More Leave Days for Technical Workers in Lift and Escalator Industry to Attend Training and Courses
Ministry of ManpowerSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns mandating leave for training in the lift and escalator industry and reports of workers attending unpaid training or using annual leave. Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim raised these concerns, and Minister for Manpower Dr Tan See Leng replied that training outside working hours requires payment at the hourly rate. He noted that employers can utilize the Workfare Skills Support Scheme for absentee payroll of up to 95% of basic salaries to defray training costs. Over the past three years, the Ministry of Manpower has received no complaints regarding forced annual leave usage or unpaid training in this industry. The Ministry will continue working with stakeholders to support technical workers' career development through existing schemes and progressive wage requirements.
Transcript
50 Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim asked the Minister for Manpower (a) whether more leave days can be mandated for technical workers in the lift and escalator industry for them to attend relevant training or work-related courses; and (b) in the past three years, how many cases has the Ministry received from lift and escalator technical workers on (i) being compelled to utilise their annual leave days to attend training or courses and (ii) attending training or courses outside normal working hours without fair compensation.
Dr Tan See Leng: Leave provisions are meant to enable employees to meet their personal needs. Separately, employees who are required by their employers to attend training outside of their normal working hours should be paid an allowance based on their hourly rate of pay. Employees who encounter employers who do otherwise are advised to approach the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) for assistance.
Employers can tap on the Workfare Skills Support (WSS) Scheme to defray their opportunity cost of sending workers for training. Under WSS, employers who send eligible lower-wage workers for selected courses, which include Progressive Wage Model training requirements within the lift and escalator sector, may receive absentee payroll of up to 95% of the trainee's basic hourly salary, capped at $13 per hour.
In the past three years, MOM has not received any complaint of lift and escalator technical workers being compelled to use their annual leave days to attend training or courses, or to attend training or courses outside normal working hours without fair compensation.
MOM will continue to work closely with employers and other stakeholders to support the training and career development of workers, including those in the lift and escalator industry.