Government's Plans In Our Continuing Fight Against COVID-19 Pandemic
Full transcript, 779,996 characters — every turn. Summarised passages are
highlighted: 835 passages across 85 turns, covering
16.5% of what was said. The rest is the record itself.
Open on 837 sentences (16.5%
of the characters). 5,408 sentences in 746 stretches are folded
inline — tap a [+N sentences] to read them where they sit.
Every topic below is closed until you open it.
Government's Plans in Our Continuing Fight Against COVID-19 Pandemic›Ministerial Statements8 turns · 10,757w
· 71 highlighted
ministerial-statement-1399recorded 2020-05-26
Mr Speaker5 words
[+2 sentences]Ministerial Statement. Deputy Prime Minister.
The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance (Mr Heng Swee Keat)10625 words
[+2 sentences]Mr Speaker and Members of this House, this is our fourth Budget this year. I presented the Solidarity Budget in this House seven weeks ago. At that time, there were about 1.1 million cases and 62,000 deaths due to COVID-19 globally.[+1 sentence] The situation has since deteriorated sharply. Globally, over 5,000,000 people have been infected and over 340,000 lives have been lost.[+3 sentences] More people are expected to be infected as countries come to grips with what it takes to contain this virus. COVID-19 has disrupted the global economy. Lockdowns and movement restrictions have exerted a huge cost, with major job losses in many economies. In the US, the unemployment rates for April has increased to 14.7%.[+23 sentences] This is the highest level since the Great Depression. New jobless claims also continue to be high in May. The Eurozone economy is estimated to have contracted 3.8% in the first quarter of 2020 – its sharpest decline on record. The IMF has predicted that Asia will see zero growth in 2020 – the worst growth performance in 60 years. Societies and communities have been severely strained. In some countries, bitter differences over how to deal with the pandemic have deepened societal fault lines. The road ahead is fraught with uncertainties. The key uncertainty arises from the virus itself. There is still much that we do not know about COVID-19. For example, what is the risk of transmission by asymptomatic carriers? Are recovered patients immune to future infections and if so, for how long? Scientists and medical experts are divided. It is also uncertain how the pandemic will evolve in the coming months. Will there be significant mutations of the virus? Will there be a resurgence in infections as restrictions on activities and travel are gradually lifted around the world? How soon will a vaccine be ready? There is a wide range of views among experts – from five months to beyond 18 months for a viable vaccine. Making the vaccine available globally will also be a huge challenge. The situation is fast-evolving and global efforts at containing the pandemic are uneven and uncoordinated. These uncertainties affect whether and when countries will be able to contain the pandemic successfully. In turn, this affects how far and how fast the global economy can recover. As a small open economy, Singapore's economic outlook depends critically on the state of the global economy. With COVID-19, the global outlook depends on how the global community is able to contain the outbreak. Our economy has been deeply impacted by the global shocks. This morning, the Ministry of Trade and Industry further downgraded Singapore's GDP growth forecast from -4% to -1% to -7% to -4%.[+2 sentences] Outward-oriented sectors such as manufacturing, wholesale trade and transportation and storage have been affected by both weak external demand and supply chain disruptions. The circuit breaker, which was put in place to bring down community transmission decisively, also affected many businesses that could not operate offsite. Based on preliminary estimates, the resident unemployment rate rose to 3.3% in March 2020 – the highest since December 2009.[+34 sentences] As announced by the Multi-Ministry Task Force on 19 May, we are preparing to reopen the economy in three phases, guided by public health considerations. As we open up progressively, we will continue to give more support to businesses which are not yet ready to reopen and workers who are still unable to resume work. The key is to reopen safely and this needs to be done carefully. As we have learnt from the experience of other countries, life will not return to what it was before COVID-19. When we reopen and have more activities and interactions, we are likely to see a rise in community cases. We must therefore be psychologically prepared for setbacks before we safely transition to a new normal and build a COVID-safe nation. Over the coming months as we transition to the next phase, many of our precautionary measures will remain in place. The global economy is unlikely to recover quickly. We must be prepared for tough times in the months ahead. This is a challenge for this generation of Singaporeans. It is a test of our strength and fortitude, a test of our resilience and unity. How we respond will define us as a people. The past few months, especially the circuit breaker, have been tough for everyone. There are worries and anxieties. Some have lost their jobs or suffered pay cuts. Fresh graduates are worried about finding jobs. Mid-career Singaporeans who support both their children and elderly parents are anxious about job stability. Businesses are concerned about cash flow and staying afloat. Families have found it challenging to balance working from home and adapting to home-based learning. COVID-19 has also hit the vulnerable groups in the community. We have seen more families seeking counselling for marital conflicts and family violence. Our path forward will be tough, but we will journey together. Today, I will introduce this $33 billion Supplementary Budget for the next phase of our fight against COVID-19. The central focus of this Budget is jobs. This Budget will continue to support workers and businesses who remain affected by border closures and safe distancing measures. Given the significant changes in the global economy ahead, we will provide support to enable our businesses and workers to adapt, transform and seize new opportunities – to emerge stronger. We aim to enable workers and businesses to go through this difficult period together in a synergistic way. We will also provide additional support to our households and community to cope with the disruptions and seize new opportunities in adversity. This will help us build a stronger and more inclusive society. I will also provide funding to frontline agencies to continue our fight against the pandemic. This will boost our clinical management of cases and our swabbing and testing capabilities. The coming months will test our resolve as a society and as a people. We will need to adapt and stay resolute and resilient amidst a rapidly evolving, uncertain situation. In that light, I have decided to call this the Fortitude Budget – courage in adversity. Together with the Unity, Resilience and Solidarity Budgets, we are dedicating close to $100 billion to support our people in this battle, which is almost 20% of our GDP.[+1 sentence] This is a landmark package and a necessary response to an unprecedented crisis. Part of this Supplementary Budget also provides $3.8 billion for the measures, including the enhancements to the Jobs Support Scheme announced on 21 April 2020 for the extended circuit breaker period.[+35 sentences] A distinctive feature of this Budget is that we are setting aside a bigger contingent sum. We are dealing with unprecedented uncertainty across all fronts. A bigger contingent sum will allow us to respond swiftly to fast-changing situations. I will speak more on this later. Before I get into the details, I thank our partners – NTUC, Singapore Business Federation, Future Economy Council members, Emerging Stronger Task Force members, social sector agency partners and leaders, and many citizens and groups who have given us very useful feedback. Your inputs have been valuable. I also thank my team in MOF who has been working non-stop since our first Unity Budget this year. The central focus of this Budget is jobs. Large parts of the last three Budgets were directed at protecting the livelihoods of our workers. In this Budget, we will do even more. Today, over 140,000 enterprises employ 1.9 million local employees across various industries. All these enterprises are facing not only immediate challenges but also structural challenges that threaten their survival. Some of our workers will lose their jobs. Some of these jobs will not come back. Other jobs will look different going into the future. Our economy is undergoing a sea change. Even as we navigate through the current storm, we must stay on course and set our direction right to prevail over the challenges ahead. The tripartite structure that has served Singapore so well over the years will need to be reinforced. Each of us must do our part. Businesses need to adapt and transform and workers need to adapt and re-skill. You have my assurance that the Government will provide strong support to bring all parties together to navigate through these turbulent waters. I will cover three inter-related subjects in three parts. First, how we provide timely support to businesses and workers. Second, how we support businesses to transform to secure the future of our workers. Third, how we will help Singaporeans upskill and re-skill to seize opportunities now and in the future. Many businesses have been hard-hit by the simultaneous demand and supply shocks caused by COVID-19. I had a virtual meeting with the Singapore Business Federation and the Future Economy Council members and Emerging Stronger Task Force co-chiars last week. While businesses appreciated the support over the past three Budgets, they recognised that the Government cannot carry businesses indefinitely. Businesses are trying hard to get back on their feet and reopen safely as they emerge from the circuit breaker. We are fully behind them and will further strengthen our support for businesses on the 3Cs – cash flow, costs and credit. I will help businesses on the first "C", cash flow, through the Jobs Support Scheme, or JSS, which supports firms in retaining and paying their workers. When the circuit breaker was imposed, I increased the wage support under the JSS to 75% of the first $4,600 of wages in April for every local employee. When the circuit breaker was extended in May, I extended the higher level of support to May. This is because most firms had to either stop operating or operate at a much-reduced level. The temporary increase in support was planned for only two months. Coming out of the circuit breaker, businesses will not be able to return immediately to pre-circuit breaker levels of operations. Hence, I reviewed the original JSS schedule with fellow Ministers and will make three enhancements to the scheme.[+1 sentence] With your permission, Mr Speaker, may I ask the Clerks to distribute a summary to all Members of this House. The first enhancement is to increase the duration of JSS payouts by one month for all firms. I previously announced that the JSS would cover nine months, computed based on wages paid to local employees up to July 2020.[+8 sentences] To provide additional relief for firms as they safely re-open after the circuit breaker period, I will provide an additional month of support. This will be computed based on the wages paid in August 2020. This support will be at the same levels as those provided during the non-circuit breaker months. Firms will receive this additional month of support in the October 2020 JSS payout. The second enhancement is for firms that cannot resume operations immediately after the circuit breaker. For such firms, I will continue providing wage support at 75% until August 2020 or when they are allowed to re-open, whichever is earlier. This includes retail outlets, gym and fitness studios and cinemas. The third enhancement is to refine the classification of firms in the different JSS tiers. This arose from feedback from industry associations and businesses. I will increase the level of wage support for firms in sectors that are more severely impacted, from the previous 25%, to either 75% or 50%.[+1 sentence] Firms in the aerospace sector, including those in Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul, will now receive 75% wage support. Firms in the retail, and marine and offshore sectors will now receive 50% support.[+6 sentences] The full list of eligible sectors and the qualifying criteria are in the Annex. Eligible firms will receive a back-payment to top up their previous JSS payouts to the higher level of support. This retrospective payment will be made by July. For the built environment sector, which includes construction, we will raise the wage support to 75%. This sector will be affected by the phased and gradual resumption of activities. This 75% support will only apply to wages paid between June and August. In total, these three enhancements to the JSS will cost $2.9 billion. Through the JSS, we are flowing a total of $23.5 billion to firms to support wage costs for 10 months.[+13 sentences] I urge leaders in our industries to use this additional cushion to retain your staff, speed up adaptation, and move towards a viable business model. Please make full use of the schemes available to train workers and upgrade your corporate capabilities. Time is running out, please act fast! I am heartened that some firms which have not been as badly affected by the pandemic have returned or donated their JSS payouts. Thank you! I encourage other firms that are able, to do so as well. I will also provide support to businesses for the second "C", costs. During the circuit breaker period, we provided a Foreign Worker Levy waiver and rebate to support businesses employing migrant workers that had to suspend operations. Some businesses will not be allowed to resume operations on-site immediately after the circuit breaker is lifted. I will extend the Foreign Worker Levy waiver and rebate for up to two months for such businesses. This will include all businesses in the construction, marine and offshore and process sectors. The waiver will be 100% in June, and 50% in July. The rebate will be $750 in June and $375 in July. To help businesses manage costs in these challenging times, the Government will defer the planned increase in CPF contribution rates for senior workers by one year, from 1 January 2021 to 1 January 2022.[+19 sentences] The CPF Transition Offset scheme will similarly be deferred until after the higher contribution rates take effect. I thank the NTUC and the Singapore National Employers Federation for supporting this. Many businesses have also given feedback that while the JSS provides support on wage costs, they are facing difficulties with rental costs. This is especially tough on SMEs. Given that businesses will need more time and support to get back on their feet post-circuit breaker, we will now do more. We will significantly add to the support for rental costs earlier provided through the Property Tax Rebate for 2020 in the Unity and Resilience Budgets. We will also expect landlords to do something, and that will be legislated. First, I will provide a cash grant to offset the rental costs of SME tenants, to be disbursed through property owners. Taken together with the Property Tax Rebate, the Government will, in effect, offset about two months of rental for qualifying SME tenants of commercial properties, and about one month for qualifying SME tenants of industrial and office properties. The grant will be disbursed automatically to property owners from end-July. This grant will cost about $2 billion. Details are in the Annex. Second, the Minister for Law will introduce a new Bill next week. This will mandate that landlords contribute by granting a rental waiver to their SME tenants who have suffered a significant revenue drop in the past few months. We deliberated on this matter very carefully. The Government does not ordinarily intervene in contracts after they have been entered into. However, as the Minister for Law had explained in his Second Reading speech on the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) Bill, in exceptional situations, such as this, the Government needs to intervene, through legislation, with temporary targeted steps to safeguard the economic structure for the common good. The new Bill will also cover provisions on temporary relief from onerous contractual terms, such as excessive late payment interest or charges. It will also allow tenants to repay their arrears through instalments. If the Bill is passed by Parliament, SME tenants in commercial properties who have suffered a significant revenue drop will benefit from a total of four months of rental relief – shared equally between the Government and landlords.[+22 sentences] Other SME tenants in industrial and office properties will also be given some relief. SMEs also already benefit from temporary relief from rental payment obligations till October. Together, these will provide substantial support on rental costs, for our SMEs. The Government will also continue to lead by example in supporting our tenants. I will provide two more months of rental waivers for commercial tenants and hawkers. The total rental waiver will now be four months for commercial tenants. Stallholders in hawker centres and markets managed by Government agencies will get a total of five months of rental waivers. For industrial, office, and agricultural tenants of Government agencies, I will provide one more month of rental waiver. They will now receive a total of two months of rental waiver. We will also ensure that these measures flow through to help sub-tenants, many of whom are SMEs. This will dovetail with measures for SMEs being studied by the Minister for Law. Let me move to the last "C", credit. We introduced and enhanced various financing schemes, such as the Temporary Bridging Loan Programme and the Enterprise Financing Scheme in the past Budgets. The take-up has been high. The schemes have catalysed $4.5 billion of loans so far, benefiting 5,000 businesses. This is more than three times the amount of loans catalysed for the whole of 2019. MAS, together with banks, finance companies and insurers, has also introduced relief measures. These help individuals and SMEs to continue servicing their loans and paying for insurance coverage. Notwithstanding this enhanced support, business leaders, including at my virtual meeting with the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) and the Future Economy Council, tell me that in this environment, some promising start-ups in Singapore are finding it hard to raise capital and develop their businesses. Left unaddressed, this could set back our efforts and result in the loss of good jobs and good companies. It is important to preserve what has been built up in our innovation eco-system so painstakingly over the years. To bridge this financing gap, I will provide financing support for promising start-ups. This will help them sustain their innovation and entrepreneurship journey. I will set aside $285 million, to catalyse and crowd in at least another $285 million in matching private investments. This is in addition to the $300 million I had set aside under the Unity Budget for deep-tech start-ups to gain better access to capital, expertise and industry networks under Startup SG Equity.[+1 sentence] These start-ups can also make full use of the SGUnited Traineeship scheme, which I will cover later, to bring in graduating students with deep interests in the fields they are exploring and build up our talent base. Government agencies have also been rolling out support packages to address other sector-specific needs. We have introduced packages for the aviation, tourism, land transport, arts and culture, financial and maritime sectors. We will introduce further support for the built environment sector, which includes construction.[+6 sentences] There are many significant infrastructure projects, including public infrastructure, such as MRT lines and public housing that we must continue to plan and build. I have covered the higher tier of JSS support for locals who are in the sector, including project managers, engineers, architects, draughtsman and quantity surveyors. I have also covered the Foreign Worker Levy rebate and waiver to support businesses in this sector, so that they can continue to play their part in building Singapore. I will now provide support to co-share the additional costs that will be incurred by businesses who will need to meet additional requirements in order to resume their existing projects safely. The Minister for National Development and BCA will announce the details later. Taken together, our support in past Budgets and this Fortitude Budget will help tide businesses through their periods of closure and to retain and rebuild core capabilities. Based on our current re-opening plans, we expect most businesses to re-open by July.[+27 sentences] This support would enable most sectors to recover in the coming months. But some sectors, such as aviation and tourism, will take longer to re-open fully, given the restrictions on global travel for the foreseeable future. The Government will consider providing additional help, depending on the situation and longer term shape of these industries and plans for the economy. In the interim, I urge businesses to make good use of the existing support and consider how to transform for a post-COVID world. I have covered the support that we are providing to businesses in the near term, to save jobs. But we must also think ahead. To ensure good job opportunities remain available for Singaporeans, we must work to build strong and viable businesses for the future. I set up the Emerging Stronger Taskforce to plan for the post-COVID world to study how we can emerge stronger. The Emerging Stronger Taskforce will work with the Future Economy Council Sub-Committees to study how sectors can adjust to the many changes that are coming. They will draw on support from industry experts and consultancy firms to come up with actionable recommendations. For the sectors that are more badly hit, and which also face significant structural disruptions, we will undertake a review on the medium-term outlook and our responses to adapt to the changes ahead. After observing companies for several years now since we started work on the Future Economy, I found that companies that are adapting to structural changes early are also adapting better to this sudden shock. If change is a constant, innovation and resilience are simply manifestations of our ability to deal with change – be it persistent or sudden. The Emerging Stronger Task Force is studying two key shifts: the rise of digital transformation and the decline in support for globalisation; and shifts in global supply chains. These shifts were already taking place, but COVID-19 has accelerated them. Our businesses must adapt and we will support them in this. Building on the momentum of digital transformation, the first key shift is in the digital transformation. We will not go back to our old ways. Digital solutions will become more deeply embedded in our lives. Telecommuting, online food and services, and virtual events are now the norm. A McKinsey study shows that we have seen the equivalent of five years of consumer and business digital adoption in just eight weeks since the COVID-19 pandemic started. Indeed, COVID-19 has done what many CEOs and CTOs found hard to do – accelerate digitalisation! This is a good thing. But I know that many businesses fear being left behind and shut out of the future. Businesses that are not digitally connected have been hit hard during the circuit breaker. Earlier, we had been supporting businesses strongly to go digital. I am glad that businesses are now taking this seriously. To accelerate change, I will allocate more than $500 million to support businesses in their digital transformation.[+4 sentences] Those who are willing to transform will not be left behind. Our augmented support for digital transformation in this Budget has three groups. First, for those who have not begun using digital tools, we will help them to get on board with digital transformation, building on current momentum. For example, in e-payments, the take-up by businesses has risen sharply – 50,000 more businesses have adopted PayNow Corporate since April this year. IMDA, NEA, JTC, HDB and Enterprise Singapore will provide a bonus of $300 per month over five months to encourage more stallholders in hawker centres, wet markets, coffee shops, and industrial canteens to use e-payments and avoid having to handle cash.[+7 sentences] They should not be left behind as the whole economy transforms. Second, we will enhance our support for businesses which are ready to take their basic payment and invoicing functions digital. This will be coupled with support to keep their business running and even acquire new revenue lines. We will help businesses to implement safe management measures and business continuity strategies to adapt to new post-COVID norms, an area that the Singapore Business Federation suggested supporting. We had earlier enhanced SMEs Go Digital to help businesses adopt digital solutions to cope with circuit breaker measures. Under SMEs Go Digital, we have rolled out the Food Delivery and e-commerce Booster Packages. More than 10,000 food services and retail establishments have benefited from these packages and gone online. To give a further boost, we will introduce a Digital Resilience Bonus to help businesses take their next step to digitalise.[+1 sentence] We will start with the F&B and retail sectors, which are most affected by the safe distancing requirements as we re-open the economy. Eligible businesses can receive a payout of up to $5,000 if they adopt PayNow Corporate and e-invoicing, as well as business process or e-commerce solutions.[+3 sentences] Details are in the Annex. Third, businesses which already have basic digital capabilities, should deepen their digital transformation. We will help them make use of advanced digital tools in an integrated way. The Digital Resilience Bonus will have an additional tier of $5,000 for F&B and retail businesses which also incorporate advanced solutions. I will also set aside $250 million to help businesses digitalise in partnership with platform solution providers and industry champions.[+38 sentences] For example, developing Offline-to-Online business models to access new domestic revenue streams and international demand. This will mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on revenues. Apart from businesses, our schools and Institutes of Higher Learning must also make full use of digital technologies for learning. MOE has been doing this from the time I was Education Minister. The Student Learning Space (SLS), designed as a platform for self-directed learning, has been instrumental in supporting our teachers for home-based learning during the circuit breaker. The Government will harness the talents of our best software engineers, AI experts, learning scientists and educators to develop the relevant pedagogy and build new digital platforms for online teaching and learning, and integrate the latest advancements in AI and learning sciences. The National Research Foundation and MOE will provide more details later. We are committing our fullest support to help our businesses ride the wave of digital transformation and technological changes. But success will require strong partnerships across the economy. To catalyse partnerships, we will introduce a set of National Innovation Challenges, riding on the success of the Open Innovation Platform. With the National Innovation Challenges, we will focus on partnerships to develop industry-led solutions to the challenges that all businesses are grappling with: starting with how we can reopen Singapore safely – to achieve safe workplaces, safe homes, safe schools and safe commuting. The relevant agencies will articulate the critical problems that we seek to solve, or the leap that we are hoping to make. We hope that corporates, start-ups and others in the private and people sectors can step forward to form partnerships to provide solutions that can be scaled. The Government will provide support for this innovation drive. The National Research Foundation and the Ministers for Communications and Information and for Trade and Industry will share more details on these initiatives. COVID-19 has also accelerated the decline in support for globalisation and disrupted supply chains. Governments and businesses are re-evaluating their risks. There will be a premium on resilience. In this new world, we must continue to build on our reputation as a trusted, neutral, and reliable Global-Asia node. Last month, Singapore issued a Joint Ministerial Statement alongside 10 other countries affirming our commitment to upholding supply chain connectivity and resilience during the COVID-19 situation. These links will support our businesses to go digital and global. By staying successful, they will create good jobs for our people. For example, in the Networked Trade Platform, we have set up customs declaration data exchanges with countries in the region and further afield, such as Australia, China and the Netherlands to facilitate trade. Our Grow Digital programme is also helping SMEs to access overseas markets through e-commerce platforms. I have spoken on the first two thrusts – providing timely support for our businesses, and accelerating transformation. By supporting our businesses to stay viable, they save jobs and also create good jobs for the future. I now turn to the third thrust, on supporting our workers to secure these opportunities. An adaptable and skilled workforce will in turn power our businesses. This is a synergy that we must seek to achieve. In the tough months ahead, we must be prepared for some job losses. While we will try to preserve jobs in the midst of this crisis, we cannot protect every job. However, you have my assurance that the Government will protect every worker. Our promise to workers is this. As long as you are willing to pick up new skills and adapt, to access available opportunities to work or learn, the Government will provide our strongest support to help you. Over the years, we have built up a strong base of support to help workers train and get good jobs, especially in sectors with growth potential. In the Unity Budget, I announced enhancements, in the form of the Next Bound of SkillsFuture. This included the SkillsFuture Mid-Career Support Package. I also enhanced our placement and training programmes in the Unity and Resilience Budgets, to boost support for our workers in sectors that were more severely impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak. In this Budget, I will launch an SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package, to create close to 100,000 opportunities in three areas – 40,000 jobs, 25,000 traineeships and 30,000 skills training.[+2 sentences] This will support the immediate needs of our workers and raise the skills of our people for future jobs. Together, these cater to workers with different skill levels and career aspirations, and to the needs of diverse firms across industries. The first component in this SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package is jobs. We will continue to expand the number of job opportunities, in both the public and private sectors, to more than 40,000.[+1 sentence] The public sector will bring forward our hiring to meet long-term needs, like early childhood education, healthcare and long-term care. Together with jobs to meet short-term needs related to COVID-19 operations, such as healthcare declaration assistants and swabbers, the public sector will create 15,000 jobs. Our agencies will also work with businesses to create 25,000 jobs.[+12 sentences] Many businesses have stepped forward, with openings in a wide range of job roles, such as computer engineers and machine operators. I encourage more businesses to do even more in the coming months. To equip our people to take on these jobs, we will expand capacity in Career Conversion Programmes, such as in Place-and-Train conversion programmes under the Adapt and Grow Initiative, and Company-Led Training programmes under the TechSkills Accelerator or TeSA initiative. TeSA has been successful since its launch in Budget 2016. As of December 2019, over a thousand have been trained in partnership with industry leaders such as Accenture, DBS Bank and Google. Over 90% of them have been emplaced in ICT-related roles. I look forward to more industry partners coming on board, to help prepare more Singaporeans for a future where digitalisation becomes increasingly important. The second component in this SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package is traineeships. We will provide jobseekers with a wider range of traineeships to gain industry-relevant experience. Trainees may be emplaced in jobs with their host companies at the end of their traineeships. Even if they do not, they would have learnt valuable skills for other jobs. In total, we target to create about 25,000 traineeship positions this year. Of this, 21,000 will be from the SGUnited Traineeships programme, and another 4,000 places from a new SGUnited Mid-Career Traineeships scheme.[+17 sentences] Let me elaborate. In the Resilience Budget, I announced the SGUnited Traineeships programme targeted at our local first-time jobseekers, where WSG funds the training allowances with host companies, for up to 12 months. I am glad to see strong interest from more than a thousand host companies. The public sector is also keen to offer new traineeship opportunities. With this momentum, I will more than double the provision, to provide 21,000 traineeships this year. To support our technology and innovation drive, these traineeships will include technology-related areas that are in high demand or emerging rapidly. DSTA will offer diploma holders the opportunity to build skills in fast-growing technology areas like IT and engineering. Agencies in our research and development sector, including our Universities, A*STAR research institutes, AI Singapore and SGInnovate will work with local deep-tech companies and start-ups for trainees to work with industry partners on real-world science and technology projects. These will include areas such as software learning and AI. As earlier announced by the Minister for Manpower, these traineeships will be progressively offered from 1 June this year. We will pay special attention to mid-career jobseekers. We understand that many are worried about their job prospects. Hence, we will create a new SGUnited Mid-Career Traineeships scheme for unemployed mid-career jobseekers. Our agencies will work with interested companies to provide 4,000 traineeships for our mid-career jobseekers. This scheme specifically caters to the needs of mid-career individuals, to learn new skills and embark on new careers. Also, included under the Traineeships category are WSG's Attach-and-Train programmes under the Adapt and Grow Initiative targeted at mid-career individuals. We will also scale these up, to provide meaningful traineeship opportunities. The third component in the SGUnited Jobs and Skills package is a new SGUnited Skills programme to expand training capacity for about 30,000 jobseekers this year.[+5 sentences] Jobseekers can upgrade their skills while looking for a job. Participants in this SGUnited Skills programme will take industry-relevant and certifiable training courses full-time at highly subsidised rates. The course fees can be substantially, if not fully offset by their SkillsFuture Credit. The courses will be delivered by companies and Continuing Education Training (CET) Centres, including Institutes of Higher Learning. Jobseekers will be given opportunities to apply their training through attachments or participation in company projects. They will also be provided with career guidance and job placement support. They will also receive a training allowance of $1,200 per month during the course of their training.[+8 sentences] This will help them focus on their training and job search. This programme will be rolled out progressively from July 2020. The fourth component is a horizontal layer of our SGUnited Jobs and Skills package. It is a hiring incentive. Ultimately, our traineeships and skills training are to help our people to secure jobs. In these uncertain times, I understand why many employers, even if they are doing well, are reluctant to hire. To support employers in hiring, I will provide a hiring incentive to employers to hire local workers who have gone through eligible traineeship and training schemes. In the Unity Budget, I announced a hiring incentive under the SkillsFuture Mid-Career Support package. For eligible workers aged 40 and above, I will double the incentive to cover 40% of their salary over six months, capped at $12,000 in total.[+3 sentences] Together with other support, such as the special SkillsFuture Credit top-up of $500 to every Singaporean aged 40 to 60 in 2020, we are providing specially enhanced support for jobs and training for this group. If needed, they can also benefit from other support schemes this period, such as the COVID-19 Support Grant. Further, I will also expand the hiring incentive to cover workers of all ages. For eligible workers under 40, this incentive will cover 20% of their monthly salary over six months, capped at $6,000 in total.[+7 sentences] I am greatly encouraged by how our tripartite partners are working together, going all out to provide strong support to our skills and jobs initiatives. The Singapore Business Federation is currently the programme manager for SGUnited Traineeships. They are working hard to bring as many host companies on board and as quickly as possible. NTUC, besides supporting current workers, is reaching out to fresh graduates through the Young NTUC Movement to consider the SGUnited Traineeships programme as an option after graduation. Some employers have stepped forward to offer jobs and traineeships. This not only contributes to the national effort but it is also a far-sighted move to build longer term capabilities for their companies. I encourage employers to also make good use of the strong support we provide to upskill your existing workers during this downtime so that they can emerge stronger when business picks up. In total, to deal with the impact of COVID-19 on jobs, I will set aside about $2 billion for the SGUnited Jobs and Skills package this year to strengthen employment and training support for our workers.[+22 sentences] Details are in the Annex. Members will appreciate the range of schemes in the SGUnited Jobs and Skills package. I have set out the broad strategy. To ensure that the strategy can be implemented well and to sustain the momentum of current efforts, careful design of the schemes and attention to implementation details are critical. Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, as Coordinating Minister for Social Policies and former Finance as well as Education Minister, has both detailed knowledge and deep expertise in this issue. I have requested him to chair a National Jobs Council to oversee this very important work and I thank him for agreeing. The National Jobs Council will be focused on creating jobs and building deep skills. This important effort will be integrated with the work of the Future Economy Council on the overall upgrading of our economy through the Industry Transformation Maps in each cluster. This will also be integrated into our Emerging Stronger Task Force work. In this way, we can marshal all our experiences and expertise to manage the huge changes that are coming our way. The National Jobs Council will provide details later. I have spoken about what we will do to protect livelihoods, create new opportunities and help our workers access good jobs. I will now turn to how we will protect our families and the community and to help Singaporeans cope with this period of uncertainty. In the last three Budgets, we provided direct support to all Singaporeans and provided more for the lower income. During the month of April, the Temporary Relief Fund assisted 450,000 individuals who were in need of immediate financial help before other support schemes came on stream. Many have written to my colleagues and me to express their appreciation for the help received. We are very glad that you have found this helpful. We will continue to provide help for immediate needs. The COVID-19 Support Grant is now in place. It covers those who have lost their jobs, are placed on no-pay leave or will see salaries significantly reduced in the coming months due to COVID-19. In the three weeks after the COVID-19 Support Grant started, we received about 48,000 applications. We are committed to providing help to those who have been badly affected. To strengthen support for our families, I will set aside another $800 million for the COVID-19 Support Grant.[+1 sentence] For self-employed persons, we are providing direct cash assistance through the Self-Employed Person Income Relief Scheme, or SIRS. Over 100,000 self-employed persons will be receiving their first payout of $3,000 this week.[+16 sentences] Self-employed persons who do not automatically qualify or have marginally missed the criteria can approach NTUC. So far, NTUC has received over 60,000 applications and is working hard to process them. Applicants can expect to hear from NTUC within a month of submitting their application. I also encourage all self-employed persons to make full use of the SEP Training Support Scheme to train and upskill. Some self-employed persons are re-assessing their career options, looking at industries which are hiring. We will support you to access training programmes to make the transition. To help all Singaporeans with their household expenses during this period of uncertainty, I introduced a comprehensive Care and Support Package in my previous Budgets. Adult Singaporeans would have received their Solidarity Payment of $600 in cash. I am encouraged to hear that some have donated the payout to help others with greater needs. The Care and Support Package has other components that will flow in the coming months. For instance, lower- and middle-income Singaporeans will be receiving their remaining Care and Support – Cash payout of $300 or $600 in June. Parents with young Singaporean children will also receive the $300 cash payout at the same time. These are on top of permanent support schemes such as the GST Voucher-Cash, which will be paid out in August. Earlier, I announced in the Unity Budget that I would double the amount of U-Save rebates through a one-off GST Voucher – U-Save Special Payment for eligible HDB households to help with utility bills. Larger households with five or more members get more and can receive up to $1,000 in U-Save rebates this year. Singaporeans have given us the feedback that while they are saving on transport fares and other charges, they are expecting to spend more on their utility bills as they stay home during the circuit breaker period. To thank all Singaporeans for doing our part in staying home for Singapore, I will provide a one-off $100 Solidarity Utilities Credit to each household with at least one Singapore Citizen.[+12 sentences] This will cover all property types and will be credited in the July or August utilities bill. Altogether, we have put in place numerous schemes to tide our households through this period. With your permission, Mr Speaker, may I ask the Clerks to distribute the household support summary to all Members of this House. As Members can see, we have payments that will be coming on stream, particularly, every month – some form of payment to our households to support our households. During the stay-home period, families are making fuller use of digital technology for home-based learning, entertainment, ordering meals and keeping in touch with families and friends. The value of access to digital technology is clear. During COVID-19, being able to connect with each other safely has enabled support, especially for vulnerable members of our community. In a post-COVID-19 world, having all on board digital channels will open up exciting new possibilities for different members of the community to engage with and support each other. Going forward, digital inclusion should be an important way for us to strengthen social resilience. Regardless of age or resources, all members of our society should have access to digital resources with no one left behind. To this end, we will provide help for specific groups. The first group is our students who have gone through about four weeks of home-based learning during the circuit breaker. To support students from lower-income families who may not have digital access at home, MOE loaned over 22,000 computing devices and internet dongles to enable all students to benefit from full home-based learning and continue to connect with their teachers and friends. As part of longer term plans to support digital literacy for all students, MOE will accelerate the timeline for all Secondary School students to own a digital learning device.[+31 sentences] The Minister for Education will announce details later. Another group is our seniors. Seniors, who are more vulnerable if infected, are staying home during this period and many will have to continue doing so to protect themselves from COVID-19. But such isolation can affect their health. The Silver Generation Office has been keeping in touch with seniors with care needs and weaker family support through telephone calls and will continue to do so. To enable seniors to stay in contact with their families and friends and for our care teams and volunteers to reach out more effectively, IMDA will launch a Seniors Go Digital movement to support seniors to adopt digital channels and equip them with the digital skills to do so. This will require all-round support from family, friends and the wider community. We will launch a Digital Ambassadors movement to rally the community and volunteers to support our seniors to acquire digital skills. For seniors from lower income households who wish to learn but are unable to afford devices, we will provide them with financial support. I strongly encourage our youths who have the digital skills, as well as corporates, to step forward to reach out. The Minister for Communications and Information and IMDA will share more details later. Besides digital inclusion, another pillar for social resilience is our social service agencies and charities. They are key partners who have been supporting families and vulnerable groups during this period. In the years ahead, a stronger social service sector will be even more critical. Last Saturday, Ministers Grace Fu, Indranee and Desmond joined me in a video conference with leaders of our social service agencies. They shared with us how they have been using digital means to reach out to the diverse clients they are serving. It has not been easy, but they tried and found it useful. We are very encouraged by their can-do spirit. Many found, in their words, "opportunities in adversity", and were able to "turn the challenges during the circuit breaker into new areas of strength". While these cannot replace the human touch, they found digital tools, a useful complement that would help them better reach out to their clients even after the circuit breaker. To serve their clients better, several social service agencies have started on the digitalisation journey and many want to press ahead with their transformation. For example, Project Belanja! by Food from the Heart. Beneficiaries can simply scan a QR code at partner food stalls to obtain a hot meal, instead of having volunteers go door-to-door to deliver food. This creative idea supports our hawkers and allows beneficiaries to get freshly cooked food, while our social service agencies save costs and reduce food wastage. To support the building of digital capabilities as a key priority, the National Council of Social Service, or NCSS, is mobilising corporate partners to lend their expertise. Many have stepped up, including ThunderQuote which developed self-help guides on remote working tools and TechLadies which provides general consultancy. MSF and NCSS will continue to support the social service sector in building capabilities. Funding is currently available through the VWO-Charities Capability Fund. In future, these initiatives can also be funded by the Community Capability Trust, which I announced at the Unity Budget. While continuing to be passionate about supporting the vulnerable in our community, our charities and social service agencies are facing difficulties. The leaders appreciate the support from the Jobs Support Scheme, but they are facing falling donations. To provide more support for our charities amidst COVID-19, the Government will partner the Tote Board to enhance the matching for donations through Tote Board's Enhanced Fund-raising Programme. Charities can apply to receive dollar-for-dollar matching on eligible donations, which are raised from projects in FY2020, up to a cap of $250,000 per charity.[+1 sentence] This includes donations raised through approved digital platforms. To enable this, I will provide a top-up of $100 million, to add to the existing $70 million budget for the Enhanced Fund-Raising Programme.[+3 sentences] I strongly urge Singaporeans and residents in Singapore who are able, to donate generously. NCSS had earlier set up the Invictus Fund to provide additional support to social service agencies. This Fund will support our social service agencies to maintain service continuity, retain staff and adopt technology to transform their work. To enhance support for our social service agencies, I will provide a top-up of $18 million to the Invictus Fund.[+5 sentences] Details are in the Annex. I urge our social service agencies to accelerate their digitalisation efforts, scale up capabilities and share resources and efforts to solve common challenges. We will continue to provide our strongest support for you so that you can serve your clients better. Mr Speaker, Sir, this Fortitude Budget will commit a total of $33 billion to support the next phase of our fight against COVID-19 and to position ourselves to emerge stronger. Together with the Unity, Resilience and Solidarity Budgets, we are dedicating close to $100 billion or $92.9 billion to be precise, about 20% of our GDP, to support our people in this battle. The Overall Budget deficit for FY2020 will increase to $74.3 billion, or 15.4% of GDP.[+19 sentences] This is the largest Overall Budget deficit in Singapore's history since our independence. Details are in the Annex. This Fortitude Budget will be funded out of Past Reserves. This is the second draw on Past Reserves this financial year. Our Past Reserves are our strategic asset, built up through the prudence and hard work of our people, across generations. The Government has always upheld the principle that our Past Reserves are to be used only in exceptional circumstances. For the Unity, Resilience and Solidarity Budgets, we used up almost all our accumulated surpluses since the start of this term of Government. But what we need to deal effectively with COVID-19 has grown so much that we have no choice but to draw on Past Reserves. In our fight against COVID-19, our Past Reserves have been critical in enabling us to respond comprehensively and robustly to the situation at hand. We will have to deploy it in a deliberate manner, and at decisive moments, in this battle against COVID-19. In the earlier Resilience and Solidarity Budgets, the President gave approval to draw up to $21 billion from our Past Reserves. This allowed us to safeguard jobs, keep the economy going, and provide direct assistance to Singaporeans during this difficult period. I also told Members then, that I was prepared to propose to the President to make further draws on Past Reserves, should it be necessary. Since the Resilience and Solidarity Budgets, the impact of COVID-19 on Singapore has deepened. Lives and livelihoods are at stake, and we are moving to secure our future. After a challenging circuit breaker period, we are now preparing to re-open our economy. To do so in a safe and calibrated manner and to continue to support our people, we are proposing a further draw on our Past Reserves. The Prime Minister met with the President to share the Government's considerations. Ministers Gan Kim Yong, Lawrence Wong, Chan Chun Sing, and Indranee Rajah joined me last week, to brief the President and the Council of Presidential Advisers (CPA) on the Government's assessment of the situation, the details of the measures and the resources needed. The President, in consultation with the CPA, has given her in-principle support for a further draw of $31 billion from our Past Reserves to fund the measures in this Budget.[+1 sentence] As President Halimah stated in a Facebook post yesterday and I quote, "Indeed, this crisis is unprecedented. Lives and livelihoods continue to be at stake… Having deliberated and considered the recommendation of the CPA, I am satisfied that the fourth support package is necessary… I have therefore given my in-principle support for the proposed measures to draw on the Government's past reserves." Altogether, we are looking at drawing up to a total of $52 billion from Past Reserves this financial year to enable Singaporeans to tide through this crisis and emerge stronger.[+19 sentences] This is a very significant amount, necessitated by the very exceptional nature of the COVID-19 crisis. I thank President Halimah, Chairman Eddie Teo and members of the CPA for their support. Members of this House know how strict I have been on prudence and my Ministry's emphasis on value-for-money spending. The Public Accounts Committee has also been scrutinising the Government's expenditure. I have deliberated long and hard on the measures and went through many rounds of deliberations with fellow Ministers and my staff. I have also discussed with the Prime Minister and my Cabinet colleagues before finalising this set of measures. It has been an unprecedented crisis that is still changing rapidly. But I am grateful that we have the fiscal resources to mount this response and the unity, resilience and solidarity of our people to battle this together. We have a responsibility to make the best use of these resources, to keep our people safe, to save jobs and transform businesses and to emerge stronger. Every dollar that we have saved has been saved by careful counting over the years. In spending this national savings now, we must make every dollar spent count. While we have the resources and the will to do what is needed in fighting COVID-19, we must continue to stay nimble and adaptive in this rapidly evolving situation. We are dealing, as many have said, with a very smart and agile virus. To cater for urgent and unforeseen expenditure needs which have yet to be provided for under the Supply Act, the Constitution provides for Parliament to create Contingencies Funds. Each year, in our annual Budget, we set aside a total of $3 billion as a buffer in the Contingencies Fund and the Development Contingencies Fund. With COVID-19, we are facing unprecedented levels of uncertainty – it is uncertain how the pandemic will evolve, if there will be a second or even third wave, and if, and when, vaccines will be available. The uncertainty on the medical front is fuelling the uncertainty in the global economy. Members will appreciate that within less than four months, we are deploying four Budgets to protect Singapore and Singaporeans. To meet this unprecedented level of uncertainty, we will set aside a larger sum in the Contingencies Funds, so that we can respond to urgent and unforeseen needs swiftly. Having briefed Cabinet, the President and the CPA, I will set aside an additional $13 billion in the Contingencies Funds.[+15 sentences] This will allow the Government to respond quickly to any unforeseeable developments arising from COVID-19. This could include public health or fiscal measures that have to be put in place quickly, if the medical or economic situation deteriorates. We will do our best to avoid this, but we must be prepared for any eventuality. The use of the Contingencies Funds is subject to proper governance and accountability. Under the Constitution, the Minister for Finance may make advances from the Contingencies Funds if the Minister is satisfied that there is an urgent and unforeseen need for the expenditure, and the President concurs with the making of such advances. Thereafter, the amount advanced shall be included in a Supplementary Supply Bill or Final Supply Bill, which will be presented to and voted on by Parliament, as soon as practicable. This approach is appropriate and prudent, given the fluid situation which may require the Government to act swiftly in the coming months. Mr Speaker, Sir, before I conclude, allow me to say a few words in Mandarin. (In Mandarin): This is the fourth Budget I introduced this year. Since I presented the Solidarity Budget seven weeks ago, the situation has deteriorated sharply. Many countries have imposed the lockdown measures to control the pandemic, causing an unprecedented impact on economies and societies. Singapore, too, cannot be spared. There is still much that the international community does not know about the virus. It is difficult to predict accurately how the pandemic will evolve. Hence, the road ahead of us is fraught with uncertainties. To ameliorate the impacts of the pandemic and to help everyone adapt to this new normal, I am putting forth this Fortitude Budget totaling $33 billion.[+2 sentences] We need to give targeted support to firms and workers, and to do so in a way that allows our workers and businesses to adapt, transform and pivot towards new opportunities. This allows us to preserve jobs, livelihoods and businesses. The Government will launch the SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package to create 100,000 jobs, traineeships and skill training opportunities, in partnership with the business associations and unions.[+2 sentences] This includes 40,000 jobs, 25,000 traineeships and 30,000 skills training opportunities. This will benefit graduating students and mid-career Singaporeans, enabling them to join the workforce sooner. The Government will also provide a cash grant and legislate to provide rental relief to SMEs.[+3 sentences] Tenants of Government properties will also receive between one to two months of additional rental relief. On top of existing rebates, these tenants could receive a total of two to five months of rental rebates. Hawkers in Government-operated hawker centres or markets can receive a total of five months of rental rebate. In addition, we will also extend the Jobs Support Scheme by a month until August.[+4 sentences] At the same time, we will provide 75% wage support for firms that are not allowed to re-open. We will also increase the wage support for firms that have been more severely hit than expected. We will also provide foreign workers' levy waivers and rebates to firms that cannot re-open. Digitalisation is increasingly important for firms, especially SMEs. As such, the Government will set aside more than $500 million to provide a Digital Resilience Bonus and other support measures to accelerate the firms' digital transformation.[+1 sentence] We will also provide more support for Singaporeans, set aside resources to encourage philanthropy, so as to build a more resilient and inclusive society. The Government has received 48,000 applications for the COVID-19 Support Grant. We will set aside an additional $800 million for this to help Singaporeans who have been displaced from their jobs or have their incomes affected.[+4 sentences] Every household with at least one Citizen will also receive a one-off $100 Solidarity Utilities Credit. We will also support the social sector in digitalising and scaling up capabilities to better serve their beneficiaries. The Government will also set aside $100 million to provide dollar-for-dollar matching on eligible donations for charities and provide a top-up to the Invictus Fund to encourage Singaporeans to donate generously. As online communications become more prevalent, the Government will also launch a series of initiatives to partner families and communities to enable more seniors to use digital technologies and enjoy the convenience that these technologies can bring. Through these four Budgets this year, the Government has committed almost $100 billion to battle COVID-19.[+32 sentences] We have been able to do so because we have our Past Reserves as a strong backing. Here, I would like to thank President Halimah for giving in-principle support for the Government to draw $31 billion from our Past Reserves to support this Fortitude Budget. Our Past Reserves are accumulated by our forefathers through their hard work. We must cherish it and make every dollar spent count. Soon, we will be celebrating our 55th National Day. Our forefathers overcame all kinds of difficulties with the spirit of fortitude to build what Singapore is today. COVID-19 is a real test for our generation. Although the future is uncertain, if we can adapt to the changing circumstances, respond with fortitude, and unite as one, we shall overcome this crisis and secure our future. (In English): Mr Speaker, Sir, I will now conclude in English. The COVID-19 crisis is a major challenge for Singapore and all Singaporeans, and for people around the world. Singaporeans from all walks of life have responded with unity, resilience and in solidarity. Even as we stay home for Singapore, we take the inconveniences in our stride and make the necessary adjustments to our daily routines with the support of digital tools. Many festivities such as Easter, Vesak Day and Hari Raya Puasa were celebrated virtually. We continue to resolutely tackle the twists and turns in this COVID-19 pandemic together. In response to the surge in global demand for masks and export restriction controls on key medical supplies, we are building up the local production of surgical and cloth masks. We are managing the situation in migrant worker dormitories together. Our agencies pulled out all the stops to set up centres in a matter of days and have been running major operations to take care of the workers. NGOs such as the Migrant Workers' Centre and volunteer groups such as the COVID-19 Migrant Support Coalition are also providing significant support. Many are coming forward to contribute their resources, skills and gifts to help the wider community get through this together. Arts organisations are developing digital content to keep people engaged at home. An example is 3Pumpkins, a community arts company working with local artists to produce programmes for Malay, Mandarin and dialect-speaking audiences, which are then hosted online. Several Members of this House have also been part of local efforts to hand-sew reusable masks – masks sewn with love. CARE officers from Government agencies and volunteer professionals from the social service and private sectors are manning the 24-hour National Care Hotline. This hotline continues to provide emotional support to those in need during the COVID-19 crisis. Many others are finding new ways to bring their communities together. Even though PA's interest group activities have been suspended, Mr Dick Yip has turned to live-streaming tools to engage new and existing members who share common interests. The group now meets twice a week – more frequently than before. This spirit of Singapore Together will be critical as we come together to recover and rebuild for a stronger, more sustainable tomorrow. As we carefully exit the circuit breaker, we will focus on safely reopening our economy and our society. I call on everyone to stay the course with the necessary safe reopening measures. Our collective action protects us, our families, our community, our lives. We will continue to bolster our economic resilience. The key focus of this Fortitude Budget, building on the last three Budgets, is to provide resources for us to make decisive moves to save jobs and support our workers – now and for the future.[+3 sentences] To succeed, businesses must do their part. During our virtual meeting, the Singapore Business Federation emphasised that businesses must support one another. I agree. Larger businesses can bring forward procurement and payment schedules to help their suppliers.[+1 sentence] Our trade associations and chambers (TACs) have stepped up to support businesses. For example, the Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry has formed a COVID-19 task force to raise funds to support their micro-SME members.[+1 sentence] And of course, landlords can support their tenants. Looking ahead, the Emerging Stronger Task force is partnering business leaders, SME owners, industry experts and TACs to chart our path in a changed world.[+15 sentences] In the spirit of Singapore Together, I hope Singaporeans will participate and share your ideas. On the social front, we will continue building our social resilience. In this Budget, I spoke about building social resilience through digital inclusion and strengthening our social service agencies. Building a resilient society requires our collective ideas and energy. It is about knowing who we are as a people and what we stand for. In these trying times, we must take special care of the more vulnerable members of our society, be they seniors, individuals with special needs or those who lost their jobs. We are implementing many help schemes to meet various needs. Some groups have been more severely affected, such as low-wage workers in informal jobs and self-employed persons whose incomes have fallen sharply. We will continue to assist them and help to strengthen their longer-term social security. Our social service agencies, charities and volunteers have stepped up. Let us mobilise everyone to do our part to build a more resilient Singapore. Let me once again express our deep appreciation to our frontline workers for your dedication and sacrifices in serving our people tirelessly in this battle against COVID-19. Please continue to take care and precautions. The battle against COVID-19 will be a long one. The road ahead will be uncertain, with more ups and downs. Our generation must have the fortitude to persevere, to adapt and emerge stronger, just like our founding generation. This is why I have named this our Fortitude Budget – courage in adversity.[+3 sentences] Moving forward with fortitude – as we stay united as one people, remain resilient in the face of adversity, and stand in solidarity with one another. We will overcome. We will emerge stronger together as Singapore United, Singapore Together.
