Mr Speaker Sir, I rise in support of Budget 2025. I’d like to distil this year’s Budget to what I coin as a 3C Budget – (i) Coping with Cost of Living; (ii) Caring for All with a focus on important segments such as Seniors, Families, PWDs, and Ex-Offenders including students; and (iii) Catalysing Company Training & Transformation.
For the past 60 years, through solidarity with workers, Singapore has overcome economic hardships, achieved higher wages, stronger labour protections, and expanded opportunities for all.
This unity remains key to our success and shared prosperity. Amidst global trade tensions, rising costs, and rapid technological change, we must remain steadfast in our commitment to ensuring that no worker is left behind, but instead equipped with the skills and protections needed to thrive in an evolving economic landscape.
It is therefore critical that this momentous 3C Budget recognises that sustainable growth is only made possible when workers are fairly compensated, their rights are protected, and their well-being is prioritised.
To this end, I will focus my speech on what I call Strengthening the 3 ‘C’s – (i) Strengthening the Singaporean Core, (ii) Strengthening the Workers’ Compact, and (iii) Strengthening Human Capital Capability.
Strengthening the Singaporean Core
The first ‘C’ Strengthening the Singaporean Core, is a call I have persistently made since my maiden speech in Parliament in 2011. Since then, I have had many conversations with Singaporean workers and have heard their fears and anxieties about growing competition with foreign manpower, especially the Professionals, Managers, and Executives (PMEs).
They worry about job displacement, stagnant wages, and having fewer opportunities to advance. These sentiments were echoed during NTUC’s engagements with about 10,000 Singaporean PMEs through the Joint NTUC-SNEF PME Taskforce, which I co-chaired with SNEF in the midst of the pandemic from 2020 to 2021.
Over the past decade, I have advocated for a compendium of measures to level the playing field for our local PMEs, including stronger deterrence against errant employers who discriminate against Singaporeans, a foreign PME dependency ratio, stricter Employment Pass application conditions, continuous enhancements to the Fair Consideration Framework (FCF), and many others.
I am heartened that these calls have been answered through the implementation of the Complementarity Assessment Framework (also known as COMPASS) and the recent passing of the landmark Workplace Fairness Act, which protects workers against the most common types of workplace discrimination, such as age and nationality. The Act also strengthens unions’ capabilities to represent our members by conferring an expanded suite of individual remedies and penalties for discriminatory employment practices.
The current economic climate is an uncertain one, and challenges lie ahead. Last year, we saw many high-profile retrenchment exercises impact local PMEs. Following trends like Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) and geopolitical turbulence, we can expect the same this year.
We must take a proactive approach to protect local jobs and invest in skills training so that our workers remain ready, relevant and resilient. Ready with the new skills, Relevant to the new jobs, and Resilient to the new changes.
NTUC always has and continues to work to do more for PMEs, to enhance job security and ensure fair opportunities. In 2020, NTUC proposed a Fair Retrenchment Framework outlining three key principles to guide companies on responsible retrenchment practices, the first of which is ‘Protecting the Singaporean Core’ by helping Singaporeans keep their jobs while due considerations are given to foreign workers. This Framework was then incorporated into the Tripartite Advisory on Managing Excess Manpower and Responsible Retrenchment. Where retrenchment is unavoidable, I strongly urge the Government to take a firmer stance in ensuring that employers not just give early notification to unions and affected workers and compensate them fairly but also prioritise Singaporeans for job opportunities and career support.
Foreign manpower can help fill critical skill gaps and support sectors facing labour shortage, but we cannot over-rely on external labour. We must also take a concerted effort to build our local bench strength. This means investing in skills training and creating more opportunities for career progression. I therefore welcome the SkillsFuture Workforce Development Grant, the re-designed SkillsFuture Enterprise Credit, and the $200 million top-up of NTUC’s Company Training Committees Grant to help companies offset workforce transformation costs and support job redesign. After years of lobbying, I am also glad that more resources will be set aside for schemes that groom Singaporean workers to become leaders in the corporate sector by sending them for overseas work postings and leadership milestone programmes.
A stronger Singaporean Core means a stronger economy for Singapore—one that is more competitive and less reliant on external labour. Beyond fair opportunities, we also need to ensure quality opportunities for Singaporean workers. This means good wages, good welfare, good work prospects, workplaces free from discrimination and harassment, and more meaningful tasks at work so that we fully maximise the true potential of our every Singaporean worker. Supporting local employment must be a strategic priority for the Government to help Singaporean workers earn a better living and live a better life.
Strengthening the Workers’ Compact
The second ‘C’ I want to highlight is Strengthening the Workers’ Compact. In 2023, after a year-long engagement with over 42,000 workers through the #EveryWorkerMattersConversations, NTUC released its renewed Workers’ Compact with recommendations for five groups of workers, including mid-career workers, older workers, and vulnerable workers.
