Model ID: 41ba0e1b-de50-4580-8f1f-73d293f0c63e
Sitecore Context Id: 41ba0e1b-de50-4580-8f1f-73d293f0c63e;
Let me begin by quoting from a speech made by our late Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, at NTUC's 50th Anniversary Dinner held on 13 May 2011. I quote,
“In government, I have never forgotten that it is in the interest of the workers and their unions that we must strive for growth and development. In other words, growth is meaningless unless it is shared by the workers, shared not only directly in wage increases but indirectly in better homes, better schools, better hospitals, better playing fields and, generally, a healthier environment for families to bring up their children.” Unquote.
In short, it is about ensuring workers have good jobs with fair and progressive wages for us to aspire towards greater social equality.
The labour landscape has changed tremendously ever since our late Minister Mentor first helped the group of workers from the postal services in 1952. There are now different types of employment from the traditional employer-employee relationships to the self-employed freelancers. Nevertheless, every worker aspires the same – Better Jobs, Better Pay and Better Lives. This is only possible if economic gains from our growth are shared fairly with the workers.
What would then be a good indicator that gains are being shared with low-wage workers as well? I believe a good indicator would be a narrowing gap in real income inequality. As a unionist, I see this as one of the key defining challenges for our 4G leaders as they confront the question posed by our President, “What is next for Singapore?”
Without a doubt, rising income inequality is “a clear and present danger” to any government of the day. Let us heed our President's rallying call to “tackle inequality vigorously.”
For a start, in helping better the lives of low-wage workers to be `betterer’, we must start by DOING THINGS differently. While the real wage increase for workers at and below the 20th percentile has increased because of tripartite efforts to push for workfare schemes, Progressive Wage Models, the Inclusive Growth Programme and many others; we cannot expect to get better results if we keep on doing the same things.
Doing things different must then stem from every stakeholder THINKING differently when they are looking at trying to address income inequality. Moving ahead, our 4G leaders must continually think differently to be able to catch and ride on the next `S’ curve of better income growth for low-wage workers.
But to THINK differently, we must first question our assumptions behind the current policies on low-wage workers. Are the assumptions still valid given current circumstances? Only then, can we have the mindset change required to come up with better policies that can make a difference to the lives of low-wage workers.
Only then can our 4G leaders make bold changes and not, as our President said, “be content to tweak things at the margins.”
Mr Speaker, what can the Government do?
In the past, there was a ministerial committee on low-wage workers – and subsequently, this was replaced by the Tripartite Committee for Low Wage Workers and Inclusive Growth. The move to set up this committee sent a very strong signal of our Government’s and stakeholders’ resolve to better the lives of low-wage workers. The question is, ‘What’s next?’
While the term of this tripartite committee has ended, we have now many sectoral Industry Transformation Map Committees. In leading us into the future, I would like to urge the 4G Ministers to direct the industry stakeholders to think about how we can engender inclusive growth, where possible, in each of the 23 ITMs under their purview. This is important, otherwise we place our vulnerable workers at risk of having the progress made to better their lives amount to nothing in the face of inflation and technological disruptions.
For a start, each ITM committee could start by contextualising the various Industry Transformation Maps to see how it can help the vulnerable workers to have the means to make a future living. Each ITM must talk of skills that will also be attainable by the spectrum ends of society such as the aged, or those with low educational qualifications.
In 2030, one in five Singaporeans will be aged 65 and older. How can we ensure that they also receive the necessary skills required under the ITM?
How about those who are currently underemployed? Can they attain the necessary help for them to have a job more befitting of their skills and qualifications? How can we help those at risk of being displaced adapt to the changing job market while still working at their present job?
I understand that right now, we may not have all the answers to these difficult and inconvenient questions but, if each ITM committee spends time to focus on the vulnerable workers, then we are taking the right step into the future where no Singaporean will be left behind.
Mr Speaker, how about companies? What can companies and service buyers do?
Questioning assumptions must also involve the employers. Conventional wisdom dictates that you try to bid for contracts by cutting costs or keeping labour costs to a minimum so that you can win the contract or increase profit margins. However, is that really wisdom in this time and age?
In 2015, Forbes released an article discussing how some companies such as Gap, Starbucks and Walmart are pushing their revenue to the next level. It was not aggressive marketing, nor was it ingenious product innovation. It was something much simpler, and one that many of our companies can adopt as well. It was simply living up to a sense of social responsibility to be fair and treat workers, especially the rank-and-file workers, better.