Mr Speaker3 words
[+1 sentence]Deputy Prime Minister.
Mr Heng Swee Keat29 words
[+1 sentence]Mr Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order No 44, I beg to move, "That the Ministerial Statement made by me be considered by Parliament."
Mr Heng Swee Keat39 words
[+2 sentences]Mr Speaker, to give Members some time to consider my Statement, I would like to adjourn the debate. Mr Speaker, I beg to move, "That the debate be now adjourned."
Mr Speaker5 words
[+1 sentence]Resumption of debate, what day?
Mr Heng Swee Keat5 words
[+1 sentence]Thursday, 4 June 2020, Sir.
Mr Speaker46 words
[+6 sentences]So be it. Order. I propose to take a break now. I suspend the Sitting and will take the Chair at 5.20 pm. Sitting accordingly suspended at 4.56 pm until 5.20 pm. Sitting resumed at 5.20 pm.
[+2 sentences][(proc text) recommendation of President signified; presented by the Second Minister for Finance (Ms Indranee Rajah); read the First time; to be read a Second time immediately after the conclusion of proceedings on the Second Supplementary Estimates of Expenditure for FY2020/21, and to be printed. (proc text)]
Environmental Public Health (Amendment) Bill›Bills Introduced1 turns · 72w
· 0 highlighted
bill-intro-402
Speaker not recorded72 words
[+2 sentences][(proc text) presented by the Senior Minister of State for the Environment and Water Resources (Dr Amy Khor Lean Suan) on behalf of the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources; read the First time; to be read a Second time on the next available Sitting of Parliament, and to be printed. (proc text)]
Government's Plans In Our Continuing Fight Against COVID-19 Pandemic›Ministerial Statements44 turns · 40,960w
· 311 highlighted
ministerial-statement-1402
Speaker not recorded63 words
[+1 sentence], (proc text)] [(proc text) "That the Ministerial Statement made by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance on the Government's Plans in Our Continuing Fight Against COVID-19 Pandemic be considered by Parliament." – (proc text)]
Mr Speaker4 words
[+1 sentence]Mr Liang Eng Hwa.
Mr Liang Eng Hwa (Holland-Bukit Timah)2447 words
[+1 sentence]Mr Speaker, Sir, I thank the Finance Minister, the Government and the President for this fourth Budget in three months as we continue to navigate in unchartered territory. Never in our wildest dream would we imagine the House to scrutinise a Budget that project an overall deficit of $74.3 billion, drawing on our past reserves for a total of $52 billion and utilising almost all our current term's reserves. Given the uncertainties that are still ahead of us, a further additional $13 billion is set aside in the Contingencies Fund. In total, $92.9 billion or almost 20% of our GDP is dedicated to support our people to fight the pandemic.[+16 sentences] Sir, the pandemic threatened lives and well-being of Singaporeans and has inflicted severe economic damages to businesses and Singaporeans' livelihoods. The global situation remains uncertain and we have to expect further twists and turns. Besides taking care of the health of our people, jobs are our next foremost concerns. We know that the human costs would enormous if there are massive job losses. And having a direct bearing on jobs, are business survivability. We must prevent large number of businesses failing as it can lead to permanent damage to our economic capabilities, which will have longer term ramifications on livelihoods. So, in view of the imperatives to save lives, save jobs and save businesses and to also pivot into seizing new opportunities ahead of us, I support the overall allocation of this fourth Budget. Sir, the distinct focus in this fourth Budget is to shore up employment. Here, we are talking about both saving current jobs as well as creating new jobs and traineeship opportunities. This would be an uphill task, given the dire global economic circumstance and that the risk of local infections still restrict the normal function of economic activities. Understandably, businesses will take a cautious stance in new hiring. We can also expect some job loses as more companies run into financial difficulties. The Government responded swiftly and in each of the four Budgets extended timely support and assistances to businesses, in areas of cash flow, credit and cost. The hope is that these relief measures can help buy time for companies and save jobs. And to a very large extent, this has been effective; the situation would have been worst otherwise. Of course, all these measures also come with a very high fiscal price tag and difficult to sustain in the long run. For example, the Jobs Support Scheme (JSS) itself alone accounts for about $23.5 billion of the entire $92 billion fiscal package.[+11 sentences] The JSS incentivises companies to hold on to their employees. In return, they received cash subsidies from the Government for up to 75% of most wages. By receiving direct wage support from the Government, it also obliges the company to do their part to hold on their employees which is the clear intent of the JSS. It is commendable that some companies have come forward to return the JSS back to the Government. Others may use the wage subsidy to hire more manpower, which is also as important as it helps to absorb the excess labour in the market. We hope those companies that can afford to hire, hire more, be it just marginally. All these add up to keep up the overall employment. Already, we have read news of companies committing to hiring more workers, some done out of corporate social responsibility. Sir, in this very weak economic environment, we have to watch closely the employment and employability of two groups – the mid-career workers and the first-time young job seekers. We have to do whatever it takes to avoid structural unemployment from creeping up and taking root within our economy. Also, we must avoid a situation of a lost generation in the making, where young graduates are unable to find employment or being underemployed at this young age. Hence, we need a whole-of-eco-system effort to create new jobs and opportunities. And I am glad that this fourth Budget further introduced a massive $2 billion SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package where the Government commits to a further stretched target of creating about 100,000 opportunities, 40,000 jobs, 25,000 traineeships and 30,000 skills training.[+34 sentences] The public sector will lead by example by creating 15,000 new openings and the Government will help businesses create another 25,000 with a series support measures including hiring incentives. Sir, creating jobs is only one side of the equation. The other side is to find workers with the required skills sets that can do the job. Here is where we often run into difficulties, matching jobs to the workers with the required skills, especially for PMETs. During the Unity Budget debate, I spoke about the inherent friction a mid-career jobseeker has to go through to make mid-career job changes. It is often a strenuous journey that comes with lots of pain points. The jobseekers often have to contend with employers' biasness or specific preferences, whether it is experience, age and others. The other more complex challenge is a situation where there is no direct match between the jobs that are presently available versus the skills the workers currently have. We would need to train and right-skills the workers so as to match to the jobs that are available or in demand. This is, of course, a timing issue and also whether we have the ability anticipate the specific skillsets that are needed and set up the relevant training ahead of time. The other hurdle is work experience. Employers naturally want to hire workers with the relevant experience so that the employees can ideally be productive on day one. Not an easy problem to solve but the workaround here is to offer on-the-job training by way of subsidised traineeships and programmes such as Attach-and-Train. And I am glad the Finance Minister has noted this problem and in the fourth Budget, introduced further support and funding for traineeships and training for both recent graduates and mid-career jobseekers. Of course, this would also require employers to be open-minded about workers with no relevant experience and to take a more enlightened and a bigger picture view in the development of their workforce. There are now a whole range of new and existing schemes helping workers to enhance employment and employability. There are also a series of initiatives for businesses to help train workers, job redesign, improve productivity and so on. For all these efforts yield the right outcomes, the stakeholders need to work well together. whether it is their businesses, unions, Government agencies and others and the work cut across different industry, sectors and ITMs. So, this is clearly a complex and daunting undertaking – enter the National Jobs Council. I cannot think of a better person than Senior Minister Tharman to helm this mammoth task. Senior Miniser Tharman has been instrumental in building up the SkillsFuture movement. He has in-depth knowledge and experience on the economy and the markets and certainly, the strategic wisdom, gravitas and respect to get the system going. So, I am so happy with the choice by the Deputy Prime Minister. Mr Speaker, Sir, although the pandemic has injected unpleasant shocks to our lives and livelihoods, there are, however, a few silver linings that bode well for us post-COVID. Safe distancing measures and minimising of physical contacts has changed our way of life and going forward, will change the way we live, work, learn and socialise. For many years, businesses and governments have been talking about flexi-work arrangements, working from home and BCPs. It has never really gain tractions. Some even said that employers are mostly lip-servicing and the vision can never be realised. However, COVID-19 has game-changed this in one stroke. Organisations are thrown into the deep end as governments introduced lockdowns and restrict human gathering and movements. Businesses are forced to quickly re-configure their operations and workflows and many have to hastily brush up their BCPs so that most of their employees, including management can work from home and alternate sites. Digital connectivity becomes the life blood to keep businesses and operations going. And the good news is, offices and operations continue to function despite the tight circuit breaker measures. By and large, companies and employees have adjusted and adapted to the "new normal" of work. In fact, some companies are now looking to retain many of the telecommute arrangements so that a significant number of their employees can continue to work from home even after COVID-19.[+5 sentences] So, there are now more legs for an even more extensive flexi-work arrangements going forward. In area of sales and services, those businesses and retailers with online transactional and service capabilities are able to continue doing businesses despite the circuit breaker measures. Those who have yet to adopt digitalisation, now felt more compelled to gear up their capabilities and devise new digital operating models and solutions. So, this is the perfect timing and opportunity to mount a further home-run push for digitalisation for our small businesses. It is a case of all-stars aligned or in Chinese, they called it, 天时，地理，人和, the right time, right place and the right consensus to push for all out digital transformation. Indeed, this what the fourth Budget has also set out to do, such as the $300 per month bonus over five months to encourage stallholders in the neigbourhood to adopt e-payments and to avoid cash handling. There is also the enhancing the SMEs Go Digital package to include a $5,000 Digital Resilience Bonus to help businesses with entry level upgrades, such as payroll, e-invoicing, e-payments and other e-commerce solutions.[+2 sentences] This digital push should go beyond businesses and into the social spaces like the neighbourhoods, schools, homes and individuals. For digitalisation to be part of our lives, everyone should be digitally enabled so that entire eco-system can realise its full potential and to reap the benefits of scale. Here is a case where we must go down right to the last 5% and get everyone onboard. And I am very glad that MCI is doubling down on these efforts, with the announcement to recruit 1,000 Digital Ambassadors to help seniors and local stallholders be digitally enabled.[+1 sentence] In particular, the seniors deserved our utmost attention and our concerted effort. Their quality of life can improve if they are also digitally connected. I salute MCI for setting the ambitious target of reaching out and raising the digital skills of 100,000 seniors by March 2021, in less than one year, through one-on-one efforts.[+18 sentences] Recently, I organised e-chit chat with my grassroots seniors' group. We set up a call link and invited the seniors to join the video call. They were initially apprehensive and worried that they cannot handle the e-link up. But come the day of the meeting, I was very pleased to see almost everyone in the call. Of course, many have their children and their grandchildren by their side to help them to connect, to mute and unmute when they speak. The seniors told me they thoroughly enjoyed the session as they have not met each other for quite some time and were very glad to see the happy faces around. They were thrilled that they can speak to each other, see each other at their homes, and even took a group picture. Importantly, it helps them to overcome the mental barrier about technology and it is not as difficult as they previously thought. Sir, while the Digital Ambassadors can help seniors overcome the mental barrier, I hope that the Government can also help the seniors lower the cost barrier, such as making available an affordable data plan and the subsidy for the necessary hardware. And this is part of the last 5% that I talked about. Mr Speaker, Singaporeans have been in the lockdown mode for the past two months. It has not been easy for everyone. Many are looking forward to the reopening and exiting the circuit breaker measures in the coming weeks. But we must always bear in mind that the virus is still out there and there is still no vaccine yet to protect ourselves. So, every personal measure that we take to protect ourselves and others must continue. There may well be new cases as we open up. But I believe that now, we are much better prepared. Of course, thanks to all our frontline warriors and the Multi-Ministry Task Force. I want to specifically mention those that have worked very hard in the last few months to manage and contain the outbreak at the migrant workers' dormitories. It is a gigantic task to take care of the health and well-being of 400,000 migrant workers – a massive and complex operation that require both scale and speed of response. While we would rather not have so many cases of infections at the dormitories, the expeditious and extensive response by the Government, which includes MOM, SAF, other stakeholders as well as volunteers to stabilise the outbreak demonstrates the strength, the versatility and the tenacity of Team Singapore.[+7 sentences] In a way, there is now certain comfort that we do have the capability and capacity to cope with a steepened infection curve with very low fatality, although we really hope not to be stress-tested again. So, thank you to our frontline colleagues for persevering and battling on, in the most difficult circumstance and for keeping the workers and Singaporeans safe. Sir, we are facing huge uncertainty ahead of us and not knowing how bad the situation can further develop. It is in this uncertain times and very troubling situation that all the more we need a steady hand to steer the ship and a strong leadership that unite us to overcome and forge forward. I thank the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance for his resolute effort and his decisiveness and steady handling and the leadership to help Singapore through this adversity. I work in the financial sector and I have seen firsthand how the Deputy Prime Minister, when he was helming MAS during the Global Financial Crisis, calmly steered Singapore out of the Global Financial Crisis and in the process, strengthened our position as the premier financial hub. Hence, I am most reassured that he is now leading the charge with this comprehensive and bold response to overcome the crisis that we are now facing. Before I end, I would like to ask the Deputy Prime Minister a question. He mentioned about the $16 billion contingency fund.[+1 sentence] I would like to ask if he can give us an indication of how the $16 billion contingency fund would be used potentially. What is the scope of the usage of the fund?[+1 sentence] Sir, with that, I support the Fortitude Budget.
Mr Speaker3 words
[+1 sentence]Ms Sylvia Lim.
Ms Sylvia Lim (Aljunied)1888 words
[+7 sentences]Mr Speaker, this is the Government's fourth Budget in four months. While there is a need to focus on pumping oxygen into the economy, we must squarely face what the crisis has taught us if we are to truly emerge stronger. I would like to focus my speech today on what the COVID-19 virus has shown us about blind spots and the implications for long-term recovery. I will then comment on two specific Government measures. First, blind spots and recovery. As the COVID-19 situation wears on, we are beginning to understand more about the different impact it has on the various segments of society. In Singapore, we see how the mantra of "stay home and save lives" may actually harm some who are forced to stay home. Homes that are small or overcrowded are unpleasant environments to remain in for most of the day. It was reported that domestic violence cases recorded by the Singapore Police rose by 22% since the circuit breaker measures started while the NGO, AWARE, disclosed that calls about family violence in April this year were more than double those of April last year.[+21 sentences] As far as work is concerned, we see essential workers outside battling the virus while highly paid persons stay safe at home, being classified "non-essential". Singapore's foreign workers dormitories have become "ground zero" for the battle. And the fight is not over. Globally, evidence has emerged that women are disproportionately affected by COVID-19. For instance, a United Nations report on 9 April concluded that the COVID-19 pandemic has a "shadow pandemic" exacerbating gender inequality. How so? Domestic violence has spiked in other countries as well. In terms of economic impact, there has been significant employment loss for women, who hold the majority of insecure, informal and lower-paying jobs. The global health workforce is estimated to comprise 67% women, with many women in roles most exposed to the virus. Unpaid work by women has also increased during this period. Women are disproportionately affected in other ways too. For instance, there is growing evidence that female academics are publishing less than male academics during the COVID-19 lockdowns as they are bearing the brunt of family care responsibilities. This would clearly impact their careers where publications are a key performance indicator. Anecdotally, if one looks at Singapore's home-based learning for students, mothers on the whole appear to be spending much more time with their children than fathers, who may also be at home during this period. With everyone at home all day, foreign domestic workers face overwork and having inadequate rest. While men appear more prone to succumb to the virus, it is women and girls who pay the social and economic toll. The UN urges governments to ensure that their response to the COVID-19 crisis does not intensify the gender inequality crisis. To that end, one of the UN's key recommendations is to ensure women's equal representation in all COVID-19 response planning and decision-making. In order to build future resilience for the next crisis, there is a need to study gender-aggregated data in all fields from public health to economics to communications. Besides gender, any agency looking at long-term recovery should include diverse voices. It is especially necessary to include those familiar with segments that bore a disproportionate brunt of the virus. To that end, the Government has put together an Emerging Stronger Task Force consisting of 17 eminent persons. However, the membership of the Task Force has a gender imbalance with only two women out of 17 – a dismal 11%.[+13 sentences] This may be a missed opportunity, especially when it has been noted that management of the COVID-19 crisis has been particularly successful so far in Taiwan and New Zealand, with women at the helm. In my view, the task force could benefit from having more women, especially women who understand gender issues. Also, there seems to be a weak representation of multiracial voices as there is no Malay member on the task force. It also does not seem that there is any representation for SMEs as well. With inadequate balance, will the final report and recommendations risk having blind spots that will prevent us from truly emerging stronger as a nation? Finally, on this point, I hope that the task force will not be shackled by models from the past. The ways of the past may be inadequate or inappropriate today. For instance, is it time to include more stabilisers in the system? If there had been schemes such as redundancy or unemployment insurance, the Government may not need to spend as much as it is doing today to support workers. If, for instance, CPF members have some access to their excess CPF funds even before they reach 55, some would not be facing the cliff-edge today. These are just two examples of what I mean by the task force not being shackled by the models of the past. Sir, next, I move on to two particular Government schemes which residents have asked me to speak on – the Self-Employed Persons Income Relief Scheme (SIRS) and the Seniors Go Digital movement. First, SIRS. SIRS was announced in the Resilience Budget, promising nine months of income support to eligible self-employed persons at $1,000 per month.[+1 sentence] While it was an auto-inclusion scheme, it was announced that NTUC would be helping the Government administer appeals from those who were not auto-included. Since then, as SIRS has been rolled out, we were told that more than 60,000 appeals had been received.[+7 sentences] Questions from the ground have now emerged about the purpose and fairness of the scheme. As pointed out by my colleague Dennis Tan during the Resilience Budget debate, one issue is what the annual value of the property one lives in has got to do with whether the person has suffered serious income disruption. It is all the more so for those who do not own the properties they live in. To illustrate, I have several residents who are disqualified from SIRS due to this criterion because they are living in their parents' homes. Others are renting. Some of their incomes have dropped to zero as they are service providers for weddings and other events, and will likely not be able to resume their work for months. Others include freelance music teachers who are unable to conduct physical classes even on a one-to-one basis. On the other hand, SIRS is an auto-inclusion scheme that does not require the self-employed person to show income loss. The design of SIRS has thus also resulted in full SIRS payments being made to self-employed persons whose incomes are unaffected by COVID-19.[+1 sentence] For those who appealed for SIRS, NTUC has partially allowed some appeals. In some cases, appeals resulted in payment of a reduced amount, at $800 per month instead of $1,000 per month.[+6 sentences] Others have been rejected outright. Suffice to say, these disparate outcomes have caused frustration and feelings of arbitrariness and unfairness. Questions asked include: how does NTUC decide? What are the criteria for allowing or rejecting appeals? Speaker, SIRS involves public funds – to be exact, SIRS involves the use of past reserves. Who should be in charge of the scheme? The Government has stated that MOM oversees the scheme but NTUC helps administer appeals for those who do not automatically qualify.[+23 sentences] From the cases we have seen, it is NTUC that is fronting all communications in appeals while the role of MOM is not visible. From a governance perspective, why was there a need to outsource the administration of SIRS appeals to NTUC in the first place? Was this done due to a lack of manpower or other reasons? Will this set a precedent for the Government to outsource its schemes to external parties to manage? What does this mean for Government accountability? Finally, Sir, I move on to the Seniors Go Digital movement. It was announced in the Fortitude Budget that the Infocomm Media Authority (IMDA) would launch a Seniors Go Digital movement to support seniors to adopt digital channels and hone digital skills. It was highlighted that the inability to connect digitally during the circuit breaker would lead to isolation, which could affect health. For some years now, well before COVID-19 emerged, the push for a Smart Nation had seen huge efficiencies but also costs. Everyone was channeled towards more and more digital modes of transacting with the Government, whether it be the CPF Board, LTA, or the Traffic Police. As systems got more sophisticated, citizens were required not only to log in but also to receive one-time passwords or use tokens for added security. The now default mode of needing SingPass to transact has alienated those who either cannot afford the necessary devices, who do not have the required language skills or who simply cannot wrap their heads around IT environments. To illustrate, I visited a CPF branch office some weeks ago. I observed the typical scenario of an elderly person with his daughter. She told him in Mandarin, "爸爸，我们现在去楼上拿SingPass", meaning they had to go to another section to arrange for SingPass. The elderly man looked totally helpless as he quietly obeyed his daughter's instructions. In this case, the man is fortunate to have a caring daughter to help him navigate an unfamiliar frontier. But what about those who do not have anyone to rely on? Or worse, those who place their trust in the wrong people and become victims of crime? Has technology, instead of empowering them, disempowered them instead? Sir, a resident wrote to me recently about SingPass difficulties for the elderly. He described the struggles of those who were illiterate or did not have a mobile phone or computer. For persons with no income, maintaining a mobile phone subscription is a financial outlay. Furthermore, even if family members were willing to assist, each SingPass could only be tied to one phone number.[+12 sentences] This is understandable for security reasons but it also means that children could not use their phone lines to transact for their elderly parents, thus requiring more purchases of items simply to transact with the Government. To avoid being misunderstood, let me say that the Seniors Go Digital movement is well-intentioned and I support it. However, I hope it will not be approached from the perspective that seniors are somehow "falling behind" and need to "catch up", which would stress them even further. How will the Government initiatives adapt or customise digital solutions, to design them to be friendly to those who cannot see or hear well, or whose command of English is not strong? Will seniors have low-cost options that are basic in nature? Finally, I believe we all know of some seniors who simply do not wish to transact digitally for one reason or another. Can we not simply respect their choice in their old age and always have an option for counter service? Sir, let me conclude. Currently, we are preoccupied, almost bogged down, by the health and economic fall-out of the virus. Nevertheless, it is necessary to look to building for the future, and to that end, we need to learn from the blind spots that the virus has uncovered, with humility and grace. Let us not waste this opportunity to amplify the voices of those most affected by the pandemic, in our search for a sustainable recovery. May we emerge stronger.
Ms Jessica Tan Soon Neo (East Coast)1718 words
[+13 sentences]Mr Speaker, I want to start by thanking everyone for doing your part to contain the transmission of COVID-19 as this has enabled us to start the easing of circuit breaker this week. With the easing of circuit breaker measures, some of us are returning to work and school. But we are certainly not going back to the way things used to be pre-circuit breaker, as COVID-19 is still not behind us. In the last two months, the priority was to keep everyone safe and ensure that we are able to take care of those who did fall ill. The need to minimise the risk of transmission and safe distancing has changed the way we work, live and even socialise. Businesses have not been able to operate as usual with some completely not able to operate at all. This has affected jobs. Many have not had work as business operations slowed or had to stop during the circuit breaker and others had to take lower pay due to the drop in business demand, while others had to be redeployed and some have lost their jobs. The various measures with the Unity, Resilience and Solidarity Budgets have been focused on supporting businesses with operating and wage costs with the objective to protect jobs. The phrase that thes are “unprecedented times” has been used often these last few months. Indeed, what we are facing is not something any of us could have imagined. Everyone of us, young and old have had to make painful adjustments. While we understand the need for these adjustments to keep ourselves and our loved ones safe, they have been tough and for many, jobs and livelihoods have been impacted. While still low, unemployment has risen to 3.3% and the economic impact is not trivial with the latest revised GDP for Singapore forecasted to be between -7% and -4%.[+1 sentence] Many are concerned about the future. While the $33 billion Fortitude Budget extends more help to support individuals and households in the fight against COVID-19, the emphasis of the Fortitude Budget is on measures to enable our people and businesses to get ready for what lies ahead and to save and create jobs.[+7 sentences] There is much in the Fortitude Budget – I will be touching on two points which is jobs and digitalisation. Businesses large and small, across all industries have been impacted with demand and supply disruptions. This has had a direct impact on jobs and the very nature of how work is done. Anxiety over employment is felt not just by those whose jobs or incomes have been impacted but even for those who are in employment. There is a fear of further job losses as some businesses have had to close especially in sectors like F&B, retail, hospitality and tourism-related industries. While some jobs will go away, I do hope that we do not lose heart because new jobs will be created. But new skills will also be needed. The $2 billion SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package with 40,000 jobs, 25,000 traineeships and 30,000 training places and hiring incentives is much needed and will provide quality jobs and programmes for those seeking employment. With the current economic conditions, the traineeship schemes will help new graduates entering the workforce find opportunities in emerging and growing sectors and this will allow them to gain valuable industry experience.[+5 sentences] I am glad that the Budget has given specific attention to providing traineeship opportunities for mid-career workers who have lost their jobs as we all recognise this group of workers find it even tougher, not just in COVID times but even in ordinary times, they find it tougher and they take longer to be able to find employment after they lose their jobs. What is key is connecting these mid-career workers who have lost their jobs with the opportunities. I hope that Deputy Prime Minister can share more on how mid-career workers can access these opportunities. While the jobs are there, there is lots of information and we need to ensure that the people who need these jobs are well-connected. While having jobs and opportunities is critical, we must also pay attention to how work is done as the nature of work has changed, given the COVID situation. For example, the circuit breaker measures have required more companies to adopt telecommuting and although the jury is out, we can expect more jobs to adopt flexible work arrangements as a norm rather than an option even after circuit breaker.[+11 sentences] This will mean that as we prepare workers for new opportunities, beyond just upgrading skills, attention needs to be given in terms of how to adopt new ways of working and being productive working remotely. For some, their first day of work and meeting their new bosses and colleagues will be virtually. Effectively communicating and collaborating will require skills for one to be effective in their jobs and to be successful. Even how performance is being measured needs to be taken into consideration. I do want to highlight an area that I think needs attention. With businesses resuming operations there will be also adjustments for safe distancing measures as well as dealing with the challenges of demand, supply and in some cases manpower disruptions. Attention needs to be paid to working conditions including work hours and workplace arrangements. Especially for essential services and front-line services, manpower supply may not have fully resumed leading to constraint on manpower. This could lead workers to have to take on longer working hours. With requirements for safe distancing measures, businesses must pay attention to also things that ordinarily they would not have to which is even providing places for their workers to have a meal properly in their short break times. This was not something that employers needed to pay attention to but all this, may be difficult for some companies and the workers' welfare may be compromised. In the recent Straits Times report on a survey conducted by Engagerocket, 90% of the respondents indicated that they wished to continue working from home in some capacity even after the circuit breaker ends. But despite this willingness, more than half indicated their productivity had dropped and was lower.[+10 sentences] The reasons cited, of course, were practical ones that included unable to access resources as well as having family members in the house and having to share resources and space constraints. One of the factors that was highlighted was also longer working hours. I think attention needs to be paid also to the nature of work and how work is being done because the work environment now is not just in the work place but it is also virtually. Let me now touch on digitalisation. In the last two months, COVID-19 and the circuit breaker measures have accelerated digitalisation faster than one could ever imagine. There has been a lot of push back of all the areas of digitalisation, both by users, by organisations in terms of policies. But individuals and businesses have had to leverage digital platforms to continue to be able to access services, connect and continue operations. And this has created new habits and new ways of doing things. Painful as some of it may have been, I think many have seen the benefits. And so it is a real plus point that digitalisation this COVID-19 has enabled some people and organisations to get past that barrier. An important priority of the Fortitude Budget is digital inclusion with attention on students from lower income families, seniors and the smaller businesses and hawkers.[+5 sentences] I think this is so important to ensure that no one is left behind and more importantly to be able to meaningfully engage and connect to the services and the opportunities. While funding and support is required to go digital, digitalisation has to be more than just about technology. Going digital is also more than just mirroring traditional ways of doing things. It is an opportunity to reimagine, improve improve and redesign how we do things and enable more to be done. So, let us not waste this opportunity and ensure that this benefit of doing things differently and doing things better through digitalisation is realised for every segment of the population. Digitalisation, as I have mentioned, entails new behaviours whether for individuals, families, businesses large or small, as we have witnessed. So, it is indeed a brilliant move and I really must say that it is indeed a brilliant move and a commitment to invest in the Senior Go Digital Movement to support digital adoption for seniors.[+3 sentences] It is not just about teaching seniors digital skills. It is about enabling them to connect, enabling them to stay engaged and all the other groups to be able to do the same thing. I really am very happy and very supportive of this programme because, as we all know, while devices are important, funds are important, to drive change you need support, you need engagement and having that with a thousand Digital Ambassadors doing that will make that big difference and will help us get past this, and allow our seniors as well as our hawkers to really fully come on board and be digitalised. While the funding from the Fortitude Budget is needed and welcomed, we have to also recognise that it cannot go on indefinitely. We are fortunate with prudent management that our Government has built up on our reserves and we did not have to borrow to fund such a significant support package.[+8 sentences] How and when we beat COVID-19 is not certain. But I do not think it has to necessarily be only when a vaccine is found. During these last few months, we have witnessed many examples of the Singapore spirit, generosity as well as our resilience. I believe that all of us working together as SGUnited will allow us to overcome this crisis and emerge stronger. The Government must provide the leadership, the right programmes and the right policies to build for our future. Our businesses must rebuild, recover and invest to stay relevant. Our people will need to stay positive because it is tough, what everyone is going through is tough, but we must stay positive and work together to overcome current challenges and continue to reskill and be ready for the future. I support the Fortitude Budget.
Mr Speaker4 words
[+1 sentence]Minister Ng Chee Meng.
The Minister, Prime Minister's Office (Mr Ng Chee Meng)3163 words
[+2 sentences]Mr Speaker, we have eased out of the circuit breaker. We have stabilised the COVID spread in our community, but we still have much to do to overcome significant economic challenges. Many companies are at breaking point and many workers are struggling to cope. I support the Fortitude Budget, as I have the previous three, because it will keep companies afloat and it will keep Singaporeans in their jobs.[+2 sentences] Without these Budgets, many more companies would fold and many more workers would be retrenched. And frankly, we would all be in deeper dire straits. Even with the $100 billion total Budget, we need to be realistic.[+4 sentences] This money certainly helps but it cannot replace the economic activities to sustain our livelihoods. We must therefore brace ourselves for tougher times: wage cuts and inevitable job losses. Indeed, union leaders and workers know that. But they do tell me that they have conflicting concerns: one, is of course on their jobs and their job security but the other is how can they be safe when they go back to work? I can sense their anxieties even across the cyber domain when I chat with them on the different media.[+1 sentence] So, what can we do? There are three things we can and must do to protect our jobs and keep our workers safe.[+12 sentences] One, keep the economy open, help the economy re-open and, importantly, keep our economy open by diligently practising safe management measures on the ground. This is the most obvious and the most important thing to do for protecting workers' lives and for opening up the lifeline towards livelihoods. Two, while we get our economy back into shape, we need to preserve jobs. We need to create jobs, temporary ones even; and match workers to these new jobs when old jobs are lost. Make sure that at-risk groups are taken care of. This is the immediate track of things that we must do. Three, we must make use of the current crisis to push economic transformation. Ironically, as Mr Liang Eng Hwa has mentioned, COVID-19 has sped up disruption and moved us towards Industry 4.0 in double quick time. Businesses are on a burning platform – it is now "adopt new business models, new technologies" or die. Workers have taken to digital technology to do their work, order their food and even to keep in touch with family at a faster rate that what was previously not possible. We must use this transformative track to redesign jobs and create new, Industry 4.0, jobs so that workers, with the appropriate training, can take up these new jobs. Mr Speaker, the Government has a good guiding strategy to safeguard lives and livelihoods. We have stabilised the community infection and safeguarded lives. We are now restarting the economy with $100 billion worth of financial muscle on the table.[+9 sentences] The key now, really is to implement this strategy well. It is not sufficient for us to simply know what to do, but to do it well. Doing so is not only the Government's responsibility alone. Every business owner and every worker has a shared responsibility and an important role to play. NTUC, too, will also play our part. Ms Slyvia Lim spoke about the Self-Employed Persons Income Relief Scheme (SIRS) that NTUC helps to administer. But, maybe she does not quite remember the history of why we stepped into SIRS in the first place. Back in January, February, when COVID-19 started to hit. NTUC, with our National Taxi Association noticed that taxi drivers' incomes were dropping like a rock. I remember going to Newton Circle hawker centre with Minister Khaw to talk to taxi drivers, because their incomes were impacted, at that time, by already 50% or more. We set up a quick reaction small group and put up $77 million to help our drivers cope with the initial hit of COVID-19.[+23 sentences] So, why is NTUC in this space? Simply because, we care. Why are we in this space? Because we have some capabilities to augment the Government in extending this help to taxi drivers or freelancers as quickly as possible. Well, are there things that we can do better? I think, in time to come when we can settle the immediate issues that we have to deal with with COVID-19 and the transformative things NTUC is embarking on, I will humbly say that, "Yes, we will look at areas where we can do better". But, as it stands now, NTUC has extended a care fund to help all workers and likewise, we would like to do our part to help freelancers or self-employed persons deal with the current situation as well. We have put up a Self-Employed Person (SEP) training fund, besides SIRS, to help as SEPs and freelancers upgrade themselves and get into some training in dealing with COVID-19. We think that this is important. In the course of the three Budgets, NTUC provided feedback to the Government that these are needed things to do. And I recall, it was a late evening, when MOF called me up and I went to the Treasury Building and was told of the request of the Government to administer SIRS. I gladly informed MOF that NTUC will take up this role – not because we want to be at the centre of things, but because we thought we had the capability to do our part as a tripartite partner. If we look at the National Jobs Council that is set up, should NTUC not be in it? Should the Singapore Business Federation, the Singapore National Employers' Federation not be in it? If all of us are not together in this fight against COVID-19 as a team, then I think we would have lost a capability unique to Singapore. Yes, the Government has put up the $100 billion Budget, but I think there is space for business owners, NTUC and the workers to play a part. Tripartism is a strength. We should ride on this strength to execute this strategy that I mentioned, well and to the extent possible remain adaptive and learn lessons along the way. I am humble enough to say that NTUC could have done better in some of the SIRS things that we have done. But let us draw those lessons when the time comes. Immediately, now, we want to extend assistance to as many as possible. So, NTUC, as I have said, will do our part. As the economy reopens, workplaces must adapt and change to prevent new infections so that importantly, businesses can continue to stay open under Phase One or in the future, Phase Two conditions. To date, we had played another part to lead in terms of training over 1,800 union leaders, our management partners and staff on Safe Management Measures so that we can partner employers in companies to implement Safe Management Measures to keep workers safe and importantly, to keep businesses open.[+3 sentences] If we aggregate over the whole world economy, hopefully we can keep infection rates low and manageable, so that Singaporeans can resume some form of normalcy, some form of new economic life. This is critical to protecting lives and importantly, as COVID-19 drags on, to protecting livelihoods. With this ability to ensure the health of workers, then we can work towards jobs preservation. The Government's Job Support Scheme (JSS) has helped many businesses manage part of the wage cost. As the Secretary-General, I thank the Government for responding to NTUC's feedback to expand JSS in more severely impacted industries.[+14 sentences] Many leaders, across different sectors, told me that without JSS, they really would not be able to keep workers on the payroll, even if workers were willing to do their part to help cut costs to save jobs. Besides JSS, NTUC is also helping businesses access other tools to keep business costs as manageable as possible. These tools are actually already on the table but are often less well-known and utilised. In the hotel industry where the impact is very serious, the Food, Drinks and Allied Workers Union worked with Shangri-La's Rasa Sentosa Resort & Spa to send workers for training under the Enhanced Training Support Package. A staff, Ms Pohleena, previously worked in the back-of-house in service performance management. But during this challenging period, she was needed in a front-facing role to take care of Stay-Home Notice guests. For this role, Ms Pohleena went for training at NTUC LearningHub, topped up on her people skills such as communications, so that she can do her new role. Ms Pohleena remained employed, increased her hospitality skill set and upped her value to her employer as a worker. The hotel also benefited – not only in having a more skilled worker but enjoyed absentee payroll support as well. We also see companies elsewhere benefit. Singapore Aero Engine Services was very proactive in working with the Singapore Industrial & Services Employees' Union early on to make use of the training support. Aerospace by then was already impacted and they could foresee the further impact of COVID-19 on the industry, so they sent their workers for training. Mr Sahim Bin Anwar is one of the Technicians who was sent for digital training with NTUC LearningHub. Mr Sahim's digital knowledge has improved and this helps the company take one more step towards Industry 4.0. In May alone, NTUC LearningHub helped more than 500 companies who sent their workers for over 20,000 days' worth of training, these companies received up to $80 a day in absentee payroll for each worker they sent.[+6 sentences] This support adds up. If you do the mathematics, it will add up to about $1.6 million in terms of absentee payroll support for these companies. This is a win-win situation for both workers and companies. Ultimately, workers get to stay in their jobs, preserve their jobs and companies get help with the payroll and have better skilled workers on hand, poised for the eventual upturn. Mr Speaker, in spite of all these efforts, unfortunately, there will be job losses. In the last three to four months, NTUC Job Security Council has been working hard to match at-risk and displaced workers into available jobs. At the earlier stages, we moved quickly to partner badly hit aviation companies to match workers to new jobs – some into community work, some into healthcare and some even into our own NTUC FairPrice Group – without the workers having to go through retrenchment anxieties. So far, NTUC's Job Security Council has been able to match more than 10,000 workers, both rank-and-file and PMEs, into new jobs – easing workers' anxiety and most importantly, helping them earn a wage to sustain livelihood.[+22 sentences] Ms Gina Ng is one beneficiary of the Job Security Council. She is a Senior Admin Assistant, working at Fairmont Singapore & Swissotel The Stamford for many years. But due to COVID-19, hotel work was drying up. The threat of losing her job was real. Our union and the Job Security Council worked with the hotel and found her an immediate match to an organisation that was employing. Gina was job-matched on a three-month secondment to NTUC FairPrice. She is now in the middle of her redeployment, gainfully employed while keeping her salary and job title in the hotel. As we facilitate job matching, workers must also be willing to adapt and acquire new skills too. Before Gina was redeployed, she went for training in food hygiene and preparation which brought relevant skill sets and value to NTUC FairPrice. While the initial transition was challenging, Gina understood the need to be nimble and was willing to do her part to reskill and upskill. Gina is 59 years old. I am happy she has the ability and the agility to adopt a new mindset, adapt to new circumstances and importantly took action to acquire new skills so that she can stay in the workforce. I spoke to Gina when writing my speech last night. I asked her if she had anything to tell fellow Singaporeans. She said with an audible chirp in her voice, "Stay positive, never give up! I am learning new things in NTUC. We are in this together. We will overcome." Gina will return to the hotel at the end of her secondment on 13 July, keeping her job, getting a secondment out, staying in the workforce. But we, in NTUC, also understand the looming challenges ahead and are realistic that there is much more to do to help workers. This is why I fully support the Government's move to set up the National Jobs Council. The Council will have very important work to drive tripartite efforts to help Singaporeans. Foremost, the Government and employers' role to create 40,000 jobs is critical, not easy. And where companies are not able to do so, the 25,000 SGUnited Traineeships programme will be helpful to expose both new graduates and mid-career PMEs to the new workplace, gain useful experience and be ready when the economy recovers. The 30,000 training spaces under the SGUnited Skills Programme will be helpful to top up skills for workers looking for jobs.[+24 sentences] It is also useful for companies to co-design the training to support business restructuring and redevelopment for Industry 4.0 so that they can be poised for new and more productive Industry 4.0 ways of doing things. NTUC, as I had said, will fully support the National Jobs Council. So, for those workers that are at-risk or those workers seeking a job, there is practical help for you. Besides the immediate task of securing jobs to protect workers, NTUC will continue to partner companies that have the capacity and vision to seize opportunities emerging from the COVID-19. Even before COVID-19 hit us, our economy was already embarking on industry transformation brought about by technological disruption. COVID-19 has accelerated this disruption and it is clear that those who started transformation early, in fact, are coping better with the COVID-19 challenges today. "Transformation" is not just a buzzword. And, in fact, COVID-19 has made it even more apparent, more plain that businesses will need to work towards digitalisation and Industry 4.0 practices more urgently. This will help them position themselves and their workers for new opportunities post-COVID. NTUC has been working closely with Temasek companies, amongst some 350-plus companies, to push the Company Training Committees, or CTCs, to move businesses and prepare workers for Industry 4.0. I want to thank Temasek for this support over the last two years. NTUC will redouble our efforts to partner companies through the CTC platform, to embark on Operations and Technology Roadmapping, or OTR, to transform. This will not only help companies chart a course to recovery from COVID-19, it will, importantly, help them identify new growth areas for business, exploit new technologies and create new jobs, better jobs, more productive jobs, even starting now. This is an involved process but companies such as Energizer, amongst quite a few, show how the benefits of the OTR can translate on the ground. Energizer is bringing in advanced, better technologies for its line machines to increase the precision and the quality of their products. These machines need better skilled operators who are familiar with the new system overall. Energizer and the United Workers of Electronics & Electrical Industries worked with one of our Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) to curate a specific training programme for their Operators to upskill in this technology and work with these new machines. These steps helped sustain the Energizer business and, importanly, keep workers gainfully employed in the short term. But in the transformative track, this will put Energizer on a trajectory ready for Industry 4.0 and for our workers to have more productive jobs, better work prospects emerging from COVID-19. Ultimately, we in NTUC want to take the best care of our workers, whether they are freelancers or unionised workers, and the best way to do so is for the companies to have better business or economy to be able to generate growth, and for workers to have the necessary training and skills to access these jobs. So, it is not just for the immediate things that NTUC is busy with; even as we are helping workers cope with COVID-19, we are casting our vision further ahead and doing practical things to help companies transform to benefit workers now and in the future. Mr Speaker, in Mandarin, please. (In Mandarin): I announced in February this year that we are setting up the NTUC Job Security Council to match workers, who are at-risk of losing jobs, to companies that are hiring. We had over 4,000 companies on board the Job Security Council then. Over the past four months, the number of companies in the Job Security Council has increased to over 7,000. More importantly, we have successfully matched 10,000 workers to new jobs.[+7 sentences] Companies in the Job Security Council are still hiring, from sectors such as the Healthcare, Transport and Logistics, Built Environment, as well as Electronics and Transport Engineering. We are redoubling our efforts to help these companies find new employees; and more importantly, match our workers to these companies and earn an income. The National Jobs Council, with Senior Minister Tharman as Chairman and Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat as Advisor, held its first meeting yesterday to discuss how we will help Singaporeans benefit from the SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package. I am happy that NTUC is a close partner of the National Jobs Council in providing employment-related assistance to our people. NTUC will help all workers, whether you are a fresh graduate or mid-career professional, to take advantage of these nearly 100,000 jobs and training opportunities so that you will not only earn an income but gain from training and work experiences. The Chinese word "危机" (for "crisis") consists both "danger" ("危") and "opportunity" ("机"). The most important thing is that we must remain positive and be nimble. I believe that if we stay united, we will be able to sustain our businesses, protect our workers and secure our future![+1 sentence] (In English) Mr Speaker, I will conclude. We have a strategy in place, backed up by a series of robust Budgets, making the necessary resources available.[+1 sentence] The key now is to implement this plan well. In the immediate term – preserve jobs, create jobs and match workers to these jobs. But we must keep an eye out too on strengthening our economy post-COVID. We must make use of this crisis to push for industry transformation and continue developing quality jobs for quality workers and quality busineses that can out-compete in the new economy forward.[+1 sentence] These are not easy tasks but we will do our very best. NTUC will continue to work with our tripartite partners to support our workers, our freelancers, our self-employed people – because every worker matters, every job matters.[+2 sentences] And only if we can continue the trust and the solidarity of tripartism, then we can overcome. Mr Speaker, I support the Budget.
Mr Speaker3 words
[+1 sentence]Ms Sylvia Lim.
Ms Sylvia Lim80 words
[+2 sentences]Thank you, Mr Speaker. I have clarification for Minister Ng Chee Meng. Earlier in his response to my query, he basically said that it made sense for NTUC to be involved in SIRS because it has some understanding of the issues faced by self-employed persons. Could he clarify in this SIRS appeal process, were the appeal criteria – what factors are relevant to grant or partially grant appeals – decided by NTUC? That means NTUC came up with appeals criteria?
Mr Ng Chee Meng40 words
[+1 sentence]Mr Speaker, NTUC work within the policy framework given to us by MOM. So, for the policy questions, the criteria, we have certain guidelines that we worked within.[+1 sentence] And Minister Josephine Teo in the right time can answer this arrangement.
Mr Speaker3 words
[+1 sentence]Mr Patrick Tay.
Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan (West Coast)2086 words
[+3 sentences]Mr Speaker, Sir, I rise in support of the Fortitude Budget. Just to chime in on what Secretary-General Ng Chee Meng shared earlier, I cannot help but emphasise that this Budget, I particularly like and applaud it because of its focus on workers – the actual focus on the lives and livelihoods of our workers. That is something that struck me very hard. But I thought to use my speech to highlight three important areas, which we should look at.[+2 sentences] Firstly, I will use this opportunity to share some of the horror stories that we hear in the workplaces in light of COVID-19 circuit breaker and all the measures that I have been seeing the past couple of weeks. Secondly, to share a bit about the Singaporean Core. And thirdly, to highlight the plight of mid-career workers, in particular, the Professionals, Managers and Executives.[+7 sentences] Firstly, on some of the horror stories. I wrote an opinion piece, which was published last Saturday in The Straits Times. This opinion piece came about and these horror stories came about because of the many engagements I had in the last eight weeks of circuit breaker with many union leaders, unionists, residents including fellow workers, through various platforms. In fact, it is quite a learning journey. I have been using Zoom, Webex, BigMarker, Microsoft Teams and through various platforms including Facebook Live and LinkedIn Live. It was a good opportunity to learn those skills but also a fantastic opportunity to engage a lot of workers that I have never had the opportunity to do during normal times because of various constraints and situations. So, it was great opportunity. Just to share some of these horror stories that I have heard from many of these workers during this past eight weeks and moving forward.[+1 sentence] Firstly, we hear of workers being short-changed in the sense that, unilaterally, employers have reduced their work hours and even reduced their salaries. This is a stark wake-up call, particularly because in situations where this has happened, it is a situation where there was no consultation with the worker and no agreement with the worker. That is one example – a unilateral withdrawal or reduction of salaries and work hours.[+5 sentences] A second horror story that often plays out that I hear from workers is a situation where a worker, suddenly, during this particular period, gets a very poor performance rating, and previously, he had always had a satisfactory or better rating in the past couple of years. Therefore, his exit from the company is expedited. The third scenario or story that I hear about is also a situation where employee is given a new job scope, do something very different from what he used to do, or sometimes, even excluded for meetings and important company events. And, therefore, in a way, the worker is forced to exit the company. The fourth scenario happens, as I shared earlier during Question Time, where workers are being contractually terminated, whether with or without notice. Sometimes, the reason happens because of a disguised retrenchment scenario, that is, the worker may be contractually terminated without reason, and subsequently, after he or she has left the company, realised that that particular slot was left vacant, totally vacant, and not filled up, which means there was a redundancy situation and they were not adequately compensated with retrenchment benefit or severance pay.[+24 sentences] Another scenario or horror story we hear is also of safe workplaces. Just as recent as we reopened a couple of days ago, I also hear of workers who actually, in their course of work, can or are able to work from home, but are forced to go back to the companies by the management or employers. That is another horror story. Finally, another horror story would be a situation where employers, although after they have terminated workers in March, April or even earlier, are still contributing employer's CPF to workers resulting in workers enjoying the employer's CPF and, of course, abusing public funds, in that while they contribute the employer's CPF, the companies enjoy the Job Support Scheme. These are some of the horror stories we have come across. Fortunately, these are not rampant and many of these cases that workers shared about, whether through various platforms, private messages, emails or even conversations that I had in various platforms, most of these happened in many of the non-unionised companies. In unionised companies, we have the collective agreement as well as a lot of negotiation and discussion with companies. So, we do see quite a bit of these scenarios happening. My suggestion is three-fold. Firstly, I am glad that Minister Josephine Teo earlier on, during Question Time, has addressed this point on some of the unfair workplace practices and some abuse in the treatment of workers. I am glad that MOM, where they detect such cases, would take resolute steps to enforce against such errant or recalcitrant employers. So, I am glad that is happening. Secondly, I think it is important that the employers are aware of the various tripartite advisories and guidelines that have been issued. There is a few that have been rolled out, in particular, to address the COVID-19 scenarios. Of course, as we reopen and as we go into Phase One, Phase Two, Phase Three, the various scenarios and new normal or next normal, so to speak, that will happen. I urge employers, in particular, to watch out for all these various advisories to ensure our workplaces are safe for their workers as well as for their customers and clients that visit the workplaces or offices. More importantly, the tripartite partners really should use this opportunity and will use this opportunity to work even more closely together because this is an opportunity. It is a great time, particularly, with all these practices, and a lot of rules and advisories are coming out hard and fast for everyone to work very, very closely together. At the company level, the trust between employer and employee is very important. I cannot emphasise more the importance of regular open, transparent communication between employers and employees. I think this is the best time to build that trust because, not just the affected workers, but those who are not affected, are actually looking at how the employer is treating their employees. I think that is one area. Secondly, employers, I hope, will work doubly hard, in particular, looking out for these various schemes, latching on them and, of course, not flouting any of the rules and advisories that had already been fleshed out and promulgated. And thirdly, I think I cannot emphasise more, as what Secretary-General Ng Chee Meng mentioned earlier, the need for tripartism and the ability to work as a tripartite front and as a tripartite relationship. I cannot emphasise more the importance for us to work together, in particular, in reviewing some of these advisories. It could be the National Wages Council's recommendations or some advisories and guidelines to ensure and, even perhaps moving ahead, to review some of the employment laws because of the "new normal" that we are having to operate in and some of the new rules and more people working from home.[+14 sentences] So, that is one area – sharing some of these horror stories that are happening at workplace which I hope will be eradicated. Secondly, with this Fortitude Budget and with the past three Budgets as well, I think it is a good time for us to reinforce the message of forging and strengthening the Singaporean Core. I am glad that through the SGUnited programme and the whole plethora of programmes that we have had. The fact that we are faced with challenges – with global lockdowns across various parts of the world and even with our neighbours – it is very important for us to relook not just self-sufficiency in many fronts, but also building and strengthening the Singaporean Core. It is a great opportunity for us to work together, to build and strengthen and hire and develop Singapore Core – which has always been our agenda in the last couple of years. We have rolled out a series of measures in this area. We have the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP). We will continue those efforts. But it is important for employers to keep their minds open and be open to strengthening the Singaporean Core in all areas, in particular, in that space where there are a lot of professionals, managers and executives (PMETs). At this point, I would just like to highlight the plight, anxieties and fears of many of our mid-career workers, in particular, the PMETs. If you look at the global financial crises, be it SARS and even before this entire COVID-19 saga, if you look at the labour market statistics, in terms of the increase in unemployment rate, this particular group, the mid-career workers, including PMETs, are the most vulnerable and most affected. The increase has been highest in both crises. And therefore, I cannot emphasise more the many fears and anxieties. Even prior to COVID-19, they were already a very vulnerable and susceptible group of workers. With this whole game-change and "next normal", I really fear and worry for them. I am glad that in the Fortitude Budget – and not just in this Fortitude Budget, even at the first Budget that we had – we focused a lot on mid-career workers, in particular the PMETs – through the Career Support Programme, Adapt-and-Grow and a whole slew of measures.[+2 sentences] But in this Fortitude Budget, I just like to give my thanks and support for some of the things that have been rolled out. Besides the SGUnited Traineeships and SkillsFuture Traineeships, also the hiring of local workers. In terms of helping mid-career workers – 20% for six months, the 40% for six months for those above 40.[+3 sentences] These are good and resolute measures to help and encourage those companies. Not all companies are laying off people. I think those that are, are a small group. Though they are a small group but there are still opportunities. And I hope that through this Budget and all these measures and, of course, with a close partnership amongst the tripartite partners and the newly formed National Jobs Council, we hope more employers will step forward to embrace some of these schemes – not just the traineeship programmes but, at the same time, if they have openings, if they have opportunities, to latch on some of these useful schemes and support. I urge the Government as well, for those companies that have this strong hiring or strengthening of Singaporean Core, at the same time, a strong support of some of these schemes and good practices, not just good, not just fair, not just responsible, but progressive practices, I hope the Government can give these companies a pat on the back and also more and greater support so that they will be encouraged to do even more.[+5 sentences] Finally, in conclusion, I cannot emphasise more during this particular period, as we overcome COVID-19 and all the ramifications, be it from the economy, from the labour market and in particular, workers, I hope we can eradicate some of these horror stories, one by one. I hope we can build the Singaporean Core. I hope also that we can pay particular attention to the mid-career workers – even before this entire saga, they were already very vulnerable. I hope for more emphasis and more support for this particular group so that they will be able to rise up to the challenge. As we all slowly reopen, like they say, the many "Rs" – as we renew, as we restart, as we refresh, as we rejuvenate ourselves during circuit breaker for some – let us reinvent ourselves, let us reinvigorate, rejuvenate ourselves so that we are able to reposition ourselves and ensure that in all things that we do, we reforge that trust between the employee and employer; not just an employee-employer, but the employer and his industry; the industry needs to work together and hunt as a pack. At the bigger picture, on the national front, how we, as tripartite partners, can work together – Government, NTUC and all the employers – so that we are able to pivot, rise to the challenge and at same time, also grab the new opportunities that come before us. And on this note, I cannot emphasise more – every worker matters, every job counts.[+1 sentence] I support the Budget.