One of the recommendations from the Workers’ Compact as well as the NTUC-SNEF PME Taskforce was short-term unemployment support for the involuntarily unemployed. I thank the Government for hearing NTUC’s call, to launch the SkillsFuture Jobseeker Support Scheme, which will support workers in bouncing back from employment setbacks. In NTUC’s 2025 Survey on Economic Sentiments, 34% of workers, including PMEs, expressed concerns about losing their jobs or not having their contracts renewed in the next couple of months. Amongst PMEs, those aged 50 to 59 were most likely to be concerned. I therefore continue to call on the Government to consider extending the Jobseeker Support Scheme eligibility to mid-career and senior workers in the broad middle.
Mid-career PMEs is a worker segment that I have consistently advocated for. This group faces unique challenges but can receive less support from the Government in view of their higher income. Mid-career PMEs often struggle with stagnation in career progression, or job instability as industries transform. While they typically have more dependents to take care of as part of the ‘sandwiched generation’, they can take a longer time to find a new job when they become unemployed. Upon re-entry to employment, there is also an increasing propensity for them to suffer from wage loss.
NTUC’s 2022 #EveryWorkerMatters Conversations Survey had revealed that mid-career workers, defined as aged 30 to early 50s, experienced a relatively higher level of anxiety about job loss compared to younger and older age groups. Despite this, they remained positive about upskilling as an enabler to take up higher-value work. I am therefore happy that the Government has since heeded our calls for greater support for mid-career workers through the SkillsFuture Level-Up programme, which offers a $4,000 credit top-up and monthly allowances for those who take time off work to pursue full-time training. According to the World Economic Forum, 70% of Singapore's workforce will need to undergo upskilling or reskilling by 2030. The same report also found that 6 in 10 Singapore firms have identified skills gaps as a potential barrier to their business transformation efforts. The SkillsFuture Level-Up programme is thus a positive step towards enhancing career mobility for mid-career PMEs, enabling them to deepen their skills and pivot into new growth sectors.
A next step could be expanding Career Conversion Programmes tailored specifically for experienced professionals transitioning into new industries. Workers could also be given the option to tap on SkillsFuture credits for career coaching and mentorship, which would benefit mid-careerists navigating upskilling or a career transition. In this regard, NTUC is innovating, together with PMEs, to tailor support needed for job placements and career coaching.
With regards to older workers and vulnerable workers, I recognise the Government’s efforts in enhancing the Workfare Skills Support scheme for lower-wage workers aged 30 and above, as well as the extension of the Senior Employment Credit for older workers, Uplifting Employment Credit for ex-offenders, and Enabling Employment Credit for Persons with Disabilities. I hope the Government continues to strengthen the Workers’ Compact by empowering these workers in their upskilling aspirations and transition into more resilient career pathways by creating support ecosystems.
Strengthening Human Capital Capability
My third and final ‘C’ is Strengthening Human Capital Capability, which is critical as we adapt to the ‘new normal’ of work. Last Thursday, I had an opportunity to speak to and engage with a group of senior HR leaders and head honchos during an event organised by the Institute of Human Resource Professionals (IHRP). Collectively, we agree that human resource (HR) and human capital professionals play a vital role in ensuring fair, progressive, and responsible practices for their workforce. It is therefore critical that HR professionals are well-equipped with a strong knowledge of not only Singapore’s employment legislation and regulations, but also the Labour Movement and wider tripartite framework, including how to build more progressive workplace practices that uphold the values of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
One key recommendation that emerged from the Joint NTUC-SNEF PME Taskforce is to enhance fair employment practices through improving HR standards. I urge the Government to work with tripartite partners to develop requirements for basic HR certification, either by IHRP or other internationally recognised organisations of equivalence. This is especially critical for Multinational Corporations (MNCs) employing foreign HR professionals who operate within and beyond the Singapore context.
Following the rise of Automated Employment Decision Tools (AEDT), which are AI technologies that substantially assist or replace discretionary decision-making in hiring or promotions, I also submit that guidelines or regulations be introduced to ensure companies and HR’s responsible use of AI. Measures such as requiring companies to conduct a third-party bias audit or to disclose where such tools are used to rank candidates or assess employees for promotion or dismissal could be considered.
In an evolving economic, demographic, and regulatory landscape, and after what we witnessed during the pandemic, HR professionals are increasingly playing a strategic role in key business decisions and hopefully more in the Boardroom as well in addition to operations and compliance.
Strengthening our human capital capability and leadership as well as developing the NextGen HR leadership pipeline not only ensures that businesses attract, develop, and retain top local talent, but also foster progressive and inclusive workplaces that support workers at all levels.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I thank the government for accepting and implementing all 9 of the PME taskforce recommendations. To ride the wave of change, be ahead of the curve, and not be hit by curveballs, we need to strengthen the 3Cs — Core, Compact, and Capability. This is to also reaffirm our commitment to safeguarding Singaporean workers’ lives and livelihoods.
In the past 60 years, Singapore has stood in solidarity with our workers during times of crisis and change. From industrialising in our early days to the financial crisis in 2008 to the more recent Covid-19 pandemic, we knew that the only way to move forward is to do so as One United People. Today, the nature of work, workplaces, and workforce have changed. Yet one truth remains constant—when we invest in and protect and equip our workers throughout life, our entire nation prospers. That same solidarity must guide us now as we advance our growth frontier in an inclusive way so that we move onward together for a better tomorrow.
Mr Speaker Sir, I support the Budget. Thank you.
