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Mdm Deputy Speaker,
As we look to celebrate Singapore’s 56th National Day, it is also timely that we take stock of what we have achieved while looking to the future to see how we can move towards the new normal.
COVID-19 has been a trying period for us all, and we are now faced with the challenging task of understanding how our world and our society have been changed. Many have felt the tangible repercussions of this period be it via the loss of income or the many changes that we have had to make to keep ourselves and our loved ones safe. But COVID-19 has also brought about many intangible changes. Many of us must deal with new and challenging circumstances that cause “pandemic fatigue”, and mental health is on the decline for many.
However, as mentioned by Minister Wong “For Singapore, we can take heart that we are in a much better position to deal with the pandemic now than at the start.” I applaud the targeted support measures to help our businesses and individuals most impacted by the tightened restrictions. At NTUC, we have been working closely with all stakeholders to help both businesses and workers alike and we will continue to do so for as long as necessary.
With these in mind, it is even more important than before to work towards creating a community where no one is left behind and we lend a helping hand to those who are particularly disadvantaged now such as our lower-waged brothers and sisters in the workforce as well as our migrant workers.
Recommendations of the Tripartite Workgroup on Lower Wage Workers
Mr. Speaker, Mahatma Gandhi once said, “A nation’s greatness is measured by how it treats its weakest members.” While we have all been affected by this pandemic, a particular group of workers who we must continue to support is our lower-wage workers. We have seen that in the past decade or so from 2009 to 2019, the real wages of our resident lower-waged workers who are at the 20th percentile have grown by 39 percent compared to the median of 33 percent. This is no small feat and is no doubt aided by our policies as the Progressive Wage Model or PWM to uplift these workers and the efforts of our tripartite partners.
Last month the Tripartite Cluster for Cleaners announced their review of the Cleaning PWM and earlier this month the Tripartite Cluster for Lift & Escalator had also released their recommendations for our lift and escalator maintenance workers. These reviews take reference from the objective of the Tripartite Workgroup on Lower-Wage Workers or TWG-LWW to ensure that the wage growth in PWM sectors can continue to outpace median wage growth.
The Tripartite Workgroup is set to release its recommendations in the coming months, and I would like to reiterate the hopes of the Labour Movement that these recommendations will lead to tangible outcomes for our workers, such as the expansion of the PWMs to cover more workers at the 20th percentile and below.
I am also aware of concerns on the ground regarding potential increased manpower costs and how this could impact consumers and firms alike. As I had mentioned in my previous speech, everyone has a part to play in creating a more caring and inclusive society. This admittedly may mean paying more, but we are mindful of and share our partners’ concerns to ensure that manpower costs remain sustainable for all to create better jobs with a good working environment and increases in productivity.
Supporting Lower-Waged Workers
In addition to ensuring sustainable wage increases, policies like the Workfare Income Supplement Scheme or WIS continue to be an important tool in uplifting our lower-waged workers and significant improvements to the scheme have been made during the reviews in 2017 and 2020. I am assured that the Government will continue to review WIS at regular junctures and I would like to reiterate my call to expand coverage of WIS by lowering the age eligibility of the scheme to 30, as well as increase the WIS payout for essential service workers.
By lowering the age eligibility, many more workers who may need help with their young families or the added financial help to upskill will be able to do so. Increasing the WIS payout to our essential workers will also acknowledge the valuable role they play in our society and the social value of their jobs. I would like to call for the government to consider once again expanding the coverage of WIS to these groups to help to ensure the workers that need the most assistance remain adequately supported.
Beyond efforts like the PWMs & WIS, I am also encouraged by the other efforts to support our lower-waged workers. The Alliance for Action for Lower-Wage Workers, for example, brought together people from different walks of life – students, business owners, and unionists to mobilise the community to support our workers through ground-up initiatives to help uplift their well-being. There are many promising ideas, and I hope work will continue to develop these projects to show appreciation for our essential service workers.
One of these ideas mentioned during the recent AfA engagement is a Rest Area Guidebook in the works which include 2D and 3D designs of plug-and-play rest area configurations. This complements the calls made by the Labour Movement and our partners to provide our essential service workers with a more dignified and comfortable working environment, such as access to proper and reasonable rest areas. I am also heartened by the news that the project team has connected with SCAPE and the National Youth Council to set up a rest area for their outsourced workers, with youth volunteers taking up the role of befrienders to these workers.