Mr Speaker3 words
[+1 sentence]Mr Melvin Yong.
Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye (Tanjong Pagar)1473 words
[+2 sentences]Mr Speaker, I stand in support of the Fortitude Budget. My fellow Labour Members of Parliament have touched on – and others will continue to emphasise – the importance of job creation, job matching and the need to save jobs during this unprecedented period. My speech will focus on keeping our jobs and our workplaces safe because failing to do so may result in another unwelcome spike in COVID-19 cases and undo all our efforts and the billions of dollars that we have committed and are committing to tide our nation through this crisis.[+8 sentences] Mr Speaker, we must tread carefully as we ease the circuit breaker measures. In China, over a 100 million people face renewed lockdown in the northeastern region. In Japan, Hokkaido suffered a second wave of coronavirus infections after lifting lockdown measures while in South Korea, new clusters have formed quickly after lockdown restrictions were eased, forcing closures of more than 250 schools last week, just days after they reopened. Is this a case of too much, too soon? Or too little, too late? With lives and livelihoods at stake, it is not an easy balance to make. But I would like to urge that we take a more careful and more calibrated approach to prevent this from happening in Singapore. Let me first highlight the challenges on the ground that threaten to derail our efforts towards a safe reopening, and propose some suggestions on how we can address them. Many businesses and their workers have been facing different requirements and different sets of instructions from different Government agencies over the past months.[+17 sentences] Sometimes, new requirements are issued just days after an earlier set of instructions; while other times, they see other businesses implementing these rules quite differently from them. The mandatory use of SafeEntry is one such example. Most companies practise the check-in function but, as we know, some do not require you to check out when leaving the premises. Others provide a barcode reader to allow visitors to scan their NRIC as an alternative, but this is not practised universally. Should safe management measures be implemented based on principles or should they be prescriptive? On the ground, it seems that bosses prefer to implement based on principles while staff who are tasked to implement the measures prefer a more prescriptive set of instructions for clarity and ease of implementation. Whichever the approach, safe management measures must not inadvertently cause poor safety at the workplace. While we can understand that the aim of these measures is to minimise unnecessary social gatherings at the workplace, some types of work do require clear communication and coordinated teamwork. Keeping a "safety distance" and speaking through a mask could result in unclear communication, which may lead to heightened risks of workplace accidents. For manual work that requires heavy lifting, for example, in the construction or marine engineering sectors, wearing a mask could affect their physically demanding work. Mr Speaker, poor implementation could also lead to risky outcomes. For example, we read last month that the safe distancing dividers on a lorry transport for workers were deemed "not sturdy enough" and could have caused more harm in the event of a traffic accident! I hope MOM can conduct regular reviews and inspections, especially for high risk sectors, and ensure that the safe management measures are working as intended. Mr Speaker, cost may also be a factor for poor implementation of safe management practices. Many businesses are already reeling from the increasing costs of putting in place the ever-evolving set of protective measures to keep our workplaces safe – providing thermometers and masks, increasing the frequency of cleaning and disinfection, employing additional staff to control access and to monitor temperatures, even increasing the number of trips to ferry workers because of safe distancing requirements. Coupled with a sharp decline in revenue, our businesses are hit with a double whammy! Many employers that I spoke to are now concerned about the costs of having to send their workers for swab tests as we continue to ramp up community testing. Today, construction workers are required to be tested every two weeks, while pre-school and nursing home staff have taken a precautionary test before returning to work.[+5 sentences] They tell me that the cost of a swab test seems to vary significantly. Online checks reveal that a swab test can range between US$1 in Senegal to more than US$3,000 in America! To manage costs, many businesses are leveraging technology to make our workplaces safer during this pandemic. In China, AI-powered thermal cameras are used to identify those in a crowd who have a fever and facial-recognition systems are deployed widely to identify those not wearing masks. Some isolation wards in China are entirely manned by robots that take the patient's temperature, deliver food and medicine and perform disinfection tasks. We too have deployed similar robots in our community isolation facilities and elsewhere in Singapore. However, I am deeply concerned that some businesses are marketing products that may end up doing more harm than good.[+2 sentences] For example, we read that the use of disinfectant tunnels can cause serious harm to those walking through them. Experts have cautioned against atomising and spraying copious amount of disinfectant on a person as this may cause irritation and potentially irreversible damage to the cornea, skin and even our respiratory system. Other products, which could cause prolonged UV light exposure, are also harmful to the human body. I therefore urge the Government to review and where necessary, stop the use of such unsafe interventions at our workplaces.[+12 sentences] Mr Speaker, until we find a vaccine or an effective treatment for COVID-19, we should incentivise our companies to embrace remote working solutions. Many have adapted to working from home in the past two months and I encourage companies to use this opportunity to reinvent their business operations and where possible, embrace work-from-home arrangements permanently and seize the new opportunities that come with this new normal. Our hawkers and wet market stallholders have shown that this is possible. During the circuit breaker, many hawkers have united to embrace e-commerce and food delivery. IMDA also taught stallholders from Tekka Market how to sell their produce using Facebook live-stream. Today, many stallholders have started to live-stream on their own and have been successful in selling their produce. The reinvention of our wet market stallholders to become "web market superstars" shows us that we can all adapt to and seize opportunities in this new normal. Mr Speaker, beyond employers, workers too are facing increased levels of stress. Graduating students and retrenched workers are finding it hard to find a job. Matured workers are worried about keeping their jobs, while frontline workers fear getting an infection from prolonged exposure during work. Even young parents are struggling between balancing their work, helping their energetic children with home-based learning and taking care of their restless elderly parents. Having a mentally healthy workforce is important as compliance to safety at the workplace may be compromised if workers are not able to focus at work. The total expenditure on mental health makes up less than 5% of MOH's annual operating expenditure. Within the population, Singapore has an estimated average of 4.4 psychiatrists for every 100,000 people. This figure is much lower than the 15 psychiatrists per 100,000 recorded by most OECD countries.[+2 sentences] I therefore urge the Government to invest more resources on mental healthcare as insufficient support in this area could lead to dire consequences, especially in this prolonged period of uncertainty, anxiety and fear. Mr Speaker, COVID-19 has shone the spotlight on good workplace safety and health (WSH) practices. Companies are now required to appoint Safe Management Officers (SMOs) before they can resume work and NTUC has already trained over 1,700 to be SMOs. We aim to double that number in the coming months.[+9 sentences] I hope that the Government could revisit my numerous proposals to mandate a WSH representative in every company. Let us retain and expand the role of these mandatory SMOs beyond the pandemic so that our workplaces can be safer and our workers healthier. Mr Speaker, to conclude, we are only as strong as our weakest link. To tide through this pandemic and emerge stronger, we need to rally together as one people. The Government has done much to protect lives and livelihoods through an unprecedented series of four Budgets over four months. Businesses are also doing their part to put in place measures to keep our workplaces and our workers safe. The onus is on each of us to take care of ourselves and to take care of each other as we resume "Business Unusual". I call on the Government, all employers and workers to continue to partner with the Labour Movement so that together, we can save jobs and keep jobs safe, because every worker matters. I support the Budget.
Mr Speaker3 words
[+1 sentence]Mr Douglas Foo.
Mr Douglas Foo (Nominated Member)1807 words
[+4 sentences]Thank you, Mr Speaker, Sir, for the opportunity. Mr Speaker, Sir, please allow me to declare my interest as chairman of Sakae Holdings Ltd, president of the Singapore Manufacturing Federation (SMF), vice-chairman of the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) and vice-president of the Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF). I rise to affirm my support for the recently delivered Singapore Fortitude Budget Statement and to provide a response from the business and manufacturing community. As we prepare to exit the circuit breaker, it is again very reassuring to the business community that the central focus of the Fortitude Budget is the protection and creation of jobs. With the additional $33 billion in relief measures, the Government has now set aside close to $100 billion to support Singaporeans in our fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.[+9 sentences] This unprecedented level of financial relief continues to demonstrate the Government's unwavering commitment to support our enterprises. As I stated before in my response to the earlier Budget Statements, businesses cannot take these support measures for granted and must actively take steps to continuously examine and tweak their business models and explore how new improvements can be incorporated sustainably. Manufacturers here are generally very appreciative of the relief measures that will help to ease commercial financial challenges. Ranging from sustained foreign worker levy rebates and waivers as well as more robust rental relief measures to training of employees and upgrading of equipment, the SMF is thankful that the Government has largely taken on board the feedback of our members in announcing a progressively more comprehensive relief package. Our members are also heartened that on a government-to-government level, Singapore is working with other countries to keep supply chain disruptions as minimal as possible during this time. This has significantly helped businesses continue operations during the circuit breaker. As we take the required steps to exit the circuit breaker and work towards the new normal, I would like to share some feedback on challenges faced by businesses and encourage sustained and greater collaboration within the tripartite alliance. On safe distancing and shop floor hygiene – Singapore first became acquainted with the COVID-19 virus early this year and since then, most companies have had to adapt processes significantly to safeguard the health of employees while they struggle with the numerous external impacts on their businesses. I would like to recognise and applaud this collective effort from businesses to place safety and health above commercial concerns. In fact, in a recent survey of members of the SMF, 62% of the members surveyed ranked safety and health as their top concern as they prepare for the reopening of more businesses after the circuit breaker. Some members have even indicated an almost four-fold increase in monthly cleaning expenses to ensure a clean environment for their workers and products.[+16 sentences] In addition to cleaning costs, companies are now maintaining their own inventory of personal protective equipment (PPE) that is likely to be required in daily operations for an extended period of time. As such, manufacturers largely expect these costs to be permanent additions to their operational costs. In addition, the current necessity of remote work also presented significant costs for businesses to introduce mobility into their business models such as required laptops, setting up of remote servers, cloud access and so on. In addition, we have seen a number of companies modifying their shop floor to comply with safe distancing guidelines. All of these costs give rise to genuine concerns of the manufacturing community as to how Singapore can continue to be competitive globally as different countries practise different precautionary measures. One of Singapore's advantage has always been speed and efficiency. While businesses understand that there is an ever important need to care for the safety and health of our people, businesses here hope that law and policy makers take into careful consideration the need not to be overly prescriptive and at the same time, ensure that regulatory bodies are sufficiently resourced and staffed so that required approvals do not become the bottleneck to efficiency. On manpower concerns – the circuit breaker has also presented a wide number of manpower challenges to companies. Key among which is the uncertainty of the permitted workers' quota, which changes day to day for some companies. The feedback from member companies is that such fluctuations are an added form of disruption as they are unable to plan ahead and schedule production schedules. This also has resulted in a core group of the workforce being stretched during this time as many find themselves taking up dual roles. Such also has a serious impact on manufacturers as they abide by safety standards and regulations, but staff fatigue is always an ever present danger. Finally, companies are also eagerly awaiting the normalising of the human traffic between Singapore and Malaysia. Aside from being a key part of the workforce, some Malaysian workers who have chosen to remain in Singapore have been apart from their families for an extended period of time and these form mental welfare concerns for employers. Businesses know that this is not dependent on Singapore alone. Accordingly, businesses wish for the governments of both countries to expeditiously reach an agreement to facilitate trade. One area is the 14-day quarantine or Stay-Home Notice that workers going to and returning from either country face on each side, making it a total of 28 days that the worker is not able to work. On overseas contractual obligations – another key concern for businesses is their inability to fully fulfill their contractual obligations to overseas clients due to circuit breaker measures.[+2 sentences] Many are worried that the longstanding relationships they have built over the years with customers and suppliers, especially those from overseas, lost during the circuit breaker, may be difficult to woo back. Many of our members who trade internationally are especially concerned regarding their contractual obligations to overseas clients and that failure to fulfill the same could mean exposure to financial and reputational damages. In this regard, the SMF would like to advocate for the Government to take the lead and work towards getting agreement from other countries on a legal framework that transcends jurisdictional boundaries, much along the lines of the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) Act.[+6 sentences] Mr Speaker, Sir, the above are concerns and feedback from the business community – genuine and from the ground. I hope that the relevant Ministries can assist to see how some of these issues can be even more quickly resolved. I will now like to move on to the next part of my speech – that of digitalisation and training. On protecting livelihoods, transforming businesses – as president of the SMF, a common refrain when I engage with our members is the need for digitalisation. While the challenges presented by the measures to combat COVID-19 have indeed spurred on digitalisation and transformation for businesses, there is still much to be done. The SMF administers the Digital Project Management Services programme as part of the SMEs Go Digital initiative. Since the circuit breaker, we have seen almost the same number of expressions of interest as in the months from August 2018 to April 2020, when the programme was launched.[+2 sentences] However, the adoption rate is still low. While many companies understand the need to transform, a number of concerns still hinder the adoption process. In a survey of the members of SMF conducted in early 2020, members cited uncertain return of investment, lack of technical capabilities as well as concerns on cybersecurity as key reasons holding them back from adopting digital technologies.[+5 sentences] In this regard, the SMF is really glad and heartened that the Fortitude Budget pays importance towards incentivising and encouraging businesses to digitalise. We believe that the measures will go some way to pushing companies to take the plunge. The SMF will also be doing its part to complement that of Government's efforts to push for our members to take up digital solutions on an expedited basis. Similarly, companies seeking to send employees for training during this period have also encountered some challenges that warrant some attention. One of the new initiatives under the Fortitude Budget is provision of training opportunities for the older workforce. Members have since highlighted that there is a challenge in upskilling their workforce in this age group as most courses are conducted in English and there is a relative scarcity of courses conducted in Chinese, Malay or Tamil that this age group of workers may be more comfortable with.[+12 sentences] For the manufacturing sector, the transformation journey is one we are committed to and while the change will not be overnight, I strongly believe that our continued efforts as a community will set us on the right path. On importance of the tripartite alliance – Mr Speaker, Sir, as I close my speech today, I would like to invite the hon Members of this House to spend some time to ponder on the delicate balance of our labour relations in Singapore. I have, in my previous speeches, always made it a point to drive awareness and encourage the strengthening of our unique tripartite labour alliance. Yet, it is in trying times like these that the true work and importance of this alliance shines more brightly than ever before. Amid the massive global economic upheaval, with the strength of our labour relations built up over decades, our workers are able to keep faith with their employers and employers are able to keep faith in the Government. This foundation has provided important stability for our economy during this crisis. It is therefore critical and timely, that as hon Members of this House, we remember and keep this delicate balance in view even as we canvass the interests and views of the organisations we represent. During such times of heightened uncertainty and anxiety, it is easy for a statement, though innocuously made, and, perhaps in support of one stakeholder, to engender feelings of negativity or suspicion in another. It is therefore important that in the current circumstances, that we keep communication channels open and transparent between workers, employers and the Government. After all, we are all working collectively towards a common goal of emerging stronger as a nation after this pandemic. It is therefore exceedingly crucial that we continue to be ever mindful of how we can continue to build up such relations. Mr Speaker, Sir, in conclusion, by promoting continuous innovation, advancement and adaptation, and with the relief the different Budget Statements have provided for businesses, I believe we can overcome. As a partner in nation building, the SMF is committed to stand in Solidarity and Unity with our members and the Government, increase business Resilience and surmount this difficulty with Fortitude.[+2 sentences] May we be in the best possible position to better seize opportunities presented when the effects of COVID-19 recede globally. I stand in unequivocal support of the Fortitude Budget Statement.
Mr Seah Kian Peng (Marine Parade)1496 words
[+14 sentences]Mr Speaker, Sir, this is the darkest of times. COVID-19 has taken a heavy toll on the economies of many countries. In Singapore, the recent circuit breaker has affected many businesses. We all have friends who have lost their jobs, or their businesses or are struggling in some way. We are certainly in this together. This is a battle not just against COVID-19 but against some of the toughest enemies of any small state – despair, poverty, haplessness, an overwhelming sense of pessimism. Large states have deeper resources, a stronger pull on world affairs and a sense of control and destiny. Singapore has always been a price-taker in world affairs and remains vulnerable to all the ugly forces that have come to the fore in this pandemic and we have seen this played out in many countries including Singapore. What has come out quite starkly is the fact – a fact that we have always known, but perhaps forgotten – that we ourselves must defend Singapore, defend our laws, our rules, our way of life. We ourselves must call out rule breakers who mock us and write home to invite their countrymen to do the same; we must think of solutions when countries where we locate our assets count their own interests above ours; in times of trouble, we must call our own home from all over the world – as our universities did to thousands of students overseas. Some of them did bring home the virus and were rightly cared for in our hospitals. We are our best hope, and we must stand together. If we break, this dark time will not end and it will be sometime before we see more sunny days and blue skies. We are slowly but surely emerging out of the circuit breaker. In my speech at the debate on the Solidarity Budget, I shared how NTUC FairPrice Group proactively responded at the onset of COVID-19 to assure consumers and public on the availability and affordability of essentials.[+15 sentences] Today, I would like to share the efforts of our other various entities at NTUC Enterprise who are continuing to address the key concerns of job security and opportunity, and initiatives to moderate the cost of living. I declare my interest as the Group CEO of NTUC Enterprise and NTUC FairPrice. First, building a resilient workforce. FairPrice Group has continued to operate our supermarket branches – on line and off line; our hawker centres, foodcourts and coffeeshops; as well as at our warehouses and central kitchens – working hard to meet consumers’ food and grocery needs and adapting to the evolving circumstances daily. These efforts help to ensure that the public have access to their daily essentials. On a side note, I must declare that Fairprice Group has a food services division through our Kopitiam and FoodFare outlets. I wish to make a call out for all those in the F&B sector. In fact, earlier hon Member Mr Lim Biow Chuan made the same call. Those in the F&B sector have indeed been very badly hit in this crisis because the dining in crowd is a very, very important component of their overall business model. So, whilst the various support schemes by Government have been indeed very helpful, this is but a stop-gap measure and so the earlier we can provide guidance and clarity for the F&B sector, and in particular to ensure that the various measures and reliefs that Government has announced that they accrue and are received by the F&B operators in its entirety. As is, we can expect more F&B firms to exit this industry and with it, a lot more job losses. Of course, there will be businesses which are less affected by COVID-19. For such organisations, they should always remember to recognise the people that make up the organisation. So, like others in the essential services, FairPrice group has given special monetary awards and incentives to our colleagues, especially those working at the frontline. Many customers have also joined us in appreciating our service staff through testimonies on social media as well as through personal cards and letters of encouragement. Over the last two months, FairPrice group has provided employment opportunities for an additional 4,000 staff – full time, part-time and temporary workers – to support operations and the high transaction volume that we experience and this includes people like Ms Gina Ng, a lady that Mr Ng Chee Meng referred to just now and, indeed, this was arranged though the Job Security Council.[+2 sentences] Ms Ng was from the Fairmont Singapore and Swissotel. Besides Fairmont, we at FairPrice group also managed to get staff from Grand Hyatt, Orchard Hotel, Ritz Carlton, Changi Airport Group, Wildlife Reserves and several others to help us out. Their stints will end some in July and some in August. We are currently looking to fill another 300 more positions and working with other agencies to provide employment for workers, especially those who have been displaced. NTUC Enterprise group will certainly be supporting the SGUnited Traineeships Scheme and offer 300 training places to help trainees in exposure and experience in the various areas of business.[+2 sentences] Next, let me cover what we have done in terms of commitment to learning. NTUC LearningHub continues to make learning accessible during this period. To encourage all our workers to make good use of time to upgrade their skillsets, NTUC LearningHub has provided access to online courses that covers both Adaptive Skills and Technological Skills.[+1 sentence] In addition, LearningHub has provided opportunities for self-employed persons to earn as they train to deepen or acquire new competencies, all this in preparation for when the economy picks up and new opportunities arise. During this circuit breaker period, two of our NTUC Social Enterprises quickly pivoted and launched new digital initiatives: LearningHub introduced free online courses, which received close to 70,000 sign-ups.[+1 sentence] Completion rates of these courses were very encouraging and significantly higher than the industry benchmark. On the other hand, our NTUC First Campus also launched “Kidzmatters” for parents, and this received 90,000 sign-ups.[+3 sentences] For the last two months, I think these have all been very well used by parents of such children. Our MoneyOwl too conducted more online webinars and e-learning to educate the public on financial planning and management. Whilst jobs continue to be a major concern for all, we were also kept busy keeping our operations running and services accessible, and at the same time, doing our best to keep cost of living in check. During the circuit breaker period, to cope with the continued surge in demand and provide greater convenience to customers, FairPrice had to develop various solutions and initiatives. They include the setting up of pop-up and atrium stores, increasing online capacity, and instituting a "priority shopping hour" for the Pioneer Generation and vulnerables.[+2 sentences] And, in fact, this week we started a priority queue for healthcare workers. And then there were the mobile grocery vans which brought essential products to residents in selected areas without them having to venture too far away from home. FairPrice on Wheels is now in eight locations and growing to grow.[+6 sentences] Our sourcing teams continued in overdrive mode as we strengthened our network of suppliers across the globe to mitigate any disruptions in supply especially that of essential items. Efforts to contain COVID-19 will be a long and protracted one. The Labour Movement has always looked after workers and their welfare. For today, I am highlighting two areas only – jobs and cost of living. We pledge to ensure stable jobs, affordable groceries, quality and value meals. As a group, we will continue to do our part for the community through our corporate giving, whether it is donations to vulnerable and community groups or providing more relief to needy families and workers during this difficult period. The NTUC Enterprise group of social enterprises led by FairPrice will be putting together a package to help Singaporeans and families address this for the services that we are involved.[+11 sentences] This is very much part of our DNA and what the public has grown to expect and can expect the NTUC group of Social Enterprises to continue to do so. We are finalising these measures and will share with the public soon. Secretary-General Mr Ng Chee Meng indeed will be the one, together with a few of us, to launch this. Yes, in the best of times, we cared less for bread and butter – opting for sashimi and salmon. We aim for high pay and long holidays. Today, travel, dining out and shopping seem like a dream from the past. But Singapore was born on dreams. We made a nation out of nothing but gumption and a Separation Agreement. Our first meals were from lean tables; and we can today, endure and grow from these hard times to strength and prosperity. The sun will shine on Singapore again, but we must ourselves first break through the darkness. Sir, I support the Fortitude Budget.
Mr Speaker7 words
[+1 sentence]Senior Minister of State Koh Poh Koon.
The Senior Minister of State for National Development and Trade and Industry (Dr Koh Poh Koon)1413 words
[+5 sentences]Mr Speaker, Sir, I rise to speak in support of the Fortitude Budget as Deputy Secretary-General of NTUC. Sir, COVID-19 has transformed our world drastically and the past few months had been challenging for everybody. Since MTI’s last review in March, the disruptions to economic activity in major economies around the world have been more severe than expected due to the stringent containment measures taken by various governments to slow the spread of COVID-19. Most of the major advanced economies as well as the emerging economies are now projected to see full-year recessions in 2020. Against this backdrop, the outlook for the Singapore economy has weakened further. As a small and open economy, Singapore’s GDP growth is expected to come in at -7% to -4%. Sectors such as manufacturing, wholesale trade and transportation and storage will be adversely affected by the sharper-than-expected slowdown in many of Singapore’s key markets and there will be prolonged uncertainties as well disruptions in the global supply chains.[+9 sentences] The implementation of circuit breaker measures to contain the COVID-19 virus in Singapore was necessary but it has also created an impact on our economy – business operations were disrupted and non-essential business services were forced to close during the circuit breaker period; workers have to make alternative arrangements to work from home. While we have managed to flatten the epidemic curve, we must now shift our focus to tackle the "unemployment" curve as retrenchment and job losses will inevitably rise. As the Executive Secretary of the Metal Industries Workers’ Union (MIWU), I had the chance to speak with many of our employer partners as well as our workers on the ground. They were seeing reduced work hours, shorter work weeks and even no-pay leave is becoming more frequent now in many of our branches and our partner companies. So, naturally, I understand that our union leaders and workers are concerned about their job security in the immediate and longer term. Therefore, the Labour Movement welcomes the Fortitude Budget that supports the gradual reopening of our economy. The enhancement to the Jobs Support Scheme will help to sustain companies in the early phase of reopening and reduce the pressure to retrench workers. PMETs and workers, aged in the 40s to 50s, are expected to be more impacted by any retrenchments. They are more likely to face difficulties in finding jobs in this distressed job market. To help workers stay employed and employable, the new SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package will create close to 100,000 placement opportunities in the three areas of jobs, traineeships and training.[+3 sentences] This is very much welcomed by union leaders and workers that I spoke to. The National Jobs Council chaired by Senior Minister Tharman will oversee this effort. NTUC hopes that the NJC will leverage the NTUC Job Security Council set up earlier in February this year to pre-emptively match at-risk and soon-to-be displaced workers into available job opportunities. NTUC JSC, as Secretary-General Ng Chee Meng has shared earlier, has more than 7,000 companies in our network and has emplaced more than 10,000 workers into job opportunities.[+10 sentences] These jobs were mainly in essential services or to support COVID-19 efforts, especially in sectors such as healthcare, retail and logistics. Through this, and with the help of many of our unions and the various Company Training Committees (CTCs), NTUC stands ready to support the Government in the National Jobs Council, leveraging our existing capabilities and our network to help match workers to new jobs and also to equip them with deeper skills at the national level. I hope policy incentives being considered by National Jobs Council can further support the early success of NTUC Job Security Council and encourage more companies to join us in this network to create more traineeship placements and more job opportunities. One of the key enablers to allow better job matching is skills training to ensure our workers acquire future-ready and industry relevant skills. During this economic slowdown, NTUC has been working closely with our unions to encourage companies to send their workers for training and to take advantage of the various schemes, like absentee payroll, for example, to help defray wage costs when the workers are away on training. Companies should also leverage on the CTCs to identify skills and training needs to better upskill their workers. One example is Diethelm Keller Aviation (DKA). This is an unionised company under Metal Industries Workers Union (MIWU). Together with the union, the company set up a CTC in 2019, with the aim of furthering workers' career prospects through relevant skills training. The company engaged NTUC's e2i or the Employment and Employability Institute, to redesign the jobs and raised productivity of their workers. While DKA's business in the aviation sector has been affected by COVID-19, they will be using this downtime to cross-skill workers through structured on-the-job training so that they have flexibility to re-deploy workers to areas of need and emerge stronger from the crisis.[+7 sentences] Many companies like DKA in the manufacturing sector has been impacted by disruption to the Malaysian workers commuting across from the Causeway due to the lockdowns and the situation in Malaysia. And by cross-skilling their workers, they are able to respond to this transient manpower shortages and cope with the skill gaps that they may have. Some companies have pivoted to other business segments with growth opportunities and accelerated their business transformation during this period. One example is Certact Engineering, a unionised company under MIWU as well. This company has recently transformed their business from a plastic and aluminum manufacturing company, to manufacture medical equipment components like the COVID-19 test kits and ventilator component parts. To support the new business requirements, Certact had to remodel their business processes, redesign existing jobs and send their workers for training to operate their new manufacturing lines. So, even as I speak today, Certact is partnering NTUC to leverage the CTC and Operations Technology Roadmapping (OTR) process to implement their new business model and strengthen their workforce capabilities. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, physical OTR sessions cannot be conducted. Hence, NTUC worked with A*STAR to develop a virtual-OTR methodology and we embarked on this virtual OTR process with Certact Engineering recently.[+5 sentences] They have given good feedback. It is a useful process. It allows us to conduct such processes even with circuit breaker measures. We will be conducting more virtual-OTRs with the various CTCs using online platforms to ensure that companies' transformation needs and workers' training needs continue to be served by the virtual-OTR during this pandemic. Workers have also shared with me that training-related costs may deter their employers facing cashflow challenges during COVID-19 pandemic from undertaking skills upgrading for their workers. NTUC introduced the NTUC-Education and Training Fund (NETF) Collaborative Fund (NCF) in March 2019 to provide training-related funding support to our unionised companies who send their unionised employees for training programmes. To help the increasing number of affected workers and to ensure that training costs to companies are further reduced during this COVID-19 period, I am glad to share that NTUC has increased the training support funding cap of this NCF from S$30,000 to S$50,000 per unionised company. To speed up business recovery, we will also introduce NETF Collaborative Fund Lite or NCF-Lite, for non-unionised companies with 50 or more NTUC union members in their workforce, with training support of up to $8,000 per company.[+3 sentences] I want to encourage more companies, both unionised and non-unionised, to approach NTUC to set up CTCs and tap into the additional funding support to send their workers for training. Sir, Singapore is not immune to the disruptions brought about by COVID-19. We have in place structures and initiatives to help the Singapore economy recover. The Government has set aside nearly $100 billion through the four Budgets to support both businesses and workers.[+5 sentences] The Labour Movement also stands ready to journey with our tripartite partners through this challenging period. We will continue to work closely with our tripartite partners to keep our workers in jobs, to enhance job matching and job creation for our workers, to encourage skills training so that we can collectively navigate through the new post-COVID era. Tough times do not last but tough people do. And I believe that if we continue to stay united, band together, face the challenges head-on as One United Singapore, we will be able to go through this global pandemic together and be ready when the upturn comes. With that, Sir, I stand in support of the Budget.
Mr Speaker3 words
[+1 sentence]Ang Hin Kee.
Mr Ang Hin Kee (Ang Mo Kio)1546 words
[+18 sentences]Mr Speaker, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the livelihood of over 200,000 freelancers and self-employed persons (SEPs). Thankfully, many received support in various forms during this period. Unfortunately, their income continues to be severely affected. To assist SEPs cover their immediate and future needs, I have three proposals to make. These are: support to mitigate income drop, support for licensing and accreditation and support in finding new income sources. Firstly, we need solutions to help them deal with a sudden and likely prolonged drop in income. This is a most pressing need. A case in point is with the two largest groups of SEPs in Singapore, namely, taxi and private hire drivers. Together, the National Taxi Association and the National Private Hire Vehicles Association, the Point-to-Point operators and MOT worked out several solutions to deal with a severe drop in passenger numbers and earnings. Mr Speaker, in the past, in this House and outside this House, I have debated actively with the Ministry and the operators on things to improve and tackle challenges faced by drivers. But this is a time where we collaborate and work together. And, as a result, we were able to pool our resources and swiftly rolled out rental rebates and financial aids to drivers. We, in the NTUC, were also able to extend further assistance to those who were union members. On their part, I am very grateful to the Point-to-Point operators who gave additional support such as rental waiver, which means they did not collect a single dollar in rental during the circuit breaker period from the taxi drivers and rental reductions even after the circuit breaker period has ended. Drivers I spoke too are deeply appreciative of the various support given. Mr Speaker, during this whole entire period of COVID impact, our union leaders also went down to the ground to gather with the operator staff, the officials from the Ministry, to hand out masks, take temperature, give out food packs and bentos to the drivers in need. This is indeed tripartism in action. MOT has also supported not just full-time drivers but part-time drivers as well. Part-time private hire drivers who do not qualify for the daily rental rebates under the Special Relief Fund was given a $300 Driver Care Fund which the Ministry provides for part-time driver. NTUC helped administered the Fund and over 3,500 drivers have benefited from that scheme.[+5 sentences] We handled the administration because we know the ground and could handle the appeal process swiftly. As takings are unlikely to return to pre-COVID levels anytime soon, the Ministry has extended the Special Relief Fund to help full-time drivers with rental costs. But the Driver Care Fund has not been extended for part-time drivers who are also struggling. I hope MOT and MOF can consider giving part-time private hire drivers a second tranche of Driver Care Fund and to review the eligibility criteria and allow more drivers to qualify. Secondly, the second support I would like to propose is in licensing and accreditation for SEPs. To help them deal with a sudden drop in income, we heard earlier about the $9,000 Self-employed Person Income Relief Scheme (SIRS). SIRS, based on eligibility criteria, benefited 130,000 SEPs who are auto-qualify to benefit.[+14 sentences] Those who do not meet the criteria have submitted applications. Understandably, many SEPs who are not in the auto-qualify group are anxious. One common issue they face is the lack of a licensing regime to verify if they are SEPs and whether they are struggling with a severe drop in income. Many also had not been diligent in contributing to their MediSave or filing their income tax returns. This added to the lack of information to verify their status. Previously, in this House, I have appealed for more groups of SEPs to be issued with a licence. I have also called upon the Government to offer co-contributions to help them contribute to their MediSave. I would like to repeat that call today. For instance, SEPs, such as private hire drivers and tour guides hold a vocational licence and are contracted with an operator. That allowed accurate identification of those who have suffered a severe drop in income. Furthermore, those SEPs who are registered with the unions could grant and gain immediate access to help offered by the NTUC. This covers people such as those who in the National Instructors and Coaches Association who are dealing mainly with people who are sports instructors and coaches offering services. However, we do not yet have a licensing regime for people such as tuition teachers, photographers, performers, dancers, riggers, sound system men in the self-employed group. Whether it is to offer financial assistance or training help, much effort is needed to ensure that genuine freelancers in need are identified and assisted. MOM had earlier launched the Contribute-As-You-Earn initiative to help SEPs contribute regularly into their MediSave account. However, it is only in its early stage and has not reached many of the 200,000 SEPs in Singapore.[+13 sentences] It is a useful scheme. Therefore, I would like to propose that MOM spearhead a whole-of-Government approach to have more groups of SEPs issued with a vocation licence or to form accredited professional guilds or join the union. This will allow for proper assessment of their professional needs and provide them with support during a downturn. The NTUC has, in the past, formed unions for different groups of SEPs and we stand ready to work with the Government to do more. Mr Speaker, there is a need to do more for this group but we need the recognition by the industry and the Government agencies in order for the guilds and the unions to take work. Only then will guilds be effective and more SEPs see a need to join. This has been my experience as an advisor with the union, working together with the Point-to-Point Operators and MOT. Because of the strong tripartite relationship, we were able to deliver strong support swiftly to many taxi and private hire drivers. My other union colleagues shared the same experience when they work with the travel operators and MTI to help our tour guides. Moving forward, we must ensure that more SEPs can benefit from such a tripartite arrangement. Furthermore, I would like to repeat my call for a one-off co-funding by the Government to self-employed persons who make voluntary contributions to their MediSave. This will also go towards ensuring that more of them will be able to save up for their immediate and future medical needs. And finally, we also need to look at ways to help self-employed persons find new sources of income. Many lost their income when their clients stopped buying services from them because of restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The NTUC's Employment & Employability Institute has been conducting job-matching for self-employed persons who would like to consider temporary jobs or make a career switch.[+3 sentences] The recently announced National Jobs Council is indeed a further boost to this effort. There are sectors that are still hiring and the most pressing task now is to quickly acquire the skills needed and match workers to those vacancies. But are our self-employed persons ready and have the appropriate mindset to make such switches? I have spoken to many drivers, taxi drivers and private hire drivers, who have changed career tracks and become bus captains as well as event emcees and tour guides, who have taken on temporary roles as temperature screeners or swabbers. Also, we read recently that over 10,000 taxi and private hire drivers have moved from serving commuters to delivering food, groceries and parcels – this is thanks to the MOT's help to liberalise the current point-to-point regulations.[+8 sentences] The drivers learnt the skills of engaging customers on delivery matters, use cashless payment and even made adjustments to their daily routine – no more do they queue outside at the airport, but outside of restaurants or supermarkets in order to collect the delivery on time. Our workers are indeed adaptable. To support them, I hope that the National Jobs Council can look at enabling more self-employed persons attain more vocational skills and to earn income from various channels. This way, our scarce manpower can be better deployed across various industries. It will also support self-employed persons reduce their downtime through matching them with various assignments. There may be concern that this multi-skilling of self-employed persons would eat into the domain of other trades. But the COVID-19 pandemic has already compelled even countries to relook at their longstanding economic strategy and even geared up to becoming less reliant on others. Similarly, we must help reduce the risks self-employed persons face, support them to acquire new skills and leverage on digital tools to optimise their access to work assignments. Due to the pandemic, more of us have begun to better understand the needs of the over 200,000 self-employed persons in Singapore. All businesses and service buyers, and yes, including Government as buyers, can help by looking beyond the boundaries of contractual relationships and support our self-employed persons. It is imperative that we work towards ensuring that the self-employed persons workforce that contributes significantly to the development of many sectors remain viable and intact even after the pandemic has ended.[+1 sentence] Mr Speaker, I support the Budget.
Mr Zainal Sapari (Pasir Ris-Punggol)1438 words
[+15 sentences]Mr Speaker, COVID-19 has caused massive disruptions in our way of life. Experts are predicting that the way we live, work and play will be very much different post COVID-19. There will be a new normal. We experienced some of this possible new normal during the circuit breaker period. As a nation, we were united, we showed resilience, we fought in solidarity, we strengthened our fortitude. But this crisis also revealed our vulnerabilities. We know we need to reduce our dependence in some areas and at the same time, develop new mindset and capabilities for us to live, work and play in the new normal. This current crisis has forced many to re-think on the value that our society has placed on essential service workers. The services provided by these workers are truly useful, necessary and the impact will be felt if the work is not done. Unfortunately, in many societies, the more useful the work is, the less they pay you. However, this crisis has caused some to change their attitude and behaviour, and we have witnessed many more people who are being gracious, generous and grateful for the work of our essential service workers. NTUC, together with our affiliated unions and associations, have long championed the cause of our low-wage essential service workers. To us, every worker matters and every job counts. While I am heartened that we have made good progress in terms of pushing for better wages and skills, there is much more to be done. In post COVID-19, what would be the new normal for essential service workers in the outsourced sectors that keep Singapore safe, clean and green? Currently, most of the companies in the outsourced industries where the Progressive Wage Model is made mandatory, are characterised by an older workforce, limited use of technology, relatively low productivity, heavy reliance on foreign manpower, and their salaries hover at the bottom fifth percentile of the resident workforce in terms of gross monthly salary.[+4 sentences] This situation cannot persist in post COVID-19. As a society, if we truly value the work of our essential service workers, then it is time for all stakeholders to be bold and embrace change in the new normal. In the new normal, we must change how we treat our essential service workers. We must continue to find ways to narrow the income gap and ensure their average wage growth continue to be higher than the median. Currently, under the mandatory Progessive Wage Model (PWM), our cleaners and landscape workers are given only two weeks of PWM bonus but, there is none for the security officers. Simply giving them an annual bonus of one month would increase the percentage of wage increment by about 8%.[+12 sentences] The tripartite committees overseeing these essential services must work together to enhance the skills and wage ladders to ensure our workers continue to remain relevant and due recognition be given for the importance of their work. In the new normal, we need a PWM where these essential services would be anchored by a skillful and productive workforce, balanced with both the young and old. Attracting a younger or more skillful workforce has always been a key outcome desired under PWM and to achieve this, we must change how we do things by leveraging technology and digitalisation to support higher productivity and sustain higher wages to attract younger Singaporeans to be essential service workers. As there will be older workers in these sectors, we also need to drive a change in our mindset. We must inculcate in all workers a growth mindset where one is never too old to learn new things. We need to encourage them to embrace technology to make the work safer and smarter. Changing the way we do things for the future is already mapped out in the different Industry Transformation Maps for the respective essential services industries. This plan must be reviewed for the new normal. We need to change the assumptions when these plans were developed to accelerate the transformation of the industry for the new normal where we drive productivity increase through technology and digitalisation. All of this require a highly skilled workforce and the new PWM must reflect the changes in skills and productivity required to justify higher salaries. In the new normal, we must change how we classify occupations. This crisis has shown the importance of the work of these essential service workers. With higher skills and greater productivity, these environmental services workers, security officers and landscape specialists should be regarded as specialists in their own respective areas and would not be seen or regarded as low-wage workers.[+2 sentences] Only then perhaps, younger Singaporeans will see this as a viable career. In the new normal, we need to change consumers' and service buyers' behaviour where we demand higher standards of procurement practices. Outcome-based Contracting must be the norm for procuring services and service buyers should only award contracts to companies with progressive employment practices that reward and recognise their workers right.[+13 sentences] It is important that every socially responsible service buyer leads by example and reject service providers that provide services at low cost but always at the expense of the welfare of these essential service workers. This crisis has also forced us to reflect our core values and principles to fellow human beings and highlighted our unseen class system. At the same time, it also showed that we can rise to the occasion to put things right. I would like to take this opportunity to applaud all those who have played a part to help, protect and support our migrant workers. In the new normal, we must change how we regard the migrant workers and welcome them in our community. We must realise that they are the ones who keep Singapore going; cleaners and maintenance workers who keep our neighbourhoods clean and hygienic, workers who keep our transport running so we can get our essential supplies, workers who keep electricity and water flowing to our homes, and workers who provide other services in our neighbourhoods. Some of these migrant workers will be housed in vacated school sites to ensure that the safety and welfare of our migrant workers as they continue working during this crisis. In my constituency, I am heartened that many of my residents demonstrated understanding for the need to have this arrangement but, what if these temporary dormitories must remain for a much longer period? Do we then adopt the perverse attitude of resisting them again because we do not want them in our backyard? I hope the new normal for our foreign friends will see them being accepted as a fellow human being who has the right to enjoy the surrounding that they helped to maintain and build. I see the changes needed for the new normal will complement our efforts to create better jobs, better wages and better welfare for our workers regardless of collar, age, nationalities and sector. Mr Speaker, in Malay. (In Malay): : In our efforts to change to the new normal, it is important that we take cognizance of the challenge faced by workers currently as they can be in financial distress due to the crisis now. In a recent survey conducted by OCBC, it was shared that 70% of working adults do not have enough funds to last them beyond six months if they were to lose their jobs now. I would not be surprised if many low-wage workers would fall into this group as they have very little savings. Hence, I would like the Government to consider reviewing the criteria for Short to Mid-Term ComCare Assistance to enable more households to be eligible. Many WIS recipients welcome the $3000 one-off special cash payment which will be paid over two equal payments of $1,500 each, in July and October 2020. I hope that should the crisis be prolonged, the Government could consider another one-off special payment but perhaps in smaller amount spread over a longer period.[+3 sentences] (In English): In conclusion, the road ahead will be a long one, but hard times create strong people. Every one of us must play our part to create a new normal. This will require a shift in mindset for many, but we must also not lose sight of the opportunities ahead. If the $100 billion we have spent in this crisis does not lead us to a future where we can be more progressive, more equitable and more enlightened, then indeed it would be a tragedy if the only thing we did was just trying to survive, rather than coming out stronger as a society.[+1 sentence] I support the Budget.
