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Mr Speaker, I rise in support of Budget 2022. This is indeed a budget that is well-considered and targeted in giving our nation, economy and society a strong boost for the future while supporting our fellow Singaporeans to ride through this pandemic and easing their concerns over the cost of living today. It is one that invests more in our people and social infrastructure so that together, we can bring Singapore out of the COVID-19 shadows and reinject our nation with resilience and strong growth.
It is important that we continue to build a vibrant economy, with thriving companies, supported by a future-ready workforce that can access good jobs and wages, and ensure that no one is left behind. Being part of NTUC and as GPC Chair for Education, I believe in investing in our workforce and our companies. As shared by fellow Labour MP SMS Chee Hong Tat as well as Labour NMP Brother Abdul Samad and other honourable members of this House, I am glad to see further investments in our people, not just the young but also supporting Continuing Education and Training, and Lifelong Learning for all (especially our mid-career workers amidst an ageing workforce). By training our workers and equipping them with good and in-demand skills, and giving them good jobs and opportunities, we want them to have better income stability to manage their daily cost of living and tools for success to achieve their aspirations.
In my last Budget Debate speech, I made a special highlight on a segment of our workforce which the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted immensely. They are the many Professionals, Managers and Executives (PMEs for short) in Singapore, especially those in their 40s to 60s.
Last year, the NTUC-SNEF PME taskforce, which I co-chaired, had consulted more than 10,000 PMEs and stakeholders to understand PMEs’ key concerns, needs, aspirations and fears at the workplace. In response to our local PMEs’ call for assistance, NTUC and SNEF want to strengthen their employment and employability; and ensure that they can compete fairly and effectively to meet employers’ manpower and skill demands in a dynamic labour landscape.
NTUC and SNEF have together deliberated the various challenges and concerns faced to arrive at 9 recommendations along 4 key thrusts, which was presented to Minister Tan See Leng and the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) on 21 October 2021.
I am heartened that the Government has taken the NTUC-SNEF PME Taskforce recommendations into serious consideration, as reflected in the Budget Statement made by Minister Lawrence Wong.
In this regard, I would like to elaborate on 4 of the most urgent tasks on hand to enhance workplace fairness, employment and employability for our PMEs, which are:
1) Strengthening the Singaporean Core through enhancing the Employment Pass framework;
2) Imposing a penalty framework for egregious cases of workplace fairness;
3) Protecting the confidentiality of whistle-blowers of discriminatory practices; and lastly
4) Helping mature PMEs to transit into new roles through short term salary support.
Strengthening the Singaporean core through enhancing the Employment Pass framework
While many of us, including the local PMEs whom the NTUC-SNEF PME Taskforce surveyed, recognised the contribution and complementarity of foreign PMEs to Singapore’s economy and the need for us to stay open and competitive, there remained ground concerns and perceptions that an overreliance on foreign PMEs has led to an unnecessary increase in competition in the local job market and employment.
To safeguard our Singaporean Core and curb discriminatory hiring, we must ensure that Singaporean PMEs have access to a level playing field for jobs while at the same time, balance companies’ manpower needs in the immediate and longer-term.
Today, the eligibility criteria for Employment Pass (EP) applications generally focus on the individual applicant’s educational qualifications and salary. With the qualifying salaries of both the EP and S Pass holders raised in the past, and with further increases announced in Budget 2022, this will go some way to level the playing field for local PMEs as it ties in with the rise in their median wages. However, I opine that such a system, by itself, is inadequate to level the playing field for our local PMEs.
It is therefore pertinent that the EP framework be further enhanced to meet the objective of ensuring that foreign professionals complement our local PME workforce, and that employers practice fair hiring as well as improve the diversity of their workforce.
I am elated that Minister Lawrence Wong announced earlier that the Government will refine the EP application framework so that there is complementarity, transparency and diversity of the foreign workforce. I look forward to Ministry of Manpower sharing more details of the refined EP framework at the COS.
I hope that MOM will take in our NTUC-SNEF PME Taskforce’s recommendation for the enhancement of the EP application review process and include a point(s) system which factors in i) sectoral input; ii) whether the employer has been hiring and developing local workers; and iii) the diversity of nationalities within the companies.
We believe that such a system will provide the flexibility to let employers who have justified genuinely and adequately, secure foreign talents to complement their local PME workforce; and restrict access to foreign talents for the errant companies. And as for our local PMEs, we believe both a refinement of the EP system, coupled with the workplace fairness legislation, will go a long way to give better protection and stronger assurance to our local PME populace especially those, 40-60 years of age.
