The schemes announced at Budget 2019 will not reap results overnight. Rather, they will lay the foundation for the future of the economy and workforce in Singapore, said NTUC Assistant Secretary-General and NTUC Industrial Relations Department Director Cham Hui Fong.
She was responding to the Budget speech made by Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat on 18 February 2019.
Touching on the schemes and the results they will bring, Ms Cham said: “Workers’ training and enterprise redevelopment is not something we can see in one or two years. It will take a while.”
She also urged companies to heed the call of the Finance Minister to redevelop and ride on schemes such as the SME Go Digital programme.
Touching on the reduction in the services sector’s Dependency Ratio Ceiling (DRC), Ms Cham said: “This may be the right move as over the years, we’ve pumped in a lot of foreign manpower in the services sector for its employment growth. And it is the sector that has reaped the lowest productivity,” she said.
However, weaning off the reliance on manpower and adopting technology depends on the individual companies, said Ms Cham.
“If companies are not growing very quickly or don’t have the entrepreneurship to grow, then their technological advancement will still be slow. And that will certainly create stress on the workers,” she said.
Ms Cham said that she looks forward to the details of the announced schemes, which will be presented by each ministry at the Committee of Supply debate later.
The union leaders also had their views. Here’s what they had to share.
“The Budget 2019 announcements supporting workers, especially the Tripartite Workgroup for Older Workers and expansion of the Workfare Income Supplement scheme are good ones. I also hope that the transformation gains from the various initiatives announced can be translated to better wages for workers.” Union of Power and Gas Employees General Secretary Abdul Samad Abdul Wahab.
“The improvements to the Workfare Income Supplement will help those in Chemical Industries Employees’ Union (CIEU) companies who are earning $2,300 or less. The Special Employment Credit will also help support the wages of older workers, allowing companies to hire more mature workers.” CIEU President G Rajendran.
“Our low wage and older workers are taken care of in this budget, with strong support from the government in embracing transformation through today’s economic challenges. Policies that stood out are in helping our people seize opportunities.
"Besides SkillsFuture, the Adapt and Grow initiative can help our people reach their fullest potential throughout their lives and help Singaporean affected by restructuring. In my opinion, this year the budget is forward looking at the future fast-changing economy and at the same time caring for our senior workers (Merdeka Generation) and appreciating their contributions to nation-building.” Healthcare Services Employees’ Union General Secretary Simon Ong.
“It is really heartening to a see that our mature Singaporeans are taken care of in this fast-paced era of digital transformation, with more resources for them to keep up with the changes. I am also glad to see that there are plans for more international exchange programmes for the youth as global economic transformation is happening even faster with IT. Our future young leaders need to be exposed to the world to understand and share cultural differences. This can help Singapore to grow, remain competitive and stay relevant." Young Healthcare Services Employees’ Union Leader Fiona Leong.