Mr Arasu Duraisamy (Nominated Member)1450 words
[+32 sentences]Mr Speaker, COVID-19 has impacted economies worldwide. Singapore is also not spared. With supply chains being impacted, the transport and logistic sector will also be affected. As the General Secretary of the Singapore Port Workers' Union, I too, am worried for my brothers and sisters in the sector. As compared to the four sectors worst hit by COVID-19, the impact on the transport and logistics sectors are not as pronounced yet. However, workers are concerned that they might soon be the "next in line" as they see telling signs of businesses slowing down, a reduction in overtime and incentive earnings as well as being asked to clear their vocational leave due to the low activities. It is not just our local workers who are worried about losing their jobs or having a reduction in their take-home pay; our migrant workers in the transport and logistics sectors are also concerned. It is in the time of crisis where we must leverage the existing labour-management relations or LMR in short, to help workers and companies through this challenging period. I recall when Malaysia first announced the Movement Control Order, the union and PSA management quickly came together to make arrangements to house our Malaysian counterparts in PSA-operated dormitories. Issues raised by these members were resolved quickly and amicably. When the Singapore Government imposed movement restrictions on workers staying at the dormitories, once again, the union and the management partners moved quickly to ensure that the workers' needs are taken care of. Union leaders and members volunteered their help to support the management in the distribution of meals and daily essentials to these workers in the dormitories. Some even stepped up to be safe distancing ambassadors at the dormitories and the workplaces. These are just some of my personal experiences of how LMR has come to play an essential role during this challenging period. Even as Singapore gradually reopens our economy, LMR can continue to play a crucial role to ensure that workers can return to work safely and businesses can continue to operate. For companies to resume operations, safe management measures must be put in place to minimise the re-emergence of COVID-19 community cases. While it might bring about some inconveniences, we all know that these measures are necessary. Due to this necessity, NTUC has worked with Ong Teng Cheong Labour Leadership Institute and NTUC LearningHub to facilitate the training of union leaders, management partners and union staff as Safe Management Officers. Having knowledge of safe management measures, union leaders will then be able to work with their management partners to coordinate and implement these measures on the ground. Each one of us must do our part in adhering to these measures, and I hope that more companies can come on board and get trained so that businesses can continue to operate safely and workers can work in a safe environment. Another area that we can leverage LMR is in workers’ training. Compared to pre-COVID times, business activity might not be as high during this period, and we should make use of this time to retrain workers. In the port sector, our unions are working with the company to train workers to have dual skills so that they can be cross-deployed across roles. One example is how we are encouraging our crane operators and drivers to be reskilled as reefer and equipment maintenance technicians. This will not only give the company the flexibility to deploy these workers but also increase the value-add the workers bring to the company. I believe we can also explore similar cross-training opportunities in other sectors. Our unions and management must work even more closely during this challenging period to give confidence to our workers. In areas, such as workers’ safety and workers’ training, we should take proactive steps to reassure our workers that we are still doing our utmost best to improve their wages, welfare and work prospects. Moving forward, what else can we do to keep our workers' jobs and livelihoods? At a recent dialogue with PSA Group CEO Tan Chong Meng, our union leaders and PSA’s senior management partners, he shared with us four steps which we can take to help the organisation move forward in post-COVID times. Taking a page out of that, I feel that these steps are very much relevant to us as a nation. First, be prepared for recession. In the most recent estimate by MTI, Singapore’s GDP is projected to be -7% to -4%.[+1 sentence] Job losses and retrenchments are inevitable. In a typical business environment, it takes a retrenched worker about three to six months to secure a new job.[+1 sentence] But the current climate has exacerbated these norms. In light of this possible impact on workers, can the Government explore making COVID-19 Support Grant a long-term help to provide workers facing short-term unemployment? For example, can the Government consider extending the length of support beyond three months, with each applicant reassessed every three months based on their past training and job search efforts? Can we also increase the quantum of assistance to $1,000 per month, aligning with Self-Employed Person Income Relief Scheme (SIRS) because both employees and the self-employed face the same pressure during the period of unemployment?[+6 sentences] Can the scheme be more favourable to workers who are sole breadwinners of their families, as they would be under greater financial pressure compared to dual-income families? Second, be resilient. As a country, we need to be resilient. Businesses can use this time to relook at work processes and business strategies while workers can review their training needs. Take this opportunity to reflect and learn from our past experiences and, hopefully, this will bring about new and innovative solutions which we can leverage when the economy recovers. Let us work together as a country to develop more win-win solutions for both companies and workers to enable us to be more resilient in the face of future adversities. While there might be some short-term pains, it is not all doom and gloom as the recovery will eventually come. Therefore, we must use this downtime strategically to transform our economy and accelerate the push for Industry 4.0 in the various sectors.[+2 sentences] If we can take this period to leverage and adopt technology, increase productivity, reduce our reliance on foreign workforce and reskill our workers to take up new jobs, I believe Singapore is well-poised to take advantage of the new opportunities when the global economy recovers. Third, be prepared to go regional. As supply chain and global manufacturing start to shift away from China, we need to refocus on regional manufacturing zones, such as Central and Eastern Europe (or CEE) for Europe, Mexico for the Americas, as well as India and South-East Asia countries for Asia.[+3 sentences] These shifts in the supply chain will cause inter-regional trade to slow down but intra-regional trade will likely grow at a faster pace. We must support our businesses to venture into these countries and prepare our workforce to work in these regions. Fourth, prepare to reform. While Singapore has embarked on transforming our economy and our businesses to adopt Industry 4.0 technological advances, the progress is not as fast as we had expected it to be. However, with COVID-19, it has accelerated some of these transformations, particularly in the area of digital transformation.[+9 sentences] Adoption of digital solutions has increased exponentially. This calls for reformation, a change in our convictions or perhaps a rewiring of our professional DNA to open up to transformation or reforms. Within the last six weeks, we have learnt how to work and study from home, shop online, pay via e-payment, entertain and socially interact online. Online shopping, ordering of food and services via apps, telecommuting and virtual meetings have become the new norm. It has changed the way we look at everything, including the way we transform and the speed of transformation. Thus, I applaud the Government for sustaining the momentum of digitalisation. But can we do more by extending this support to all sectors? Sir, in conclusion, never in the history of this nation has this House approved four Budgets within four months. So, let us not let these efforts go to waste and press ahead with the transformation. Let us be prepared for recession, be resilient, be prepared to go regional and be prepared to reform. This assistance cannot go on indefinitely and we cannot keep drawing down on our Reserves.[+4 sentences] Whether you are a worker, business owner or even just a citizen of Singapore, let us all do our part to support one another through this challenging period. Let us unite in solidarity as one people, one nation, one Singapore. With resilience and fortitude, we shall prevail. I support the Budget.
Mr Desmond Choo (Tampines)1672 words
[+25 sentences]Mr Speaker, the COVID-19 pandemic and the circuit breaker have gotten many of our families to experience first-hand and, more than ever before, the maniacal task of balancing work, household and childcare duties. Of course, this juggling act is nothing new to many women. After all, they had and still assumed the bulk of care-giving duties. For many men like myself, we are getting a really close first-row view of the Herculean effort needed to work from home, get through the work calls while participating in home-based learning (HBL), attending to potty calls and getting food on the table. The circuit breaker is perhaps also called the “Grand Resocialisation of the Working Men”. It would have been clear to many by now that juggling work and family should never have been just a women's thing. It is a family's thing. For many of my male friends with young children and had the chance to work from home, this was the golden age of family togetherness. We are mindful that not all families could do that, especially those in essential services and needed at the frontlines. We are fortunate that we get to participate deeper than ever in our children's lives. We learned how they learn. We learned how they like to be loved. We learned how to love all over again. And amidst this strengthened bedrock of family, we discovered working without ostensibly losing productivity. We saw how work and family can thrive if only we work together. In taking on more care-giving duties, we were forced to probe and challenge the fallacies of gendered norms. There might be a sea change in gendered norms creating a wave of gender equality greater than that experienced before. It is an important change that a progressive society must embrace. And we would do well to keep this momentum going. As we ought not to let a good crisis go to waste, we should not let this revival of family togetherness go to waste. For a very long time – even now – we have often framed flexible work arrangement (FWA) as a support to care-givers, especially women on maternity or with young children. We have framed it such that women needed more support. COVID-19 has torn up such a frame. It is still true that they need more support. But that support must be a family-based one, with men strongly leaning in and making that change. For the first time since the advent of work have we seen so many people on FWA. But it is also evident that FWA can only work if (a) there is a strong care-giving infrastructure, and (b) FWA must be pervasive.[+4 sentences] For example, wherein FWA is unable to apply for essential workers needed in hospitals, a good childcare is critical for those workers. For those who can work from home, both parents really need to be around and both of them will need FWA. The post-circuit breaker and COVID-19 workplace will not and must not be the same. FWA is, after all, no longer just a mark of a progressive employer but the enabler of a safer workplace. Many companies, such as Facebook, Twitter and larger banks, are preparing for some of their workforce to be telecommuting permanently.[+1 sentence] It is their way of building resilience within their workforce and, perhaps, also reap savings from reducing city office rentals and lost productivity through commuting. Thus, the pandemic has shown employers that employees cannot be productive without accommodating their family responsibilities. We must now consider institutionalising the right to FWA for families.[+11 sentences] Such a right was previously denied to workers because companies found it impossible to adjust their business processes. Where CEOs have failed, COVID-19 has succeeded. Even traditional companies are conducting their work via Zoom. Employers should have a better idea now of how to successfully operationalise telecommuting and even other types of FWA. COVID-19 will bring down the last bastion of industrial era workplace practices. As much as it is difficult to look beyond the next few months on how deep this crisis might be, some forward-looking companies are already looking at the scale and structure of their workforce. This is critical to emerging stronger from this crisis. We will need to consider changing the traditional work structure which is incompatible with the modern workforce. The traditional work structure assumes that there is a spouse at home or a childcare centre that allows that employee to work nine to 12 hours at the shopfloor or office. The new work structure prioritises care-giving and equips an employee to work away from the office. On the other hand, we do acknowledge that not all businesses have the resources to allow for full telecommuting or FWA. With so many of our workers in SMEs, it is an important obstacle to overcome and we must do more to help them.[+10 sentences] The WorkPro Grant has been instrumental. Can we also consider enhancing this so that we can entrench telecommuting and FWA for the smaller companies? Also, even though schools and childcare centres are slowly reopening, we need to be prepared for the possibility that we may have to close them again, should a second wave occur. We must explore how childcare or student care can be better provided if the whole family needs to remain at home. I have heard of some who even provided babysitting services and entertainment over Zoom for slightly older children. The next thing is that the pandemic has also forced us to re-examine breadwinning vs care-giving. Breadwinning has always occupied primacy roles. After all, it generates economic output. Care-giving is that supporting enabler of breadwinning. This crisis has shown that we need both to be as important if we want to evolve to a higher form of the workforce. Thus, we will need to change our mindset on a couple of things.[+1 sentence] One, valuing care-giving and unpaid work correctly. We have usually given higher childcare subsidies to working women.[+23 sentences] There are good reasons for doing this. Firstly, it encourages a higher workforce participation rate and, secondly, perhaps only those who work need childcare. But what if one of them has another family member that needs care-giving? And does keeping a family or household going require as much effort as working? A shorter duration of child or student care service is needed even by the best of homemakers at times. I hope that we can value unpaid work more accurately and provide greater support to our homemakers. This crisis has illustrated that we need a care-giving infrastructure as much as building tunnels and data networks. This infrastructure should help families to better cope with family care-giving such as balancing the costs of child and elder care-giving. In addition, with added medical checks and costs of running childcare and eldercare facilities, fees might increase and increase the burden on families. How, then, can the Government reassure families? Lastly, as I was hopelessly trying to attend to home-based learning or HBL and work calls as I was this morning, it dawned on me how lucky I was to have my wife to rotate HBL duties. Many families have that type of arrangement. But what about single parent families? The support for them is even more needed. Next, I would like to turn our attention to support for younger Singaporeans. With no end in sight to the spread of COVID-19, most companies have put off hiring if they have not already reduced excess manpower. For the graduating class of 2020 and some graduates in 2019, job prospects are not rosy. Many of them are concerned about getting jobs, let alone getting one of their preferred ones. One resident even told me that her University internship has been shortened to part-time because the company's workload had reduced drastically. This would affect her industrial learning and training exposure. It is not surprising that many of our younger Singaporeans are anxious, having to worry about job prospects on top of the need to pay off their student loans. Since the pandemic started, Young NTUC, the youth wing of NTUC, has been actively engaging younger Singaporeans to help them secure jobs, upgrade their skills and build up resilience in the face of this unprecedented crisis. We have extended a series of career programmes to provide timely support and career guidance to help fresh graduates and young workers navigate in a post COVID-19 world. The Resilience Budget's student loan repayment relief is a huge relief for graduating students. We also hope that in this Budget, that the Government can work with private education institutions and banks to provide similar relief for our private education institute (PEI) students. Their tuition fees are unsubsidised and the amount owed can be substantial. Some studies have suggested that students graduating in a recession year earn less than their peers graduating in non-recession years, and that effect continues for a few years.[+7 sentences] This is primarily because new hires have scant bargaining powers and companies have reduced manpower budget during dire times, and pay increases will not jump dramatically post-recession. I would like to suggest a couple of ways to help them. The SGUnited Traineeship programme is very useful. We should also consider incentivising companies to convert these into full-time hires and support. Even with the additional traineeships, it might not be possible to absorb so many new graduates. For some younger Singaporeans, it might be better to stay in school, further their studies or pick up new skills. I suggest that we can help to provide subsidies and loans for second diplomas, degrees or masters to give them the option to do so. For National Servicemen (NSFs) who are going to have their Operationally Ready Date (ORD) this year, could the uniformed services consider giving them the option to extend their National Service (NS) and deepen their skills since training has been compromised due to COVID-19 and that paramedic and security functions, for example, have continued to be in acute supply?[+1 sentence] Notwithstanding my suggestions on the Fortitude Budget, I support the Bill.
Mr Speaker48 words
[+5 sentences]Order. I propose to take a break now. I suspend the Sitting and will take the Chair at 4.40 pm. Sitting accordingly suspended at 4.19 pm until 4.40 pm. Sitting resumed at 4.40 pm.
Mr Deputy Speaker7 words
[+1 sentence]Senior Minister of State Heng Chee How.
The Senior Minister of State for Defence (Mr Heng Chee How)2281 words
[+2 sentences]Mr Deputy Speaker, thank you for allowing me to join this debate. I stand in support of the Budget. In late July 2019, MOM estimated that there were 60,000 vacancies in our economy waiting to be filled. Now, less than a year later, we are staring at an annual GDP shrinkage of between -4% and -7%.[+4 sentences] Before the year 2020 began, the global economy was already feeling the effects of the US-China trade war. And then COVID-19 struck. The world became a totally different place for everyone. If the projected shrinkage of the national pie materialises, it would be the worst since Singapore’s Independence. It reflects the serious anxiety we see on the ground – businesses worrying about survival, workers worrying about their jobs. This is why the Government has had to roll out four Budgets totalling $93 billion in as many months, and which entails drawing $52 billion from our national reserves – all unprecedented moves.[+10 sentences] Even so, we cannot realistically expect the cushioning to completely counter what COVID-19 has done or will do – hitting both supply and demand at the same time. Not all businesses will survive this. Neither can all jobs be saved from this tsunami. When push comes to shove, and beyond what the very important Jobs Support Scheme (JSS) can do for businesses and to save the jobs for all local workers, what specificaly will happen to the older segment of our workforce? Over the past weeks, I have had discussions with union leaders and also with employers' representatives over the subject of older workers, in the context of COVID-19 and our economy. They shared their views candidly with me and I have put them together and will share some of their views here, and to make some recommendations. First, on saving jobs. We know from experience and studies that older workers are at greater risk of being retrenched than younger workers. We also know that when an older worker loses his job, he will take longer than a younger worker of an otherwise similar profile to find new work, and even then, would in all likelihood take a substantial pay cut. Therefore, the most merciful thing to do for older workers is to minimise the risk of retrenchment. The tripartite agreement to delay the CPF contribution rate changes from January 2020 to January 2022, the original proposed increases, that agreement to delay is a step in this direction, a step taken in order not to inadvertently raise the risk of retrenchment for older workers aged 55 and above. In delaying the change of the increase, Government also decided to remove the corresponding wage offset which was meant to help employers shoulder half the cost of that CPF increase. I hope that Government can consider re-channelling the $80 million originally earmarked for that transitional offset into strengthening the Senior Employment Credit for the next one year.[+29 sentences] This Senior Employment Credit, which was announced in the Unity Budget, incentivises companies to hire older workers aged 55 and above. So, it is paying for an outcome and every percentage help to companies is helpful towards inventivising employment and employability of workers. I believe that if Government is prepared to do so, it will send a strong and visible signal to both employers and older workers that it is resolute in wanting to save jobs for older workers in this difficult time. In the Unity Budget 2020, Government also announced a new Part-time Re-employment Grant, or PTRG, for employers who offer it to re-employed workers aged 62 and above, who request for it. I hope that Government can apply this incentive to a slightly younger age group from age 55 and above, those who would be employed on that basis for the next one year, because this one year is a critical period. I make this call not only to lower the cost of such workers to their employers who respond positively to suchrequest, but also in view of the fact that COVID-19 is especially harsh toward older persons and employers are therefore also worried about how to deploy such workers and manage their safe return to work; they have concerns. We must therefore find ways to incentivise employers to keep such workers hired, whether full-time or part-time, back to work at the workplace or telecommute, rather than to have the employers decide that they will do without them. Next, matching jobs. No matter how hard we try, I think it is inevitable that some older workers will be displaced as companies take measures to cope and to transform. It is imperative that we find ways to help as many older workers earn income as possible. If not, they will become structurally unemployed prematurely, and will then have to depend more on their children, who themselves are under pressure, or on general taxes for support. In this regard, I urge our National Jobs Council to pay due attention to job preservation and job creation for older workers as well. The Circuit-Breaker period has illustrated cross-industry job possibilities. Whether it is Professional Conversion Programmes (PCPs) for older PMEs or full-time/part-time/gig jobs in retail, logistics, healthcare, transport, the public sector and others, let us give older workers a fair go at these opportunities as well. I recall that when we battled SARS back in 2003, there were a number of big projects that created many thousands of new jobs. That helped absorbed displaced workers. This time round, the Government has also announced moves to create public and private sector jobs and traineeships. MTI has also just very recently announced a very good investment pipeline coming into Singapore that will create thousands of jobs as well. Aside from opportunities in areas such as healthcare and e-logistics, we should also consider how areas that might be linked to our longer term security, such as urban farming, renewable energy, such areas as well; whether jobs could also be created are this be given due attention and development. Next, advocating fairness and opportunity at workplaces. Over the years, through wage reform, many jobs have wages that have become much more performance-based rather than seniority-based. I urge employers, therefore, in considering how to manage their excess manpower to be fair. Please do not target older workers as a category. The Labour Movement and tripartite partners will be on the look-out for age-specific and other unfair practices. COVID-19 has also revealed the sudden disruption to manning when segments of workers are stuck elsewhere even when the company is allowed to operate. There is therefore scope for localisation to help companies be more resilient against such sudden supply disruptions. There will be roles that can be done by willing and properly trained and re-trained local workers, including older workers. The Labour Movement will be keen to work with companies on such initiatives through the Company Training Committees (CTCs) and the NTUC Jobs Security Council (JSC), which will now also function in support of our National Jobs Council. In this regard, the hiring incentive that was introduced as part of the SkillsFuture Mid-Career Support Package (SMCSP) in February's Unity Budget will come in very handy. This Incentive targets employers who hire local workers aged 40 and above through eligible re-skilling programmes, and it was meant to last six months. I call for the duration of this hiring incentive to be extended from six months to 12 months, in order to make the incentive more attractive to employers to offer job contracts of at least a year to such mature, mid-career job seekers. I also ask Government to consider help – both monetary and non-monetary – to enable organisations, workplaces, to be reshaped to be COVID-safe for workers of all ages, to be age barrier free, with respect to COVID-19.[+3 sentences] This should become part and parcel of the basic Workplace Safety and Health, or WSH, specifications, so that Singapore will have a sustainable operating model in this new normal, and we will not just work on the notion or the assumption that COVID-19 is a one-off event and somehow it will go away and neither it nor anything similar will hit us in future. We have to now be ready for all time. As part of the reopening of the economy after the circuit breaker ends, workers will progressively return to work in some way. For occupations that employ a large number of older workers at the frontline, I urge the Government to prioritise testing for these workers.[+12 sentences] This will give both they, their employers and their customers greater peace of mind. It would also enable those infected to be identified as early as possible and given treatment, and thus limiting transmission, both in the community and at the workplace. Next, recreating jobs. While I call for the preservation of jobs for older workers, this does not mean that the way in which these jobs are to be carried out should remain the same. Far from it. Unless companies and workers transform job designs and work processes, and increase their use of technology and spur innovation, they will not escape the worst that this storm will bring. This COVID-19 storm is so furious that there simply would not be enough resources to prop up zombie companies and jobs. This means that we must spur companies to press on with job redesign. I call for practical support for companies, again, in both monetary and non-monetary, such as expertise terms, to help them quickly redesign jobs and processes that incorporate the following key dimensions. First, how to re-engineer processes and use technology to render more jobs Easier, Safer and Smarter, or what we call ESS. ESS jobs, the concept is not new at all. The hon Mr Lim Swee Say, when he was Secretary-General NTUC as well as Manpower Minister, tried very hard to promote the adoption and innovation in this area. What is different though is that current times provide the opportunity to take this up, because companies now can see for themselves the obvious need, advantage and imperative of doing so; it increases competitiveness, enhances resilience, attractiveness, increase your flexibility. And here, the WorkPro Job Redesign Grant of up to $300,000 per company can be reviewed and re-energised to spur action in this harsh but opportune moment.[+8 sentences] Next, with many SMEs struggling badly and yet in total employing some two-thirds of our workforce, and within that two-thirds, many are older workers as well, how we help SMEs redesign processes, jobs, their entire operations for this new enviornment and transform, if we can do that, that will really move the needle as well. Is it easy? It is not easy; it has been tried before; it is so dispersed – very hard to do. But if that ground does not move or does not move quick or well enough, then actually it is very difficult to move the overall; it is just simply because the number of businesses that are SMEs. Again, tapping into the moment that we are in now, where everybody knows that we have to change, not because you like it but because that is the reality, then let us do it with a concerted tripartite effort, at least minimally, let us target the more promising SMEs, and through them to show to the rest, let them lead the pack in this transformation. Next, training and re-training. This topic has been covered in depth earlier by the Senior Minister of State Koh Poh Koon, so I will not belabour the points on training except to make one, which is once again call on employers to remember and to please invest in the training and re-training of your older workers. Do not leave them out, do not just do it for your younger workers. Give these older workers, your older workers, a fair go at training, especially training that makes them digitally employable. When the dust settles, countries that best invest in their workforce and infrastructure to be fighting fit in a very digital future are likely to out-compete the rest.[+1 sentence] An employer who views his older workers as assets and another employer who views them as liabilities will both be right, because they will each act in a self-fulfilling manner. The enlightened employer will continue investing in sharpening the skills of his older workers just as he does his younger ones. The ageist employer will deny his older workers the opportunities to keep current and they will rust away, just as he predicted. I therefore call on employers to adopt a progressive mindset.[+1 sentence] I thank every progressive employer who are already doing so, and I say it needs a proper and equally progressive response from olders workers. Therefore, likewise, I urge my fellow older workers to be enthusiastic about learning new skills to stay employable.[+3 sentences] This is the best favour we can do for ourselves in this environment. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, disease and geo-politics have put Singapore in particularly daunting circumstances. But we shall not be daunted. Mr Lee Kuan Yew, speaking at the 1966 National Day Rally, said "Never be depressed, never be deflated by setbacks.[+1 sentence] We face facts. This is one of the greatest strengths about Singapore: its willingness to face reality… not because we wished it to be but because it was.[+5 sentences] This capacity to face up to situations, however intractable, however unpleasant, is one of the great qualities for survival. A people able to look facts squarely in the face, able to calculate the odds, to weigh the chances and then to decide to go for it, are a people not likely to go under." Mr Deputy Speaker, we are that people. We can and we will overcome. I support the Budget.
Mr Speaker4 words
[+1 sentence]Assoc Prof Walter Theseira.
Assoc Prof Walter Theseira (Nominated Member)2037 words
[+8 sentences]Mr Deputy Speaker, while Singapore has managed the COVID-19 pandemic with courage and strength, we must acknowledge our shortcomings as well. Even as we Singaporeans slowly return to work, we must be mindful that many of our migrant worker friends cannot. They remain restricted to their dormitories to help protect our community from infection risks. Initial shortcomings aside, we are now sparing no effort to make things right. The Government has committed to improve living conditions for migrant workers. But this only addresses the public health aspects of our migrant worker population. There are more fundamental questions about the structure of our economy and our reliance on foreign labour that must be explored if we are to emerge stronger from this pandemic. Old assumptions about these matters have never been properly examined. In 1970, there were about 21,000 foreign workers in Singapore making up just above 3% of the labour force. By 2019, the number was closer to 1.42 million, which is about 38% of our labour force.[+17 sentences] What are the reasons behind this vast increase in foreign labour and what have been the effects on our economy? Let me first put migration in perspective. The facts are that successful cities throughout history have grown rapidly through migration and not because of the fertility of the existing population. If we had remained part of Malaysia, we would have grown through domestic migration from the hinterland. The major Chinese cities have grown through domestic migration, as has Jakarta, Tokyo, London, New York. Because we have no hinterland, every migrant is, by definition, foreign. But like those global cities, we attract migrants because we offer the opportunity to build a better life. Nonetheless, migration is still a policy choice, even within a country. The Chinese cities impose the Hukou system, which differentiates between urban residents and rural migrants. Malaysians cannot freely migrate between Peninsular and East Malaysia. So, the question of whether to slow or stop migration is relevant even when migrants carry the same passport. So, when can we justify growing the labour force through migration? In some sense, the answer is trivial. We permit migration to grow our economy faster than our purely local labour force can. This gives us a bigger pie so that everyone – migrants and locals alike – can meet their needs and aspirations better. But even if overall growth is positive, migration creates winners and losers. We have an obligation to the public to understand how labour migration affects Singaporean jobs and to discuss the consequences of migration on our economy – positive and negative. Consider the sector at the heart of our COVID-19 outbreak. There are nearly 300,000 work permit holders in construction. Including other work passes, foreign labour accounts for nearly four out of every five workers in construction.[+12 sentences] Some argue that reliance on low cost work permit holders has made our construction industry less skill intensive than other developed countries. There is some evidence for that, but that is not the whole story. Within the 20% of construction workforce who are locals, more than half are actually PMETs – our project and engineering managers. In comparison, in the United States, one in four of their construction workforce are PMETs. So, because less skilled positions are filled by migrant workers, the Singaporean workforce can actually be more skill intensive compared to their counterparts elsewhere. There are also benefits to Singaporeans in manual construction work as they supervise migrant workers. Median wages for Singaporean supervisors and foremen are close to $3,000 a month – much higher than similarly skilled workers in some other sectors. Migrant workers may well complement our Singaporean core in construction. However, we must also consider cases where migrant labour may have mixed effects on Singaporean workers. In food and beverage (F&B) services, and cleaning and landscape maintenance, the share of foreign labour is also high. At the broad sectoral level, about half of the workers are foreign. But the wages and conditions of work for locals are not as good as in construction. Median wages for cleaners, F&B assistants and maintenance workers are below $1,500 a month and employment benefits and conditions of work can be poor.[+11 sentences] We should ask whether this is because migrant labour in these sectors often fill the same types of jobs that locals do, including supervisor positions. It is the degree of substitutability that matters and migrant labour in many service sectors could potentially replace local labour, which would then pressure wages and benefits downwards. Taking a step back, the next question is how our migrant labour policy affects our economic structure, productivity and growth. The economist Alwyn Young famously argued in 1992 that Singapore's rapid growth was driven by the accumulation of labour and capital rather than by total factor productivity growth. Singaporean economists Linda Lim and Pang Eng Fong, in an article published on academia.sg on 2 June, noted that concerns on the impact of foreign labour date back to the 1970s. They hold the view that "an over-reliance on cheap foreign labour...distorts factor prices and resource allocation, resulting in economic inefficiency and inequality, without enabling higher growth." These are, as you can see, very old questions. Yet, we seem to have made little progress in understanding the role of foreign labour in Singapore's economy since then. There are relatively few rigorous pieces of research on the Singapore economy and labour market, despite the high quality of our economists. This is partially because microeconomic data on the Singapore labour market is rarely available to researchers. It does not need to be this way. In 2013, the World Bank released a report on immigration in Malaysia.[+1 sentence] The Malaysian government commissioned the report and provided detailed labour market data. The World Bank found that migrant labour improved employment and wages for medium to high-skilled Malaysians. However, there were also negative effects for the lowest skilled Malaysians.[+17 sentences] What would we find in Singapore if we were to conduct such a study? Sir, the Government has likely conducted many such high quality studies on migrant labour and the Singapore economy over the years. But the quality of the public discourse is harmed when such research is not put into the public eye, is not taught or conducted by our Universities and is not debated by the public. This is an issue that goes beyond politics. It is part of the democratic discourse that we need to progress as a nation. A great society is able to confront the unpleasant realities beneath the surface and resolve to make painful but necessary changes for collective progress. Our present economic structure and migrant labour system has created entrenched interests who would be harmed by and will resist any attempts at reform. I speak not just of the obvious interests among business owners who rely on migrant workers but also of each one of us as ordinary Singaporeans who benefit from the system regardless whether we directly employ a migrant worker. The high quality of life that we take for granted is built in part on the ceaseless toil of a vast trickle-up economy of hundreds of thousands of migrant workers, Malaysian day workers and even our own Singaporean low-wage workers. We must examine the hidden costs to social stability when we expect to have a first-world standard of living, delivered at third-world prices. Despite what we consider to be low wages and difficult working conditions, many migrant workers want to work in Singapore. They build a pathway to the middle class or better back home with their earnings. Our own low-wage workers do and must continue to get substantial Government support. But while we do not bear the moral stain of forced labour, we have fallen short of providing dignified work conditions for all. Our collective indifference to the struggles of low-wage workers in Singapore, whatever their nationality, has hurt our ability to cope with this crisis and it will continue to harm our ability to build a compassionate and resilient society. If we fail to build the capacity to question, understand and reform our system, if necessary, to provide better treatment and living wages for low-wage workers, we will each bear the complicity of the bystander. We will face the question in the coming months of how to restructure our economy and society for a more sustainable and resilient future. The unceasing efforts of the Government, healthcare system and volunteers have forestalled what could have been a humanitarian disaster in our migrant worker dormitories due to the COVID-19 outbreak. We have also committed vast sums from the reserves to preserve as many Singaporean jobs as possible and to help provide for those whose jobs cannot be saved.[+7 sentences] But we must resist the temptation to use the reserves simply to preserve the economic model of the past in the hopes that we can return to it once the COVID-19 outbreak subsides. Is the right economic model for our future that which has driven us over the past decades, one where we aim as far as possible to have Singaporeans take up PMET jobs and migrant workers the rest? I think there are some real difficulties with that approach. It is akin to running an army with only sergeants and officers. If we recognise that all work, especially socially essential work, has value, then we need to agree there is no shame in having Singaporeans take up manual and service jobs. The only shame is if we who have power and influence fail to ensure that the conditions of work and wages in these service jobs are such that Singaporeans find no dignity in taking them up. More generally, we should realise now that it is neither safe nor resilient to decouple essential service jobs that must physically take place in Singapore from residency in Singapore. The on-going closure of the Malaysian border, which has forced our Malaysian day workers to choose between their families and their jobs, has dealt a blow mitigated only by the temporary hibernation of our economy during the circuit breaker.[+8 sentences] This is not a problem unique to Singapore. The unseen engine behind global cities worldwide is a vast army of essential workers who are frequently paid too little to live next to those they provide services to. Singapore has been able to cope in part because migrant workers and Malaysian day workers are willing to do these jobs at wages which are nearly unliveable in Singapore. But it is not sustainable to depend on continuing low wages in migrant worker source countries to excuse us from finding a solution. If anything, we should recognise that essential services and manual jobs, by their physical presence requirements, offer some resilience against a world where office work can be shifted globally. Working from home has weakened the physical link between doing business in Singapore and having that business actually be done by a Singaporean here. Rather than develop an economy where most Singaporeans, despite their different skills and talents, feel compelled to earn degrees to hold down PMET jobs, we can build an economy that also includes many skilled and decently paid craftsmen, technicians and service workers. Sir, I am heartened that this Government appreciates many of the challenges I have discussed, although I do not presume that it agrees with all of my views. Unlike many countries worldwide, economic restructuring and transformation is an integral part of our public spending to deal with COVID-19. But we would be shortsighted to assume that our own entrenched interests, our implicit assumptions, our comfort with the existing economic structure play no role in affecting the quality of our judgments about the path ahead. I therefore suggest that we broaden representation on the councils that we have set up – the Emerging Stronger Task Force and the National Jobs Council – beyond just the captains of industry and state. We should consider having members from the rank and file, the essential services, social services, civil society and academia. And we must engage the public in this great exercise of economic restructuring – not as a public consultation exercise, but as equal partners in the creation of a new Singapore.[+1 sentence] Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I support the Government's Fortitude Budget.
Mr Deputy Speaker5 words
[+1 sentence]Er Dr Lee Bee Wah.
Er Dr Lee Bee Wah (Nee Soon)2070 words
[+13 sentences]Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, first of all, I would like to record my appreciation to our Minister for Finance and his team, who have worked tirelessly to produce our four Budgets in less than four months. With COVID-19, nobody really knows when things will start to brighten up. But we can take heart that our Government is determined to make things right. Businesses and individuals must make the best use of resources provided by our Government and put our best foot forward. It is heartwarming to hear about the businesses who returned the benefits from the Jobs Support Scheme (JSS) to the Government. Then, there are others, some food and beverage businesses, who are cooking and distributing food to the needy. And those who helped free up commercial resources for mass production of surgical masks or pooling together resources to sew reusable masks. Many of my residents and supporters donated masks, face shields, sanitisers and vitamins, and some of them even donated their $600 which they received from the Government. This is truly a display of our nation's fortitude. But in the meantime, some challenges remain which require attention. First, more help for home-grown large companies with a localised workforce which have ventured abroad. The focus of our four Budgets is to preserve lives and livelihoods, saving and creating jobs. It benefits almost all our SMEs. How about our bigger home-grown companies whose sales turnover are more than $100 million, like Charles & Keith, Osim, Breadtalk and many others?[+3 sentences] Do we give them sufficient support? They hire many Singaporeans; they venture and expand overseas. Now that the global economy is doing poorly, they are also struggling to keep above water. Will they be given rental rebates too for their shops in Singapore?[+1 sentence] It takes decades for some of these made-in-Singapore brands to achieve the regional and global recognition. Does the Government have a strategy to reach out to them to see what help these local companies require?[+10 sentences] I am glad that Temasek came in to help SIA so that we do not lose our national carrier. Next, I would like to talk about the construction sector. Before I proceed further, I would like to declare my interest as a professional engineer (PE) and my involvement in property development and construction. At first, when the Government announced that the construction sector can start work in Phase One, all the contractors were very happy. All those businesses who can start business in Phase One, they were very happy. But their happiness turned to frustration soon when they found out about the number of approvals required before they can start work. And I have received many complaints from them. They were very confused and unhappy. Why? They are faced with many challenges and let me share with the House. First, more stringent dormitory requirements from MOM, which is expected because of the recent COVID-19 spread in the dormitories. But suddenly, MOM said no double decker beds – each one must have at least 6 m2 instead of 4.5 m2 and so on.[+32 sentences] So, all the current dormitories do not comply. So, if you do not have dormitories that comply, no approval for safe dormitories, cannot start work. So, how to comply to new requirements within a short period? Normally, such requirements, the process of approval from various Government agencies will take at least three months. Medical experts have been saying that as long as people live together, they are likely to infect each other since COVID-19 is very contagious. So, is the 6 m2 requirement much safer than the current provision? Of course, contractors are not convinced. For those who are currently stay in factory-converted dormitories (FCD) or in the construction temporary quarters (CTQ) where all their workers are healthy, can we let them maintain the status quo for now, quickly arrange swab tests for the workers so that they can start work without shifting them and without further delay? Now, every contractor is scratching their head – how to meet the new MOM requirements? Where to house their workers? Can MOM be more flexible on the existing CTQ and FCD? Otherwise, how to start work? The next challenge is the compulsory swab tests. What is our swabbing capacity? Why such long queue? Why those S Pass holders who are not living in dormitory are unable to register for swab tests? Those who are housed in their own factory dormitory, well taken care of for the last two months, just because they are not swab tested, they cannot start work. A contractor said: 等来等去, swab 来, swab 去, 天都亮了。 This compulsory swab test exercise can easily stretch until August or September. So, how to start work? The next challenge – compulsory safe management officer (SMO), safe distancing officer (SDO). For contractors to start work, they must have SMO, SDO. There is long queue too for training of SMO and SDO. I checked two days ago. The next available session is 5 July. And this is an online course. Why this is not conducted during circuit breaker? Can we have more sessions so that this does not become a bottleneck? So, no SMO, no SDO, no start work. An uproar came last Sunday, 24 May. Suddenly, I received many text messages and phone calls. Why? Contractors have to give consent to MOM to deploy their workers who have recovered from COVID-19. Otherwise, they will not get the levy waiver. And the consent must be given by 10 June.[+14 sentences] Is this not very high-handed? Why does not MOM just return the workers to the rightful employers? Why force people to give up their workers? For some sub-contractors, they said they only have two or three charge hands, that means, important staff. And they say if MOM were to take them away, they cannot function when their works can restart. For those who are forced to take in workers, also not happy. They said it is very difficult to use other people's workers to work in your team. Perhaps, it works only for housekeeping or general works. So, why not leave it to them to handle their own workers? This pandemic further illustrates the need to have multi-agencies working together and not in silos. BCA, MOM, MOH and FAST Team all are working very hard but they need to work together, and also get industry input and not force their way through. There needs to be more communication so that the intent is well understood. Many contractors I spoke to say let those workers who are healthy and swab tested, start work first. No need to follow BCA tiers. Currently, for all the projects, BCA has given them tiers – tier A, tier B, tier C, tier D. And the contractors do not know their project is in which tier.[+15 sentences] So, what they want is let more projects start but gradually. For those who do not have enough workers to start, contractors will know how to work out among themselves. With all these challenges, many will not be able to start work for at least another three months, perhaps September. And the income will only come in another two to three months later, maybe end of the year. Meanwhile, operating costs are running every day! Operating costs are going up due to more stringent requirements while productivity is going down. I am afraid many firms will go bust. As one contractor puts it: all these administrative roadblocks are turning Phase One restart into an extended circuit breaker for the construction industry. I wish to appeal for more support for the construction industry. Thanks to the Government for the JSS. But contractors have many other bills to pay, such as machineries rental, dormitory, loans and so on. They have been having zero income since April. Definitely, they need more help. May I appeal to the Deputy Prime Minister for his understanding? I would like to propose the following additional help. First, can the Government absorb the swab testing cost beyond August?[+3 sentences] Because currently, the swab test is free only up to August. But after August, every worker needs to be sent for a swab test every 14 days and they did not price in all these costs. Or perhaps by then, we can remove the swab test. Second, can the Government extend 100% workers levy waiver and $750 rebates till August since most of them will not be able to work until September or later?[+4 sentences] Currently, they are given 100% waiver for June only. From July, it is 50%. So, can we give them full rebate until August? Third, the industry feedback is that it seems like there is not much help given by JTC. Can the Government extend the 30% property tax rebate to all industrial buildings as most of the contractors occupy industrial buildings and waive the land rental till August?[+35 sentences] Fourth, another group of people serving the construction industry – that is, consultants, engineers and architects – will they be given similar support like what we have given to contractors, especially the JSS, because they are very worried about the staff cost? Will resident engineers and resident technical officers be similarly supported? Because in the industry, they are very confused – they are not sure. Enough said about the construction industry. My next topic in this speech is the opening of sports facilities. I have always been a huge advocate of active living. With this pandemic, sport has taken a huge hit. A resident, Josephine, told me that she had vertigo 20 years ago and it went away because of sport. With the circuit breaker, her vertigo came back with a vengeance. I urge the Government to consider allowing the commencement of non-contact sports during Phase One. A study was done by the Italian Ministry of Sport and Italian Olympic Committee to evaluate the risk of contracting COVID-19 for various sports. It was a long report. I think it is 400 pages. The risk was found to be non-existent or weak for individual non-contact sports like athletics, that means running, sailing, open water swimming, golf and tennis. In fact, many other countries allowed some sports in their first phase of restart with some safety measures. For example, Malaysia allows two golfers per flight, but cannot share buggy. Swimmers are back in the pools in Australia, the Netherlands, Japan, China and so on with safe distancing measures, such as one swimmer per lane and some started without the opening of changing rooms. Can we not open up our stadiums with SafeEntry, crowd size control, designated lane usage and so on? I am sure it can be much safer than some of the park connectors which are so congested. In fact, many associations such as Singapore Swimming Association, many clubs already have thought about this. They would like more guidance and to resume their activities. Will the Government work with SportsSG to determine the sports suitable to make a return for Phase One with relevant safety guidelines? And I hope whatever measures that we want to put in place, the training can commence now. Otherwise, it may lead to bottlenecks like what happened to the construction industry. So many people feel so stressed when they cannot do their favourite sports. Also, there are many freelance coaches who can no longer survive without income. Sir, in Chinese, please. (In Mandarin): : Some residents told me that this Fortitude Budget gave more support to businesses, but less to families. The increased utilities expenses due to telecommuting may have exceeded the $100 subsidy. They hope that people living in 3-room flats can also receive grocery vouchers, if their per capita income is relatively low. The outbreak has also quickened the pace of digitalisation. This is encouraging. However, many people are worried that the vulnerable groups may not be able to keep up with this pace. I hope the Government can continue to pay attention to those who cannot afford a computer or data connection, and make sure that those students whose family environment is not conducive for home-based learning are not lagging further behind. In addition, while we introduce e-payment in the neighbourhood, the seniors should not feel that they cannot adapt. When we introduce these measures, we should give those who are not used to using smart phones sufficient training and time to adjust, including stallholders at coffee shops and hawkers at hawker centres.
Mr Deputy Speaker12 words
Er Dr Lee, you have 30 seconds to wrap up your speech.
Er Dr Lee Bee Wah128 words
[+1 sentence]Yes, I am going to conclude. We may have to live with COVID-19 for a long time. We must support everyone in our society to adapt to this new normal. So, we must help local businesses and contractors stay afloat. Our businesses first and foremost want to get back to work, to stand on their own two feet. Therefore, they hope the Government can be flexible in its requirements and listen more to their feedback.[+6 sentences] We must also look after the physical and mental well-being of our people. Singapore has pulled through many crises in the past. Each time, we have not just survived, but emerged stronger. This time let us again pull together and help every Singaporean get through this. We are SGUnited. I support the Budget.
Mr Deputy Speaker5 words
[+1 sentence]Mr Christopher de Souza, please.
Mr Christopher de Souza (Holland-Bukit Timah)1692 words
[+3 sentences]Sir, fortitude is about courage in adversity. Just as gold is refined in fire so also do the testing and hardships of life build character. Today we are debating the Fortitude Budget – a Budget to strengthen Singapore as we forge ahead. In a recent survey conducted by OCBC on over 1,000 Singaporean and Permanent Resident working adults at about 1.5 months into the circuit breaker, about 55% reported experiencing some form of wage cut, reduction in commissioning earnings, wage freezing and being forced to convert to a part-time role, contractual instead of permanent role, or to take no-pay leave. Almost half were worried about being retrenched or terminated within the next six months.[+1 sentence] In light of the heightened concern on being retrenched or terminated, it is important that our workers have sufficient protection from disguised retrenchments, which would not only remove any retrenchment benefit that a worker may be entitled to and would desperately need in today’s job climate, but would also obscure our ability to monitor the situation on retrenchments. Even though the “Advisory on retrenchment benefits payable to retrenched employees as a result of business difficulties due to COVID-19” issued on 20 May 2020 specify that “an employer who terminates an employment contract with no plan to fill the vacancy any time soon is presumed to have retrenched the employee,” it is unclear whether it goes far enough to protect employees from disguised retrenchments.[+2 sentences] How soon is “some time soon” and how will employees who have been terminated know whether or not there are any plans to fill the vacancy any time soon? As employees need to bring a claim of wrongful dismissal to the Tripartite Alliance of Dispute Management within one month of being terminated, the uncertainty and practical difficulties of this guideline could have a real impact on the employee’s ability to potentially seek redress. The current 100,000 places in SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package may or, in fact, is likely less than the estimated number of retrenchments as well if you combine them that job entrants such as fresh graduates entering the workforce.[+18 sentences] Here I would like to make the point that with the accelerated digitalisation of the world, the skill gap needed to be overcome by job seekers has, in some instances, also increased tremendously. If not, the gap dividing the people who have the ability to understand the digital world and the equipment and those who do not, that gap will exponentially widen. Is the current training support sufficient, especially for those who require extensive reskilling of workers after their jobs may become obsolete in the post COVID world, especially where digitalisation is concerned? While there is only so much that can be done to create jobs, would the Government consider promoting mentorship programmes as well, where the focus is on professional development and exposure, though may not necessarily be salaried or fully salaried. Being able to work on ad hoc projects, for instance, to be provided guidance from an industry professional on what courses are industry relevant, as well as being introduced to a network of other professionals may also be invaluable for job seekers even if they are unable to find a permanent job at the moment. COVID-19 has accelerated digitalisation, making digital literacy something necessary; no longer merely supplementary. The global mass working from home exercise has caused employers to rethink the need for employees to be physically present in the workplace, with some companies like Facebook even thinking of hiring remote staff who would permanently telecommute. What I am getting at is that COVID-19 has changed the labour market, the need for such large commercial rental space and also skillsets. The strong uptake of digitalisation and support for telecommuting will provide opportunities job seekers in previous generations would find hard to imagine. For instance, while it may be that job seekers will face global competition, the converse is also true – job seekers have opportunities from all around the world, able to live in Singapore but able to work for an overseas employer. Riding this wave of digitalisation is therefore key to ensuring our Singaporeans are equipped and ready for borderless job opportunities. For others, the greater support for working from home, that is, flexible work arrangements, may mean greater opportunities for mothers seeking to re-enter the workforce. We can convert adversity into strength, supporting workers and businesses in digitalisation. Companies who can implement work from home arrangements well, will in turn be able to reduce the commercial floor space they need, reducing rental fees and overhead charges. This would free up costs in the long run to invest in the development of personnel, it will also allow more money to be deployed into planning for the future instead of paying large amounts of commercial rent; it will allow effective utilisation of technology; it will create a future for the company through virtual communication. How companies cope and adapt to the COVID-19 virus is important to the Fortitude Budget. And at this point, I like to record my thanks to the Deputy Prime Minister and his MOF team for putting out a fourth Budget in record time. Indeed, the Job Support Scheme focuses on the ability to captalise on our reserves to support employers at this time. The Fortitude Budget extends the Job Support Scheme to those businesses that are still unable to reopen.[+7 sentences] It is good that the sectors of aviation and aerospace, tourism, hospitality, conventions and exhibitions and the built environment will receive 1st tier support for June to August 2020. Even for essential projects that have been allowed to reopen, many have not been able to. Indeed, many will not be able to hit the ground running at pre-circuit breaker levels even if they can reopen in Phase One. Besides getting workers swabbed, having dormitories cleared, those in some industries may need to seek workers from other companies due to border restrictions and manpower supply shortages. Those with many workers who are still in Malaysia will have to plan their teams without the level of manpower that they once had. Even for those who have been able to work from home, their clients or customers may not have sufficient cash flow to pay them for the services rendered during the circuit breaker period owing to the whole demand-supply shock and disruption. So, bills go unpaid. Due to how the circuit breaker pushed the pause button on most of our businesses and firms as well as how integrated our whole economy is even on a domestic level, would the Deputy Prime Minister and the relevant ministries consider increasing the Jobs Support Scheme to 75% for all firms and businesses up to and including August 2020?[+5 sentences] Sir, onto another topic – specifically onto home renovation works, I would like to raise a suggestion. As a result of the circuit breaker, home renovation works had to be halted. Some families had to rent another place for accommodation for an extended period of time and now need to rethink whether they need to extend their tenancies and pay additional rent because their home is still in the middle of a renovation that has been halted. Other families have or are still roughing it out in their half-completed homes. The home renovation sector is part of the built environment sector that requires specific approval to resume works. On 3 June 2020, BCA and the relevant agencies and Ministries clarified some of the delays, simplified the process to obtain approval, and estimated a shorter period for approval if the application is in order.[+2 sentences] There are still difficulties that some home renovation contractors face. I understand that testing of workers is essential. Given the homes are half-renovated and much disamenity is caused to the families, would there be priority given to test these workers so that the renovation can then be completed.[+3 sentences] This will seriously assist the family waiting for their renovation to be completed in their actual home, the contractor as well as the sub-contractors. Sir, the COVID-19 pandemic does not merely impact businesses or individuals but also has a knock-on effect on society. Something important that arises out of the COVID-19 pandemic and our response to it, is ensuring social inclusion in a society of increased digitalisation. In my constituency, we have procured laptops for students for lower income families to support their studies during the period of home-based learning, but on a national scale this is also very important.[+2 sentences] It is good that there will be Digital Ambassadors who will help introduce stallholders and the elderly to the online world. They play an important role. In an age of digitalisation and digital gadgets, we should be cautious about the exponentially wide gap this will create between children whose parents can afford the digital equipment and the children whose parents may not be able to afford.[+11 sentences] It is something that needs to be watched out for and bridged, where possible, ensuring that individuals and families can have access to wifi and certain core digital equipment that may be deemed essential in this day and age. I look forward to hearing the details on how this will be addressed nationally. In the meantime, we will continue to carry out the local laptop, wifi and free Zoom tuition programmes in Ulu Pandan, the constituency I serve and I am responsible for. Sir, even as the central focus of the Budget is on jobs, behind jobs there are workers, there are businesses and there is the society to which we all belong. In concluding, Sir, I wish to lean on the wise words of an Ulu Pandan Pioneer Generation resident whom I briefly met at a mask collection point over the last weekend. He shared with me a formula to overcome this crisis. He said, and I quote: "We must have the right stamina We must have the right attitude For we are all sons of the soil." Indeed, he is right. We are all in this together – facing this crisis. With the right stamina, with the right attitude and with the right unity, we will prevail. And that, to me, Sir, is fortitude.
