Debate on Motion of Thanks by Yeo Wan Ling, NTUC Director and MP for Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC on 17 April 2023

Mr Speaker, while significant visibility has been afforded to matters of the economy and healthcare in the first session of the 14th parliament, and rightfully so, it is often the invisible social tenets that tend to elude us, unnoticed. Nations globally are only realising now the true impact that the crisis has left on social fabrics - in America, the erosion of authentic relationships between people has been dubbed the ‘friendship recession’; in China, economic slowdown as a result of the pandemic have driven the youths to ‘lie flat’– 躺平; and indeed in Singapore, as we build a “new social compact” as a nation, many in our communities, in our neighbourhoods, are picking up fragments left from the pandemic, to rebuild lives and livelihoods, and to make sense of the post pandemic world.

Have we considered the invisible implications of COVID-19 on the social fabric of our nation? I propose, Mr Speaker, that these invisible impacts are most felt by those driven further invisible in our post-pandemic society. I would like to talk about three such profiles:

a. Our women workers doubling as sole caregivers at home,
b. Our freelancers caught up in a precarious, ever evolving, gig world and
c. Our vulnerable adults with special needs – invisible and voiceless

Mr Speaker, today, women are not an invisible force in the workplace, and indeed, a force to be reckoned with. However, domestic and caregiving norms at home which have been in place for generations, have not caught up with these great strides in the workplace. Women in their dual roles, often in equal parts, of working and of caregiving, are taken for granted, and go unnoticed and unappreciated. As a result of the pandemic, the lines between these women’s professional lives and domestic responsibilities have become even more blended.

Work From Home or in COVID-era slang – WFH – was a word that was both celebrated and feared by our women workers. At the NTUC, our Sisters and Unions have been pushing workplace norms to embrace flexible work arrangements of which WFH is an example of, for many decades. Flexible Work Arrangements can enhance workplace productivity and can allow companies to retain women workers in the workplace, and attract women returners back; of which by the way, there are 240,000 women of economic age not in the workforce today. COVID-19 created the opportunity for FWAs to be adopted widely, but it also brought into better focus, the challenges women workers and companies need to overcome for FWAs to continue to be adopted widely as well as wisely.

The realities are that FWAs or otherwise, will not shift the burdens of caregiving from the shoulders of mothers, wives, and daughters, should women still be expected, culturally, to be the sole and main caregivers at home while balancing their careers. More practical support must be given to help move the needle in shifting cultural caregiving norms, and the Labour Movement is appreciative that our workers’ suggestions of shared parental leave and increasing paternity leave have been accepted by our tripartite partners. A wider scope for caregiving leave can also be considered, for our workers to be able to share caregiving duties outside of the typical parent, grandparent and child familial sets, to include family members such as aunts and uncles, nephews and nieces. Keep the number of caregiving leave days, but allow for flexibility on who a worker can give care to.

Now that normalcy has been restored to most of the workforce, more workers are called back to serve their 9 to 5’s in offices. Let’s not lose the momentum we have made in the progress for FWAs in the past 3 years. FWAs are critical workforce philosophies to help our women balance their dual duties, and the Labour Movement thanks the Tripartite Partnership in supporting and legislating in the near future, our workers’ rights for individual FWA requests to be considered by employers. The Labour Movement on our part, will continue to support and push for companies to redesign jobs, and to ensure FWAs are win-win and sustainable for businesses and workers.

Another group of workers who have seen much changes since the onset of the pandemic, are our freelancers, and in particular, our platform workers who are the lifeblood of Singapore’s gig economy. Having transformed the way we eat, shop and move, and especially so in the thick of the pandemic, our freelance gig economy has grown in the past 3 years, and yet, as a community, they still bear invisible risks we do not fathom as a nation. These include risks to their physical safety in transit when delivering food or other logistical requirements, but also concerns over the adequacy of their retirement savings, health safety nets and housing. While the Government will continue to work with platforms to ensure equitable outcomes for platform workers, Singaporeans should also bear in mind these invisible risks borne by our platform workers the next time they tap into their services.

As a progressive Labour Movement, the NTUC and our Associations – the NTA, NPHVA, NDCA have been engaging our ever growing freelance & self-employed community and garnering support to address their concerns with our Tripartite Partners – the ride hail platforms, delivery platforms, taxi companies, the MOM, the LTA, CPF, the list goes on. The move from Pandemic to Endemic has certainly brought further light to the precariousness of our riders and drivers’ livelihoods. As business models shift and adjust with the gradual opening of our economy and borders, this should not be done without due consideration these moves have on the livelihoods of our platform workers. To a platform owner, the impact of a rise in platform fees of less than 50 cents, could be limited in consolidated amounts, but to a driver or rider, the accompanying decrease in ride or delivery orders, will mean a decreased earnings and less food on the table for their families, sometimes even for weeks. A poorly executed app update resulting in a few hours of glitching, will impact earnings and even the safety of our riders and drivers.