I hope that in the months to come, we will be able to hear more of and about these ground-up initiatives and I would like to encourage all stakeholders to continue their support of these tangible steps in creating a more inclusive and caring environment for our workers.
Enhancing Support for Migrant Workers and Strengthening Care
In addition to the support given to our lower-waged brothers and sisters, I am also encouraged to hear stories of many Singaporeans who have gone out of their way to appreciate our migrant workers. I am heartened by the response from our Minister for Manpower Mr. Tan See Leng to the Labour Movement’s calls to expand the Foreign Employee Dormitories Act or FEDA to cover all dormitories in Singapore.
We believe that this move will help enhance the existing requirements with the additional requirements in important areas such as health and safety and the provision of social services which should be afforded to all our migrant workers, regardless of their dormitories.
I also applaud the move to provide long-term access to primary healthcare for our migrant workers. The outbreak in the foreign worker dormitories has highlighted how early and efficient access to medical care is imperative not just for workers and employers, but also for public health. This effort, coupled with the ongoing discussion to extend the electronic payment of salaries to more workers can help better protect the migrant workers who have come to Singapore to earn an honest living.
Conclusion
Mr. Speaker, Sir, please allow me to speak in Malay.
In conclusion, as we take steps as a nation towards a new way of living there is a pressing need for all of us to step up and support the particularly vulnerable during these trying times.
Kesimpulannya, sedang kami mengambil langkah-langkah sebagai sebuah negara ke arah cara hidup baru terdapat keperluan mendesak untuk kami menyokong kumpulan pekerja yang terdedah pada masa-masa yang sukar ini.
As a society, we should do more to appreciate our migrant workers and our lower-waged essential service workers who have continued to work tirelessly during this pandemic to ensure that Singapore has not come to a standstill. We owe them more than simply a word of thanks and we should work towards tangible ways to improve their wages, welfare, and work prospects.
Sebagai sebuah masyarakat, kita harus melakukan lebih banyak lagi untuk menghargai pekerja perkhidmatan penting kami yang bergaji rendah dan pekerja asing kerana merekalah yang terus bekerja keras semasa pandemik ini untuk memastikan bahawa Singapura boleh terus berkembang. Kami harus memberi mereka lebih daripada sekadar kata-kata terima kasih dan kita harus bekerja untuk mencapai cara yang ketara untuk meningkatkan gaji, kebajikan, dan prospek kerja mereka.
I would like to applaud some of the efforts to support our lower-wage workers such as those by the Alliance for Action for Lower-Wage Workers who have developed ideas such as a Rest Area Guidebook which includes designs of rest areas that can easily be put in place. But I would also like to take the opportunity to reiterate the hopes of the Labour Movement that the upcoming recommendations by the Tripartite Workgroup on Lower Wage Workers will lead to tangible outcomes for our workers, such as the expansion of the PWMs to cover more workers. In addition, I also urge the Government to consider expanding the WIS scheme by lowering the age eligibility of the scheme to 30, as well as increasing the WIS payout for essential service workers so that more can benefit.
Saya ingin mengambil kesempatan ini untuk memuji beberapa usaha untuk menyokong pekerja bergaji rendah kami seperti Perikatan untuk Tindakan Pekerja Bergaji Rendah yang telah membangunkan idea-idea seperti Buku Panduan Kawasan Rehat yang merangkumi reka bentuk kawasan rehat yang boleh diletakkan di beberapa kawasan dengan mudah. Tetapi saya juga ingin mengambil kesempatan untuk mengulangi harapan Pergerakan Buruh bahawa cadangan yang akan datang oleh Kumpulan Kerja Tripartite mengenai Pekerja Gaji Rendah akan membawa hasil yang ketara untuk pekerja kami, seperti pengembangan PWM untuk menampung lebih ramai pekerja. Selain itu, saya juga menggesa pemerintah mempertimbangkan untuk memperluaskan skim WIS dengan menurunkan kelayakan umur skim ini kepada umur 30 tahun, serta meningkatkan bayaran WIS untuk pekerja perkhidmatan penting supaya lebih ramai dapat mendapat manfaat daripada skim ini.
In conclusion, I would like to thank the Government for the targeted support measures that have been put in place to help the businesses and individuals most impacted by the pandemic. These have and will continue to help Singaporeans as we navigate this new normal. NTUC as always will continue to work hard to support all workers, but I would also like to take this opportunity to call upon all of us, be it the Government, organisations, or individuals alike to offer our support when we can to those who have been particularly affected during these times.
Mdm Deputy Speaker, i support the Ministerial.