Mr Muhamad Faisal Bin Abdul Manap (Aljunied)1042 words
[+6 sentences]Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I will deliver my speech in Malay. (In Malay): : This is the fourth budget tabled in this House in the span of a few months. I have submitted several proposals and expressed concern in my speech for the previous Budget debate and I will state a few more suggestions and would also like to seek some clarification in my speech this time. Firstly, I would like to touch on the rental fees for rental flats under the HDB Public Rental Scheme. I would like to know whether there is an increase in the number of flat tenants who failed to pay their rental payments in the past few months. Sir, one of the long-term objectives of HDB's provision of rental flats under the Public Rental Scheme is to provide short-term residence for individuals or families while they are trying to build and strengthen their finances, so that one day, they will buy and own permanent housing that belongs to them. A large number of tenants under this scheme are Singaporeans with low household income.[+10 sentences] In recent months, I have been contacted by some of my residents who are asking for exemption in their rental fees during these challenging times. I would like to ask the government to consider this request. Any support in this matter can further ease the burden of Singaporeans living in rental flats under the HDB Public Rental Scheme. Such assistance will help them to maintain a financial position, which is already weak to begin with, from becoming fragile. This is especially for those who are striving to strengthen their financial position in order to get their permanent dream home. The second issue is also related to the provision of support for low-income Singaporeans. Currently, our country is undertaking government-led efforts to spur our society towards digitalisation to achieve the goal of a "Smart Nation". I am confident that we want every Singaporean regardless of their socio-economic background to move together and not be left behind in this digitalisation effort. The COVID-19 pandemic has further highlighted the importance for every home to have an internet connection to enable learning and to work from home. I believe many members of this Chamber have met low-income residents who sought help to appeal on their behalf about their outstanding internet subscription bills. In our country's preparation and effort to achieve the "Smart Nation" goal, I would like the government to consider my suggestion to introduce a rebate scheme to help in the payment of internet subscription fees to support Singaporeans with low household incomes so that they can continue to have a more stable and uninterrupted internet connection.[+2 sentences] At this time, I think it is not wrong to say that internet connectivity is a basic need. Presently, there is a government rebate scheme to help ease the cost of basic necessities such as the utilities rebate, and the services and conservancy charges (S&CC) rebate. My proposal is to incorporate the internet subscription fee into the existing list of rebates.[+7 sentences] Sir, my recommendations to provide support to Singaporeans who belong to the low household income group by providing exemptions to flat rental fees and rebates for Internet subscription fees, are appropriate and in line with the objectives of our four national budgets, that is, to instill a sense of unity and resilience, so that we can overcome the challenges that arise from this pandemic with solidarity and fortitude. I sincerely hope that both of my proposals will be given the best consideration. The next matter is the COVID-19 swab test. It has been reported that all teachers and staff of pre-school centres and kindergartens have to undergo the COVID-19 swab test. As explained by the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) through media reports, this is a precautionary measure in preparation for the reopening of kindergartens and pre-school centres. I would like to find out why the COVID-19 swab test is not conducted on teachers and staff of Primary and Secondary Schools, as well as Junior Colleges and Centralised Institutes. Sir, finally, I would like to seek clarification on the process of obtaining consent from the President for the use of the national reserves (past reserves). To date, three out of four budgets require the use of national reserves.[+6 sentences] For the use of reserves, the process to go through is that the government needs to provide a detailed explanation that is supported by information and facts to the President. The President will consult and consider with assistance and advice from the Council of Presidential Advisers (CPA) whether to approve the government's request or otherwise. The Elected President scheme was introduced in 1991. One of the main objectives of the scheme was for the elected President, who received the the people’s mandate through the electoral process, to be given the role or responsibility as the co-protector or the second key to the national reserves. In short, the elected President has the power to say "yes" or "no" if the Government wants to use the national reserves. I would like to seek clarification on whether during the process of obtaining the consent to use the national reserves – was President Madam Halimah Yacob given information on the balance or amount that we have in the national reserves? Such critical information is very crucial for the President make an evaluation in order to reach a decision.[+1 sentence] Sir, in general, it is a practice or a must in any entity, whether a Government entity, for example a Ministry and a Statutory Board, or a private entity, that critical information about the balance of an account or a fund will be disclosed to any party or a decision-making body about the evaluation process, so as to make an informed decision, whether or not to allow an expenditure or the use of funds. I hope Deputy Prime Minister Heng can explain whether the President has been given information about the amount available in the national reserves, when the Government presented the information and facts to support its request to obtain the President's consent, to use the national reserves for the three budgets, Solidarity, Resilience and Fortitude.[+2 sentences] Sir, I conclude my speech by expressing my support for this Budget. Thank you, Sir.
Mr Alex Yam (Marsiling-Yew Tee)1613 words
[+7 sentences]Mr Deputy Speaker, in 1978, the number one song on the "US Billboard Hot 100 pop chart" was a comeback duet by Johnny Matthis and Deniece Williams. Many of you may remember the title of the song as being "Too Much, Too Little, Too Late". It spent 18 weeks on the charts. Incidentally, this past Tuesday marked 18 weeks since the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Singapore on 23 January 2020. For a song, 18 weeks is a good run on the billboard. For us in Singapore, these have been 18 very long and extraordinary weeks. Here in Parliament, we have also witnessed unprecedented times. Since the first Unity Budget 15 weeks ago, we are now into our fourth Budget, almost one Budget per month and almost $100 billion committed to save lives and to save livelihoods.[+11 sentences] But there have been varied reactions to our commitment, much like the title of the song. A small number say: "Too much for them, too little for me, too late for us." One example is the Jobs Support Scheme (JSS). Some say that "you have given too much to MNCs, they are profitable at the end of the day, give less to them, because there’s too little for me. And even if you do, it may be too late for us." Is it really true? That more for them means less for us and therefore, less for them means more for us? To me, it is a misinterpretation of the intent. It is not "for them", the MNCs, but for "us", the jobs that they provide. We are preserving the jobs, the jobs that could easily go somewhere else at a moment's notice. This is an investment, an investment for jobs, for jobs to remain here. Yes, some of the MNCs have already decided that they do not need the JSS. They have returned it, they have donated it.[+16 sentences] But the MNCs know that here in Singapore, we care for our workers, we care enough to pay a significant part of their salary, so that in the future, the company, the MNCs remain and thus, the jobs also remain. We are not in a dichotomy of one or the other, all livelihoods that we can preserve, secure, retain are worth the investment in. And we cannot wait until it is too late to do so. On the other hand, for the COVID-19 Support Grant (CSG) or SIRS for self-employed people, these are unprecedented as well. A serious commitment of this Government to Singaporeans. There are others, who are worried. Worried about our health, also about money, worried about how we are using our reserves. Some say that this is too much, too generous. Others say it is too little left for the future or too late to reverse the positions that have already been made. Yet, there are also others who say that there is too much in the reserves. There is too little that is being spent on us and it is too late to make a difference. Is it really too much? Or too little? Or are we too late? But, it can never be too much to do whatever we can to save lives, to save jobs. We cannot, in the biggest existential crisis that we are facing since the withdrawal of the British in 1967, to do too little too late. What we can be assured of, and I have had a few video conferences with fellow legislators, friends from overseas, that even if we are accused of spending too much, we are not borrowing it, we are not spending money that is not ours. This is money that we have saved over the years.[+34 sentences] So, that the decision on maintaining our reserves has been the right one. We can be comforted that it was not wrong. Even if some believe that we have too much reserves, it is not wrong too, to use whatever we have to save lives and save jobs, to not use too little during this crisis and that we did not wait till it was too late for us to do so. It is also not wrong to ensure that the keys to our reserves ensure that we use it prudently, wisely, rightly. In the same song, the lyrics in the rift say, "Somewhere we lost the key, So little left for you and me and it's clear to see." We have a responsible Government and we have a second key – in the hand of our elected President. In taking prudent decisions, we are able to save wisely, spend prudently and put it to the best use possible. There are still others who talk about other issues that have arisen during COVID-19. For example, migrant workers have been a hot topic for a number of weeks. Some say that too much is being done for migrant workers, too little for the rest of us, too late in reacting to the high numbers. Still more also say: too much talk over the years, too little done in the past, too late to try again. Even more may exclaim: too much reliance on foreign workers, too little investment in our local workforce, too late now for Singapore. Is it really too much, too little or too late? We can all admit that we can do much more to improve living conditions but we are certainly not housing our migrant workers in slums. We can all admit that we must not pay too little attention to building up local capability, especially in construction in our built sector, but there are certainly sacrifices that we must all make. And it is certainly never too late. But there is one point worth clarifying on the accusation of being too late, that we did too much in tracing and testing, resulting in too much an increase in numbers; that we did too little, resulting in high daily numbers for our migrant workers; that it was too late, resulting in the explosion of numbers. I am not medically trained, but I believe that the transparency of our system in identifying every risk – isolating and putting the workers in quarantine – is far better than classifying some while ignoring others, just so that our numbers may look better. Some expound conspiracy theories, saying that it is a mess in the facilities, that is why there are so many cases. Again, I am not a medical professional, but I believe cases do not just burn themselves out. It is not just a medical 21 days of being in isolation and, therefore, there are no other cases. We just need to ask ourselves. At home, let us say, you have a family of five people. One of you gets the common cold. You get home. It does not mean that all four other family members get the common cold instantly. Perhaps, not all will get it even. Maybe your wife will get it the next day. Your kid? Maybe a few days later. And maybe your kid did not catch it from you but caught it from your wife, not you. So, it is not as simple as saying 21 days have passed, something must be horrendously wrong and, therefore, we have so many cases. But what we must know is that we must never be afraid that just because we do so many tests, resulting in too high a number, because, as I have mentioned earlier, it is far better for us to be transparent, cautious and safe than to regret later and say, really, it was too late. If not, we will really be accused of doing too little, too late. In the spirit of the song, I do urge the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance to reassure the House and Singaporeans that we really have not spent too much. I believe that we can never do too much for our citizens during this crisis.[+2 sentences] Better too much than too little. But do we have enough? And as we project ahead, as the crisis continues – not just in Singapore but across the world – do we have enough? I also ask that our agencies take the gentlest possible touch with citizens during these unprecedented times in listening to those who feel that because of their circumstances, they have too little and will need much more.[+5 sentences] We are all in the same choppy oceans now but, perhaps, we are all in different vessels. It is not just about having a great captain on every boat or lighthouse to provide comfort. We need all hands on deck. We need the coast guard, lighter boatmen, pilots, pilot boats to help the different vessels. We have different needs and are in different situations. Many hon Members before me have raised examples like housing agents, car salesmen who have been facing difficulties over the years, F&B operators, casual workers, low-income families, persons with disabilities.[+5 sentences] We can never be too late. If not, even if we spend too much, it will truly be too little for some and too late for Singapore. The chorus of the song goes, "Too much, too little, too late to ever try again. Too much, too little, too late, we knew it had to end." It is a nice sentimental chorus for a song, but it will be a tragedy if we ever have to sing about this, about our Singapore. So, let us not be afraid to do much more for our citizens. It is never too late to do more and we can never have too little heart as we work to save lives and livelihoods in Singapore.
Mr Deputy Speaker4 words
[+1 sentence]Mr Lim Biow Chuan.
Mr Lim Biow Chuan (Mountbatten)1161 words
[+3 sentences]Sir, in the Ministerial Statement made by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance on 5 May, he explained that large parts of the last three Budgets were directed at protecting the livelihoods of our workers. The central focus of the Fortitude Budget is on jobs. Sir, I support the focus of the Fortitude Budget, which sees a further commitment of $33 billion by the Government to support companies and residents affected by COVID-19. In particular, the extension of the Jobs Support Scheme to affected businesses would certainly help businesses adjust to the loss of revenue during this period. I also support the $2.7 billion stimulus to strengthen employment and to create more jobs, traineeships and skills training.[+5 sentences] In the COVID-19 environment, many businesses face uncertainty about the future and many are scaling down their hiring as they worry about an impending recession. Many businesses ask, "With a slowing economy, would my business be able to survive, much less employ new staff?" Thus, the SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package would help to assure jobseekers, especially those entering the workforce after graduation, that there are still job opportunities and skills training or upgrading available to citizens who want a job. It has been seven weeks since the Solidarity Budget was announced. Over the past two months, due to the circuit breaker measures, many businesses which are non-essential have to cease operations totally. Although the Solidarity Budget announced on 7 April 2020 had helped many businesses, the financial impact on many others who have not benefited from the budgetary provisions are felt deeply and keenly. I wish to highlight one group, and this would be persons who are self-employed but not eligible for the Self-Employed Persons Income Relief Scheme (SIRS) due to the eligibility criteria. Some of them had missed out because their trade income had exceeded $100,000. Some had missed out because they reside in homes with an annual value of more than $21,000.[+34 sentences] Even if the homes are not owned by them but rented by them, or even if they are staying with their parents, they would not be eligible if the annual values of the home exceed $21,000. Sir, I urge the Minister for Finance to reconsider the eligibility criteria. I received many messages from self-employed persons like housing agents, insurance agents, tuition teachers, instructors, contractors and people in the sales industry. They said that for the last two months, their income had fallen drastically because they were all required to stay at home and unable to carry out their business activities. For some of the housing agents, they said their income had been totally zero for the past two months, even though they tried to sell properties online. They dread that their income will remain zero for the third month because the Council of Estate Agents had informed them that they are still not allowed to bring their clients to the show flats. Many of them accept that it is part of their duty as Singaporeans to stay at home and are willing to do their part to break the COVID-19 virus transmission. However, for a person who has a net trade income of, say, $120,000 per annum or an average of $10,000 per month, he would not be eligible for the income relief scheme. From earning an average of $10,000 per month, he now gets zero income for two or even three months. Hence, he would struggle to bear the entire expenses for his family. I have received emails from my residents appealing for help. One said that she is a licensed estate agent divorced a few years ago. She has four children aged between 10 and 15 in her custody. She has a wheelchair-bound mother to look after. Another wrote to me stating that she needed to financially provide for her aged parents and their children. Her spouse had just been retrenched. And on top of all their daily living expenses, they still had to pay for their housing mortgage loans for the past two months. The recent announcement that some of their businesses cannot resume even after 2 June has caused them more financial pain as they have to struggle for another one to two months. Sir, as a general principle, taxpayers' monies should be used to help the lower-income or those in greater need, and I am not referring to the really higher income residents who have deeper pockets or have large savings. But I submit that the fact that some self-employed persons who had a higher income in the last year or that they lived in a home with a higher annual value of more than $21,000 does not mean that they have the ability to survive two to three more months without any income. It all depends on their savings and expenses. In a recent OCBC survey of Singaporeans' ability to save, 18% of working adults say that they do not have savings to last them one month, and 28% say that they do not have savings to last them beyond three months. That means that 46% cannot last three months. Thus, if these self-employed persons had less savings or they had higher expenses, should they be left without any support from the Government? If they happen to stay with their parents in a better home, should they also be excluded from the Self-Employed Persons Income Relief Scheme? If the intent of the Government is to protect the livelihood of the workers, then I submit that we must do more to help self-employed persons who are badly affected by the COVID-19 crisis. Even as we ask our citizens to make a sacrifice, the Government should also bear part of the sacrifice with them. The $1,000 per month for nine months is not a big sum of money, compared to what they have lost during this period. This group of people are not asking for charity. They would be much happier carrying out their commercial activities, earning their income based on their skills and expertise. They do expect a drastic fall in their income due to the expected financial downturn even after the COVID-19 crisis. But what they are asking for is some form of financial support to tide them over to meet their basic expenses during this period because their businesses are forced to cease operations. I am of the view that this request is not unreasonable. Sir, I urge the Government to extend the benefits of the Self-Employed Persons Income Relief Scheme to more self-employed persons. Consider raising the criteria of the trade income to $250,000 per annum and remove the criteria of the annual value of the homes. In unprecedented times like this, the Government should try to assist as many people as possible. And for those who do not require any help from the Government, they can always be encouraged to return the grant or the subsidies back to the Government, which has already been done by many companies.
Mr Deputy Speaker3 words
[+1 sentence]Minister Josephine Teo.
The Minister for Manpower (Mrs Josephine Teo)2148 words
[+22 sentences]Mr Deputy Speaker, the overwhelming majority of Members of Parliament speaking today expressed concerns about jobs. Since the last quarter of 2019 before COVID-19 hit, I had described Singapore's job market as experiencing "persistent showers with pockets of sunshine". With the evolving COVID-19 situation, the weather has become even more uneven and unpredictable. Clearly, some sectors have experienced a downpour. Others are beginning to brighten up. However, unlike cyclical downturns, with COVID-19, there is much less visibility about the future. It is hard to tell if a bigger storm is brewing or how long it may last. Bad weather is something my husband and I learnt to embrace. On our travels, we like to go hiking. When we were younger, we used to fret whenever the weather turned bad. Later, we learnt a saying that is popular among Scandinavians, that "there is no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothing." Even with the best of plans, bad weather cannot always be avoided. Instead of being frustrated, we learnt to gear up and be ready to step out in any weather. It is not just to wander aimlessly, but to try and make our way to where there are clearer skies and to get back in the sun. It takes a lot of effort, but it is better than to be stuck with nowhere to go. That is how I think we can deal with the situation today. Focus on getting ready for a possible storm, and put all our energies into gearing up. Part of the gearing up is the Jobs Support Scheme (JSS) and other support programmes under the Unity, Resilience, Solidarity and Fortitude Budgets. Each of these schemes is helping to cushion the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on the labour market. They are providing much needed cover to businesses and workers, saving jobs and livelihoods. If we did not have this cover, we would already be drenched in soaring unemployment, as can be seen in some countries. We would be dealing with a very different problem today. Instead, we now have a window of opportunity to get organised. This year, we expect the economy to shrink by between 4% and 7%.[+18 sentences] We must gear up for further job losses, although we do not know exactly how severe it will be. Uncertainty about the future will also moderate hiring. Besides defending existing jobs, we must try to open up many more pathways to jobs. There is a Chinese idiom "未雨绸缪". It reminds us to plan ahead before the storm hits. This will be critical in the months ahead. There will have to be a big push for many pathways to jobs: pathways for retrenched and mid-career persons from all sectors and all ages, middle-aged or older; pathways for fresh graduates from our ITEs, Polytechnics, Universities and other educational institutions; pathways for self-employed persons (SEPs) who want to remain SEPs or to move into regular employment. We will need tight coordination to create multiple pathways for a whole range of workers. But where should these pathways lead? Ideally, they should lead to a job. But in today’s context, it may not be an immediate job or even a permanent one at the start. It should, however, be a pathway that allows for people to use their time meaningfully, learn something useful and gain valuable experience. As much as possible, it should be a path to a better, brighter future. We have a real stake in doing this well. Not only do we want to enable every Singaporean to remain meaningfully occupied, we want to help each citizen to preserve his or her human capital and to build on it. Collectively for Singapore, this means not allowing the downturn to erode our human capital but, instead, to enhance it so that we can emerge stronger as one. This is the challenge we should set for ourselves. I need not tell Members how enormous this challenge is. The Government, as a whole, has declared our collective ambition – to generate close to 100,000 opportunities in jobs, traineeships or attachments and skills training through the SGUnited Jobs and Skills package. To give Members a sense of scale, Workforce Singapore (WSG) and its partners like NTUC's e2i and MAS placed an average of 29,000 locals into jobs every year in the last three years – 29,000 as opposed to the 100,000 that we are aiming for between now and the end of the year.[+10 sentences] Each of these 29,000, on average, already involves painstaking work. In many cases, there are job and skills mismatches. In others, there are mismatches of wage expectations. In today’s context, we must add another significant mismatch and it has to do with timing. Many jobseekers will be hungry for work and school leavers eager to start their careers. But employers will be hesitant and not ready to hire. After all, they may not themselves have enough visibility about the business. As a result, there will likely be many more jobseekers than jobs available. We must expect many roadblocks on previously well-established pathways to jobs. As a millennial might put it, it is an epic challenge to create new pathways for 100,000 people under such circumstances. Recognising the enormity of the task, Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam has described the National Jobs Council (NJC) as a “national team” to rally and mobilise every possible partner to build up a pipeline of such opportunities, catering to multiple sectors and every skill level.[+2 sentences] The target of close to 100,000 opportunities is not insurmountable but the NJC will have to work very, very hard to create the pathways, involving multiple partners. Notwithstanding the challenges, our top-most priority is still to promote jobs and making sure that jobseekers have access to them. The SGUnited Jobs initiative will be scaled up to provide more than 40,000 jobs in 2020.[+8 sentences] Many of the permanent positions in the public sector are a result of hiring plans being brought forward. These include science and engineering roles in agencies like HTX and positions in early childhood education, healthcare and long-term care. We will also ramp up capacity of career conversion programmes to help jobseekers reskill for new roles in the private sector, such as for Auxiliary Police Officers in the security sector. As businesses transform, workers may become redundant. We will work with employers to prepare them for redeployment rather than unemployment. In this climate, I think we should be realistic but also opportunistic – in a good way. Employers may hold back job offers but we can encourage them to offer traineeship or attachment pathways, through meaningful funding support. These traineeships may not provide the same security as a job, but they will provide valuable industry-relevant experience and better position a jobseeker when the economy recovers. For a start, we aim to open up about 25,000 traineeship pathways for recent graduates and mid-career jobseekers. We are heartened that more than 1,000 organisations, including many SMEs, have stepped forward to offer to host more than 11,000 traineeships.[+10 sentences] One example is familiar to us – Carousell, a homegrown tech scale-up – no longer a start-up but a scale-up. Carousell created a new trainee position for graduates to learn how the company strategises to grow its markets and build customer loyalty. The experience of working in a start-up culture or scale-up culture is certainly useful. We are also very keen to open up attachment pathways for mid-career jobseekers. At the first NJC meeting yesterday, there was intense discussion about the potential for such experienced mid-career persons to help businesses transform, particularly SMEs. This will supplement the resources of hard-pressed SMEs to build up their capabilities. More pathways of this type could be win-win. Another important pathway could be through the Continuing Education and Training (CET) Centres and Institutes of Higher Learning. While looking to land a job or attachment pathway, it is useful to acquire new skills through a structured programme. Such programmes can have a combination of classroom training and company involvement, such as industrial project work. The SGUnited Skills programme aims to create up to 30,000 of such pathways.[+13 sentences] To help jobseekers find the most suitable pathway, we will expand our ground presence. We now have five career centres island-wide and partnerships with NTUC’s e2i, the Social Service Offices, CDCs, self-help groups, such as MENDAKI. To be closer to jobseekers, we aim to build up a presence in all HDB towns through satellite career centres. But in any case, not every jobseeker needs to come through WSG's physical door. This is why we have significantly built up our digital presence and range of digital services on MyCareersFuture.sg. Even before the circuit breaker, we rolled out a series of thematic Virtual Career Fairs (VCFs) in sectors, such as ICT, Logistics & Transport, and Healthcare and Community Care. We will bring this to the SGUnited Traineeships as well. Let me put this plainly. We will spare no effort to open up new pathways for jobseekers and guide them appropriately – as big a push as we can muster. But for matches to happen, I urge jobseekers to keep an open mind – stay open to pathways that you would not have considered previously. Give the employers a chance and give yourself a chance. To extend our reach to more workers and employers, we have been working closely with our tripartite partners, with encouraging results. When air travel came to a standstill due to COVID-19, NTUC played an instrumental role in kick-starting job redesign projects. Close to 4,000 workers in the Air Transport sector will be reskilled for new roles, ready when our airhub opens in a much bigger way.[+1 sentence] NTUC's e2i has been working through the NTUC Job Security Council to push out short-term and long-term job opportunities for retrenched workers. The Singapore Business Federation signed up to be our main programme partner for the SGUnited Traineeships Programme.[+14 sentences] We will reach out and partner more trade associations and chambers to open up pathways in their respective sectors. We value the networks that they have and we believe that by working closely with them, we will be able to reach more businesses and enable more pathways to open up for jobseekers. I want to also add that these partnerships can include SEP associations like those for sports coaches and media freelancers. We welcome all partners. Mr Speaker, I said at the start that we should gear up for a storm. This may sound frightening and, indeed, we should not underestimate how rough the weather might become. But we are not going in without some cover. In fact, I think there are at least three reasons to be hopeful. First, for well over a decade, we have invested heavily in our CET infrastructure and embarked on the SkillsFuture movement since 2015. We now have a very vibrant CET ecosystem that provides quality training to working adults, which we will continue to strengthen under the Next Bound of SkillsFuture. When I meet with my international counterparts, this very well-developed CET eco-system and the SkillsFuture movement are a great source of envy for them. Second, even with low visibility, we are not navigating without compasses and searchlights. For several years now, we have developed Industry Transformation Maps and carefully positioned each sector for future growth. This is the work of the Future Economy Council, which Deputy Prime Minister Heng chairs, and it has been investing a tremendous amount of time and effort to ensure that the roadmap to the future is well outlined at the very least and we know what we need to do. In Financial Services, for example, we know the new skills needed within the next three years for practically every job role there is – that level of detail – every job role.[+1 sentence] That makes for much more effective curation of training and attachment pathways. Third, and perhaps most important of all, Singapore's unique brand of tripartism means that even in stormy waters, we can row as one, in unison towards the same destination.[+2 sentences] In Chinese, we would say: "风雨同舟, 向前推进". Few other countries have this extraordinary advantage. Working together, we can clear roadblocks, widen existing pathways and open up new pathways where none existed.[+4 sentences] A big push for these pathways will inspire hope and confidence in our people and keep us moving forward. Mr Deputy Speaker, I am not a particularly big fan of motivational quotes but this one by a certain Vivian Greene struck a chord. She says poetically, "Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass. It's about learning how to dance in the rain". COVID-19 is a powerful virus that has unleashed a storm worldwide. But for Singapore, it is igniting something quite remarkable – our unity, resilience, solidarity and fortitude.[+2 sentences] And along the way, if we also learn to dance in the rain, why not? Mr Deputy Speaker, I support the Budget.
Mr Deputy Speaker4 words
[+1 sentence]Ms Tin Pei Ling.
Ms Tin Pei Ling (MacPherson)2883 words
[+14 sentences]Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, this is my third speech on the Budget in this House this year. Today, I will focus on three points. First, on the Budgets being a responsive one and finetuning for maximum impact. Second, our fiscal sustainability, reserves for next generation and shared responsibility in crisis. And third, that this is a good time now to transform. On the first point, responsive Budgets, finetuning for maximum impact. We are now midway through the year 2020. This pandemic has wreaked havoc in many ways around the world. Over 200 countries affected, more than six million infected and close to 400,000 deaths, so far. Economists described this as equivalent to the Great Depression in the 1930s. Even some of my older residents told me that they had not experienced such hardship in decades. Therefore, I am grateful that our Government introduced four budgets to help our people cope with the hardship. Each successive Budget responded to the latest development and the latest emerging need. No other country has done so. New schemes, such as the TRF, COVID-19 Support Grant and Solidarity payments were administered in record short time.[+7 sentences] This is untypical of governments. But it is clear that our Government wants to put cash into people's hands as soon as possible to reduce the pain. Still, we see and feel the pain. Residents write to me to say how the rolling living and business expenses are "killing" them figuratively and mentally. They know that the pandemic is a worldwide problem and appreciate the cash assistance. But it is not enough. A self-employed home cleaner David told me that he could not work for three months and has to pay bills and rental. The monthly rental of the van he uses to transport tools alone already cost him $1,700, exceeding the cash assistance he could receive in April or May.[+15 sentences] Of course, he has to give up the van at this moment. He is now desperately looking forward to resuming his work and start earning again. During the distribution of Government-issued masks, I met an 80-year-old uncle who is still raising his family. He was crying as he told me about his job loss and his fears of being unable to see his son through school. To see a man cry is hard, to see an elderly man cry is just heartbreaking. This crisis is indeed unprecedented. Many households that used to get by or used to do well are now under water. When the help schemes were announced, many rejoiced. But concerns also emerged as they tried to apply for it. For example, loan deferment. Businesses appreciate the reprieve that this can offer. But a resident Andy told me that when he and his peers realised they still have to pay significant interest during the deferment period, they all backed out. In Andy's case, the deferment interest is more than the cash assistance he could get and there is no certainty whether his business will have a full recovery before the bank starts asking him to pay again. This seems to defeat the purpose of having this facility, even for viable businesses. Such a situation will save companies with normally healthy cashflow, but perhaps not those that may have been or are planning to invest in strategic capabilities. Despite this, I can understand that there are implications on banks and therefore the entire system. But could we help these businesses by offering a 0.1% low interest to existing business loans in this deferment period, similar to new ESG loans?[+13 sentences] Second, on rental. There were still fears that the initial reliefs are not enough and some subtenants fear that waivers will not be passed down to them or that landlords will take a long time to do so. But this will be addressed in the amendments to the Temporary Measures Act later, so this is great news! Third, SafeEntry. The reasons for contact tracing and using technology to do so are understandable. But this is causing some difficulty for seniors to access certain essential services, because manual registration at present is only a guideline. For example, my resident Yui Mun said that her mother and other elderly cannot enter the private clinics they usually go to, because they do not have smartphones with data plan to scan and register via SafeEntry. The normal argument would have been to take the business elsewhere, but in this case, it is disruptive to switch as elderly usually have longstanding relationships with their GPs. Might there be ways to compel such operators to accommodate? Therefore, I urge the Government to continue finetuning the measures implemented, as we learn from experience and start stabilising. The second point is really about fiscal sustainability, having reserves for next generation and sharing the responsibility in a crisis. As we battle this crisis, I am again thankful that our past and present leaders have been judicious in managing our reserves, painstakingly saving up for "storms" like this. Because of this, we can now confidently dip in to help Singaporeans – for the third time. Within a short span of five months, our Government is pumping in S$93 billion just to combat the pandemic.[+5 sentences] This amount already exceeds the total full year public expenditure in 2019. Looking around the world, only Japan and Singapore are able to pump in hefty stimulus packages. Comparatively, others in our region may find it difficult to implement similar support packages. Some of our neighbours do not have deep reserves, and while they could reach loans with ultra-low interest rates, this could threaten their fiscal sustainability. To give a sense of how much our Government is putting in to help Singaporeans and businesses, I did a back-of-envelope estimation of economic relief per capita – migrant not included – among developed countries. If we look at the relief per citizen or PR, Singapore tops the chart at S$23,225 per capita.[+1 sentence] Japan is next at S$21,355 per capita. The United States – world superpower, world largest economy and worst hit by the pandemic – is third at S$12,765 per capita.[+8 sentences] These are calculated based on publicly available figures. These figures are coarse estimations taking into account direct and indirect support. But it gives us a very good sense of our Government's determination in supporting our people and seeing Singapore through this crisis. Alas, this pandemic is expected to last for many more months and the world economy remains uncertain. Some experts think that the worst has yet to come. Therefore, I wonder how many more packages we will need and how much more might we have to dip into our reserves for. Lest I get misunderstood, let me state that I believe it is necessary for us to draw on our reserves to help Singapore and Singaporeans get through this storm. But I am concerned if we have enough to leave behind for our future generations. Again, I want to ask how do we moderate ourselves and is there a red line beyond which we shall not draw further from our reserves?[+31 sentences] How can we sustain help and not deplete this pot of gold for our children and theirs? Our Pioneers took more than 50 years to save up this pot of gold because they want to protect their children and future generations. Similarly, we have a duty to use this pot of gold wisely and make sure that we put back what we took once we can, so that our children and their children will continue to have this asset to fall back on when they face the crisis of their generation. Will the Government assure us that it will do so? How does it plan to do so? To this end, I therefore think that it is important that we all shoulder the responsibility of overcoming this crisis together. The Government will draw from our treasury and reserves to provide the financial stimulus and put in place schemes and legislation to ensure fair distribution of help and boost sectors that are flailing. Businesses will have to do its best to survive and keep jobs for the workers; and workers need to be willing to accept concessions so that everyone can stay above water. Landlords need to learn to share because they have a symbiotic relationship with tenants. If the tenants fail, they may not find another and all will suffer. At the society level, the more abled need to be willing to take less and give more. The less abled need to be willing to try their best to adjust, to change track, to upskill and to progress. Everyone is affected. It would be quite difficult for the Government alone to eradicate all the pain for everyone, although it is trying. If we can all be more accommodating, a bit more "give-and-take" and try a bit harder, we will have a good chance of succeeding together. By sharing more is perhaps the only way to attain a more sustainable future. And onto my third point, that this is a good time now to transform. On this note, as we look ahead, we can expect the world to change post COVID-19. It is a tough time now, but since we are already in this predicament, there is also no better time to transform for the future. McKinsey, in a recent article, suggested that there will be seven key changes. I am going to paraphrase them here. First, "distance is back" with technology enabling communications, work and trade being done without physical proximity. Second, in strategising, businesses need to be able to absorb shock, on top of just being efficient. Third, rise of the contact-free economy, including digital commerce, telemedicine and automation. Fourth, more Government intervention to ensure fairer distribution of precious resources. Fifth, more scrutiny for businesses as they will increasingly be expected by the public to contribute more socially for the public good. Sixth, industry structures, consumer behaviours, market positions and sector attractiveness will change. And seventh, everyone is compelled to innovate to connect and solve problems in new ways. The pandemic displaced many individuals and businesses. In some instances, they may not find a way back to their old jobs. But there are new opportunities on the horizon. Despite our circumstances, Singapore secured about S$13 billion in investment commitments in the first half of this year for the "next few years". These investments, in sectors including electronics and infocomm, will generate "a few thousand jobs" for workers in Singapore in the coming years.[+8 sentences] But all these jobs will demand a new set of skills in the innovation and technology area. Therefore, Singaporeans need to be prepared to train for it. Human capital and the quality of our talent pool will be a crucial differentiating factor for Singapore. In a recent encounter, a very wise elder and prominent business leader asked me about what I thought about the fourth industrial revolution. I was a bit surprised as I am a junior but I suppose he just wanted to know how a younger person like me think about this issue. So, I shared that the digital future is inevitable and we all know why it is important. I trust the Government to get the infrastructure, the big pieces right and ready. But the quality of our people will decide whether Singapore continues to have a voice on the world stage. Our people have to be ready fast and my own estimate of our window of opportunity would be two to three years or maybe even faster.[+7 sentences] If we do not have enough people with the right skills to fill these new jobs, investments can go away and we will all be for the poorer. As countries around us step up, our talent pool must be ready earlier than them so that we can anchor these opportunities here in Singapore. Ultimately, it is the quality of our people that will determine if we can lead in this innovation race. Hence, I am heartened that this fourth Budget not only addresses immediate needs, but also locked its vision on the future. I welcome the digital resilience bonus. I hope this will be the final push to reach the tipping point for our SMEs to transform. If this proves to be successful, I hope the bonus can be applied to other sectors in time to come as well. I will describe this as "涅槃重生，破茧成蝶" – to breakthrough and rise from the ashes. I also welcome the creation of SG Digital Office and 1,000 digital ambassadors.[+4 sentences] I spoke about avoiding a new social divide inadvertently caused by our push for digitalisation in past years' debates. On the ground, I have also been working with our grassroots to champion digital readiness for our seniors and low-income families. I hope we can press on and scale up. From observations, seniors who are digital converts are well placed to help other seniors. If we can leverage them more actively and allow them to earn an extra allowance, I believe we will see better results. And since we are investing in digital capabilities, might the Government consider offering a "digital conversion bonus" for our seniors in the very near future?[+12 sentences] Similar in spirit to the digital resilience bonus, perhaps a digital wallet with e-cash vouchers would incentivise more seniors to give digital solutions a chance. And in the spirit of sharing responsibilities, local grassroots could explore strategic partnerships to raise funds and issue these vouchers. It is doing the same thing but in a different way. (In Mandarin): : COVID-19 is a major event that has changed the whole world. Some experts are of the view that this pandemic has caused more harm than the Great Depression in the 1930s. Some residents in my constituency remarked that this was the most serious crisis they have seen in the past decades. In this crisis, no one can be spared. Everyone is facing a certain amount of challenges and sufferings. Too many uncertainties can be confusing. Many of my residents came to me for help. It is heart breaking to see that they are full of anxieties and are at a loss. As the pandemic evolves and demand changes, the Government has introduced 4 Budgets to help Singaporeans and businesses. Based on rough calculations, the Government has provided an average of $23,225 per person to cope with COVID-19, much higher than many other developed countries. This demonstrated the Government's determination to help our people. It is the fiscal prudence by our past and present government that has enabled us to draw such a big sum of money from the past reserves to deal with this crisis.[+8 sentences] We must thank our forefathers for their hard work. The Government has been flexible, and acted boldly and decisively to introduce a series of measures to revive the economy and assist the people. This is much appreciated by the people and I agree with them. However, the pandemic is still raging. The fight against COVID-19 seems to be a prolonged battle. I cannot help worrying whether our reserves, built up painstakingly over the years, will be depleted. If our future generations were to face such situation, what are they going to rely upon? I would like to ask the Government once again: do we have some kind of mechanism to define how we should effectively make use of our reserves and how much we can use? Will the Government promise to return the money to the reserves when the economy gets better and how is the Government going to fulfil this promise?[+20 sentences] Take a step back. In times of crisis, everyone could and should help to shoulder responsibilities, working in solidarity to overcome the difficulties. The Government is setting aside a huge amount of money to revitalise the economy and help the people. Employers should do their best to keep the business going and retain their workers; Workers should cooperate with the company to make necessary adjustments. Landlords should be compassionate to the tenants and give them some breathing space. There will be many days ahead as long as we manage to survive this outbreak. In the community, the abled can make more sacrifices, and the beneficiaries should solider on with fortitude. By doing this, we will be able to achieve sustainability in the future. This is a difficult time. I keep thinking of this poem "Grass" which says that "Grass in the wild are not thoroughly burned off; they will grow again in the spring". I often recite this poem to my two sons. I hope they can develop in them the same tenacious spirit as the wild grass. I would like to borrow a phrase from Venerable Master Xing Yue. He once said, "The tiny grass does not succumb to adversities. It does not feel inferior just because it is tiny. This is the spirit of a tiny grass." A sparkle can ignite a whole prairie; small streams can converge into rivers and oceans; a tiny seed can grow into a big tree, a small tiny screw can affect the performance of the entire machine. We may feel that we are insignificant, but when united we can be very powerful. Perhaps, this is what the Fortitude Budget seeks to achieve. (In English): I support the Budget.
Government's Plans in our Continued Fight against COVID-19 Pandemic›Ministerial Statements7 turns · 6,661w
· 35 highlighted
ministerial-statement-1404
Mr Deputy Speaker2 words
[+1 sentence]Minister Iswaran.
The Minister for Communications and Information and Information (Mr S Iswaran)2053 words
[+5 sentences]Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. In the course of today's debate, several Members have spoken on the work of my Ministry, and our strategies to build a digital economy, and a digitally inclusive society which is also a key thrust in Deputy Prime Minister's Fortitude Budget. I would like to thank Mr Liang Eng Hwa, Ms Sylvia Lim, Ms Jessica Tan, Mr Douglas Foo, Mr Patrick Tay, Mr Melvin Yong, Mdm Lee Bee Wah, Mr Christopher de Souza, Mr Muhd Faisal Manap and Ms Tin Pei Ling for their thoughtful comments and valuable ideas on this important national effort. COVID-19 poses an unprecedented challenge – to our health, our society and our economy. It has turned the world upside down, and we have seen competing narratives on how different societies, cultures and political systems have dealt, for better or worse, with the challenges posed by the virus. Now, as we emerge from the various measures to curb the spread of the virus, we will have to face the stark reality of its economic impact. So far, we been somewhat cushioned by the major fiscal measures announced by the Government – amounting to nearly $100 billion and 20% of our GDP.[+3 sentences] As Deputy Prime Minister Heng has said in his Budget speech, the Government has the responsibility to make the best use of our resources, to keep people safe, save jobs, transform businesses and, most of all, emerge stronger. But let us be clear. The global economic outlook is bleak and Singapore will not be spared. Based on the latest data, MTI expects our economy to contract by 4% to 7% this year, and there remain significant downside risks.[+19 sentences] We have tough challenges ahead. But they are not insurmountable. And we are taking decisive steps to deal with them. In this uncertain environment, the overriding economic imperative is to create opportunities and jobs for our people. That is the concern of Singaporeans. That is the focus of the Fortitude Budget. And that is the mission of the National Jobs Council established by Deputy Prime Minister Heng and chaired by Senior Minister Tharman. We are doubling down in our effort to identify jobs across the economy – be they permanent jobs, temporary jobs, part-time jobs, or traineeships. We will spare no effort to prepare and place our people in these roles – be they fresh graduates, from Universities, Polytechnics and ITEs, or mature workers in our economy. And, we will work closely with the Labour Movement and employers in this difficult but critical effort. One sector that holds promise is ICT, because COVID-19 has brought home the importance of digitalisation to our economy and digital inclusion to our society. Whether for individuals or families, businesses or industries, it is patently clear that digitalisation is no longer an optional extra. It is a critical necessity, if we are to survive this crisis and emerge stronger in a post COVID world. We will therefore seize this moment to make a decisive push towards a digital future, with three key thrusts: digital opportunities for workers; digital inclusion for all; and a concerted push for a digital future. In this year's COS debate, I noted that the promise of digitalisation is tempered by the uncertainty of change. Change and disruption have descended upon us now in dramatic fashion in the guise of COVID-19. The silver lining is that this crisis has crystallised the need and opportunity for digitalisation. Consequently, the ICT sector remains one of the bright spots in our economy amidst the economic uncertainty. Digital and tech roles are in demand, within the ICT sector, but also across the rest of the economy as all sectors seek digital solutions. In the first quarter of this year, the ICT sector expanded by 3.5% with 1,100 new jobs.[+6 sentences] But we have to keep it real. Even in the ICT sector, jobs will be harder to come by now compared to pre-COVID times. In the current economic climate, ICT enterprises, like others, will be more restrained in their hiring decisions. That is why we are stepping up our partnership with the private sector. The TechSkills Accelerator initiative or TeSA will be enhanced in two important ways to help Singaporeans seize job opportunities in the ICT sector. First, we will scale up the Company-Led Training programme. In other words, we will partner leading tech and non-tech companies to place and train 3,000 Singaporeans in good tech jobs over the next two to three years – in functions like digital marketing, software engineering, cybersecurity and data analytics.[+11 sentences] Secondly, the TeSA Mid-Career Advance programme will run in parallel and create an additional 2,500 place and train opportunities for mid-career professionals aged 40 and above. Our goal is to help fresh graduates and mid-career professionals alike to secure these jobs, advance their skills and start a fulfilling career in one of the more promising sectors in our economy today. We adopt a similar broad-based approach to help enterprises at different stages in their digital journey. The SMEs Go Digital programme has Start Digital for new SMEs and Grow Digital for those expanding overseas using e-commerce platforms. We are augmenting this with sector-level digital solutions for F&B and Retail – two sectors that have many enterprises, that collectively employ many workers, and that have been significantly affected by COVID-19. We will introduce the Digital Resilience Bonus to encourage these businesses to adopt digital solutions like online ordering, e-invoicing, inventory management and e-payments to operate in the post COVID new normal. IMDA will give more details but let me use the example of Foreword Coffee Roasters, which serves specialty coffee and hires workers with special needs, to illustrate how this will help our F&B businesses. Foreword Coffee uses the baseline PayNow Corporate and PEPPOL e-invoicing accounts for transactions. The company also adopted a solution to create its online shopfront. Its new website was launched at the start of the circuit breaker and orders increased tenfold within one month. This digital initiative will allow them to receive a payout of $2,500 under the Digital Resilience Bonus. To advance its digitalisation journey, Foreword Coffee’s owner Mr Lim Wei Jie adopted a digital ordering solution and he also plans to deploy HR, payroll and accounting solutions in the coming months. That will entitle the company to an additional $2,500 under the Digital Resilience Bonus Scheme. Businesses that already have basic digital capabilities will receive an additional $5,000 should they decide to adopt advanced digital solutions like data mining and data analytics.[+7 sentences] I would like to assure Ms Tin Pei Ling in particular that we will be extending the Digital Resilience Bonus to F&B and retail enterprises in the first instance, but based on our experience, we will then ssess how we can expand this to other sectors subsequently and this is a discussion that we will continue to have with MOF. But let me now move to digital inclusion. Digitalisation is not an end in itself; it is a means to better lives and livelihoods. That is why digital inclusion has always been at the heart of the Government’s digitalisation effort. Our digital push must reach all segments of our economy and society, like our hawkers and senior citizens, so that they too can benefit and participate. Hawkers Go Digital will boost e-payment adoption among stallholders from hawker centres, wet markets, coffee shops and industrial canteens. Apart from the obvious public health benefits, this initiative is also a good launch point for stallholders’ digital transformation journeys. In this multi-agency effort by IMDA, Enterprise Singapore, NEA, JTC and HDB, we will reach out to and help over 18,000 stallholders adopt e-payment solutions by the middle of next year. Hawkers who sign up for the unified e-payment solution and fulfil the minimum transaction requirements will receive a bonus of up to $300 per month over five months.[+28 sentences] Among our seniors, it is gratifying to note that digital adoption has been increasing, with smartphone usage more than doubling over the past five years. But we can and want to do more. Digital literacy will enable our seniors to lead more engaged, informed and fulfilling lives. For seniors who are employed, digital skills will enhance their skills and productivity. We will therefore strengthen digital literacy and access among our seniors with the Seniors Go Digital Programme. The programme will help all our seniors build digital capabilities through virtual classes, one-on-one coaching at community places, once the Circuit Breaker measures allow for them, and that includes in libraries and community centres, small group learning with their friends and other hands-on learning opportunities. IMDA is also working with our telcos to offer better mobile data plans for our seniors. We will also provide financial assistance to seniors who cannot afford devices and data plans. These were important points raised by several Members. I understand the point made by Ms Sylvia Lim about keeping low cost non-digital options open for seniors and others who might need it. Indeed, that is the experience we have had and the effort we have made. For example, in the SafeEntry app, you can use your phone but you can also use the physical Identity Card (IC). In general, the idea is to encourage the adoption of digital solutions but to keep open the option of using non-digital solutions because we know that there will be some who still prefer them or are uncomfortable with the digital part. The same applies for cybersecurity; it is something that we will continue to emphasise in our training programmes with seniors and how we can instil greater cybersecurity awareness amongst them. These new initiatives will complement our current digital inclusion programmes such as NEU PC Plus and Home Access to ensure digital access and connectivity for low-income households, including those with school-going children, and persons with disabilities. We have and will continue to enhance these programmes to meet the changing needs arising from COVID-19 and the Circuit Breaker measures. Digitalisation and digital inclusion are the twin engines that will take us to our digital future. COVID-19 has catalysed a heightened interest and need among individuals, families, workers and enterprises to be equipped with digital access and to acquire the requisite skills. It has given us the impetus to invest in a decisive, all-out push towards a digital future. A few days back, I announced the formation of the SG Digital Office, under IMDA, to drive a national movement for digital transformation in our economy and our communities. We will mobilise 1,000 Digital Ambassadors for this effort, to reach 18,000 hawkers and 100,000 seniors, so that they can all Go Digital. This effort will mark a quantum shift in our digitalisation effort in the community and greatly benefit the lives and livelihoods of our people. Mr Deputy Speaker, I have outlined in some detail our initiatives to create jobs and opportunities in this challenging economic environment, and to make a decisive push towards digitalisation in our economy and digital inclusion in our society. The SG Digital Office, our Digital Ambassadors who will be embedded in the community, TeSA, the Digital Resilience Bonus, the Hawkers-go-Digital and Seniors-go-Digital programmes – all of these and many others are a measure of the scale and scope of our ambition for this national digitalisation movement and the resources we are committing to it. However, to succeed in this effort, we need the "X" factor. And that "X" factor is our people, our mindset, and our willingness to learn and adapt to the "new normal", as some have described it. It means workers who are prepared to pick up new skills and adjust to new jobs and circumstances, no matter what their background; it means seniors showing us the way that age is not a barrier to learning and making the digital transition; and it means hawkers who have the gumption to "try lah", as one hawker representative vividly put it to me, because of the conviction that this is a good thing. I know that some will be anxious about these changes and what it means for them. To them I say, on behalf of the Government, we will leave no one behind and will walk this digital journey with you. So, let us come together, seize this opportunity fully and secure a bright digital future for each and every Singaporean.
Mr Deputy Speaker3 words
[+1 sentence]Miss Cheryl Chan.
