uncertain and volatile period? I take the Member's nodding of the head as a yes, right? Many investors in equities have been burnt.

For us, it is making sure that the hard-earned monies of every single one of our CPF members, we try to go to the Nth degree to try to make sure that it is stable. We try to make sure that we reduce as much of the volatility and the risk as possible. Maybe, if the Member wants to put it as a fault – I do not think it is a fault – it is that we are very, very cautious because these are our members' hard-earned monies. I hope that the Member acknowledges and understands that.

The Chairman: We have five minutes to our guillotine time. I will try to squeeze in two more clarifications. Mr Liang Eng Hwa.

Mr Liang Eng Hwa: Sir, in his reply to my cut on career health, the Minister made a brief reference to the Citizens' Panel on Employment Resilience, quite a brief one. Can I ask the Minister if he can share the main findings and also is MOM incorporating the findings into the policies?

The Chairman: Minister, I hope your reply will not be too long. Key findings.

Dr Tan See Leng: I thank you, Mr Chairman, for that reminder. Two key findings. One, the Citizens' Panel proposed a career gym where our local citizens can go on to first understand what their career prospects are, given their qualifications and how they can continue to work at it to improve their career prospects. Second, a skills passport. Both of which, in terms of the suggestions that the Citizens' Panel raised, we have taken it on board to design career health and also the CareersFinder.

The Chairman: There are seven of you who raised your hands but, unfortunately, I am going to give the last clarification to Mr Gerald Giam.

Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: Sir, I thank the Minister for sharing that the Ministry is starting to test-bed initiatives to professionalise skilled tradesperson for all trades, starting with electricians. Besides electricians, there are many other skilled trades and many of them are having an ageing workforce as well. Can I ask what is the Ministry's timeline to uplift all the trades?

And a broader point of clarification is: is the Ministry tackling the problem of an ageing workforce, low wages, heavy reliance on foreign workers and lower interest in skilled trades among our young with sufficient urgency, or is the Ministry confident that we will continue to have a constant stream of young foreign workers to meet the manpower needs of industry?

Dr Tan See Leng: Mr Chairman, the Member's two clarifications will take some time. I will keep the first one very short because I want to dedicate more time to the second one.

We chose electricians because it is one where we have scoped out what is required with the different agencies. We are quite confident that we can implement it with a very clear set of deliverables and there is scalability, meaning that we can extend it to more job roles, given our aspirations for sustainability and the green economy pivot to a greener future for Singapore. So, it is a short answer to the Member's question. We will apply the same principles to some of the other trades. In time to come, I will \update Members of this House.

To the point about how we scale up our local workforce to continue to make sure that they are well-prepared and well-skilled, we will continue to invest in them .

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If I may, I will tell the Member a story because I want to articulate this in a clearer fashion and connect the dots together for the Member. So, while from time to time, and at different stages, we rely on foreign workforce, the foreign workforce that comes in here is to supplement and to complement our Singapore Core. How do we walk every step with our fellow Singapore Citizens?

If you are a youth and if you have started your career, we empower you to make informed career decisions so that you have a good start. Through working closely with our IHLs, we have developed meaningful internships. We have educational and career guidance as they start out in the workforce.

Then, when you are a mid-career worker looking at next steps, we will help you to pick up and we will invest in you. We provide greater support for you to pick up releavnt skills. You have got the WSG Career Matching Services, the CareersFinder, career health and there is a whole slew of Career Conversion Programmes to help our workers; where we subsidise up to 90% of salary and course fee support. We also have the Overseas Markets Immersion Programme (OMIP). We are going to be introducing a jobseeker support scheme to empower those that are involuntarily unemployed to bounce back into employment, which the Deputy Prime Minister will announce later this year.

If you are a senior, at the end of your work-life cycle, if you want to continue to work, we are raising the retirement age. We are also have the Senior Employment Credit and the Part-Time Re-employment Grant; and we are also making sure that our Majulah Package continues to support them.

So, you can see that it is really an end-to-end, very comprehensive, integrated continuum of uplifting, supporting, strengthening and caring for our entire Singapore core. I hope that gives you that reassurance. With that, I thank Members of the House for your patience and your support.

The Chairman: Mr Choo, can I invite you to withdraw your amendment?

Mr Desmond Choo (Tampines): Chairman, I would like to thank Minister Tan See Leng, Senior Minister of State Zaqy Mohamad, Senior Minister of State Koh Poh Koon and Minister of State Gan Siow Huang for the very thoughtful and comprehensive responses. Of course, to Permanent Secretary Ng Chee Khern and his team of MOM officers for their tireless work. With this, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

The sum of $3,056,864,300 for Head S ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates.

The sum of $131,871,700 for Head S ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates.