This year’s Budget promises equal and new opportunities for the young and a sense of comfort to the seniors.
The crux of this year’s Budget for the nation must have brought moments of ‘déjà vu’ for unionists – Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Tharman Shanmugaratnam’s roll-out of some key initiatives reflect the calls of the Labour Movement over the years.
The first news to cheer about for NTUC was the much-lobbied move to enhance the Central Provident Fund (CPF) contribution rates for all workers.
DPM Tharman acknowledged this as he made the announcement in his Budget speech from the Parliament House on 21 February 2014. The Government will raise CPF contribution rates for all workers by one percentage point, with the contribution coming from the employers. Older workers stand to gain more; those aged above 50 to 55 will see their contributions go up by an additional one and a half percentage points – one percentage point from the employer and half percentage point from the employee, while the employer contribution rate for those aged above 55 to 65 will be raised by an additional half a percentage point.
The second thrust that brought smiles among unionists was the extension and enhancements to the Productivity and Innovation Credit Scheme. In fact, DPM Tharman also said that “… raising productivity is at the centre of our economic agenda. It is the only way we can raise our living standards in the years to come.”
NTUC has been calling for a constant, inclusive push for productivity through approaches such as Cheaper Better Faster (CBF) and more recently, Progressive Wage Model (PWM). More support for innovation and creativity for employers will provide a boost for them to explore productive measures. Once this is achieved, it will provide a platform for unions to urge for productivity gains to be shared with workers.
The Government’s commitment to workers’ skills development was another welcome initiative. There was a sizeable top up of $500 million to the Lifelong Learning Endowment Fund to support training and re-training of workers, bringing the total to $4.6 billion.
Said DPM Tharman: “We are undertaking a major review of our Continuing Education and Training (CET) system to support the up-skilling of our workers on a continuous basis and the transformation of our economy.”
Another key feature in this year’s Budget was the Pioneer Generation Package which will see additional enhancements to three key healthcare components: Outpatient Care; Medisave; and MediShield Life.
“It is right and prudent to set aside monies today to pay for the Pioneer Generation Package while we have sufficient resources to do so… The best we can do for the Pioneer Generation is to live out their values as we seek to build a better future for Singapore,” added DPM Tharman.
Click here to read more on some of the key highlights of Budget 2014.
