The Government will provide targeted support to the transport and tourism sectors – the two that have most intensely felt the impact of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus situation.
Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat announced this on 1 February 2020 at a visit to Shangri-La Rasa Sentosa.
The visit saw him meet with taxi drivers, private-hire drivers, the hotel’s management and around 40 hotel workers on duty. He was accompanied by NTUC Secretary-General Ng Chee Meng and union leaders.
According to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Trade and Industry, there has been a decline in air traffic through Changi Airport and an increase in hotel room cancellations.
Mr Heng also said that Singapore must be prepared for a broader slowdown in the economy.
Mr Heng added that the Government’s priority is to ensure workers remain employed and employable, despite the slowdown.
“What we will be doing is to work with the companies to make sure that these companies remain viable. We are looking at measures to help them retain and train their workers, and to help them with their immediate cashflow problems. And at the same time, to look at how they can make full use of this period to restructure some of their operations and to retrain some of their workers,” he said.
These measures will be on top of what the Government has planned for SkillsFuture, according to Mr Heng.
Mr Heng emphasised that the Wuhan Coronavirus situation is fast evolving and the Government will continue to refine its plans as the situation develops.
“We are ready to take action, and we will have a strong Budget to manage this challenge. With our experience in the previous downturns, we have the knowledge and experience of what has worked well,” he added.
Budget 2020 is planned to be delivered on 18 February 2020.
Working together with key business leaders and unions will enable Singapore to emerge stronger after the challenge, assured Mr Heng.
Speaking to the media at the visit, NTUC Secretary-General Ng Chee Meng said that NTUC is stepping up efforts to assist all workers in general.
Where there are excess capacities in the different industries, Mr Ng said that NTUC hopes to partner companies to send workers for relevant training.
“Where there is downtime, they [workers] can upskill. And when things get better, they can seize the opportunities,” he added.