Miss Cheryl Chan Wei Ling (Fengshan)1992 words
[+10 sentences]Mr Deputy Speaker, today, there is still much uncertainty around COVID-19. Will there be a second wave locally or globally? What would the transmission rate be like after circuit breaker? How long would the downturn last? There are many questions that will still be left unanswered even if the entire nation is COVID-19 tested, assuming no mutation of the virus or until an effective vaccine against COVID-19 is found. However, what is certain at this point is we cannot afford to be in a standstill indefinitely. Reduced global trade has taken a toll on the global economy and businesses are struggling to stay afloat and retain their workers. The current situation is not just about economy, it greatly impacts lives. The central question is: how will we as a country recover from this pandemic and ensure we learn to put continuity in place if we ever face the next crisis. Budget 2020 is an unprecedented one in history both in magnitude and the support coverage across all segments in Singapore. In the Fortitude Budget, a further $33 billion is set aside to ensure livelihoods are broadly sustained and it seeks to provide a lifeline for businesses to resume in small steps.[+10 sentences] For many SMEs, sectors affected due to the nature of their trade and companies impacted by global restrictions, these grants are certainly welcome but they are still insufficient. At the same time, we also hear calls from concerned citizens to exercise prudence as they are worried the country’s reserves may be depleted before a full recovery is in sight. Personally, I am heartened that the Government has listened and continue to make adjustments to bridge and support the gaps in society through all subsequent Budgets from February. Having done these in a quick and calibrated manner, reaching out to the public, social sectors and the business groups, putting in place step measures as we continue our fight against COVID-19. I associate this to Our Singapore Conversation, which was first initiated in 2012. However, this time it had taken place in a much condensed timeframe of about four months. Are we done with the conversation? I do not think so. While many measures spelt out in the Budget serve its primary intent of rescuing situations in a downturn, I think it is pertinent for us to look at how to approach such resolutions through a whole-of-society involvement. Let me highlight a few areas to explain why it is inadequate for the Government or agencies alone to navigate these challenges. First, the trade classification on resumption of business after circuit breaker. It is understandable why the need for us to re-open in three phases but the rationale of why one trade is allowed to open in Phase One while another quite similar in nature is not allowed to do so had raised brows on how MTI decided the trade classification for business resumption.[+8 sentences] Take an example – after 2 June, the pet owners can bring their pets for grooming services but certain vet services are not allowed like the routine elective preventive care services or vaccines for their pets. It is not surprising some of these pet owners who are puzzled as to which is more important – the health condition or the looks of their pets. And while some companies are allowed to open in Phase One, their suppliers are placed in a different phase for re-opening or their sub-contractors could not receive approval to resume operations from Government agencies. An example of this is the construction, landscaping and renovation sector, in which many of our SMEs are affected. It is typical in these sectors for a single project to be fulfilled by a pool of suppliers and workers of varying skillsets from different companies. Main contractors outsource some parts of the project, have workers from different companies, staying in different dormitories to provide service at the same work site. This scenario, though typical in the past, have now become an insurmountable management task due to the new measures in place. Even if the companies understand and wish to comply with the new rules, some of the rules are impractical, or they would reduce productivity owing to its long roll-out period and further exacerbated by the inconsistency of the new measures that is detailed across the agencies. Citing one of the new measures on mandating workers to be sent for swab test every fortnight before they are allowed on the work site, cost being one concern, but the ability to have enough testing and rapid results made available would likely be the bottleneck in the months ahead. Based on current test rate, we only managed to test over 10% of the total foreign worker population mainly residing in the dormitories.[+27 sentences] With the added test requirement, how should the construction sector manage their schedule? Some of the works are also physically unviable to be done by a sole worker at the site under reasonable safe distance. How then can these companies work in compliance with all the new measures. While the manifestation of COVID-19 amongst the foreign workers is an unfortunate situation, the biggest challenge any business owner faced is a restart date that is not determined by the end of circuit breaker. Instead, it hinges upon whether their network of suppliers is allowed to provide them services, the ability to obtain approval for start work order from the different Government agencies and whether they have the financial means to survive without a definite start date. Most of these SMEs have on-going liabilities like stocks, worker levy, rental, utilities and general expenses. In short, taking a SME loan or having tax deferment do not help a company that cannot generate revenue in the short term or when the visibility to begin work is beyond their control. Second, mindset change is pivotal in this recovery process. We need positivity and adaptability to adjust to this changing landscape and imbue resilience to emerge stronger when the pandemic passes. With the right mindset to face and overcome this pandemic is the starting point for most of us. This includes how we sustain and apply current changes to a new normal in life, people’s willingness to learn and adapt constantly on their own free will and those in society who will step forward to help others with less resources. Over the past months, we have seen living examples of individuals and companies in Singapore who played their part actively in society. Some ingeniously came up with new ideas, roped in others within their sector or amongst their friends and made good use of the lull period to help others financially and in kind. This is the Singapore spirit we aspire to promote and uphold. In order to achieve this, the thought and act of it must largely come from ourselves. The Government can act as a catalyst, but we ourselves must be the change makers. Just take a look at the F&B sector. Before COVID-19, we would not imagine it possible for many hawkers and stallholders to be willing to sell their products and take orders online. In Singapore’s digitalisation push over the years, the agencies collaborated with the private sector to encourage more takers to come onboard. Though it gained traction, it was not progressing swiftly at the adoption rate we hope to achieve. But it took a crisis to absolutely move the needle. The sheer need to survive made it possible, as what Minister Iswaran has just said, from online wet marketing to incessant online food deliveries, it has become a much needed change in traditional business models and the merchants recognise this. They are willing to try for efficiency and for a larger share of the market. So, we must not let this opportunity slip and should do more henceforth. I am glad that Minister Iswaran has just mentioned the national push for this effort is no longer optional and the need for it to be inclusive. The Digital Ambassadors can bring more to this partnership for business owners and to help our seniors in the community navigate this digital giant. For those who are willing to support our hawker and wet market culture, this is the time to help the community. On this note of digitalisation, I would like to ask the Minister about the Safe Management Officers mandated training by BCA. There is ground feedback of insufficient training slots available until early July. Given the pervasiveness of technology and the ease of setting virtual meetings, is it not possible for several mass online training sessions to be conducted for workers even if they do not belong to the same company? Also, if there is a need for certifications, the workers who are trained can individually do the assessments online using their mobile phones and be certified via these platforms.[+23 sentences] This would be more efficient and enable more companies to harness their resources which are already hard strapped, given the need for workers to be cohorted or put on segregated teams. And lastly, collective wisdom of the society will bring us further in this marathon of nation building. As seen in this fight against COVID-19, organisations, institutions, trade associations and individuals have demonstrated that much of this knowledge exist within different groups. In preparation for business resumption, there are companies which are not classified for opening under Phase 1 but have detailed plans of how they have modified their business models to fit the new normal and can operate safely. Some even expressed their willingness to take the lead to begin operations earlier if allowed to, adjust quickly and share their experiences with fellow sector operators on how they can also embark on this change and be ready. As much as adjustments should be made to businesses, we need to recognise there are some service industries which inevitably require a human and not robots or online transactions to deliver the service or experience. Other industries like the automotive industry have trade nature in which huge capital commitment is involved and are dependent on the local regulatory system that significantly impacts its product sales and volume. To enable these businesses and industries to restart in the new normal, the Ministries must be prepared to solicit inputs, take onboard the industries' proposals and make specific adjustments instead of broad measures. In my view, there is no better time to put Our Singapore Conversation and the making of our future economy to the test than now by bringing people with direct experience and deep trade insights together – people from all walks of life – and partnering them as we promised. Likewise, the trade associations and merchant groups can now rise to the challenge and revamp their industries of which we hope the Industry Transformation Roadmaps would bring about. This will truly give a fresh breath of life to the industries at an accelerated pace – one which adapts to the new environment and concurrently creates new jobs, revamps job scopes, provides upskilling and new customer experiences that are sustainable. Sir, I am certain that as fellow Singaporeans, we all feel and understand where we are in this downturn. But in every crisis, there lies opportunities. There will also come a time when an upturn will occur. It is a matter of when. Today, we know deeply that we need to roll up our sleeves and work together through all these challenges unflinchingly with one another. Thus, my clarion call for a whole-of-society involvement. The five core aspirations that emerged from Our Singapore Conversations earlier are: purpose, opportunities, assurance, spirit and trust. I trust this Government does not shy away from making the right decisions and moves for our future generations. As Prime Minister Lee said on the COVID-19 situation, "If there is any country that can see this through, it is Singapore." Sir, I cannot agree more. We are all in it together and we will get there. With this, I support the Fortitude Budget.
Mr Deputy Speaker3 words
[+1 sentence]Mr Saktiandi Supaat.
Mr Saktiandi Supaat (Bishan-Toa Payoh)2604 words
[+1 sentence]Mr Deputy Speaker, these are unprecedented times, indeed, as we witness the rolling out of a fourth Budget in less than half a year to help save and create jobs and speed up the pace of recovery when the economy exits from the circuit breaker measures. Some economists and analysts highlight that the Fortitude Budget schemes will help to contain the job losses to around 100,000 to 150,000 or less – down from earlier estimates of about 150,000 to 200,000 – for the full year.[+9 sentences] So, thank you, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Heng and his team for their relentless hard work. COVID-19 continues to wreak havoc on the economy and on the lives of people around the world. Singapore, being highly dependent on the global economy, has not been spared from the brunt of it. But first and foremost, I am grateful that the practical policies, dedicated essential workers and our mostly sensible Singaporeans and people have shielded us from the worst. I will be sharing today on three issues covering support for workers and businesses, emerging stronger from this pandemic and some views on the use of Reserves. First, the coronavirus crisis has split the workforce into three groups. First, those who have lost jobs or at least some pay – we have seen that and some Members here have shared some of their experiences with some residents. Second, we have those who are deemed essential workers who must labour on through the crisis, often at great risk to their own health. And third, there are those who are virtual knowledge workers whose lives have hardly been affected. I am glad to see that more help and support have been made available for middle-aged Singaporeans through the 4,000 traineeships and enhanced hiring incentives. There is also the SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package that aims to create close to 100,000 jobs, traineeships and skills training opportunities.[+15 sentences] As the number of job losses has been projected to hit around 100,000 in 2020, this is a highly adequate effort. But wage reduction or downward income adjustment is a significant problem that we must not neglect. I know a family – a typical sandwiched middle income group, husband-and-wife who were laid off from the airline industry. They have two school-going children and elderly parents with chronic illnesses. They found jobs as social distancing ambassadors and are very thankful. But their household income has been drastically reduced and they worry about affording their parents' medical bills and the housing loan thereafter as well as possible far-reaching impacts of the COVID-19 on their children. They had to completely re-adapt to a new format of learning and then big sacrifices will have to be made as they make adjustments to their new income level. Such accounts are not uncommon among many of the sandwiched generation, who had been fairly comfortable managing their various commitments and liabilities until COVID-19 hit. In our pursuit to help workers and match jobs for affected workers, we may not be able to fully equalise the outcomes, but we can and we must strive to create equal opportunities and access to resources for all families and future generations – the children. I hope that further down the road, more healthcare and financial assistance for education cost assistance will be given to affected lower middle and middle income families with higher income thresholds and for those families with above 40-year-old breadwinners. Next, I want to talk in particular about income tax deferments. Businesses and employees pay income tax based on income and earnings in the previous fiscal year. Many middle and high-income earners as well as self-employed persons were doing relatively well last year. But this year, many will see their wages and earnings severely affected. Yet, they still have to pay income tax for Year of Assessment 2019. The tax filing deadline has been extended to 31 May 2020 but I hope that the Government can consider further deferring this timeline, considering that this is still a developing situation.[+12 sentences] I also hope the Government will soften the blow with tax credits or rebates. Tax authorities in other countries are reviewing policies to offer relief to affected taxpayers. Canada, for example, has extended tax payment deadline from 30 April to 1 September 2020. Thailand has extended their tax filing and payment deadline from 31 March to 30 June 2020. These will go a long way to help the sandwiched middle income households and probably a significant number of those aged 40 and above. Mr Deputy Speaker, in Malay, please. (In Malay): : The third point I want to raise is about empathy for small landlords. On help for businesses, I have received feedback from some residents who are small landlords affected by COVID-19, such as those who own shops that are rented out at lower rates, and in fact, it cannot even cover their mortgage repayment. They have voiced out their concerns about the over-protection of tenants. One of my residents highlighted that, while thus far the focus has been to push landlords to give rebates to their tenants, what happens to the landlords who are themselves in a tight predicament where the rent collected is only a pittance? Should these smaller landlords then be given some relief since the tenants are given two months' rent waiver? It is bad enough that the rent cannot cover the loan repayment. But it is a double blow to have to forgo a two-month rent. I hope the Government can continue to look at the individual circumstances of some of these small landlords, and offer them support through higher property tax rebates, or even through longer bank mortgage deferments.[+42 sentences] I was happy to hear that MOF, IRAS, ESG and MAS announced a package of measures on Wednesday (yesterday) to support these smaller landlords who may face cash flow constraints due to the relief given to tenants via the deferment of principal and interest repayment up to 31 Dec 2020. In addition, I would also like to touch on the best ways for us to adapt and emerge stronger. Balancing the efficiency and equity effects of technology has always been a perennial challenge for societies. This issue was highlighted in Minister Iswaran's speech earlier, which shows that the Government is looking at the challenges of technology. This is likely to get worse with this crisis, given the newfound urgency to push for greater digitalisation and automation. I am glad we are accelerating the timeline for Secondary School students from the previous projection for them to own digital learning devices in 2028. I look forward to hearing more details from Minister Ong Ye Kung, particularly on the updated timeline. Therefore, in spite of best efforts by the schools, community and social services, some students of low-income families find it challenging to do their home-based learning. Some had to share the devices with multiple siblings. Others received second-hand devices that were incompatible or could not support the software required to run the Home-Based Learning lessons smoothly. By the time we could get them the necessary assistance, they had already missed important lessons. These are just cracks on the surface. Moving deeper, we will find that some of these children are facing many troubling distractions at home, from domestic violence, to having to play the role of parents to their younger siblings. These problems existed pre-COVID-19, and are made worse when everyone is spending a lot more time together at home. Regardless, going digital is the future, and we must equip all our students with the skills and tools to navigate the digital landscape. We must spend more to build on our digital inclusion programmes, as mentioned by Minister Iswaran earlier. This would come on top of enhanced comprehensive efforts to address the challenges faced by students from families that have challenges. Hence, with social distancing measures, social services are stretching their already limited resources to cope with a rising number of cases. May I ask how is the Government working with the social services sector to ensure that they are equipped with the necessary resources to help their clients through this crisis? Social workers too can suffer from burnout in times of crisis. In our pursuit to narrow of the inequality gap, we cannot equalise the outcomes, but we can and we must strive to create equal opportunities and access to resources for all families. The objective of sustainable and inclusive growth must continue to be our goal beyond this Budget. (In English): Mr Deputy Speaker, in English, please. My last point in this section is about addressing economic hysteresis. Monetary stimulus has been limited due to several factors – already low rates and limited impact of weaker exchange rates on exports, lower demand for goods globally and the trend of de-globalisation. Over the next five to 10 years, if many countries carry out fiscal austerity at the same time, the reduction of incomes in each country will likely increase because not all countries can reduce the value of their foreign exchange rates while increasing net exports simultaneously. So, fiscal consolidation could add to the pain of those who are likely to be already impacted by the current demand and supply impact of COVID-19. On the one hand, being dependent on global supply chains running reliably means we will see prices of daily necessities going up. Some of our local businesses and manufacturers are facing labour uncertainty and shortage because their workers have gone back overseas or are in quarantine. On the other hand, Singaporeans are losing jobs or at risk of losing jobs. Sir, the pandemic has taught all of us an important thing – self-sufficiency is important, be it on supplies or labour. There is greater urgency than ever to ramp up self-sufficiency, especially on basic necessities like food, re-develop empty properties and land to do high-tech farming and encourage more Singaporeans to venture into this area so that we can localise the sector and be less reliant on foreigners. In the meantime, our people are gainfully re-employed so we can avoid or reduce hysteresis. That is, there is a permanent change in the workforce from the loss of job skills, making workers less employable even after a recession has ended. To be less reliant on a foreign workforce, we need to localise the workforce. So, we need to build the Singapore Core – as Member Mr Patrick Tay has mentioned – is very important and key. But first, we need to do very purposeful public education to get Singaporeans to change their mindsets and embrace the new norm. In recent years, community gardens and farmer's markets have gained substantial interest among the population. We need to encourage them to turn their interest into a career, by making this career one that is respectable and provides sustainable incomes. This applies to other areas of essential services. Mr Deputy Speaker, my last section is on the of reserves – prudent management of national reserves. The amount of fiscal support so far is indeed staggering. The Government set aside another S$33 billion in the fourth Budget this year, with a big focus on helping firms stay afloat and creating jobs. This brings the total fiscal support to $93 billion, about 20% of GDP, placing Singapore as among the top spenders in this global pandemic. Out of the $33 billion, $13 billion was set aside in the Contingencies Fund, which the Government can draw from in the case of unforeseen developments.[+1 sentence] So, it is a significant large amount. This is more than seven times, in terms of fiscal deficit, estimated in the first Unity Budget which was about $10.5 billion. Going forward, to ensure sufficient buffer, the Singapore Government is required to maintain a balanced Budget over each term of Government under the Constitution.[+2 sentences] Elections will likely take place soon and the "new" Government will have less fiscal room in the new term under current fiscal rules. So, if the crisis or its after-effects drags on into 2021 with no improvement in sight, or if other shocks hit us along the way, the fiscal constraint may be overly tight. The Government can keep on tapping and running down its fiscal reserves, of which $52 billion has already been drawn and counting but runs the risk of depleting its war chest.[+4 sentences] With these concerns in mind, I seek to put forth some suggestions. First, can a case be made that under such a crisis and national emergency, the Government can borrow and tap on the bond market to fund fiscal spending? Under the Government Securities Act, the Government cannot spend the money raised from the three existing domestic debt securities it issues. So, all borrowing proceeds from the issuance of debt are invested. The fiscal deficit in FY2021 will likely remain large, as any economic recovery will be very gradual.[+1 sentence] Singapore is rated AAA from all three international credit rating agencies and can tap on the bond market at record low interest rates at the moment. The 10-year SGS bond yield is currently trading at 0.8%.[+18 sentences] This may be a more optimal fiscal option than further running down fiscal reserves and liquidating assets when markets are down. The financing costs of debt is exceptionally low now, while the longer-term return on reserve assets will likely be much higher. Second, to expand our fiscal room and options, should the Government also consider allowing the relaxation of the constitutional requirement of a balanced Budget over the term of Government? I believe temporarily relaxing the requirement is favourable to depleting the reserves war chest, especially when there will be concerns that our current spending will now be to save jobs and businesses and use of reserves could lead to some level of tighter fiscal spending or "consolidation" the next few years or so. I am concerned if it will have the typical of short run effect of reducing incomes and raising unemployment, post COVID-19. In conclusion, Mr Deputy Speaker, research by the International Monetary Fund or IMF, indicates that the inequality gap widens after previous epidemics. COVID-19, I think, is no exception and we could potentially see it happen in Singapore. So, good pre-distribution policies must be enacted, ensuring extreme inequalities of income do not manifest themselves in the first place, with existing ones enhanced to ensure that extreme inequalities of income do not manifest themselves. So, this should be done through the relentless pursuit of equal access for all, to digital devices and digital skills, education and the push by what Minister Iswaran highlighted earlier is fabulous, and also access to education and healthcare. While necessities like food and financial assistance are necessary short-term emergency solutions, the long-term solution is to ensure all are equipped with skills and knowledge to generate an income is key. Healthcare is crucial for a decent quality of life, which enables one to live their best each day at any age. Meanwhile, I urge Singaporeans, regardless whether you are looking for a job, searching for one that is more aligned with your preferences, or even taking a break, to remain hopeful and see any opportunity that comes along as an avenue for self-exploration. Unemployment is distressing. We do not want many Singaporeans to be unemployed. And I think the efforts by the Government is tremendous in terms of the use of reserves and efforts in the four Budgets. But the current situation is distressing already for most of us. So, let us remember that it is not our circumstances, but what we do with them, that defines who we are. Sir, I support the Bill.
The Leader of the House (Ms Grace Fu Hai Yien)78 words
[+1 sentence]Mr Deputy Speaker, I beg to move that, "That the proceedings on the business set down on the Order Paper for today be exempted at this day's sitting from the provisions of Standing Order No 2."
Adjournment of Debate›Motions4 turns · 40w
· 0 highlighted
motion-1405
The Leader of the House (Ms Grace Fu Hai Yien)30 words
[+2 sentences]Mr Deputy Speaker, I beg to move, "The the debate be now adjourned." . (proc text)]
Mr Deputy Speaker5 words
[+1 sentence]Resumption of debate, what day?
Ms Grace Fu Hai Yien2 words
[+1 sentence]Tomorrow, Sir.
Mr Deputy Speaker3 words
[+1 sentence]So be it.
Adjournment›Motions1 turns · 25w
· 0 highlighted
motion-1406
Speaker not recorded25 words
[+2 sentences]. (proc text)] Adjourned accordingly at 7.35 pm.
Lifting Circuit Breaker Measures and Safeguards to Minimise Risk of Second Wave of COVID-19 Infections›Oral Answers to Questions14 turns · 3,037w
· 24 highlighted
oral-answer-2240
Mr Murali Pillai47 words
asked the Minister for Health what are the merits of lifting the circuit breaker measures from 1 June 2020 when the rate of infection amongst migrant workers remains in its hundreds and what steps will be taken to ensure that the infection is contained within their residences.
Mr Christopher de Souza32 words
asked the Minister for Health what lessons can be learnt from other jurisdictions on how to prevent, minimise or manage a second wave of COVID-19 infections as our economy is opened gradually.
Mr Chong Kee Hiong71 words
asked the Minister for Health in view of the low COVID-19 infection rates within our community presently, whether the Ministry will consider (i) allowing all workers and employees whose workplaces meet safe distancing criteria to return to their workstations (ii) re-opening all outdoor sports facilities such as stadiums and swimming pools; and (iii) re-opening all retail malls and food and beverage outlets as long as they can meet safe distancing measures.
Mr Lim Biow Chuan46 words
asked the Minister for Health whether the Ministry can consider allowing food and beverage outlets to operate for business on 2 June 2020 on the condition that they implement safe distancing among the diners and limit the number of diners per table to a reasonable number.
Mr Chong Kee Hiong45 words
[+1 sentence]asked the Minister for Health (a) of the countries or cities that have recently started relaxing their lockdown or stay at home measures, which ones are Singapore monitoring closely and modelling ourselves after; and (b) what are the lessons that we are learning from them.
The Minister for Health (Mr Gan Kim Yong)15 words
[+1 sentence]Mr Speaker, may I have your permission to take Question Nos 1 to 5, please.
Mr Speaker2 words
[+1 sentence]Yes, please.
Mr Gan Kim Yong1751 words
[+41 sentences]Thank you. Members will recall that we implemented the circuit breaker from 7 April, just two months ago. I am sure to some, it feels like two years ago. At that time, the number of COVID-19 cases was rising rapidly, with community cases averaging more than 30 a day, compared to just a handful in early March. This is coupled with an outbreak in the migrant workers' dormitories in early April. The circuit breaker imposed strict safe distancing measures, keeping people at home and only allowing basic essential services to continue. The number of community cases then began to decline and we extended the circuit breaker to 1 June in order to slow the infection further. We understand the impact that the measures have had on people’s lives and livelihoods. The economy practically came to a standstill. Community activities and social interactions ceased. No one went out except for essentials and work. Stress at home went up. Anxiety of seniors from physical isolation grew. We introduced measures to help Singaporeans cope with the circuit breaker but it was nonetheless a challenging two months. Overall, the circuit breaker was painful but necessary to slow the transmission in the community. Eventually, the daily number of community cases came down to low single digits towards the end of the circuit breaker. While the number of cases in the dormitories remained high, as pointed out by Mr Murali Pillai, it was partly due to proactive screening as part of our plan to clear the dormitories and prepare the workers to return to work. The situation in the dormitories had come under control. The time had come to begin our journey to resume activities, gradually and cautiously. Let me thank all Singaporeans for your patience and cooperation during the circuit breaker. However, we must be mindful that there are still infections in dormitories, and there are still undetected cases in the community as evidenced from the unlinked cases we discover from time to time. The global situation has also not fully stabilised. Some countries are seeing a second wave of infection, after reopening their economy and allowing social activities, as pointed out by Mr Christopher de Souza. Therefore, we must remain vigilant even as we exit the circuit breaker. Mr Chong Kee Hiong and Mr Christopher de Souza asked what we can learn from other countries. The Multi-Ministry Task Force has been monitoring the global situation and learning from the experiences of other jurisdictions, including their strategies for opening the economy and the community. For example, New Zealand had moved from Alert Level 4, which is their highest alert level, to Level 3 on 28 April, and subsequently transitioned to Level 2 about two weeks later. In making these moves, the authorities took into account factors such as the number of daily cases to ensure the situation is under control, healthcare capacity to ensure the system can cope with potential rise in new cases once the restrictions are relaxed and adequacy of safety measures to prevent transmission. While the situation differs for different jurisdictions, most have taken a cautious and risk-based approach in lifting restrictions. While workplaces have reopened, many authorities have retained measures to limit social interactions and restrict mixing of households in the early stages of opening, as these are known sources of transmission. Hong Kong, for example, limited social gatherings to eight persons and this has just been extended by two more weeks because of a new cluster. The United Kingdom and Germany limited social gatherings to two persons. Singapore has decided to maintain tight restrictions on social gatherings and household visits in Phase One, except for visits to parents and grandparents. We will allow gatherings of up to five persons in Phase Two initially and possibly relaxing this further if the situation remains under control. Many countries have also continued with basic preventive measures to reduce the risk of transmission in public places and workplaces and we must do the same. These include safe distancing measures and wearing of masks. Taiwan has made mask-wearing mandatory on public transport and we have done so too. New Zealand allows businesses to operate subject to implementation of measures like maintaining safe separation between patrons, keeping contact tracing registers and regularly disinfecting shared surfaces. Likewise, we require workplace premises that are permitted to open to put in place safe management measures. Digital solutions have been used in many countries as well, such as Australia, China, Israel and South Korea to support the gradual resumption of activities by enabling faster contact tracing and identification of clusters. Singapore has similarly introduced TraceTogether and SafeEntry. The last and most important lesson we have learnt from other countries is that we cannot be complacent as there is always the risk of a second wave of the virus. We have seen a steady decline in community cases, to four cases per day in the past week. But we should be mindful that this is probably the effect of the circuit breaker. We expect to see a rise in new community cases as the activity levels and person-to-person interactions increase after the circuit breaker. The Multi-Ministry Task Force has therefore taken a cautious and graduated approach to ensure safe opening in Phase One. We have decided to first resume economic activities that do not pose high risk of transmission, such as manufacturing and production operations, and work in office settings which have no or minimal interactions with customers. To keep workers safe, employers are required to put in place safe management measures such as enabling employees to telecommute where possible, avoiding face-to-face contact meetings and ensuring regular disinfection of common touch points and equipment at work premises.[+6 sentences] At work premises, workers should also avoid social interactions with colleagues, including meal times and break times. One of the areas that has a high risk of transmission is at the pantry area where most workers, while taking a break, are likely to let their guard down. At the same time, they remove their masks in order to enjoy a cup of coffee. So, that area is an area of high risk of transmission and we would like to remind everyone to exercise extra caution when you are at the pantry area and enjoying your break times. We have also worked with the dormitory operators to strengthen management practices, so that workers can live safely in the dormitories. These include tighter control of entry and exit, measures to limit inter-mixing of residents between blocks and levels, and staggered use of common facilities. Only those workers who have recovered or tested negative will be allowed to leave the dormitories.[+9 sentences] Even then, it would initially only be for the purpose of work, and with tight arrangements to transport them to and from work. We will also strengthen health surveillance by conducting regular testing of the residents and having them report their health conditions daily. Any residents that test positive and their close contacts will be isolated expeditiously. While the number of cases we detect among the migrant worker population may remain high for some time, some of them may be past infections and are not active cases. Schools, student care centres and pre-schools will also reopen progressively, with precautionary measures in place. However, social gatherings are still not allowed, and everyone should only leave home for essential activities and should continue wearing a mask when doing so. The Multi-Ministry Task Force will closely monitor Phase One. If the community transmission rates remain low and stable, and the dormitory situation continues to be under control, we can move to Phase Two. In Phase Two, a broader range of activities will resume and we expect most of the economy to be able to reopen. In response to Mr Chong Kee Hiong and Mr Lim Biow Chuan’s questions, retail, food and beverage dine-in services, as well as personal, health and wellness and home-based services will resume in Phase Two, subject to safe management measures being in place. Some may start earlier, others may need a bit more time to put in place the necessary safeguards. We will also allow small groups to meet up in Phase Two, including dining together, so long as they do not exceed five persons.[+9 sentences] We will also gradually re-open our borders for Singaporeans to conduct essential activities overseas. We will share more details later, nearer the date. However, to ensure that we do not undo the efforts of the circuit breaker period, we will continue to adopt a more cautious approach for higher risk activities, such as those involving large numbers of people interacting with one another in enclosed spaces for prolonged periods of time. These include religious services, cultural venues such as arts performances, cinemas, museums and libraries. Nightclubs and bars, karaoke outlets and other public entertainment establishments have similar risk factors. Overseas and local experience has indicated that these settings can seed large clusters of transmission. At least 255 cases were linked to a nightclub cluster in South Korea’s Itaewon entertainment district in early May. In Singapore, the Hero’s Bar cluster is another example. Organisers of these activities and business owners would need to convince relevant agencies that they have robust plans to ensure safety, before we let them open. If community transmissions remain low and well contained, we will continue to ease measures and even increase the pace until we reach a new COVID-safe normal in Phase Three, which we expect to remain in, until an effective vaccine or treatment is developed.[+6 sentences] We understand the anxiety that our people are facing and are acutely aware of the economic and social impact of prolonged closure of various sectors. All of us want to get back to normal as soon as possible, as quickly as possible, and to be able to see our friends and family members whom we have not seen for some time. However, if we resume too many activities too quickly, there is a real risk of a resurgence in the number of COVID-19 cases or clusters, which may require us to re-impose strict measures and slow down the pace of resumption. As restrictions are eased and more activities resume, it becomes even more critical that each of us exercise strong social responsibility to ensure that community transmission remains low. We need everyone to play their part: wear a mask when outside your home, maintain good personal hygiene and observe safe opening measures. Our combined efforts will help smoothen our journey of safe transition, and together, we can keep Singapore COVID-safe.
Mr Speaker2 words
[+1 sentence]Mr Pillai.
Mr Murali Pillai (Bukit Batok)89 words
[+4 sentences]Mr Speaker, Sir, I thank the hon Minister for Health for his detailed explanation. I have some supplementary questions. In relation to the proactive checking of the migrant workers that he mentioned, how long will it take to complete the checking of the migrant workers in the dormitories? And if the time it takes is long or goes over to the expected time of start of Phase Two or Phase Three, how would it impact the timelines for Phase Two or Phase Three of the reopening of the economy?
Mr Gan Kim Yong126 words
The proactive screening of migrant workers in the dormitories will take some time because we have to do it systematically and carefully. They may take up to August or even September.[+2 sentences] So, we want to do it systematically. But as we do so, when the workers have been cleared through this process, they will then be able to start work. Therefore, we want to make sure that those who are able start work are safe in the community. And therefore, that will allow us to continue the process of opening our economy and if we are safe and remain safe in Phase One, we will then be able to proceed to Phase Two, hopefully – if all goes well – before the end of the month.
Mr Speaker4 words
[+1 sentence]Mr Lim Biow Chuan.
Mr Lim Biow Chuan (Mountbatten)192 words
[+6 sentences]Sir, let me just say that I truly appreciate the efforts of MOH in maintaining the safety of our citizens. But I have spoken to various F&B outlets and basically, they are a bit worried and concern whether they are able to sustain the prolong closure of their businesses. So, some of them say, "If you continue like this, we won't be able to open even when you say go ahead and open", because by then they would be insolvent. I would like to ask the Minister whether MOH can consider bringing forward some of the relaxation of the measures, just like what we did previously when we segregated seats; you label seats that should be left empty to make sure that people would not congregate. I am not asking for nightclubs and bars to be opened because there is where the crowd is, but for some of the F&B outlets to be able to sit a few of the diners. Perhaps, we can look at the examples of Hong Kong, UK and New Zealand and see whether we are able to relax some of our measures, just like they have done.
Mr Gan Kim Yong615 words
[+11 sentences]I thank the Member. We discussed this at length within the Multi-Ministerial Task Force on how we can open safely. There are a lot of requests from different economic sectors and social sectors. We are fully mindful that any prolonged closure of the businesses will have a severe impact. And today, many of the F&B outlets are allowed to do takeaways so they have some ability to sustain a basic level of business activities. But I know that is not enough because they do want to bring back their customers. And there are also F&B outlets that cannot do delivery and so on; it is not economical for them to do so, and therefore they really do want to bring back customers. But we need to remember that opening F&B is not just allowing the workers to work. It also means that you must allow the customers to go there and eat and dine in. When you allow that, that means you must allow gatherings. And if you allow gathering in the F&B, you must also allow gatherings outside because then it does not make sense to only allow the gatherings in the F&B. Therefore, it will lead to a general opening of the society, of the community and allow social gatherings of certain number of people. This will be a consideration for Phase Two.[+4 sentences] Even in Phase Two, we need to look at what are the settings that we will allow earlier opening. As I have mentioned, some of the dining in will probably be earlier, with some safeguards in place. Some of the venues, for example, even religious organisations, we are in discussions with them, we want to engage them to discuss with them what are the safeguards that can be put in place so that they can also open early. But we also understand that because these involve a large number of people in a congregation, and therefore, additional safeguards have to be put in place. Similarly, for the F&B, we want to reach out and discuss with them what are the measures that we can put in place to ensure safe distancing and minimise mixing. But because it involves the public, consumers in the community, it has to be aligned with the opening of the community, which is generally in Phase Two.[+9 sentences] I know everybody wants to be in Phase One, but I need to explain that Phase One is a safe opening phase, which means that it is likely to be very restrictive and we are not prepared to open it up too early, too quickly because that, in fact, may result in more cases emerging and in turn, will require us to re-impose some of the measures and as a result, may differ and slowdown Phase Two. So, we prefer to keep Phase One safe so that we can open Phase Two safely, and hopefully faster, rather than to delay further because there are cases that will emerge. We have seen from other countries' experiences. If we open too quickly, the community is not ready, the businesses are not ready, then you will allow infections to seep in and you have to re-introduce some of the measures and as a result, in fact, you will in turn slow down the opening process. There is a Chinese saying, "欲速则不达". That means we want to make haste but less speed. It is better for us to take a more cautious approach. We fully understand the challenges faced by businesses. We have measures to put in place and we do all we can to make sure that we do not delay the opening so long as we are able to ensure safety.
Help for Employers, Employees and Those Looking for Jobs during COVID-19 Crisis›Oral Answers to Questions26 turns · 4,730w
· 30 highlighted
oral-answer-2241
Mr Seah Kian Peng31 words
[+1 sentence]asked the Minister for Manpower whether the Government will consider a temporary reduction of CPF contributions by both employee and employer till after the economy has recovered from the COVID-19 crisis.
Ms Anthea Ong117 words
asked the Minister for Manpower (a) what measures are undertaken to ensure fair dismissal practices by employers of work permit holders who have been tested positive for COVID-19 and after the circuit breaker period; (b) what is the course of action for work permit holders who (i) have lost their jobs (ii) have salaries unpaid or (iii) wish to return to their countries of origin; (c) how have measures to safeguard employment and payment of salaries been communicated to (i) work permit holders and (ii) their employers; and (d) whether the Ministry will issue an advisory on (i) employment (ii) salaries (iii) fair dismissal practices and (iv) contract termination for all work permit holders and their employers.
Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan44 words
asked the Minister for Manpower what is being done to better protect, assist and support workers, especially professionals, managers and executives, who face contract termination, disguised retrenchments and other job severance and managing excess manpower arrangements which affect their livelihood during this COVID-19 period.
Mr Saktiandi Supaat68 words
[+1 sentence]asked the Minister for Manpower (a) how common is the practice for employers and recruiters to ask job seekers to declare their last drawn salary or to share previous payslips; (b) whether any study has been made to ascertain how such practices affected employability and salary packages of job applicants; and (c) whether such a practice should be stopped so that applicants can move up the wage scale.
Mr Ang Hin Kee49 words
[+1 sentence]asked the Minister for Manpower (a) arising from the COVID-19 situation, what is the employment status of Singaporeans who are currently based overseas; and (b) what are the assistance support available for them if they have lost their jobs and would like to return to Singapore to seek employment
Mr Liang Eng Hwa59 words
asked the Minister for Manpower (a) what is the latest labour market situation and the extent of contraction in local and foreign employment in the last three months; (b) what is the number of job losses expected in the next one year when the Jobs Support Scheme expires; and (c) what are the initiatives to support new job creations.
Mr Liang Eng Hwa48 words
[+1 sentence]asked the Minister for Manpower (a) whether the introduction and implementation timeline of the new SkillsFuture Mid-Career Support Package will be impacted by the COVID-19 crisis and can be expedited; and (b) whether the at-risk mid-career workers can be given more transitional support during this steep economic slowdown.
Ms Joan Pereira41 words
asked the Minister for Manpower whether there are any plans to support employees who have been given notice by their employers to terminate their contracts but who have not received retrenchment benefits for terminations due to redundancies rather than poor performance.
The Minister for Manpower (Mrs Josephine Teo)14 words
[+1 sentence]Mr Speaker, may I have your permission to take Question Nos 6 to 13?
Mr Speaker2 words
[+1 sentence]Yes, please.
Mrs Josephine Teo1717 words
[+1 sentence]Mr Liang Eng Hwa asked about our labour market situation in light of the COVID-19 outbreak. For the first quarter of 2020, preliminary estimates showed a slight uptick of our unemployment rate and retrenchments compared to the previous quarter, even though they remained lower than peaks experienced during the SARS outbreak and Global Financial Crisis.[+7 sentences] Total employment, excluding foreign domestic workers, registered its sharpest quarterly contraction since SARS, due primarily to a significant decline in foreign employment. To Mr Ang Hin Kee's question, there are about 200,000 Singaporeans living, working or studying abroad at any one time. Our employment surveys do not generally cover these overseas Singaporeans. However, given the global impact of the COVID-19 outbreak, we can imagine that some of them may face job losses. As our citizens, they will always be welcome home. We will also do our best to help all Singaporeans, including those who return, and whether they are fresh graduates or mid-career individuals, all the support systems and services will be extended to them. The Jobs Support Scheme (JSS) and other schemes under the Unity, Resilience and Solidarity Budgets are helping to cushion the impact on the labour market. As Singapore's GDP is expected to contract by between 4% and 7%, we should be prepared for further job displacements.[+30 sentences] Uncertainty about the future will also moderate hiring. We are therefore making a big push to open up pathways to jobs, including traineeships and skills upgrading programmes. I will speak more on these measures during the debate on the Fortitude Budget. Given this backdrop, it is understandable that Mr Seah Kian Peng asks if the Government would consider a temporary reduction of CPF contributions. If the objective is to reduce the cost burden to employers, JSS has done so with fewer drawbacks. For example, those who depend on CPF contributions to meet housing and healthcare needs can continue to do so. Singaporeans' ability to save for retirement is also not eroded. As an added advantage, JSS is able to target stronger support at sectors that are more affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. Another avenue of support was offered by the National Wages Council (NWC). Guidelines issued in March suggested that employers can consider reducing non-wage costs and making use of Government support measures such as the SkillsFuture Enterprise Credit to train and upskill workers. The guidelines also advise employers to consider using the Monthly Variable Component (MVC) to adjust wages to save jobs. Such a tripartite approach to managing cost pressures is not easily available in many countries. Nonetheless, we will continue to monitor and assess the situation, and consider whether other measures, including adjusting CPF contribution rates, may be necessary in future. In these challenging times, there are also heightened sensitivities about fair treatment. For example, when it comes to recruitment, Mr Saktiandi Supaat is concerned if job seekers have been forced to declare their last drawn salaries during job application. In fact, there is no rule that job seekers must comply, and employers cannot insist on it. We should, however, take a practical approach on whether employers are allowed to ask for such information. The last drawn salary is a relevant input to employers seeking to gauge a candidate's seniority or to make an appropriate job offer. However, if employers use last drawn salary to screen applicants, they risk losing out on good candidates who are prepared to adjust their salary expectations, especially in today's context. It is similarly unwise for employers to overlook the longer track record of the applicant, and make an offer based solely on the last drawn salary especially if the last-held position was an interim one. If a job seeker chooses to provide salary information, employers should use it carefully. Mr Patrick Tay and Ms Joan Pereira asked about fair treatment of workers when they are retrenched, terminated, or have their wages reduced. In this challenging period, we recognise that both workers and employers have to make sacrifices to save jobs wherever possible. Besides the NWC's guidelines on the fair approach to adjusting wages, the tripartite partners have issued advisories on managing excess manpower. We have been clear that retrenchment should be a last resort. On the question of "disguised retrenchments", there are clear guidelines. Even during the COVID-19 period, whatever the termination of employment is called, an employee is presumed to have been retrenched if the employer cannot show a plan to fill the vacancy any time soon. Let me say that again, even during the COVID-19 outbreak, whatever the termination of employment is called, an employee is presumed to have been retrenched if the employer cannot show a plan to fill the vacancy any time soon. If the retrenchment benefit is spelt out in the employment contract or collective agreement, the employer has a clear obligation to pay. He cannot side-step it by calling the retrenchment something else. If a company is found to have disguised their retrenchments, MOM can and will consider withdrawing Government support like JSS and suspending their work pass privileges.[+1 sentence] However, in today's context, the bigger challenge is not that the employer pretends it is not a retrenchment, but that he does not have the means to fulfil his obligations. The tripartite partners have therefore agreed that in instances of genuine financial difficulty for the employer, retrenchment benefit may be re-negotiated or moderated.[+2 sentences] The norms may have to be set aside in these abnormal times. Nevertheless, businesses should still give some support to retrenched employees, to the extent that they can afford. To ensure fair and responsible implementation of tripartite advisories, MOM has required employers to submit notifications of cost-saving measures they intend to undertake.[+18 sentences] Through these notifications, MOM and TAFEP identify companies for further engagement, for example, if their planned wage cuts appear excessive. Following our intervention, many companies reviewed their cost-saving measures to give more wage support to employees. Our interventions also reveal that quite often, the worker suspects he has not been fairly treated because of poor communication with his employer. For example, an employee of a private pre-school operator was aggrieved to be asked to clear 13.5 days of her annual leave during the two-month long circuit breaker period. We found that she continued to get full pay even though her work hours were significantly reduced. The employer had also seen a sharp drop in revenue due to school fee refunds and the JSS payout was insufficient to cover employees' full wages during the period. The employer's request was therefore not unreasonable. Nevertheless, after MOM's engagement, the employer arranged for this employee to work more days and only clear six days of annual leave. The company also took our advice to improve their communications by explaining their cost-saving measures clearly to all staff. The cases we reviewed show that in the course of saving the business and preserving jobs, workers and employers need to build trust and maintain open communications. The tripartite partners firmly believe in the principle of shared responsibility, and urge both employers and employees to work together during this difficult time. The general principles of fair treatment apply equally to all our workers, whether local or foreign. Likewise, when companies have to reduce wages in order to save jobs, both local and foreign employees should be considered. In the unfortunate event of retrenchment, it would certainly not be right to expect employers to favour their foreign employees compared to local workers. The Government cannot also be expected to provide the same degree of fiscal support to employers to retain their foreign employees compared to their local employees, as Ms Anthea Ong seems to advocate. That is not a question of fairness, but reasonableness. With respect to disputes involving dismissals, salary payment or repatriation home, there are established processes for handling them. It should not matter whether the worker contracted COVID-19 or not. Employers do not dismiss people because they got the flu or dengue, and they should not do so with COVID-19 either. We have made clear to employers that even if business is disrupted, they must use the levy rebates that the Government has provided to give salary support to their migrant workers.[+15 sentences] It has also been a long-standing policy that employers have a duty to upkeep their workers until they have been repatriated home. These obligations remain unchanged in this downturn. It is not new to employers and MOM has not seen an increase in the number of such disputes. In any case, migrant workers with issues can raise them to MOM and the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management through the Migrant Worker Ambassadors and the Forward Assurance and Support Team officers that are currently deployed at the dormitories. We are very mindful that this period can be stressful to all workers and, of course, to our migrant workers as well, particularly those who are living in dormitories. As detailed in my Ministerial Statement at the 4 May 2020 sitting of Parliament, we have made extensive efforts to disseminate information to them, in their native languages. Many Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) have helped with volunteers manning hotlines and providing additional materials. We are very grateful for their partnership. The National Jobs Council had our first meeting yesterday. Chaired by Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, the Council includes veteran business leaders from industries and union leaders. It will focus on identifying and developing jobs, traineeships and skills training opportunities for Singaporeans amidst the COVID-19 situation. Mr Speaker, we will open up many more pathways to jobs. As pointed out by Senior Minister Tharman, the scale of our attempt goes beyond any past experience. Complementing these efforts must be a renewed emphasis on fair opportunities for Singaporeans. This is no less important, in my view. At the start of the year, MOM had identified Fairness at Work as our priority. We strengthened the Fair Consideration Framework (FCF) and stiffened penalties for employers with discriminatory practices, whether for age or gender bias or for not giving qualified Singaporeans serious consideration for jobs.[+2 sentences] The COVID-19 outbreak has only strengthened our resolve. In these challenging times, it is all the more critical to give our people the assurance of fair recruitment. Even as we work on opening up more pathways to jobs, we will continue to uphold the Fair Consideration Framework as a commitment to our people.
Mr Speaker4 words
[+1 sentence]Mr Seah Kian Peng.
Mr Seah Kian Peng (Marine Parade)238 words
[+9 sentences]I thank the Minister for her very comprehensive reply. Just one supplementary question. I think all businesses appreciate the Job Support Scheme and other reliefs that have been granted to them to help them reduce their cost and, to the extent possible, to save jobs. But the prospect of more job losses and, in fact, the prospect of wage cuts, is becoming more likely and prevalent. So, that is the genesis behind the question which I asked, whether there could be a temporary reduction of employee's and employer's CPF contributions. While I appreciate and recognise that CPF indeed is a very important part of our overall financial planning, I would like to ask the Minister whether it is possible — I think on the employer side, fair enough, there is already enough support, but for most employees, the fact is that many of them are bringing back less. Every little bit that we could put on the table for them is something which will certainly help them, particularly in the current climate. It is an important part, I know the Minister had said that she will consider this, this is still on the table, but I think we need to do it a bit more proactively, given the looming and the likelihood of more wage cuts coming onstream. I hope the Minister will put this as a high priority item, something to be activated earlier rather than later.
Mrs Josephine Teo362 words
[+2 sentences]Mr Speaker, I thank Mr Seah for his supplementary question. Let me say that I completely understand where he is coming from. I appreciate also the fact that he himself, in his capacity as a CEO, is responsible for many employees and he would naturally also want to see if there are ways that he can enable them to continue in employment. So, we are very mindful and at this juncture, we cannot preclude any further moves including the possibility of CPF contribution rate cuts in the future. But I would say also that for CPF rate cuts, while the intention may be temporary in nature, the loss to a person's ability to accumulate savings for retirement is permanent. Once that savings opportunity is foregone, it cannot easily be reclaimed, and it usually takes a very long time to eventually restore whatever rates that have been cut.[+8 sentences] And, certainly, for the individual, there is very little likelihood that they can make up for what they were not able to grow in their CPF savings. So, it is a decision that we have to take very carefully and certainly not lightly at all especially in consideration of the fact that our people will continue to live long lives. If we continue to manage our healthcare well, that must still be the upside to having progress in our society. Therefore, we have to look at the longer term implications of any moves on the CPF front. It may well come to a stage where we have to do something about it. I take Mr Seah's point very well that if we can be proactive than to be reactive to the situation, that is indeed what we are trying to do. If you think about not just the Unity, Resilient, Solidarity and Fortitude Budget provisions, which is to try and preserve jobs, we are at the same time not taking for granted that people who will become displaced will be able to move back into jobs easily, given the current situation. That is why there is going to be a big push for many more pathways to jobs, which I will say more about later.
Mr Liang Eng Hwa (Holland-Bukit Timah)66 words
[+2 sentences]Sir, one reason often cited by the employers why they need to hire foreign EPs or S Passes is the lack of specific skills, workers that they need. Now that we are in an excess labour market situation, can I ask the Minister if we should now focus our skills upgrading, our traineeships in sectors and in companies that traditionally hire more EPs and S Passes?
Mrs Josephine Teo228 words
[+7 sentences]Mr Speaker, the short answer to Mr Liang's question is yes, indeed, we should. In one particular aspect of the SGUnited Jobs and Skills package, we have identified Professional Conversion Programmes as an area of opportunity that could potentially benefit the employer as well as the job seeker. As Mr Liang correctly points out, there have been areas where, for many years, companies have become quite used to filling actually quite good job positions with Employment Pass holders as well as S Pass holders. In the built environment sector, for example, and I am looking at Minister Desmond Lee who is seated right in front of me, he and I have a joint interest, for example, in ensuring that good quality jobs that the built environment sector is creating, such as for building information modelling, these positions can actually be filled by Singaporeans – whether they are graduating from ITE, Polytechnics or even Universities. With appropriate training, they can actually take up these good jobs. What we need to do now is to work with the employers, work with the trade associations, to create the conversion programmes and then to reach out to suitable job applicants and put the match together. I think that is a very positive and the right way to go about trying to help job seekers and, at the same time, benefiting the employers.
Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan (West Coast)176 words
[+1 sentence]I would like to thank the Minister for her comprehensive response to an entire list of questions. I am particularly heartened that she has answered my question on how we are going to better handle disguised retrenchments including situations where companies who are able to pay retrenchment benefits and execute disguised retrenchments will be taken to task if they do not do so. So, I am glad to hear the various executive measures by MOM as well as even withholding JSS will be enforced where needed against errant employers.[+2 sentences] But I thought to further emphasise the point on contractual terminations, although the Employment Act does not prescribe the need for employers to give reasons for contractual terminations, whether with or without notice, whether MOM will want to push this agenda to advise and encourage employers to provide reasons for their termination. I think if the reasons are valid and if there is trust and proper communication with the employees, I am sure the employees themselves will understand the rationale and why they execute the contractual termination.