Imposing a penalty framework for egregious cases of workplace fairness
While there have been many measures and policies and even with the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP) set up over the years, more needs to be done to penalise the small proportion of egregious companies that are out to exploit the system, so that local PMEs can continue to receive fair opportunities and treatment while maintaining Singapore’s economic competitiveness.
I am glad MOM has formed the Tripartite Committee on Workplace Fairness’ and I hope to see a set of recommendations which will include establishing a robust framework to help achieve workplace fairness for our local PMEs. This should include measures to strengthen enforcement against errant companies and management personnel who adopt unfair practices and require their remedial action. The measures should also be supported by grievance handling processes that will be entrenched to facilitate the therapeutic resolution of grievances at company level for our local PMEs.
Protecting the confidentiality of whistle-blowers of discriminatory practices
This brings me to my third point - on mandating whistle-blowing policies and procedures to ensure that employees can speak up safely, especially with the forthcoming workplace fairness legislation.
In my engagements, I have heard from various HR professionals and PMEs who have witnessed or experienced discriminatory practices at work. However, in most cases, they do not report such practices for fear of potential reprisals or consequences in their workplace or in their industry.
It is beneficial for those who experienced workplace discrimination or harassment to come forward, so that problems can be resolved, and positive norms established.
We will therefore need to incorporate legal protections to promote transparency and fairness by safeguarding employees’ confidentiality and preventing retaliation by the employer. In this aspect, I hope that policies can be put in place to mandate that employers set up formal grievance handling processes that are communicated clearly to employees. Equally important in the process, is to 1) ensure confidentiality of the whistle-blowers and 2) prohibit retaliation against employees, ex-employees and potential employees, who report discrimination or harassment.
Helping mature PMEs transit into new roles through short term salary support
The findings of the NTUC-SNEF PME Taskforce Report shows that mature PMEs are in a particularly precarious and vulnerable situation when they are retrenched or unemployed.
In an online survey with 1,000 PMEs last year in April 2021, we found that as compared to younger PMEs (20 to 40 years old), a higher percentage of the mature PMEs (40 to 60 years old) attributed their age to be a disadvantage to them at workplaces. In another online survey conducted last year in July 2021 with 1,000 mature PMEs, majority of these mature PMEs expressed challenges in their search for employment and attributed their age to be the key reason. Half of them expressed that they faced some form of discrimination during their job search or at their current workplaces. Some also held the perception that companies are not opened to hiring workers who are aged 40 and above.
Thus, I am heartened that in this Budget, the Jobs Growth Incentive (JGI), which supports employers to expand local hiring from September 2020 to March 2022, will be extended to September 2022. This will better encourage and support companies in hiring our mature PMEs and ensure that mature PMEs get the opportunities they need and deserve.
In the long-term and with the aging population, I hope that this JGI can be translated or even entrenched to a permanent short-term salary support initiative to assist our mature PMEs. This is done by helping companies, who hire unemployed mature PMEs, in mitigating their costs and risks associated with hiring this group of PMEs, who may possess the relevant skills and experience needed by the companies. This will also allow companies to assess the mature PMEs’ suitability for the job roles and continue to keep them in the companies’ workforce.
Conclusion
In conclusion, as our demographic shifts over the next decade, coupled with profound transitions of the global economy because of COVID-19, we will need to transform urgently to stay competitive, while ensuring that we continue to meet the job aspirations of Singaporeans.
We recognise the growing need to ensure PMEs are adequately protected, have access to good jobs and are equipped with relevant skills. As we prepare for the next normal, it is important that we continue to entrench progressive and fair practices at workplaces and extend schemes to support our local PMEs, especially the more vulnerable ones.
It is crucial to create a level playing field for Singaporean PMEs, strengthen the Singaporean core, eradicate all forms of discrimination through tougher measures and targeted legislation, and support PMEs and workers in general, to transit effectively and less painfully between jobs.
One of the best ways to protect PMEs and help them progress is through having better wages and better jobs. NTUC will help PMEs with 4 Ups – Up their Skills, Up their Employability, Up their Protection and Up their Employment Opportunities. At NTUC, we will champion these for all workers because #everyworkermatters.
As we pivot and transform to the next normal of work, employers and workers alike will have to find new ways and new avenues to navigate the kinks and curves that the uneven and uncertain future presents.
Mr Speaker, Sir, I support the Budget, thank you.