These progressive companies went beyond the idea that only a token pay raise is needed to increase the morale of their workers within their companies. Instead, they started to treat their employees better, like giving better pay packages, generous worker benefits and creating a more positive work environment. When workers are happy at work, they become walking ambassadors for these companies, often going beyond the call of service to do a good job. They are smiling at work, and customers begin to believe in not just the companies, but also the workers as well.
As the companies I cited have shown, we need to create a work culture amongst Singaporeans. Perhaps, new policies could focus on encouraging and incentivising companies to have a good work culture. We have always taken pride in showing that Singaporeans are some of the most productive and highly-skilled workers in the world – yet reports on aspects such as happiness and work-life balance always seem to shed a different light. To me, this is a sign that there is indeed a need for change.
When companies don’t pay workers enough, everyone pretends they are working. They are not willing to ensure that jobs are carried out as they should be. Companies react by imposing punitive liquidated damages. Service providers are then forced to cut corners.
It creates a vicious cycle that has one simple flaw – their mentality on labour, especially on rank-and-file workers, is a cost that needs to be driven down.
However, labour needs to be more than that. It needs to be one where work is given the remuneration it is due, when the low-wage workers among us are not merely numbers in a contract but treated as human beings with dignity and with dreams for themselves.
Mr Speaker, how about workers? What can workers do?
Workers must have the right mindset to be ready for the future. We must be ever ready and have the ability to adapt our skills to the changing needs of the workplace. Lifelong learning must become the norm in the course of our work and we need to leverage SkillsFuture to sustain our efforts in lifelong learning.
When I talk about skills upgrading for the future – some workers have asked me, “What does it really mean?” Is it more certificates and attending courses? As a worker, when you upgrade yourself, it means that you can do more and do it better. It cannot be business as usual. New skills should help you take on new tasks and responsibilities you may not have been able to before. Productivity increases means that you can now do more as one employee either by leveraging technology or simply doing things better.
This is the future I see throughout our whole workforce, and especially so for the low-wage workers. I want to see a world where they are able to do more for themselves – and be recognised for it. Too many times have I heard an unfortunate comment that suggests that these workers are to be blamed for their circumstances. And I tell them – you merely have not seen them fight to break out of it.
While we worry about how Singaporeans will cope with this new future, it can be very easy to overlook people who are already struggling to cope with the current realities that they face. It is my dream that Singapore’s future is one that will benefit each Singaporean. Not just the privileged, not just the educated, but also the hands that have worked hard in manual labour to continue to build the Singapore that we know and love today.
Mr Speaker, please allow me to speak in Malay.
Untuk membantu pekerja-perkerga bergaji rendah, kita perlu menyoal tanggapan kita ketika melahirkan polisi-polisi yang bertujuan untuk membantu pekerja-pekerja ini. Penyoalan sebigini adalah penting untuk melahirkan permekiran yang berbeza supaya kita dapat menghasilkan polisi atau perancangan yang lebih baik untuk membantu pekerja-pekerja bergaji rendah merai kehidupan yang lebih baik.
Saya juga ingin mengesa pemerintah untuk mengalakkan setiap jawatankuasa Peta Transformasi Industri mengambil pedekatan yang lebih inklusif bagi memastikan peluang-peluang latihan dan pekerjaan yang baik juga ada untuk golongan pekerja bergaji rendah dan yang lanjut usia dalam peranchangan mereka.
Pemerintah juga boleh memberi galakan dan insentif kepada majikan-majikan untuk melahirkan budaya kerja yang lebih positif di mana pekerja-pekerja bergaji rendah berasa senang dan bangga melaksanakan tugasan mereka. Ini telah terbukti dapat meningkat daya penghasilan pekerja dan membolehkan pekerja-pekerja mendapat pendapatan yang lebih baik.
The future I would like to see, under our new 4G leadership, is one where a low-wage worker is confident of gaining new skills and earning better wages, sufficient to support his family and aspirations for a better life, and maybe, with the Government’s help centered on helping their children have a level playing field in educational opportunities.
However, this is something we cannot do alone. It requires a strong tripartite partnership of different stakeholders from the Government, companies, workers and people to stand together and have an unquestionable resolve to help our low-wage workers have better jobs, better pay and better lives. Perhaps, this is the best way for us to achieve greater social equality.
With this, I support the motion.