Mrs Josephine Teo235 words
[+8 sentences]I understand where Mr Patrick Tay is coming from. MOM is mindful that during these times, we have already been issuing many advisories to employers on a whole range of matters. I would be quite careful and circumspect about issuing more. Frankly, employers themselves are under quite considerable pressure and we certainly do not want to enact more rules than is absolutely necessary. The point really is this: between employers and employees, there should be good communication. In certain instances where both sides are under pressure, this may break down. Our approach in handling these disputes is, firstly, to try and establish the facts and, secondly, to try and bring both parties to talk to each other. Quite often, that gets the job done; and quite often, it is due to a misunderstanding of each other's intentions, even more so during such times. Where there is clear evidence of breach of guidelines or laws on the part of the employer, please be assured that we will take action.[+3 sentences] But, I am quite mindful not to too easily jump to the conclusion that employers are trying to avoid their obligations. In normal times, perhaps there will be a number of such employers. But in these very, very abnormal times, I think the evidence suggests that it is more due to the fact that the employers are also trying but they themselves face a lot of difficulties.
Mr Saktiandi Supaat (Bishan-Toa Payoh)208 words
[+9 sentences]I thank the Minister for the answer. I am glad to hear her mention about the proactive measures that MOM has taken to address fair consideration given the current situation. What I am suggesting in my Parliamentary Question and also in this supplementary question, is about proactive measures beyond, for the post COVID environment. I will give the example of the US congress. It passed the Bill on Paycheck Fairness Act in 2019 to address the issue about indicating salary in job applications. The reason why I am raising this is because I am worried that, for example, fresh graduates in the post COVID environment are wary of taking up first jobs that pay below the median salary for fear that their salaries will always be pegged to it, particularly, those offered by SMEs. So, it is the post COVID environment that I am concerned about, whether we could be proactive in taking these steps ahead of this situation arising. The fresh graduates would rather wait it out if they can rely on their parents, leading to months of post-graduation unemployment. My concern is whether some of the salary or payslip practices by employers will actually lead to further negative externalities in the future, thus exacerbating unemployment numbers.
Mrs Josephine Teo201 words
[+7 sentences]Sir, Speaker, I thank Mr Saktiandi for his questions. As it turned out, my previous job was as a HR director and in that role, I reviewed hundreds, perhaps thousands of job applications, which of course include information of all kinds: name, gender, last drawn pay, where you used to work, what you did in school, Co-curricular Activities (CCAs), what awards you had won, what membership you have. I think if I can share from a HR practitioner's perspective, the last drawn pay is really one of many things that is considered when we make a job offer. If a HR practitioner or a firm is so short-sighted as to look rigidly at the last drawn pay as an indication of the candidate's worth to the organisation, then my advice to the applicant is look for another employer, this is not a company that you should spend too much time on. And that would also be my suggestion. WSG, and actually our partners as well, will be more than happy to work with the job seeker to explore other options. Do not spend too much time and waste your energy with these kinds of employers who cannot see beyond one number.
Mr Speaker3 words
[+1 sentence]Ms Anthea Ong.
Ms Anthea Ong (Nominated Member)248 words
[+4 sentences]Thank you, Mr Speaker. Before I ask the supplementary questions, can I put on record, given what the Minister had said, there was actually no intention and no implication on my part to say that employers treat local workers better than foreign workers. Especially for myself, I am an employer of local employees. So, I do not think it was fair to infer that was my implication from the question that I asked. I have two supplementary questions for the Minister. She mentioned TADM and we are aware of it; and given that in-person services for TADM and also that the Employment Claims Tribunal are currently suspended due to safe distancing measures, could I ask the Minister how has the Ministry communicated the online process of filing salary and wrongful dismissal claims to work permit holders.[+1 sentence] And again, if this communication for the online process is also translated into their native languages. The second question is, there was a advisory dated 25 April 2020 regarding salary and leave arrangements during circuit breaker, where employers of work permit holders are responsible for their maintenance and upkeep. As we exit the circuit breaker, for work permit holders who cannot work due to COVID-19 or the fact that their dormitories are being gazetted as isolation areas, could the Minister please clarify if employers of work permit holders must continue to pay for: one, their salaries; two, their living arrangements; three, their food expenses and also last but not least, miscellaneous expenses.
Mrs Josephine Teo413 words
[+1 sentence]Mr Speaker, on Ms Ong's second question, the position has been very clear, from the beginning. Wherever it is that the workers are living and including in the dormitories, the employers have primary responsibility.[+3 sentences] But as Ms Ong will also be aware, in the gazetted dormitories and subsequently in all the purpose-built dormitories, the Government put together staff teams to support the operations at the dormitories. And that had included a provision of food as well. So, that part of it I think, has been clear. Even during this period of the circuit breaker, the employers have responsibility for salary and for upkeep.[+1 sentence] Ms Ong mentioned miscellaneous expenses, I am not entirely sure what other miscellaneous expenses they include, but if it has to do with the upkeep of the workers, then the answer is yes. Outside of that, there is no blanket to say that the employers must cover all of the workers' cost.[+12 sentences] It depends on what those cost items are. Back to her first question, on whether the online processes are available in native languages, the online application itself may not be, but then it is also not available in Chinese, in Malay or in Tamil. But what is important is that access to those channels is not impeded by language barriers. For that, we work together with our partners – the Migrant Workers' Centre, for example, has got not just staff but also a very large pool of volunteers and these volunteers can include the migrant workers themselves. In fact, most often, they are the migrant workers themselves. When a worker comes to work in Singapore for the first time, they go through a settling-in programme and the migrant workers' ambassadors are also familiar, or at least we continuously reach out through them, to remind workers of which are the avenues that they have to raise their concerns. Many Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs) also establish links with these workers. Minister of State Zaqy Mohamad, engages these NGOs on a very regular basis. We have worked out a system where regardless of where these workers are housed, they are able to provide feedback and raise their concerns with us so that we can address them properly. If language turns out to be a barrier, we have no shortage of people who are able to come in to intermediate. The process may take a little bit longer, but it can be done. And finally, I appreciate Ms Ong's clarification on her intent.
Mr Speaker3 words
[+1 sentence]Mr Louis Ng.
Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang (Nee Soon)83 words
[+3 sentences]Thank you, Sir. I have a question for with regard to the declaration of last drawn salary. I understand that California has banned this, I think in January 2018. In a study that was published in April 2020, it showed that this ban led to a reduction in the gender wage gap in in that state. So, could I ask whether MOM has studied the extent to which this declaration of last drawn salary contributes to the gender wage gap here in Singapore?
Mrs Josephine Teo72 words
[+8 sentences]Not specifically, Mr Speaker. That is my answer to Mr Ng. Although, I think there are many other contributing factors that are more prominent. We have many priorities. We have a lot of things on our plate. Useful studies, we will take a look at them. But it will not be realistic to chase down every study. We have to just be circumspect about which are the avenues that are worth pursuing.
Measures at Foreign Worker Dormitories after Circuit Breaker Period›Oral Answers to Questions5 turns · 777w
· 7 highlighted
oral-answer-2242
Mr Christopher de Souza40 words
[+1 sentence]asked the Minister for Manpower in relation to the strategy to situate workers from dormitories to less densely populated buildings, whether there will be isolation, quarantine and care arrangements in place at the sites which the workers are resituated to.
Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong70 words
[+1 sentence]asked the Minister for Manpower (a) from February 2020 onwards, whether all foreign workers returning from overseas and all other foreign workers who were served with Stay Home Notices (SHNs) were required to stay in quarantine facilities and safely separated from unaffected workers at all times; and (b) whether any of the foreign workers had served out their SHNs, Leave of Absence or Quarantine Orders in their original dormitory rooms.
The Minister of State for Manpower (Mr Zaqy Mohamad) (for the Minister for Manpower)645 words
[+1 sentence]Mr Speaker, in early February 2020, Singaporeans and work pass holders returning from certain countries were placed on Leave of Absence (LOA). From 19 February, LOA was ceased and replaced with Stay-Home Notices (SHN).[+2 sentences] The LOA or SHN were precautionary measures meant for persons who were unlikely to be infected by COVID-19 and could therefore be served at their places of residence. At the time, temperature screening was conducted at our borders and only those without fever or visible signs of ill health were allowed to proceed to their place of residence by dedicated transport. Dormitory operators were required to house their residents under LOA or SHN, together with others on LOA or SHN, in a section of the dormitory that is separate from other residents, or in dedicated rooms.[+1 sentence] Since 10 April, the requirements for SHN have been further tightened to protect the community. Given the widespread transmission of COVID-19 in many countries, SHNs must now be served at dedicated facilities.[+2 sentences] From the start of the COVID-19 outbreak, Quarantine Orders (QOs) have been issued to isolate individuals who are close contacts of COVID-19 cases. Ground officers appointed by MOH to serve the quarantine orders are empowered to assess the specific conditions of a person's residence and decide where the QO should be served. Since 29 January 2020, MOM had proactively informed all dormitories licensed under the Foreign Employee Dormitories Act to set aside isolation facilities and conducted inspections to ensure compliance.[+7 sentences] The first cluster of COVID-19 among migrant workers was detected in early February and involved five workers, only two of whom lived in separate dormitories. Up until late March, no other clusters were detected. As the numbers of infected workers were relatively small, the close contacts of these confirmed cases were directed to serve their QOs at Government Quarantine Facilities (GQFs) or isolation areas within the dormitories. Following the emergence of large clusters of infection in certain dormitories, movement in and out of such dormitories was restricted to minimise cross-infections in both directions. The Government set up medical posts to provide medical care to the dormitory residents. For dormitories with limited transmission, close contacts of infected workers continue to be sent to GQFs or Community Care Facilities in centralised locations. In dormitories, spaces within the dormitories were reconfigured to house workers suspected or confirmed to be infected, separately from others and this may or may not have been in the workers' original rooms. To further control the transmission in the dormitories, the Inter-Agency Task Force (ITF) shifted about 32,000 healthy workers from the dormitories to Government-provided temporary accommodation, such as sports halls, vacant HDB blocks, army camps, floating hotels and private apartments slated for redevelopment.[+5 sentences] There are on-site isolation areas in these temporary accommodations. Residents who need medical care will be sent to regional medical posts, Public Health Preparedness Clinics (PHPCs) or hospitals in the vicinity, depending on their clinical condition. After medical review, if they do not need medical attention, they may be housed in isolation areas on site until recovery. If they are tested, they will be housed in isolation facilities until the test results are known. If they are tested positive for COVID-19, they will be transferred to an appropriate care facility. In the medium term, the Government will continue to build up more temporary housing accommodations to reduce the density in the existing dormitories.[+2 sentences] These new dormitories will similarly set aside sufficient sick bays and isolation rooms to facilitate quick isolation of sick or infected cases. Regardless of where the infected workers are housed, all migrant workers living in dormitories have access to medical care and attention. As of end of May, out of the 30,000 or so migrant workers residing in dormitories confirmed positive for COVID-19, about half have recovered and, of the remaining half, the vast majority are recovering well with only one requiring intensive hospital care.
Mr Speaker15 words
[+1 sentence]Mr Zaqy, for record purposes, I take it that you were replying to both questions.
Mr Zaqy Mohamad7 words
[+2 sentences]Yes, both questions, Mr Speaker. Thank you.
Workplace Injuries and Compensation Given Work-from-home Arrangements›Oral Answers to Questions10 turns · 967w
· 9 highlighted
oral-answer-2243
Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan35 words
[+1 sentence]asked the Minister for Manpower with more work-from-home arrangements, whether the Ministry can provide greater clarity on the treatment of work injury compensation including scope, coverage, insurance and premium when one's home is the workplace.
Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye59 words
[+1 sentence]asked the Minister for Manpower (a) in 2019, how many hand and finger-related injuries occurred at our workplaces; (b) how many of these workplace accidents resulted in amputations; (c) what were the top three causes for such accidents; and (d) whether the number of such work-related amputations has increased over the past 10 years despite sustained workplace safety campaigns.
The Minister of State for Manpower (Mr Zaqy Mohamad) (for the Minister for Manpower)11 words
[+1 sentence]Mr Speaker, I will take Question Nos 16 and 17 together.
Mr Speaker2 words
[+1 sentence]Yes, please.
Mr Zaqy Mohamad376 words
Work-from-home arrangements do not change an employer’s responsibility for work injury compensation.[+4 sentences] The key is to ascertain that the injury arose while doing work at home and not while performing non-work activities at home. This is a fact-finding exercise that is no different from all other WICA claims. Work Injury Compensation (WIC) insurance is purchased by employers and will cover employees who were injured out of and in the course of doing work at home. Moving on to Mr Melvin Yong’s question. In 2019, there were 149 hand and finger major injuries at work, of which 123 cases resulted in amputation. This translates to 3.5 cases of hand and finger amputations per 100,000 workers.[+1 sentence] While we remain very concerned and are continuing efforts to reduce the injury rate, we are encouraged by the trend of improvements. Compared to 2012, when the incidence of hand and finger amputations was 4.8 per 100,000 workers, the improvement we can see now is about 30%. The top three causes for such accidents were: first, lack of effective machine guards; second, lack of adequate safe work procedures, such as lock-out-tag-out procedures to prevent machine activation during servicing; and third, failure to follow safe work procedures due to lack of experience, training or disregard for safety.[+1 sentence] To bring down the occurrence of hand and finger injuries, the Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Council has stepped up public education to employers and workers on the safe use of machinery. Since 2017, 41,200 workers had attended the two mandatory WSH Basic Industrial Safety training and Health Course for Supervisors, and the Metalworking Safety Orientation Course.[+1 sentence] The WSH Council has also widened and deepened its engagement efforts to jointly organise the Safe Hands Campaign and sector-specific WSH workshops with the Singapore Metal and Machinery Association, the Singapore Manufacturing Federation and Singapore Furniture Industries Council since 2018. To date, 850 companies have pledged their commitment to Safe Hands.[+4 sentences] We will continue to engage more companies to come on board. We are heartened to note that the industry is taking greater ownership to prevent hand and finger injuries. This year, the Singapore Manufacturing Federation spearheaded the first association Safe Hands Campaign. We will keep expanding the coverage of our outreach programmes through the trade associations and unions.
Mr Speaker3 words
[+1 sentence]Mr Patrick Tay.
Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan (West Coast)128 words
[+6 sentences]I thank the Minister of State for his response and answer. I have two supplementary questions. Firstly, now that we are seeing a lot of work-from-home arrangements, particularly the circuit breaker, and, moving forward, the whole regime of the Work Injury Compensation Act and insurance premiums and so on, there would be a significant change because when the home becomes a workplace, I think the burden of proof, the level of control by employers will change drastically. So, I have two supplementary questions. Firstly, in the circuit breaker period during these past two months, were there cases where MOM had received work injury cases as a result of working from home scenarios? Secondly, how is MOM going to determine such workplace injuries, that is, in a work-from-home scenario?
Mr Zaqy Mohamad269 words
[+6 sentences]Sir, the way we evaluate WICA claims, whether it is the workplace or at home will be no different. It is necessary to determine if the injury arose out of work and in the course of work for it to be compensable. So, there should be evidence that the accident occurred in the course of work while in the act of performing work at home. So, if the injury occurred while doing non-work activity, for example, on the day when the employee is working at home, the person was cooking, looking after children or doing laundry, then it does not count. So far, if you look at all past claims, they have been successfully settled without disputes, and there have been no eligible fatal or permanent incapacity claims. We have seen this trend. So, the Member is right that since the circuit breaker started, given the increased prevalence of remote working arrangements, we have been starting to track some of these injuries at home. So far, we have only recorded two work injuries reported since the start of the circuit breaker on 7 April.[+5 sentences] But both claims are currently being examined. I cannot give too much detail now until the investigations are over. But so far, if you look at the valid claims in the past, they have been mostly minor injuries and no permanent incapacity or fatal cases. To the Member's other question on the insurance premium, we have taken a look but we have not seen any WIC insurance premium come down or there have not been any changes so far. This has been a recent development.
Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye (Tanjong Pagar)39 words
[+2 sentences]Mr Speaker, I thank the Minister of State for his reply. I would like to ask the Minister of State if the Return to Work Programme has been effective for injured workers who have suffered hand and finger amputations.
Mr Zaqy Mohamad45 words
[+3 sentences]I thank the Member for his question. From October 2017 to December 2019, there were 38 workers who had hand and finger amputations enrolled in the Return to Work Programme. Of these, 34 out of 38, or approximately 90% of cases successfully returned to work.
Applications for Notifications for Relief under COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) Act›Oral Answers to Questions5 turns · 610w
· 7 highlighted
oral-answer-2244
Mr Liang Eng Hwa32 words
[+1 sentence]asked the Minister for Law what is the number of Notifications for Relief applied for since the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) Act came into effect and what are the numbers for each category.
The Senior Minister of State for Law (Mr Edwin Tong Chun Fai) (for the Minister for Law)254 words
[+1 sentence]Mr Speaker, the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) Act commenced on 20 April 2020. As at 29 May 2020, which is around five weeks since the Act commenced, 3,943 Notifications for Relief (NFRs) have been served using the online system. Parties may also serve the NFRs in hardcopy on the counter-contracting parties. We are unable to track the number of hardcopy NFRs which parties served to the counter-party.[+2 sentences] The vast majority of the NFRs served relate to two types of contracts. First, hire-purchase agreements or conditional sale agreements for commercial plant or machinery, or commercial vehicles, as the case may be; and second, for leases or licences for non-residential properties. The number of NFRs served as at 29 May 2020 for each category of contract is as follows: (a) Hire-purchase and conditional sale agreements: 2,107 (b) Leases or licences of non-residential properties: 1,254 (c) Events and tourism-related contracts: 250 (d) Construction contracts and supply contracts: 213 (e) Certain secured loans to SMEs: 97 (f) Options to purchase given by housing developers, or sales and purchase agreements between purchasers and housing developers for housing accommodation, which were only added to the scheduled contracts – Members may wish to note – on 13 May 2020.[+3 sentences] For that, there were 22 NFRs. We would like to encourage contracting parties as far as possible to be fair and reasonable to each other, considering that the impact of COVID-19 was an event that no one could expect. In doing so, parties should be better able to reach a mutually acceptable solution.
Mr Speaker4 words
[+1 sentence]Mr Liang Eng Hwa.
Mr Liang Eng Hwa (Holland-Bukit Timah)124 words
[+5 sentences]Sir, I thank the Senior Minister of State for his reply and also the Ministry for being proactive in coming up with these very helpful relief measures. Just two quick questions. Firstly, I am really happy with the number of reliefs being sought. I would like to ask the Senior Minister of State – some of which he mentioned were related to leases – whether further assistance would be rendered to those that are not able to achieve a resolution, for example, referring them to ESG to follow up on other measures that can assist businesses. Secondly, would the Ministry step up awareness of these relief measures so that more neighbourhood retailers and so on are aware of these reliefs that they can seek?
Mr Edwin Tong Chun Fai196 words
[+5 sentences]Sir, I thank Mr Liang for the comments. In terms of the first question, yes, we try as far as possible to find a solution for the parties that come before the assessors, even if the precise scope of the Act might not well relate to or be able to assist the specific problem. To give an example, in some cases we try and make reference to ESG, as the Member has mentioned. In other cases, the assessors try and find a solution between the disputing parties, for example, through referring them to mediation or even, on occasions, the assessors themselves stepping in to find some common ground between the disputing parties and try and bridge the gap where possible. On the Member's second point, again, a point well taken and we will do that. The Member may know that we have yesterday filed a notice of intention to put in a supplementary to the Bill. This relates to other aspects of the Bill. But no doubt, together with that, we will step up steps to raise consciousness and public awareness and also public education on the operation of both aspects of the (Temporary Measures) Bill.
Eligibility Criteria for COVID-19 Support Grant›Oral Answers to Questions5 turns · 1,053w
· 11 highlighted
oral-answer-2245
Ms Denise Phua Lay Peng54 words
[+1 sentence]asked the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) whether persons are eligible for the COVID-19 Support Grant (CSG) even if they have not met the required eligibility of three full months of unemployment; and (b) whether ComCare recipients who may be receiving lower financial support will be disqualified from applying for the CSG.
The Minister for Social and Family Development (Mr Desmond Lee)488 words
[+4 sentences]Mr Speaker, I will address Ms Denise Phua’s question on the eligibility criteria for the COVID-19 Support Grant (CSG) in this reply, as well as the question by Mr Liang Eng Hwa1, which was filed for tomorrow. Sir, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the livelihoods of many Singaporeans, causing job and income loss. CSG was initially designed to support lower to middle income households facing unemployment due to retrenchment or contract termination after 23 January 2020, when the first case of COVID-19 was detected in Singapore. Ms Denise Phua asks whether persons are eligible for CSG if they have not met the required eligibility of three full months of unemployment. Allow me to clarify that for applicants in this group, there is no requirement for them to be unemployed for three months before applying. Beyond supporting those who are unemployed, MSF has expanded the scheme to help employees who have been placed on involuntary no-pay-leave (NPL) for three or more consecutive months, as well as those who have lost at least 30% of their monthly salary for three or more consecutive months.[+1 sentence] The "three or more consecutive months" requirement for NPL and income loss scenarios is to ensure that help is channelled to those who have greater needs. Affected employees need not wait till they are affected for three consecutive months to apply. They are eligible for CSG now if they provide supporting documents, such as a letter from their employer, showing that they will be affected for at least three consecutive months.[+5 sentences] Individuals who are ineligible for CSG but require further support can apply for ComCare assistance. Those who are receiving ComCare assistance and who have been further impacted by the pandemic, should be assessed for further assistance under the ComCare scheme and not the CSG. ComCare provides monthly cash assistance to low-income households who need help to cover their daily living expenses, including food and other basic living needs. ComCare also provides assistance with household bills and medical expenses. Based on the families’ needs and circumstances, MSF’s Social Service Offices or SSOs, also facilitate their access to other relevant services and support by government agencies and community partners. To further assist ComCare beneficiaries, those whose assistance would end between May and July 2020 have had their support automatically extended for a further six months.[+4 sentences] ComCare beneficiaries are invited to approach the SSOs for a review of their current support if their circumstances have changed, for instance, if they have lost their jobs or faced a reduction in income because of the COVID-19 pandemic. While reviewing their ComCare support, SSOs can also provide them with interim assistance if they have urgent financial needs. Those who are newly placed on ComCare will receive at least six months of assistance, providing them with a longer runway to regain stability. The Government will continue to review how we can better support those who have been adversely impacted due to COVID-19.
Mr Speaker3 words
[+1 sentence]Ms Denise Phua.
Ms Denise Phua Lay Peng (Jalan Besar)171 words
[+6 sentences]I thank the Minister for his comprehensive response regarding the CSG. Clearly, the Government has covered many grounds to assist citizens and Permanent Residents (PRs) affected by the pandemic. Just one supplementary question. The different schemes are administered by different organisations – for example, ComCare applicantions will be administered by MSF, help for the self-employed persons will be by NTUC and I think the drivers who are affected are supported by MOT. Is there a way by which there is a one-stop clearing house so that a person who is affected will not need to know where to go but they can be directed by the respective personnel who are supporting them, so they know where to go to. I also want to know if MSF then would exercise flexibility. For example, if a self-employed person technically does not meet the eligibility criteria for the Self-employed Person Income Relief Scheme (SIRS) programme, will MSF be flexible enough to at least advise or support them so that they can get help, anyhow.
Mr Desmond Lee337 words
[+1 sentence]Sir, when people apply for certain schemes at the SSOs and my officers identify that they are self-employed and would qualify or would potentially qualify, or should apply for SIRS, then they will make the necessary referrals across. I have also seen situations where the team that administers SIRS also refers cases over to the SSOs.[+2 sentences] Essentially, we need to ensure that agenices who have deep knowledge in the schemes that they administer, to be able to focus on their schemes but also have good awareness about related schemes and programmes that are beneficial to Singaporeans at this time, to be able to make the necessary referrals, link-ups and to also point people in the right direction. It is also very important to have good communications to make sure that Singaporeans know where to go to, whom to call, what the eligibility criteria of the different schemes are. And that is as much an important exercise in offering assistance, as is the actual administration of the scheme itself. So, in this regard, especially for those who are more vulnerable, low-income households, MSF, People's Association (PA) and MCCY will be strengthening of our SG Cares community networks where, in phases and stages, we will bring together the community of volunteers and staff to proactively reach out to lower income, more vulnerable households, beginning with those living in rental flats – just to check in on them, find out how they are doing.[+1 sentence] Because of their situation, they tend to be more vulnerable. In order to do so, it is not just to offer them assistance within the stable of programmes that MSF or PA or MCCY have, but to be able to understand what their needs are holistically and then, pull in the relevant schemes and programmes from other agencies, and indeed, from the local community as well. Through much better coordination, integration, data-sharing, that will allow us to provide a more seamless, integrated social safety net for those who are very hard hit by the on-going crisis.
Restrictions on International Travellers to Prevent Import on COVID-19 Cases›Oral Answers to Questions6 turns · 839w
· 8 highlighted
oral-answer-2246
Mr Lim Biow Chuan31 words
[+1 sentence]asked the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) whether there will be any restrictions imposed on international travellers entering Singapore; and (b) what are the measures to prevent imported COVID-19 cases.
The Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry (Mr Chee Hong Tat) (for the Minister for Trade and Industry)261 words
[+1 sentence]Mr Speaker, Sir, restrictions on short-term travel into Singapore have been in place since 22 March this year to prevent the import of COVID-19 cases from abroad. In line with our phased resumption of activities safely from 2 June after circuit breaker, we will also gradually reopen our borders to safe international travel. This will initially comprise green lane arrangements with countries that have low numbers of cases and rates of transmission.[+5 sentences] These countries should have in place effective systems to test and isolate cases, as well as detect and stop any transmission chains. We will start on a limited scale, focusing on essential travel for businesses to function and for purposes such as maintaining critical infrastructure and providing needed services. As global conditions improve, we will gradually expand such arrangements to include more groups of travellers. Besides pre-departure checks, incoming international travellers will have to comply with safety protocols on arrival. These include testing and the use of devices for contact tracing. As announced on 3 June, the first green lane arrangement will be launched on 8 June between Singapore and six Chinese provinces or municipalities, namely Chongqing, Guangdong, Jiangsu, Shanghai, Tianjin and Zhejiang.[+3 sentences] We intend to progressively expand this list to include other Chinese provinces as well as other countries, taking into account public health and safety considerations. As a key transport and business hub, it is critical for Singapore to re-establish and strengthen our connectivity with the world. We will do so in a safe and calibrated manner, so that we can continue to protect lives and livelihoods.
Mr Speaker4 words
[+1 sentence]Mr Lim Biow Chuan.
Mr Lim Biow Chuan (Mountbatten)143 words
[+6 sentences]Sir, I just wanted to ask the Senior Minister of State how we deal with countries where the numbers are low and they seem to have no community spread, and the reason is because they do not do sufficient testing. We understand that there are some countries that do not have enough test kits and they do not do sufficient testing. The other question I have is that last month, the Minister for Health did say that we are not doing widespread community testing because the yield is very low for asymptomatic testing. To be effective, it needs to be done repeatedly because being tested negative does not reflect immunity and those who had been tested can be infected after the test. So, how do we reconcile that? Even if they are tested okay and they come over, they may still be COVID-positive.
Mr Chee Hong Tat345 words
[+8 sentences]Mr Speaker, I thank Mr Lim Biow Chuan for his questions. We do not just look at one number to decide which countries are safe for us to establish green lane arrangements. It is a holistic assessment of the situation in that country. Various factors have to be taken into account including their testing capacity and how well they have kept infections within the community in that country under control. So, it is a holistic assessment before we decide which are the countries that are safe enough for us to have these green lane arrangements. The other countries are making the same assessment about us. So, it has to be a bilateral, mutual agreement before we can establish such channels. On Mr Lim's second question, this is why we have more than just one test. For the individual, based on the current arrangements with China, before you travel to China, you would have to take a PCR test within 48 hours of departure. And you must be tested negative to have a SafeTravel pass, which you must show before you are allowed to board the plane.[+2 sentences] Next, when you arrive in China, there will also be another test done, and pending the results of the test, the individual would have to stay in a pre-identified location. Only when the test is negative, then that person is allowed to resume business activities. The same is true for travellers coming from China into Singapore. There will also be two tests: one test before departure and another test upon arrival.[+3 sentences] Other safeguards include not being allowed to roam around on their own, not allowed to take public transport as there would have to be arrangements made by the sponsoring organisation or company. The itinerary of the business traveller would be something that has to be controlled as well. So, there are additional safeguards on top of a PCR test – multiple layers of checks. The important prerequisite for green lane to be established is that the community cases in both countries must be kept low and under control.
Mr Speaker55 words
[+3 sentences]Order. End of Question Time. [Pursuant to Standing Order No 22(3), Written Answers to Question Nos 22, 24, 26-28, 30-36, 38-40, 43 and 47 on the Order Paper are reproduced in the Appendix. Question Nos 21, 23, 25, 29, 37, 41-42, 44-46, 48-49 have been postponed to the sitting of Parliament on 05 June 2020.]
Update on COVID-19 Cases among Prison Inmates and Staff and Anti-COVID Measures Planned›Written Answers to Questions2 turns · 355w
· 0 highlighted
written-answer-6004
Mr Leon Perera41 words
[+1 sentence]asked the Minister for Home Affairs (a) whether he can provide an update on COVID-19 cases among prison inmates and Singapore Prison Service staff, if any; and (b) what anti-COVID measures are currently planned for the prisons after 2 June 2020.
Mr K Shanmugam314 words
[+16 sentences]As part of the Singapore Prison Service's (SPS) precautionary measures, all newly admitted inmates in the Changi Prison Complex are segregated for 14 days away from the general inmate population. All newly admitted inmates undergo swab tests for COVID-19 upon admission and at the end of the segregation period, before they are allowed to join the general inmate population. As at 3 June 2020, three inmates and one staff nurse from SPS's medical service provider had tested positive for COVID-19. These cases are not linked to one another. The inmates were admitted from the community to prison on different days and had tested positive for COVID-19 during their segregation period. The first inmate tested positive on 21 April 2020, the second inmate on 22 April 2020 and the third inmate on 9 May 2020. They were immediately isolated from the rest of the newly admitted inmates under segregation, and housed in a separate prison facility. Two of the inmates have since been discharged from the facility, while the other remains clinically well. The staff nurse tested positive for COVID-19 on 24 April 2020. He has since recovered and is back to work. There were no cases of further infection of COVID-19 arising from these cases. SPS will only very cautiously and gradually de-escalate circuit breaker measures, given that the prison is a very high risk setting for the spread of COVID-19. Family visits and programmes for inmates will not resume immediately at the end of the circuit breaker period, but only in a slow, step-by-step manner, over a few phases depending on the general situation in the community. SPS will retain the precautionary measures it had implemented since the start of the COVID-19 crisis. These include measures to ensure early detection, infection control and safe distancing. Following the cases detected in late April and early May, there have been no new cases in prison.
Total Number of Scam Cases Reported and Accumulated Financial Losses since COVID-19 Pandemic Started and Preventive Action Taken to Protect Senior Citizens from Such Scams›Written Answers to Questions2 turns · 438w
· 0 highlighted
written-answer-6005
Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye48 words
[+1 sentence]asked the Minister for Home Affairs (a) what is the total number of scam cases reported since the COVID-19 pandemic started; (b) what is the accumulated financial losses arising from such scams; and (c) what action is the police taking to prevent such scams especially among senior citizens.
Mr K Shanmugam390 words
[+20 sentences]From January to April 2020, a total of 5,425 scam cases were reported with at least $60.4 million cheated. Of these, 394 were COVID-19 related scams, with at least $1.4 million cheated. There are three scam types of concern that are related to COVID-19. First, e-commerce scams relating to the sale of face masks and hand sanitisers. Second, scams where scammers impersonate officials from the Ministry of Health (MOH) to obtain from victims their personal data and information. Third, phishing scams involving fraudulent emails and text messages containing fake offers or fake information on COVID-19 payouts, to trick victims into divulging their credit or debit card details and One-Time Passwords (OTP). The Police have been taking action against such scammers. Between 3 February and 8 April 2020, they mounted island-wide operations leading to the arrest of 27 persons who were involved in scams amounting to more than $484,000. In these cases, the scammers had exploited the use of e-commerce platforms and online channels such as Gumtree, Facebook Marketplace, Carousell, WhatsApp and Telegram. Of the 27 subjects, 16 have been charged in Court. The Police are also ramping up public education and awareness efforts. They and the National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC) are working with the Ministry of Communications and Information to issue scam advisories via WhatsApp on the Gov.sg platform. Prior to the COVID-19 situation, the Police were already working with Residents’ Committees and grassroots volunteers to spread scam alerts to residents, including senior citizens, via WhatsApp and community events like block parties, roadshows, festive events and Community Safety & Security Programmes (CSSPs). One such CSSP focusing on the elderly is the Silver Watch Group. Launched in 2013, the initiative aims to impart elderly residents with crime prevention knowledge by keeping them informed of the latest crime situation and encouraging them to share relevant advice with their peers. These activities will resume gradually with the easing of safe distancing measures. The key to the fight against scams is a discerning public. We should be sceptical of promises of incredulous inducements, transact only on reliable platforms, and always check with the relevant authorities when approached by dubious entities purporting to be their officials. Everyone has a part to play in the fight against scams. Members of the public are urged to stay vigilant and report possible scams promptly to the Police.
Dedicated Line and Help Provided for Home Team Officers Facing Mental and Physical Stress when Conducting Spot Checks on Persons under Stay-Home Notice›Written Answers to Questions2 turns · 219w
· 0 highlighted
written-answer-6006
Ms Joan Pereira51 words
[+1 sentence]asked the Minister for Home Affairs (a) whether there is a dedicated line for Home Team officers to call if they face mental and physical stress when conducting spot checks on persons under Stay-Home Notice; and (b) what help is being provided to ensure that these essential officers' well-being are met.
Mr K Shanmugam168 words
[+8 sentences]Counselling helplines, manned by Home Team psychologists, are available to all Home Team officers, including those who are involved in COVID-19 operations. During this period, we have stepped up the manning of these helplines. Home Team Departments have also put in place other measures to ensure the well-being of our officers working on Singapore's response to COVID-19. Our in-house psychologists and para-counsellors look out for distressed officers. Supervisors and commanders engage officers frequently to gather feedback, motivate and raise morale. Self-care materials and guides are disseminated to officers on a regular basis. We have also distributed "care packs" which include personal items such as reusable masks, Vitamin C supplements, and hand sanitisers. Home Team Departments have also implemented various physical measures to protect our officers and these measures are elaborated in the reply to Q*38 on today’s Order Paper by Mr Christopher de Souza, as published in the Circular for Written Answers to Questions for Oral Answer Not Reached by End of Question Time on 4 June 2020.
Extending Relief under Part 2 of COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) Act 2020 to Cover Rental Agreements between Vehicle Hire Companies and Private Hire Car Drivers›Written Answers to Questions2 turns · 509w
· 0 highlighted
written-answer-6007
Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan33 words
[+1 sentence]asked the Minister for Law whether relief under Part 2 of the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) Act 2020 can be extended to cover rental agreements between vehicle hire companies and private hire car drivers.
Mr K Shanmugam476 words
[+20 sentences]The COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) Act 2020 (the "Act") provides temporary relief from legal action for those who are unable to perform certain contracts as a result of COVID-19. The Government has studied the possibility of extending temporary relief under Part 2 of the Act to rental agreements between vehicle hire companies and Private Hire Car (PHC) drivers, but has assessed that this is not necessary for the time being. Part 2 of the Act imposes a moratorium on legal action, so that parties have time to negotiate and work out their differences. However, this does not, in itself, address the substantive decline in earnings faced by drivers during this period. To this end, the Government has been working closely with the taxi and PHC operators, the National Taxi Association (NTA), and the National Private Hire Vehicles Association (NPHVA), to provide targeted relief for drivers. The current package of relief measures includes cash grants, initiatives by operators, creating supplementary sources of income for drivers, and providing upskilling opportunities for drivers to move into adjacent sectors. For instance, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) has worked with tripartite partners to launch the Point-to-Point Support Package (PPSP) to support drivers who have seen their livelihoods badly affected. Through the PPSP's Special Relief Fund (SRF), active PHC drivers can receive up to $10 per vehicle per day (or $300 per month), until 12 October 2020. Apart from the SRF, PHC drivers can also draw on the Self-Employed Person Income Relief Scheme (SIRS) which provides eligible persons with $1,000 per month for nine months (or $9,000 in total). All in all, under the SRF and SIRS, drivers can receive up to $1,300 of Government support per month in support to tide them over this challenging period. This is in addition to the Solidarity Payment, and other cash payouts announced under the enhanced Care and Support Package. The Government also notes that some PHC operators and rental companies have stepped forward to offer rental waivers and discounts on commission fees. To enable drivers to supplement their income, LTA has also temporarily allowed drivers to deliver food and groceries. To date, more than 10,000 drivers have taken on deliveries, and this has helped to cushion the fall in ridership earnings. LTA will continue working with tripartite partners to help drivers. Support is also available for drivers who are looking to upskill and move laterally into adjacent sectors, or into new sectors. Under the Self-Employed Persons (SEP) Training Support Scheme, SEPs can receive up to $10 per hour when they attend approved courses. To sum up, the Government has been working closely with tripartite partners in the PHC ecosystem to come together and share the burden in an equitable manner. For now, the Government has assessed that legislative intervention is not necessary. We will however continue to monitor the situation, and make changes if necessary.
Number of Tenants who Submitted Notifications for Relief under COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) Act and Number of Landlords who Filed for Applications for Assessor’s Determination›Written Answers to Questions2 turns · 218w
· 0 highlighted
written-answer-6008
Mr Chong Kee Hiong47 words
[+1 sentence]asked the Minister for Law (a) to date, how many tenants have submitted Notifications for Relief under the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) Act; (b) of these Notifications, how many landlords have filed for Applications for Assessor's Determination; and (c) whether the assessors have a long backlog of cases.
Mr K Shanmugam171 words
[+8 sentences]Between 20 April 2020 and 29 May 2020, 1,254 Notifications for Relief relating to leases or licences of non-residential property have been served using the online system. We have always encouraged parties to first discuss, understand each other's positions, and try to reach a mutual agreement. It appears that many of those who submitted NFRs may be negotiating or have reached a mutual agreement with the counter parties, without requiring an Assessor's determination. In the same period, 125 applications (excluding rejected or withdrawn applications) for an Assessor's determination relating to leases or licences of non-residential property were filed with the Registry. Slightly more than half of the applications are filed by landlords or master tenants in the role of landlords. The Minister for Law has appointed 266 assessors to hear applications for determination under the Act. There are enough assessors to ensure that applications for determination are disposed of in a timely manner. The process is also designed to be simple and efficient, so that applications can be dealt with quickly.
Collaboration with Global Scientific Community to Create a COVID-19 Vaccine›Written Answers to Questions2 turns · 227w
· 0 highlighted
written-answer-6009
Mr Christopher de Souza19 words
[+1 sentence]asked the Minister for Health how is Singapore collaborating with the global scientific community to create a COVID-19 vaccine.
Mr Gan Kim Yong208 words
[+8 sentences]The global scientific community is focusing efforts on research and development of an effective vaccine against the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) and Singapore has been contributing to these efforts. The Duke-NUS Medical School has partnered with the US-based Arcturus Therapeutics in the development of a vaccine. The school supports the pre-clinical studies by conducting rapid screening of vaccine candidates for effectiveness and safety, as well as by conducting animal trials. Local doctors and researchers have also engaged academic groups and vaccine companies from Europe, North America, Australia and China, on participation in clinical trials for COVID-19 vaccine. For example, the Duke-NUS Medical School has partnered with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) on a clinical trial which involves monitoring of side effects and immune response of trial vaccines among healthy individuals. Singapore has also registered as a trial site for the World Health Organisation's multi-country Solidarity Vaccine Trials. Apart from vaccine development, Singapore has also been involved in the research and development of therapeutics to improve the treatment of COVID-19 patients. For example, the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) and public hospitals are participating in multi-national clinical trials involving the experimental drug, Remdesivir, which has shown to improve the recovery of COVID-19 patients in some studies.
Number of COVID-19 Tests Conducted and Expected Rate of Testing for Community Population›Written Answers to Questions2 turns · 208w
· 0 highlighted
written-answer-6010
Mr Leon Perera61 words
[+1 sentence]asked the Minister for Health (a) what is the total number of COVID-19 tests conducted to date for the community population, ie excluding foreign workers living in dormitories; (b) what is the number of tests conducted per million persons for this community population to date; and (c) what is the Government's expected rate of testing for this community population going forward.
Mr Gan Kim Yong147 words
[+6 sentences]As of 1 June 2020, we have conducted over 408,000 tests1 for COVID-19, or 71,700 tests per million population. Among these, over 202,000 tests were for the community population, which includes Singapore Citizens, Permanent Residents, and all long-term pass holders living in the community, but excluding migrant workers living in dormitories. This translates to more than 37,500 tests per million population in the community. These tests are used for community diagnostics, active case finding to prevent further transmissions, and surveillance testing, in particular for vulnerable populations such as our seniors in nursing homes and other residential care facilities. We are ramping up our capacity to be able to conduct as many as 40,000 tests a day in the later part of the year. With this, we will continue to expand testing in the community to detect cases early and reduce the risk of large clusters from developing.
Plans to Reopen Economy in Stages after Circuit Breaker Ends›Written Answers to Questions2 turns · 344w
· 0 highlighted
written-answer-6011
Mr Christopher de Souza20 words
[+1 sentence]asked the Minister for Trade and Industry how will the economy be reopened in stages after the circuit breaker ends.
Mr Chan Chun Sing324 words
[+14 sentences]Singapore will exit our Circuit Breaker from 2 June 2020. We will ramp up our economic activity safely, in order to protect lives and livelihoods. Currently, even during the Circuit Breaker period, we have allowed key companies in our global manufacturing, biomedical, and petrochemical sectors to continue functioning and supporting global supply chains. From 2 June 2020, we will resume additional economic activities that do not pose a high risk of transmission. Sectors that will be allowed to reopen or ramp up their operations in Phase One include those that are closely intertwined with global supply chains, and those in settings with lower transmission risks. These include most manufacturing and production facilities, as well as office-based businesses and those that do not require interactions with large groups of people. Businesses that reopen must comply with the requirements on safe management practices set out by the Ministry of Manpower and respective government agencies. These include enforcing safe distancing and mask wearing amongst their employees at the workplace, staggering working hours and break times, ensuring no cross-deployment of staff across teams or worksites, reducing physical interaction or mixing amongst workers, and cancelling or deferring social gatherings. In addition, businesses must allow their employees to Work From Home (WFH) to the maximum extent. Employees should only go into the office when demonstrably needed (e.g. to access systems or equipment that cannot be accessed from home, or to fulfil legal requirements such as completing contracts or transactions). The Government will conduct checks, and close businesses that do not provide a safe workplace, or fail to comply with safe management measures. If community transmission rates remain low and stable in Phase One, more firms will gradually be allowed to reopen in subsequent phases. These include more consumer services (e.g. retail shops), and fewer restrictions on existing services (e.g. dining-in will be allowed at F&B establishments). Employers should, however, still ensure that those who can WFH continue to do so.
Current and Projected 2030 Energy Composition for Electricity Generation and Plans to Phase out Fossil Fuels›Written Answers to Questions2 turns · 176w
· 0 highlighted
written-answer-6012
Ms Anthea Ong63 words
[+1 sentence]asked the Minister for Trade and Industry with regard to the target of generating 90% of Singapore's electricity through natural gas (a) what is the current energy composition for electricity generation; (b) what is the expected composition in 2030; and (c) whether there are plans to phase out the most carbon intensive fossil fuels like coal and oil from electricity generation by 2030.
Mr Chan Chun Sing113 words
[+8 sentences]About 95% of Singapore's electricity is generated using natural gas. Non-fossil fuel sources (e.g. municipal waste, biomass and solar) accounts for 3%. The rest comes from a mixture of coal, diesel and fuel oil. Natural gas, the cleanest form of fossil fuel, will continue to be Singapore's dominant energy source in 2030. We are working with power generation companies and industries to reduce their usage of high carbon fuels. In addition, we aim to increase our solar capacity by six-fold, achieving at least two Gigawatt-peak (GWp) by 2030. This will contribute to about 3% of our energy demand in 2030. We are also exploring opportunities to import clean energy from our neighbouring countries.
Data on Number of Dogs Euthanised and Their Causes in Past Five Years›Written Answers to Questions2 turns · 89w
· 0 highlighted
written-answer-6013
Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang50 words
[+1 sentence]asked the Minister for National Development (a) in each of the past five years, how many dogs have been euthanised for (i) medical reasons (ii) aggression-related reasons and (iii) non-medical and non-aggression-related reasons; and (b) whether the Ministry will start collecting this data if it is not already doing so.
Mr Lawrence Wong39 words
[+2 sentences]Currently, NParks does not collect data on the cause of death of dogs, including from euthanasia. NParks will look into this as part of its ongoing efforts to ensure that establishments uphold standards of good practice in animal welfare.
Actual and Expected Conversion of Natural Spaces to Urban Development and Carbon Sequestered under URA Concept Plan›Written Answers to Questions2 turns · 329w
· 0 highlighted
written-answer-6014
Ms Anthea Ong88 words
[+1 sentence]asked the Minister for National Development (a) in the past 20 years, how much land has been converted from natural spaces to urban developments; (b) how much land is expected to be converted from natural spaces to urban developments under the URA Concept Plan; (c) what is the area of primary and mature secondary forests expected to be affected under the URA Concept Plan; and (d) what is the amount of carbon that is currently sequestered by the area expected to be affected under the URA Concept Plan.
Mr Lawrence Wong241 words
[+10 sentences]The question by Ms Ong presumes that we are reducing the green and natural spaces in Singapore. But in fact, our urban plans seek to expand such spaces. In 2000, we had about 5,500 hectares of land in nature reserves, nature areas, nature parks, parks and gardens. We have increased this to 7,800 hectares today. Under the Master Plan 2019, which guides development over the next 10 to 15 years, we will add another 1,000 hectares of parks, gardens, and park connectors. We announced plans to transform Singapore from a City in a Garden into a City in Nature during the Committee of Supply debate in March 2020, including plans for a new nature park at Sungei Khatib Bongsu, and planting one million trees by 2030. We will also continue implementing innovative and practical solutions to intensify greenery and restore nature in our urban areas, to further enhance liveability for our residents. In addition, where there are any new developments close to sensitive nature areas, robust assessments are undertaken in consultation with stakeholders, to ensure that the development works are done in an environmentally sensitive manner. These efforts, together with other efforts to enhance our natural ecosystem and marine environment that provide carbon storage and sequestration, will strengthen our climate resilience. Singapore is committed to tackling climate change and meeting our pledge to peak emissions at 65 MtCO2e around 2030 in support of the transition towards a low-carbon and climate-resilient future.
Data on Work Permit Holders not Employed as Foreign Domestic Workers and not Eligible for Work Injury Compensation for Death and Permanent Disability in Past Five Years›Written Answers to Questions2 turns · 212w
· 0 highlighted
written-answer-6015
Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang91 words
[+1 sentence]asked the Minister for Manpower in each of the past five years (a) how many work permit holders not employed as foreign domestic workers (FDWs) died from injuries or diseases for which the individual was not eligible for compensation under the Work Injury Compensation Act (WICA); (b) how many work permit holders not employed as FDWs suffered permanent disability from injuries or diseases for which the individual was not eligible for compensation under WICA; and (c) whether the Ministry will start collecting this data if it is not already doing so.
Mrs Josephine Teo121 words
[+7 sentences]Every year, around 0.3% of foreign work pass holders file claims under the Work Injury Compensation Act (WICA). Around 70 claims for fatal injuries and 2800 claims for permanent disability by foreign workers of all pass types are successfully resolved. They constitute the overwhelming majority of claims. Inadmissible claims were mostly because the injuries were attributed to non-work reasons. On average, around 1% of fatal injury claims and 5% of claims for permanent disability were inadmissible. Regardless of whether the WICA claims were admissible, employers are required to maintain medical insurance for their foreign workers and pay for all medical expenses incurred in Singapore. The Migrant Workers' Centre (MWC) also provides additional emergency assistance to migrant workers who are in need.
Payout Conditions on Employers Regarding Leave under Jobs Support Scheme›Written Answers to Questions2 turns · 313w
· 0 highlighted
written-answer-6016
Mr Murali Pillai40 words
[+1 sentence]asked the Minister for Manpower whether employers who have received payouts under Jobs Support Scheme are required to adhere to any stipulation in relation to consumption of vacation leave by their employees or requiring employees to go on no-pay leave.
Mrs Josephine Teo273 words
[+10 sentences]Given the varied financial positions of employers, the tripartite partners agreed not to take a prescriptive approach on the type and degree of cost-saving measures (e.g. consumption of annual leave, no-pay leave) in issuing advisories1 to guide employers. With the Jobs Support Scheme (JSS) payout, employers should provide some wage support to employees even if their employees are not working. To manage cost pressures and conserve manpower for when they are most needed, employers may request employees to clear some of their paid annual leave when business activity has been sharply reduced. Employers should be allowed to do so, and encouraged to seek their employees’ support and understanding to help the business get ready for business resumption. Where employers have genuine cashflow issues, they may not even be able to afford placing employees on paid annual leave and may have to request employees to go on no-pay leave, in order to avoid the worse alternative of retrenchment. In such instances, tripartite partners have made it clear that employers should allow their employees to seek additional temporary employment to boost their incomes. The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) is closely monitoring such cost-saving measures to ensure that they are implemented responsibly and fairly with reasonable support to employees. We will investigate employees' concerns that are brought to our attention. Irresponsible employers may see a withdrawal of Government-paid employment support including future JSS payouts, and suspension of their work pass privileges. The tripartite partners urge both employers and employees to be open, transparent and understanding in their discussions on cost-saving measures and take a long-term view on saving jobs and emerging stronger together from the crisis.