The Labour Movement has been championing the cause of our freelance and self-employed for many years now, and in the face of a fast evolving gig landscape, the Tripartite Partnership has formed the Platform Workers Advisory Committee to look into the protection and representation of our gig platform workers. This is an important move, and draws visibility and more importantly public awareness and discourse to the issues that this evolving and growing group of workers face on a daily basis to their livelihoods and safety. Our drivers and riders are a proud, independent group of Singaporean workers and I call on all Singaporeans to work with the Labour Movement and Tripartite Partnership on defining a fair, dignified livelihood for our platform workers in the new normal.

On dignified lives, this brings me to the last group and arguably, the most vulnerable group of adult Singaporeans living amongst us. For those among us who are parents - do you remember the looks shot at you as you might have brought your wailing infant to a crowded hall, or worse, a fully occupied plane? You may have on some occasions muttered to yourself, “just a few more months to get through this”. For some parents out there with children with special needs, they never find solace from public scrutiny even as their children reach adulthood.


Mr Speaker, though presented conjecturally, many parents of adults with special needs are no strangers to this line of thinking. On my block visits in Punggol Shore, I encounter a good number of cases of adults with special needs, some of them undiagnosed, cooped up at home, rarely stepping into the outside world having fostered no real sense of independence. When I speak with their parents or siblings, I am often met with worries about how their ward might continue to upkeep a standard of living and quality of life should they pass on. Sure, state-centric solutions might exist, but all parents would wish upon their children, a life of safety, choice and protection - at least one that goes beyond the confines of an institution?

I would like to share the story of one of my residents, Mr Y, who has sadly passed on, but left behind his 37 year old wife and his 21 year old son from his first marriage who is on the autism spectrum. I met with Mr Y when he contacted my office and asked me to visit him at home as he was too sick to leave his home. I remember Mr Y laying on his sofa when I saw him in his flat, he was very ill and his stomach was painfully distended. Even though he was relieved to see me and smiled a lot, he looked like he was in the jaws of death. Mr Y had last stage cancer, and his doctor told him that he had only weeks to live. Mr Y told me that he was in pain and the only reason why he was still holding on was because he did not know what to do to ensure that his son and wife continued to enjoy a good standard of living after he passes on. He was worried as his son has no language skills, and his wife is a foreigner, and while she was a full time caregiver to his son, after his passing, he wished for her to find work. He was also adamant that his son would be able to live and age in place in the flat that he owned and not to be confined to a home or institution. Mr Y was estranged from his family and there was no additional support networks for him. He had no will, no lasting power of attorney, and he did not even have a plan B on how to ferry his son should the bus fail to turn up that day to bring his son to day care.

After listening to him, we knew we were running against time. Together with my volunteers, we spent the next 5 days setting up the necessary paperwork for him, visiting banks, getting the lawyers in, setting up a Special Needs trust. We even arranged for job interviews for his wife, and paid attention to his final funeral wishes. More importantly, we knew we had to set up the necessary safety nets for his son, while Mr Y was still of sound mind. Thankfully, things went smoothly, and through community contacts, we managed to get things in order Mr Y. He passed on that night after he signed the trust agreement which actually took the longest to set up. This was 2 weeks after our initial meet up at his sofa in his home. He was only then 58.

Mr Y left a very long lasting impression on me, his story is not unique amongst caregivers and gaurdians of special needs adults. Through understanding his wishes for his son and the hoops we had to jump through to coordinate the safety nets needed to protect Mr Y’s son, I know that we need to do more for our special needs adults and their caregivers. Mr Y envisaged a warm model of care for his son, and this was about his son living in the community he grew up in well into his later years. It is, well, a care model around a village more than it is around an institution. What this means is that our adults with special needs would be able to, in a safe and dignified manner, live fulfilled lives in their communities with the support of other members of the community.

I believe that Singaporeans have what it takes to be that village for adults with special needs - no institution can give this great an assurance to families of our special needs adults and the community itself.

Mr Speaker, what is unseen is often ignored, and what is ignored often suffers - together, this need not be true for the invisible slices of Singaporeans we have formed a blind spot as a result of the pandemic. Strengthening the social compact begins with kindness, and kindness begins with putting ourselves in the shoes of others. As I continue to tell the stories of those I champion, I will call on the Government to effect change, and renew the kindness of Singaporeans that will effect lasting change.

Mr Speaker, I support the Motion. Thank you.