Measures to Strengthen Singaporean Core in Workforce in Light of Deteriorating Economic Conditions›Written Answers to Questions2 turns · 497w
· 0 highlighted
written-answer-6017
Mr Murali Pillai32 words
[+1 sentence]asked the Minister for Manpower in light of the deteriorating economic conditions that may lead to job losses, whether any steps will be taken to strengthen the Singaporean core in the workforce.
Mrs Josephine Teo465 words
[+20 sentences]In the Unity, Resilience and Solidarity Budgets, the Government introduced measures to provide greater assurance and support to workers and businesses. Budget support measures, including the Jobs Support Scheme, have helped businesses to retain and retrain local workers. These measures have provided some cushion for the labour market. While the number of retrenchments rose in 1Q 2020, it was significantly lower than the quarterly peak during the Global Financial Crisis (1Q 2020: 3,000 (preliminary) versus 1Q 2009: 12,760). However, I expect labour market conditions to weaken in the second quarter given the sharp fall in demand globally, as well as the implementation of circuit breaker measures in Singapore. We have therefore stepped up efforts to help displaced workers reskill and find new employment opportunities. The recently-announced SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package under the Fortitude Budget aims to create a total of 100,000 jobs, traineeships, and training opportunities. We will be expanding the SGUnited Jobs initiative to provide more than 40,000 jobs for locals in 2020. There is a wide range of job opportunities under the SGUnited Jobs initiative, which has been running since end-March. This includes short-term jobs to handle COVID-19 related operations, as well as longer-term jobs created in the Public Service and publicly-funded sectors, such as healthcare and early childhood education. We will also scale up career conversion programmes under the Adapt and Grow and TechSkills Accelerator initiatives to help locals join sectors with strong growth potential. We are providing our recent and new graduates, as well as mid-career jobseekers, with more opportunities to gain valuable industry-relevant experience through the SGUnited Traineeships and SGUnited Mid-Career Traineeships programmes. These will increase their employability and prepare them to seize new opportunities when the economy recovers. In the Unity Budget, we introduced a hiring incentive under the SkillsFuture Mid-Career Support Package. We are now enhancing the hiring incentive to cover all local workers, with higher support for mature workers. We are keeping our foreign workforce policy tight to ensure that our foreign workforce complements rather than substitutes our local workforce. We are maintaining the increases to the minimum qualifying salary at the Employment Pass and S Pass level which I announced this year, and are continuing with previously announced plans to cut the S Pass quota in various sectors. The quota system ensures companies retain a core of Singaporeans if they wish to continue hiring work permit and S Pass holders; a smaller base of locals will also mean a smaller quota. We also strengthened the Fair Consideration Framework earlier this year by requiring more jobs to be advertised and raising the penalties for all forms of discriminatory hiring practices. Strengthening the Singaporean core in the workforce remains our objective and we will continue to pursue this, even as we take into account current economic conditions.
Number of Claims Reported for Work Injury Sustained at Home While on Remote Working Arrangement from 1 January to 31 May 2020›Written Answers to Questions2 turns · 126w
· 0 highlighted
written-answer-6018
Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan39 words
[+1 sentence]asked the Minister for Manpower what is the annual number of work injury claims reported to the Ministry from 1 January 2010 to 31 May 2020 where the work injury occurred at home while on a remote working arrangement.
Mrs Josephine Teo87 words
[+5 sentences]MOM started tracking work injuries at home since the start of the Circuit Breaker period from 7 April 2020. Since then, two work injuries were reported to have occurred at home while on remote working arrangements. The claims are currently being examined. As in all work injury claims, it is necessary to determine if the injuries arose out of and in the course of work. Employees with work injuries, including injury sustained while working from home, are eligible for compensation under the Work Injury Compensation Act (WICA).
Number of Deaths and Breakdown by Causes of Work Permit and Special Pass Holders in Each of Past 10 Years›Written Answers to Questions2 turns · 86w
· 0 highlighted
written-answer-6019
Mr Leon Perera37 words
[+1 sentence]asked the Minister for Manpower (a) how many persons on work permits and special passes have died each year in the past 10 years; and (b) what is the breakdown of the cases by cause of death.
Mrs Josephine Teo49 words
[+4 sentences]Between 2009 and 2019, an average of 230 work permit holders died each year. This translates into a death rate of about 0.02%. The main causes of death were from natural causes, suicides, traffic accidents and workplace accidents. MOM does not have the corresponding data for special pass holders.
Structure of Rental Contracts for Taxis, Private Hire Cars and Limousines›Written Answers to Questions for Oral Answer Not Answered by End of Question Time2 turns · 368w
· 0 highlighted
written-answer-na-6029
Assoc Prof Walter Theseira87 words
[+1 sentence]asked the Minister for Transport (a) whether the Ministry has studied the structure of rental contracts for taxis, private-hire cars and limousines, in particular (i) the duration of such contracts (ii) rental fees charged and (iii) penalties for early termination; (b) whether rental contracts expose hirers to excessive business risk in the event of sustained reductions in demand such as that from the COVID-19 situation; and (c) whether the industry can be restructured to ensure hirers have more flexible rental arrangements and risk is distributed more equitably.
Mr Khaw Boon Wan281 words
[+13 sentences]There is a wide range of rental contracts among more than a thousand fleet owners in the point-to-point passenger transport (P2P) rental market. This provides drivers with a range of choices, with varying durations, rates and conditions that they can choose from based on their needs. Some prefer short-term contracts with higher rental rates so that they can exit the market quickly, others prefer longer-term contracts to enjoy lower rental rates and loyalty bonuses, but which come with penalties for early termination. Some drivers are employed by P2P operators. The current situation caused by COVID-19 is unprecedented. Drivers face a sudden and significant reduction in their takings, and those who have committed to the P2P industry for the long term will be especially concerned about their livelihoods. That is why the Government has introduced the Special Relief Fund (SRF) and the Self-Employed Person Income Relief Scheme (SIRS). Under the SRF, active drivers will receive the Government's contribution of $300 per month per vehicle for 7.5 months, on top of the additional contributions from taxi and PHC operators. Under the SIRS, eligible drivers will receive payouts of $1,000 per month for a period of 9 months. The financial status of taxi operators and car rental companies have also been severely affected by the pandemic. Despite these challenges, the companies have initiated significant rental reductions to help defray drivers' costs and sustain their livelihoods. They have also exercised flexibility in addressing rental arrears or the premature return of vehicles. Even as we address the immediate challenges, it is important that we continue to take a long-term view that allows the rental market for P2P vehicles to remain competitive and responsive to drivers' needs.
Impact of COVID-19 Situation on Singapore’s Climate Change Commitments›Written Answers to Questions for Oral Answer Not Answered by End of Question Time2 turns · 786w
· 0 highlighted
written-answer-na-6033
Mr Kwek Hian Chuan Henry44 words
[+1 sentence]asked the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources whether Singapore will stay the course on fighting climate change and meet our climate change commitments despite the current upheavals in the energy market and the potential long-term economic impact arising from the COVID-19 situation.
Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M742 words
[+29 sentences]The Government's current priority is to manage the COVID-19 outbreak and ensure the lives and livelihoods of Singaporeans, as well as those of our migrant worker community, are well taken care of. We are all in this together and we will spare no effort to make sure that Singapore comes through this COVID-19 crisis much better than before. Even as we continue with our efforts to suppress the outbreak and prepare our economy to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, we must not lose sight of the other global challenge of climate change, which remains the biggest threat facing humanity over the long term. As a small island city-state, Singapore remains highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. This is why we cannot let up our efforts to address climate change. Recently in March, we released our long-term low-emissions development strategy and enhanced our 2030 climate pledge in support of the goals of the Paris Agreement. They contained bold aspirations and plans to guide our long-term development and ongoing work to effect a well-managed transition to a low-carbon economy. Despite the uncertainties presented by the COVID-19 situation, we decided to press ahead with these plans and submitted them early to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in March, as we wanted to send a strong signal to Singaporeans and the international community that Singapore remains fully committed to tackling climate change. They demonstrate our seriousness and commitment to support global climate action and move towards a low-carbon and climate resilient future. We hope that our early submission to the UNFCCC would encourage other Parties to do likewise and jump-start the process of early submissions, thereby strengthening the momentum of global climate action at this critical time. We also remain committed to climate action and are making good progress on our climate plans. Just last month, Energy Market Authority (EMA) announced that we had achieved our 2020 solar deployment target of 350 megawatt-peak. We are now pressing ahead with our plans to reach our more ambitious solar target of at least two gigawatt-peak by 2030. MEWR will play our part. As earlier announced at the Committee of Supply (COS) 2020, Public Utilities Board (PUB) will be deploying floating solar photovoltaic systems at Bedok, Lower Seletar, and Tengeh Reservoirs by 2021. With this, Singapore will be one of the few countries in the world to have 100% green waterworks. In the face of climate change challenges, Singapore cannot take food security for granted and we have made early moves to prepare ourselves. As early as 2019, my Ministry announced an ambitious "30 by 30" goal to produce 30 per cent of Singapore's nutritional needs locally by 2030. The COVID-19 situation has underscored the need to further enhance our food security and resilience. To this end, the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) has just launched a $30 million "30x30 Express" grant call to accelerate the ramping up of local food production over the next six to 24 months. We are also pressing on with plans to protect Singapore from sea-level rise. PUB has taken on the role of the national Coastal Protection Agency from April 2020. With this new responsibility, one agency, PUB, will study both coastal and inland flooding holistically and develop models to guide our flood protection response. To facilitate the transition to a low-carbon economy, we are continuing our investment in low-emissions solutions and are partnering the industry and our research community to explore pilot projects to evaluate and improve the feasibility of technologies to drive the decarbonisation of our electricity grid and industrial processes. The Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) and EMA have launched energy efficiency incentives and schemes to help our companies to be best-in-class globally in energy and carbon efficiency, and are bringing companies within a sector together to achieve systems-level efficiency gains across the sector. We urge companies to use this period of lowered activities to consider implementing energy efficiency improvement projects where possible, so that companies can be more cost-competitive and emerge stronger when the economy picks up again. As we work to prepare Singapore to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, members of this house can be assured that the Government will keep climate change high as a priority. We will work assiduously to build a more resilient Singapore to withstand the test of future challenges, notably climate change. We encourage all Singaporeans to join us and play their part to "game change" climate change.
Impact of Telecommuting by Employees at Water Plants on Singapore's Water Supply Adequacy›Written Answers to Questions for Oral Answer Not Answered by End of Question Time2 turns · 345w
· 0 highlighted
written-answer-na-6034
Mr Seah Kian Peng59 words
[+1 sentence]asked the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources (a) whether he can assure Singaporeans that our water supply is adequate and that the water plants are continuing to run at full capacity; and (b) what is the percentage of staff at these water plants who are on telecommuting and whether this compromises the quality of our water supply.
Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M286 words
[+12 sentences]Singapore enjoys a diversified and robust supply of water, due to years of continued planning and investments in our water infrastructure. Water from local catchment and imported water, together with weather-resilient sources namely NEWater and desalinated water, make up Singapore's "Four National Taps". Under the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) (Control Order) Regulations 2020, the supply of water was amongst the essential services allowed to operate during the Circuit Breaker period. Since early February 2020, Public Utilities Board (PUB) has activated business continuity plans to ensure that all our water plants continue to operate as per normal. PUB has implemented Safe Management Measures in accordance to the Ministry of Manpower's guidelines at the plants and work sites. These include regular temperature screenings, physical spacing of at least one metre between persons at all times and wearing of masks. PUB has also stepped up the cleaning of work sites to ensure that equipment shared between different employees across different shifts or teams are cleaned and disinfected at the end of each shift. In addition, PUB has staggered working and lunch hours, and implemented split team arrangements to reduce congregation of our employees. As part of its comprehensive water sampling and monitoring programme, PUB has also continued to collect and test water samples from our reservoirs, waterworks distribution systems to customers' taps daily. The quality of our drinking water continues to comply with the Environmental Public Health (Water Suitable for Drinking) Regulations 2019 and are well within the World Health Organization (WHO) Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality. Singaporeans can be assured that they will continue to enjoy good quality drinking water from the tap during this period. I thank PUB officers for their continued dedication especially during the Circuit Breaker period.
Possible Review of “30 by 30 Vision” to Produce 30% of Singapore's Food Needs Locally by 2030›Written Answers to Questions for Oral Answer Not Answered by End of Question Time2 turns · 564w
· 0 highlighted
written-answer-na-6035
Mr Seah Kian Peng30 words
[+1 sentence]asked the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources whether there are plans to review the "30 by 30 vision" to locally produce 30% of Singapore's nutritional needs by 2030.
Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M534 words
[+22 sentences]When we started working on our "30 by 30" goal in 2018, our primary intention was to adapt to the challenges posed by climate change and resource scarcity. Last year, my Ministry announced our "30 by 30" goal, to produce 30 per cent of our nutritional needs locally by 2030. It complements our other strategies of diversifying import sources, growing overseas and stockpiling, to ensure the resilience of Singapore's food supply. This goal is ambitious, considering that we currently produce less than 10 per cent of our requirements, and we must achieve this goal with less than one per cent of our land. In February this year, my Ministry launched the 2020: Singapore Food Story, a year-long campaign to raise awareness on Singapore's food security. As events would have it, the COVID-19 outbreak escalated quickly, impacting countries, big and small, all over the world. This pandemic has disrupted global supply chains and affected global trade and commerce. COVID-19 has strongly reinforced the need for Singapore to secure our food supply and the importance, timeliness and relevance of our "30 by 30" goal. For now, we are not planning to review the "30 by 30" goal, which is already an ambitious undertaking. Local food production forms one part of our basket of strategies to buffer against food supply shocks. We are mindful that local production will not allow us to be self-sufficient in all varieties of food types that we are importing from more than 170 countries and regions today. However, we are responding to the COVID-19 pandemic by accelerating our ramp up in local food production. In April, the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) launched a "30 by 30 Express" grant call to ramp up local production in eggs, leafy vegetables and fish over the next six to 24 months. Through this call, SFA will crowdsource and support innovative proposals to grow food productively and sustainably. I am also chairing a multi-agency ministerial taskforce to guide agencies in this effort, including addressing any hurdles related to the setting up or expansion of farms. Even as we ramp up local food production, we need the support of all consumers, corporations and supermarkets to support local produce. Local produce is grown close to our homes, and is therefore fresher, lasts longer and is more sustainable as it incurs lower carbon miles. We encourage Singaporeans to eat local, so as to spur our farmers to increase their production, and in turn reap the benefits of economies of scale and generate exciting jobs for our people. To make it easier for everyone to identify and support local produce, SFA is working with our farmers and retailers to include a new local produce logo, to be incorporated into their packaging which will be rolled out soon. The new label is a result of SFA's consultation with industry stakeholders and members of the public. SFA will also continue to collaborate with retailers like NTUC FairPrice, Cold Storage and Prime Supermarket to organise joint promotions and display in-store branding collaterals with key messages to promote awareness of local produce. As part of Singapore Together, we will be convening a Citizens' Workgroup this year to co-create ideas to increase demand for local produce.
Enhancements to NEU PC Plus Programme›Written Answers to Questions for Oral Answer Not Answered by End of Question Time2 turns · 526w
· 0 highlighted
written-answer-na-6037
Ms Anthea Ong107 words
[+1 sentence]asked the Minister for Communications and Information with reference to the NEU-PC Plus Programme (a) before COVID-19, what was the rationale for the limit of one digital device per low-income household notwithstanding the number of children; (b) whether the Ministry will retain the COVID-19 enhancements to the Programme permanently; (c) whether the Ministry will enhance the Programme to (i) give every low-income household student a digital device and (ii) provide digital devices to low-income household students in pre-school or university; and (d) whether the Ministry will allow students on the MOE Financial Assistance Scheme to automatically benefit from the Programme without having to submit a separate application.
Mr S Iswaran419 words
[+20 sentences]Our approach to digital inclusion strikes a balance between providing help and using public funds prudently, in a manner that is fit for purpose. Hence the Infocomm Media Development Authority's (IMDA) Home Access and NEU PC Plus focus on enabling access to digital devices and connectivity. This is done by providing one device to a qualifying household, which can be shared among household members, rather than providing one device to every individual in the household. This approach applies to students as well. IMDA's NEU PC Plus scheme complements MOE's existing provisions through the schools for students to access computing services. However, the Government is also prepared to be flexible, especially when needs change. The COVID-19 pandemic and the adoption of system-wide Full Home-Based Learning for the Circuit Breaker period translated into a greater need for digital devices among families with school-going children. MOE and IMDA's support schemes have therefore been modified and enhanced to broaden the criteria and to speed up delivery. For instance, students were given the option of borrowing devices through their schools. IMDA also began subsidising a second computer for large families with three or more children. In addition, to extend more help to needy households, IMDA adjusted the criteria for the iNSPIRE fund, which helps families with the co-payment component, to include all students under MOE's FAS Programme. IMDA and MOE have also streamlined and expedited the NEU PC Plus application process for students on MOE's Financial Assistance Scheme. The enhancements have helped many students and families. Since the start of the circuit breaker, school have loaned out more than 20,000 computing devices and 1,600 Internet-enabling devices to students. IMDA has also supported around 3,000 households with subsidised computers or Internet connectivity, more than five times the demand during this same period last year. As a result, the majority of students have been able to participate in full Home-Based Learning, with participation averaging 96% across the levels. Even with these measures, we recognise that some families have faced challenges in participating in Home-Based Learning during this period, due to either digital access constraints or other difficult circumstances. Looking ahead, MCI and IMDA are considering maintaining some of the enhancements to the schemes we introduced during the Circuit Breaker period. As we enter Phase One and look ahead to Phase Two of reopening, MCI and MOE are working together to review students' experience with digital access. We stand ready to help plug any gaps identified by the schools, which have not been addressed by existing measures.
Help for Residents who Cannot Afford Mobile Phones to Access Online Programmes›Written Answers to Questions for Oral Answer Not Answered by End of Question Time2 turns · 645w
· 0 highlighted
written-answer-na-6038
Ms Denise Phua Lay Peng38 words
[+1 sentence]asked the Minister for Communications and Information whether the Ministry can list the kinds of help made available for residents, especially seniors, who cannot afford mobile phones to access the numerous online programmes that are useful to them.
Mr S Iswaran607 words
[+25 sentences]Digital inclusion has always been a Government priority, and is doubly important during this COVID-19 period. This applies to our seniors, although we recognise that we need to continue to engage seniors using multiple channels, including digital and many non-digital means like TV and radio programmes, as well as ground engagements. Even as we continue keeping these non-digital channels available, we must continue forging ahead on our efforts to equip every Singaporean with access to digital devices, as well as the skills to use them. To support low-income households to afford digital devices and Internet connection, Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) has been running the Home Access programme since 2014, which provides two years of subsidised broadband and the option for a subsidised smartphone or tablet. More than 16,000 households have benefited since the start of the programme. IMDA also runs the NEU PC Plus Programme, which provides a subsidised PC and free broadband to low-income households with school-going children or with persons with disabilities. Together, these programmes support our residents, including seniors, with digital connectivity. For more vulnerable seniors, the CareLine programme by Changi General Hospital provides 24/7 emergency response, as well as care and social support, such as medication reminders and tele-befriending. Changi General Hospital has partnered with Temasek Foundation and the Agency for Integrated Care to provide mobile phones and mobile plans to needy seniors with little or no family support, so that they can access CareLine. Even as seniors stay home to reduce the risk of COVID-19 infections, they will have peace of mind knowing that care is just a call away. Service providers can also use digital technology to monitor their wellbeing and convey important messages on COVID-19. Beyond digital access, individuals need to be equipped with relevant digital skills. To address skill gaps, including amongst seniors, there are various ongoing digital upskilling initiatives in the community. For instance, IMDA's Digital Clinics and the Tech Connect service at various Community Centres provide one-to-one support to address seniors' questions over smartphone usage. Various community partners and social service agencies also run Silver Infocomm Junctions to help seniors upskill themselves digitally. With the support of corporate volunteers from companies like Cognizant, Grab, and Microsoft, IMDA and National Library Board (NLB) have also recently launched online learning platforms, such as Virtual Digital Clinics, where seniors can have their digital questions answered remotely during the circuit breaker. We recognise the importance of bringing more seniors on board this digital journey, especially during this COVID-19 situation where digital solutions can help safeguard our seniors' health and improve their quality of lives substantially. For example, seniors can remain digitally connected through video-calls with their friends and family, even as they stay home. We will thus be embarking on a nation-wide "Seniors Go Digital" movement, as mentioned by the Deputy Prime Minister in his Ministerial Statement last week, to inspire seniors to widen their horizons through digital adoption, and equip them with the digital skills to do so. As part of "Seniors Go Digital", we will provide needy seniors who aspire to go digital but lack the financial means to do so, with financial support to have phones. Minister Iswaran will announce more details shortly. Everyone has a part to play. For those of us who have seniors at home, we can encourage them to come on board this digital journey and guide them in picking up digital skills. Businesses and community players can also contribute; many have come forward during this challenging period to support donation efforts that provide digital devices to those in need. Together, we can help our seniors go digital in meaningful and sustainable ways.
Guidelines on Purpose, Duration, Process and Substance of Public Consultations by Government Agencies›Written Answers to Questions for Oral Answer Not Answered by End of Question Time2 turns · 591w
· 0 highlighted
written-answer-na-6039
Ms Anthea Ong116 words
[+1 sentence]asked the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth (a) in each of the last five years, how many public consultations launched by the Government were (i) two weeks or shorter (ii) more than two weeks and less than one month and (iii) more than one month; (b) how does the agency decide the duration of the public consultation; (c) whether the Government will ensure that all public consultations run for no shorter than one month to allow sufficient time for organisations and individuals to consult adequately and provide higher-quality responses; and (d) whether the Government will issue a Code of Practice for all agencies to adopt regarding the purpose, duration, process and substance of public consultations.
Ms Grace Fu Hai Yien475 words
[+21 sentences]The Government uses the REACH website to seek views from members of the public across a range of issues. From 2016 to 2020, the REACH website hosted a total of 113 public consultations for new policies and draft legislation. Fifty-eight of these consultations lasted from between two weeks to one month, and 53 lasted more than one month. However, these consultations published on REACH's website represent only a slice of our overall engagement efforts. The Government engages and partners the public and stakeholders in many other ways, such as through dialogues, people-private-public (3P) committees, and focus group discussions. Recent major efforts include SGFuture (2015 -2016), which provided a platform for Singaporeans to discuss their hopes and dreams for the nation and to embark on their own projects, the Committee on the Future Economy (2017) that convened industry leaders to make recommendations for Singapore's economic growth, and public consultation on the Land Transport Master Plan 2040 (2018). The engagement mode must be fit-for-purpose, and so its design, duration, and target audience will vary according to the policy issue at hand. Ms Ong asked if there will be a Code of Practice for public consultations. I agree with Ms Ong that we need to continually improve in how we engage the public. I am pleased to inform Ms Ong that the Public Service has many on-going efforts to level up agencies' and officers' engagement capabilities. We offer a suite of training programmes and resources that distill the principles and best practices of public engagement, and we constantly enhance these as we learn from experience and external experts. There are also field guides and digital tools to help agencies carry out engagements that best meet their objectives, and ensure a meaningful experience for their stakeholders. Over the years, the Government has moved beyond just consulting, to partnering Singaporeans to co-create and co-deliver solutions for a better Singapore. This was reinforced when Deputy Prime Minister launched the Singapore Together movement in June 2019. Today, we have even more avenues for citizens to be involved in designing policies and innovating new solutions. In the past year, the Recycle Right Citizens' Workgroup (2019), and the SG Youth Action Plan (2019) have demonstrated the power of citizens and Government working together for a common cause. Our COVID-19 experience has also seen many examples of citizen and community groups stepping forward to partner the Government, to strengthen our healthcare system by volunteering, care for migrant workers, and rally Singaporeans' spirits in these challenging times. Singapore Together is a new model of governance where Government, community and businesses partner each other, to build our future Singapore, together. This is especially important now. Only by working together, united in purpose, will we emerge from this COVID-19 situation stronger as a nation. I invite all my Parliamentary colleagues to join us in this Singapore Together movement.
Availability of Tertiary-Level Courses Related to E-sports›Written Answers to Questions for Oral Answer Not Answered by End of Question Time2 turns · 197w
· 0 highlighted
written-answer-na-6040
Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye40 words
[+1 sentence]asked the Minister for Education (a) how many tertiary institutions currently offer e-sports related courses; and (b) whether there are plans to increase the number of e-sports related diploma and undergraduate courses to match the demand for a skilled workforce.
Mr Ong Ye Kung157 words
[+9 sentences]The Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) currently do not offer any specific e-sports-related courses. At a young age, students will benefit from a broader set of competencies and skills, which can be relevant to the e-sports industry. These include courses in Game Design and Development, Infocomm Technology, Sports Management, Graphics and Sounds Design, Events Management and Data Science. Notwithstanding, some IHLs have worked with industry partners to incorporate aspects of e-sports into their curricula. For example, Republic Polytechnic has infused e-sports content into their Diploma in Business for students who have selected the Sport Management specialisation. These students can also take up internships or final-year projects in the e-sports industry, during which they are exposed to skills such as marketing, event management and logistics management. There are also opportunities beyond the formal curriculum. Students can join clubs such as NUS' E-Gaming Society (NUSEG) and SMU's eSports. SUTD also runs a gaming research centre called the Game Lab.
Extension of Wage Subsidies under Jobs Support Scheme to Shareholder-directors with Assessable Incomes not Exceeding $150,000›Written Answers to Questions for Oral Answer Not Answered by End of Question Time2 turns · 164w
· 0 highlighted
written-answer-na-6041
Mr Lim Biow Chuan37 words
[+1 sentence]asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance whether the Ministry will extend the wage subsidies under the Jobs Support Scheme to shareholder-directors whose assessable incomes do not exceed $150,000 for the Year of Assessment 2019.
Mr Heng Swee Keat127 words
[+7 sentences]We set an assessable income (AI) criterion of $100,000 or below to better target the Jobs Support Scheme at shareholder-directors who need more support. The AI criterion of $100,000 already corresponds to approximately the 80th percentile of personal income tax payers. With the current criterion, the JSS already benefits about 50,000 shareholder-directors. Shareholder-directors who have marginally missed the AI criterion, or have suffered a significant drop in income, can submit an appeal to IRAS. We will assess each appeal on its merits on a case-by-case basis. I would also like to add that all shareholder-directors continue to receive JSS payouts based on the wages paid to their local employees. They also benefit from other forms of business support, such as corporate income tax rebates and rental rebates.
Updated Budget Deficit Forecast for FY 2020/2021 after Budget and Supplementary Budget Announcements›Written Answers to Questions for Oral Answer Not Answered by End of Question Time2 turns · 301w
· 0 highlighted
written-answer-na-6042
Mr Leon Perera78 words
[+1 sentence]asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance (a) whether he can provide an updated budget deficit forecast for FY 2020/2021, after the main Budget and supplementary Budget statements up to and including 26 May 2020; (b) how much of this is financed via a reserves drawdown, by utilising the accumulated surplus from the current term of Government and by other means, respectively; and (c) what is the nature of the other means of financing, if any.
Mr Heng Swee Keat223 words
[+10 sentences]The four Budgets in 2020 have deployed a total of $92.9 billion to support our economy and society in fighting COVID-19, and to position ourselves to emerge stronger. The Overall Budget Deficit for FY2020 is $74.3 billion or 15.4% of GDP. The Government will draw $31 billion from past reserves to fund the measures announced in the Fortitude Budget. Taken together with the earlier $21 billion draw from past reserves for the Resilience and Solidarity packages, we are drawing a total of up to $52 billion from past reserves to fund Singapore's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Loan capital, which we expect to be repaid in the future and is hence fiscally neutral, makes up $22 billion of the total COVID-19 package. The remainder will be funded by the Government using current reserves. This comprises the accumulated surplus in this term of Government, including expected fiscal upside from FY2019 revenue and expenditure updated after the close of the financial year. Singapore's fiscal response to COVID-19 is significant and we are able to do so as we have been prudent and have accumulated surpluses over the years. Our reserves are our strategic asset, built up through the discipline and prudence of our people and political leaders, across generations. Because we have prepared ourselves well, Singapore has the resources to meet this crisis with confidence.
Assessment of Overseas Reports of Children with Multi-system Inflammatory Syndromes Linked to COVID-19 and Steps taken Locally›Written Answers to Questions for Oral Answer Not Answered by End of Question Time2 turns · 259w
· 0 highlighted
written-answer-na-6044
Mr Murali Pillai41 words
[+1 sentence]asked the Minister for Health what is the Ministry's assessment of overseas reports regarding children who may be affected by paediatric multi-system inflammatory syndromes linked to COVID-19 and what steps is the Ministry taking in Singapore to deal with this development.
Mr Gan Kim Yong218 words
[+9 sentences]Since end April 2020, countries, such as the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Spain and the United States of America have been reporting cases of children requiring intensive care due to a rare paediatric inflammatory multisystem syndrome. A possible link with COVID-19 infection was suggested because some of these children had tested positive for COVID-19 infection. However, no strong evidence of such a link has been seen so far in Asian countries, such as Korea, Taiwan, Japan and Singapore. In Singapore, as of 28 May, 61 patients below the age of 16 years have tested positive for COVID-19. These patients were either asymptomatic, or had only mild symptoms such as fever, cough, sore throat, and diarrhoea. None of these patients had the symptoms suggestive of the multisystem inflammatory syndrome, or required intensive care or high dependency care. The Ministry of Health notes that this paediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome remains very rare, and information is still emerging. Nevertheless, MOH is monitoring the situation closely, and had issued an advisory to all medical practitioners on 11 May 2020 to refer potential cases that present with clinical features suggestive of this condition to the Children's Emergency at the KK Women's and Children's Hospital and the National University Hospital. MOH has also advised paediatricians managing COVID-19 cases to be watchful for this condition.
Help for Home Team Officers in Light of Additional Roles during COVID-19 Pandemic›Written Answers to Questions for Oral Answer Not Answered by End of Question Time2 turns · 334w
· 0 highlighted
written-answer-na-6046
Mr Christopher de Souza41 words
[+1 sentence]asked the Minister for Home Affairs what has been done, and what will continue to be done, to care for our home team officers as they take on additional roles to enforce law and order issues surrounding the fight against COVID-19.
Mr K Shanmugam293 words
[+15 sentences]The Home Team officers are deeply involved in the COVID-19 crisis, from coordinating the whole-of-Government response at the Public Service level and supporting the Multi-Ministry Task Force, to implementing COVID-19 border policies and measures, supporting MOH in contact tracing, and enforcing Stay-Home Notices and egregious breaches of safe distancing. The Home Team has put in place various measures to protect and support the officers. Home Team Departments have implemented split teams and safe distancing at workplaces. Officers who can work from home will do so. Temperature checks are conducted twice daily to ensure that our officers are well before they perform their duties. We are delivering more services using automation or through digital means to reduce physical contact. For officers who may have to come into contact with potential COVID-19 cases, for example SCDF's Emergency Medical Services personnel, and Home Team officers helping manage the situation at Government quarantine facilities and foreign worker dormitories, they will don the necessary personal protection equipment (PPE), such as mask, face shield, gloves, cap and goggles. Alternative accommodation is arranged upon request for officers deployed for COVID-19 related operations, to minimise contact with their family members during the period of deployment. We are also mindful about the mental well-being of our officers during this period. Supervisors and commanders engage the officers to gather feedback, motivate and raise morale. Self-care materials and guides are disseminated to officers on a regular basis. We have also distributed "care packs" which include personal items, such as reusable masks, Vitamin C supplements, and hand sanitisers. Home Team psychologists and in-house para-counsellors look out for distressed officers. Home Team Departments have also intensified the manning of counselling helplines. The Ministry will support and care for our officers working on Singapore's response to COVID-19.
Addressing Workplace Grievances of Trainees Hired under SGUnited Trainship Programme›Written Answers to Questions for Oral Answer Not Answered by End of Question Time2 turns · 132w
· 0 highlighted
written-answer-na-6047
Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan48 words
[+1 sentence]asked the Minister for Manpower as the trainees under the SGUnited Traineeships Programme are not in an employment relationship and are not covered by the employment laws, how can these trainees obtain assistance and support in the event of workplace grievances and issues including work injury and harassment.
Mrs Josephine Teo84 words
[+3 sentences]Mrs Josephine Teo: Under the Workplace Safety and Health Act (WSHA), the host company is responsible to ensure that workplaces are safe and without any health risks to every person on its premises, including the SGUnited trainees. In the event of any harassment, TAFEP will assist and support trainees who encounter such incidents. TAFEP will advise the trainees on the actions they can take, such as reporting the incident to the HR or, if the conduct constitutes criminal conduct, to make a Police report.
Complaints by Foreign Domestic Workers during COVID-19 Pandemic›Written Answers to Questions for Oral Answer Not Answered by End of Question Time2 turns · 302w
· 0 highlighted
written-answer-na-6048
Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye43 words
[+1 sentence]asked the Minister for Manpower (a) what is the number of complaints lodged by foreign domestic workers (FDWs) since the COVID-19 pandemic started; and (b) what kinds of assistance, in particular mental health support, are available to FDWs facing conflict with their employers.
Mrs Josephine Teo259 words
[+11 sentences]Over the past three months, the Ministry received an average of about eight complaints per 10,000 FDWs each month. This is comparable to the average number of complaints we received in the same period last year. While some FDWs had concerns about not having suitable or enough food, others had issues with their workload. The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) investigates all complaints seriously and will take the party responsible to task in accordance with our laws. We will also provide whatever assistance and support we can to the aggrieved party. Apart from raising their concerns to MOM, FDWs who face stress at work or require advice have access to various avenues of support. Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) like the Centre for Domestic Employees (CDE) and the Foreign Domestic Worker Association for Social Support and Training (FAST) each maintain a 24-hour helpline for FDWs. In addition, CDE partners mental health advocacy organisations, such as the Silver Ribbon to provide counselling services for FDWs who need someone to talk to. FAST has also developed various meaningful e-activities for FDWs to participate in, such as online mental resilience talks and exercise programmes, like Zumba, Pilates and yoga sessions, to help FDWs recharge and keep healthy. As we all adjust to the disruptions in our households due to COVID-19, we encourage employers and FDWs to maintain open communication with each other and exercise extra understanding and sensitivity to each other's needs. FDWs are an important part of our households and we will continue to work with our partners to safeguard their well-being in Singapore.
Incidence of Blood Clots and Heart Diseases in COVID-19 Patients in Singapore›Written Answers to Questions for Oral Answer Not Answered by End of Question Time2 turns · 336w
· 0 highlighted
written-answer-na-6055
Mr Leon Perera32 words
[+1 sentence]asked the Minister for Health to what extent are patients with COVID-19 experiencing above-average rates of blood clots and heart disease, as some research suggest is being seen amongst COVID-19 patients globally.
Mr Gan Kim Yong304 words
[+13 sentences]The Ministry of Health has been monitoring the emerging data globally on the increased risks of blood clots and heart disease in COVID-19 patients. MOH issued an advisory to all doctors on 20 May 2020 to highlight the emerging data on these risks, to advise them to be watchful for cardiovascular symptoms in COVID-19 patients, and to provide guidance on the evaluation and management of such patients. Among our local cases so far, about one in 1000 experienced cardiovascular events, such as heart attacks and blood clots. Due to the small numbers, we are unable to definitively conclude whether this is higher than average compared to non-COVID patients here in Singapore. This is an ongoing area of research and MOH will continue to support studies on this issue. From international data, we know that patients admitted to the Intensive Care Unit are at higher risk, as they are immobile for prolonged periods and may have multiple co-morbidities. For such cases, our doctors take extra precautions, such as monitoring their coagulation status or the propensity for the blood to clot closely. In some cases, anti-coagulants are used to prevent blood clot formation. However, use of anti-coagulants must be weighed against the risk of bleeding, and our doctors will decide on a case by case basis. In the dormitories, community care facilities and community recovery facilities, we have been educating workers and patients on preventive measures for cardiovascular complications, such as good hydration, staying active, smoking cessation, and early recognition of symptoms. They are advised to seek medical attention immediately if they feel unwell. As COVID-19 is a new disease, we are learning more about it as we go along. MOH will continue to monitor the emerging evidence, and work with our clinical experts to ensure the best possible care and outcomes for our COVID-19 patients.
Average Duration between Grant Application and Notification of Decision for Government’s Business Grant Schemes›Written Answers to Questions for Oral Answer Not Answered by End of Question Time2 turns · 544w
· 0 highlighted
written-answer-na-6071
Assoc Prof Walter Theseira82 words
[+1 sentence]asked the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) over the past three years, what is the average duration between grant application and notification of decision for each of the major business grant schemes administered by Enterprise Singapore (ESG) targeted at local enterprises; (b) what is the average duration between successful conclusion of a grant-funded business project and reimbursement of grant funding from ESG; and (c) what has been done to improve application and reimbursement procedures to help businesses innovate while maintaining cashflow.
Mr Chan Chun Sing462 words
[+23 sentences]Enterprise Singapore (ESG) and our economic agencies adopt an enterprise-centric approach to support our companies to transform their business models, improve productivity and access new markets. This includes grants tailored to meet the needs of enterprises through the different stages of their growth. In processing the applications and claims, ESG’s aim is to do so as efficiently and expeditiously as possible, while ensuring accountability and safeguarding the integrity of the system. Broadly, the time taken to process grant applications and claims depends on two main factors – how complex is the project and whether the company has provided the required information in a complete and timely manner. We can expect processing time to be longer for grants that support projects that are more complex or require more customisation. For example, the Enterprise Development Grant (EDG) covers a wide range of supportable areas, from business strategy to automation. Each grant is tailored to meet the company’s needs. This means that each grant application will have its unique set of objectives, scope and cost components. Not surprisingly, it takes longer to approve EDG applications compared to more standard applications under schemes like Productivity Solutions Grant (PSG) and Market Readiness and Assistance (MRA). The average duration for EDG is seven weeks versus four weeks for PSG and MRA. For around 10% of applications which are more straightforward, the company will receive approval in about a week. This includes the time taken for applicants to respond to clarifications and to submit a complete set of documentation to ESG. That brings me to the second factor, which is the completeness of information submitted by companies. Some companies readily provide the required information, which makes it quicker to process their applications and claims. However, when the documentation provided is not complete, ESG has a duty to clarify and check before approving the applications or disbursing public funds for the claims. This will inevitably slow down the process. The average duration between submission of final claims and grant disbursement is between seven to 10 weeks across the three schemes. Where the documentation provided is clear and complete, disbursements can be made within two weeks. To help businesses better manage their cashflow, ESG will exercise flexibility in the grant disbursement schedule while ensuring that the final grant amounts are accurately disbursed. For EDG projects with high upfront costs, ESG may disburse the grant in stages according to project implementation milestones. In addition, government agencies have started using PayNow Corporate to speed up payments to businesses. ESG is planning to do likewise for EDG, MRA and PSG so that companies can receive the disbursements more quickly. We are also open to other suggestions on how ESG can further improve its application and claims process, to help companies during these difficult times.
Safeguarding of Personal Data Collected by Contact-tracing Apps›Written Answers to Questions for Oral Answer Not Answered by End of Question Time2 turns · 177w
· 0 highlighted
written-answer-na-6073
Mr Murali Pillai45 words
[+1 sentence]asked the Prime Minister what steps has the Government taken to ensure that personal data of persons collated through apps such as TraceTogether for the purposes of contact tracing to contain the spread of COVID-19 will be protected and not used for any other purpose.
Mr Teo Chee Hean (for the Prime Minister)132 words
[+6 sentences]The close contacts data gathered by TraceTogether will be stored only on the user’s phone in the first instance, and accessed by MOH only if the individual tests positive for COVID-19. It will only be used for contact tracing. Safeguards, including encryption, are in place on the user’s phone to protect this data from malicious hackers. Data older than 25 days will be automatically deleted from the phone. If the close contact data on the person’s phone is required for contact tracing, only a small group of authorised individuals in MOH would be able to see the patient’s personal data. All public sector data protection rules will also apply to the data transferred from the user’s phone to MOH, including abiding by the recommendations of the Public Sector Data Security Review Committee.
Government's Plans in Our Continuing Fight Against COVID-19 Pandemic›Ministerial Statements49 turns · 36,960w
· 261 highlighted
ministerial-statement-1408recorded 2020-06-05
Speaker not recorded63 words
[+1 sentence], (proc text)] [(proc text) "That the Ministerial Statement made by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance on the Government's Plans in Our Continuing Fight Against COVID-19 Pandemic be considered by Parliament." – (proc text)]
Mr Deputy Speaker4 words
[+1 sentence]Mr Ang Wei Neng.
Mr Ang Wei Neng (Jurong)1633 words
[+3 sentences]Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I rise in support of the Budget. In Mandarin, please. (In Mandarin): Sir, COVID-19 has led to economic contraction all around the world and Singapore is no exception. If we do not have sufficient reserves, the $33 billion Fortitude Budget would not be possible.[+1 sentence] We have to thank the previous Governments for saving for a rainy day, progressively setting aside budget surpluses for our reserves. Because of this, we are able to come up with four Budgets totaling $93 billion to assist Singaporeans, save companies, save jobs and save lives.[+8 sentences] The circuit breaker has just ended and every company hopes to resume operations as soon as possible. Every employer is eager for his or her employees to resume work. Every Singaporean hopes to resume their lifestyles like before, visiting their parents, shopping, and going to the park. Currently, there is no cure nor vaccine for COVID-19, so we cannot do away with the preventive measures. So then how can we deal with the new normal in the post-circuit breaker period? Will COVID-19 continue to spread in the community? What is the level of risk? Perhaps, the testing of 39,000 pre-school staff can offer some clues. Currently, 14 pre-school staff have been diagnosed with COVID-19, which translates to an infection rate of 0.036%.[+4 sentences] Among the 14, 13 had contracted the virus previously and were no longer infectious at the point when they were confirmed as positive cases. In other words, these 13 pre-school staff were not aware that they had been infected prior to testing. Before they recovered, they could have passed the virus to others and spread it to the community while they were out and about. Fortunately, they had gone out less during the circuit breaker period and have minimised the risk of infecting others. If we apply the testing and confirmed case numbers of the pre-school staff to the 2.4 million working citizens and Permanent Residents in Singapore, then the infection rate of 0.03% would mean that there may be 861 local residents who have been infected but are unaware about it.[+24 sentences] More importantly, among the 39,000 pre-school staff, one individual was infected recently. From the infection of pre-school staff, it is not difficult to understand why zero community infection could not be maintained in the past few weeks. Moving forward, as we embark on the first phase of the post-circuit period, more people will leave home to work and the risk of community infection will definitely increase. I know that many SMEs would like to resume operations but I would urge everyone to be more patient. On the other hand, our community infection rate has been relatively low. The death rate has also remained low. There are only five patients in ICU currently. Experts say that in the next one and a half years, it is not possible to eradicate COVID-19 totally from the community. Therefore, Singaporeans must remain vigilant, wash their hands frequently, wear a mask and maintain the one metre safe distance. Safe management measures at workplaces will become the new normal. If people are infected, they should be quarantined immediately, and proactive contact tracing must be conducted. If people are able to accept this new normal and understand that COVID-19 will not disappear in a few months like SARS, I hope MTF will allow all industries to resume operations as soon as possible. This will boost consumption and save jobs. Otherwise, no matter how much support and grants are given, so long as companies cannot operate, there will still be retrenchments and insolvencies. I believe that the Government will be flexible in this aspect. I am the advisor of the Renovation Contractors’ Associations. The Chairman of the Association, its key members and myself have held meetings with BCA several times to pave the way for resuming work. Many families’ renovation projects had to stop because of the circuit breaker measures, and they cannot wait for the project to start again. However, the requirements for resumption of renovation projects have been very stringent. Through several rounds of consultations, BCA has simplified the procedures and allowed several thousand renovation projects to resume on 2 June. I would like to thank BCA for their help. COVID-19 has disrupted industries and sped up the pace of digital transformation. However, at markets and hawker centres, most stallholders accept cash only. After NETs was set up in 1985, Singapore soon became the leader for e-payments in Asia. However, after so many years, we have lagged behind other Asian countries in terms of e-payments. Therefore, I am happy to see the establishment of the Digital Transformation Office and that every hawker will be given a $300 monthly bonus for the next five years to encourage them to adopt cashless payments.[+11 sentences] There are also plans to recruit 1,000 digital ambassadors to help the elderly Singaporeans learn digital skills. Last year, when organising the River Hongbao activities, we worked with NETS to encourage the food stallholders to adopt cashless payments. However, the results were lacklustre. When I visited markets, hawker centres and coffeeshops, I also received feedback on cashless payments from stallholders. Some were positive; some were negative. Therefore, I would like to make a few suggestions so that we can improve the e-payment adoption rate and the efficiency of digital ambassadors. Some stallholders are worried about the cash flow problem, so they hope that they will be able to get the e-payments by customers several hours after the payments were made. Stallholders currently pay cash to suppliers for materials. If this segment of the supply chain can be digitised, more stallholders may be encouraged to adopt e-payment. There are currently 19 e-payment platforms in Singapore. I understand that the intention of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is to allow different e-payment platforms to thrive. However, this may lead to confusion and it may distract customers. I suggest that IMDA focus on one or two platforms such as PayNow and NETS.[+9 sentences] This will make e-payment easier for Singaporeans, especially the elderly. According to a report by Lianhe Zaobao, most of the digital ambassadors recruited will be graduates from Institutes of Higher Learning (IHL). These fresh graduates are familiar with technology, but they may not empathise with the fear and resistance of stallholders against e-payments. I hope that the Government will focus more on recruiting Singaporeans who may have initial reservations about technology but have learnt to use e-payment eventually. Then, they can effectively encourage stallholders to embark on digital transformation. The Chinese say that food is the most important of all things. Only when everyone can use e-payment to buy food, can we say that our digital transformation is truly taking shape. I hope that from now onwards, stallholders who used to count cash will use the QR code as the norm. (In English): Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, resilience is forged through crisis. With this fourth Budget, the Government has already pumped in $93 billion to help Singaporeans and the economy.[+6 sentences] While COVID-19 has created havoc, it is clear that COVID-19 has also brought out the best in us, not just in putting the community above self-interest and abiding by the circuit breaker rules, but also in how some of us are extending a helping hand to others. There are countless examples, like those who have volunteered to help out in the frontline at the migrant worker dormitories, or those who have signed up with different charities via Giving.sg to donate money, essential items or volunteer their time. There are also many inspiring stories in Jurong West, helping others during this difficult time. One of our residents, Joyce Yu, did not throw up her hands in defeat when her parent's nasi lemak hawker stall suffered from a plunge in business due to COVID-19 and the circuit breaker measures. Instead, she managed to raise funds from her friends so that her parents could provide nasi lemak as free breakfast for needy families in Jurong. As her parents also had hawker friends who were in the same situation, she slowly expanded the scheme. Today, she has raised about $20,000, not just from her friends, but also through the Giving.sg website and the Loving Hearts Multi-Service Centre in Jurong. These funds help to pay about nine workers, including her parents, to provide about 150 free breakfasts to families in Jurong every day.[+10 sentences] Grassroots volunteers also chipped in by distributing the food free of charge. Joyce has a full-time job with YMCA but she is happy to liaise with the hawkers and raise funds. She says she wanted to come up with a scheme which is a win-win solution to support local businesses, hawkers like her mother's, while feeding vulnerable people. Joyce is not alone. There are many similar stories like hers. We want to encourage more. We want to collect all these good deeds and inspire more to follow. This year National Day will not have the glitter and pageantry of the huge parades like what we have had over the last 54 years. This year's National Day is our nation's 55th birthday. We want to celebrate the unsung heroes fighting the COVID-19, the everyday resilience and the sense of community on the ground which has given us a silver lining during these challenging times. Like our pioneers in the late 1960s and 1970s that have built our nation from scratch, we will be the pioneers in winning the war over COVID-19. We are using the reserve build up by our Pioneers to fight the current crisis.[+2 sentences] But, we are also want to be the pioneers that transform our economy digitally so that our children can reap the fruits of our new digital economy. In the fight against COVID-19, I hope all Singaporeans can proudly say “count on me”.
Prof Lim Sun Sun (Nominated Member)697 words
[+1 sentence]Mr Deputy Speaker, I thank the Deputy Prime Minister for his unveiling of the Fortitude budget. This budget is aptly-named because it seeks to fortify support programmes that are urgently needed across all levels of an economy beleaguered by the COVID-19 pandemic. I wish to focus my speech on the welcome support offered via the new SGUnited Mid-Career Traineeship Programme that aims to provide 4,000 traineeships for mid-career unemployed locals.[+6 sentences] This programme is especially timely as our country goes through rapid digitalisation, now fiercely accelerated by COVID-19. As mature workers, mid-career jobseekers are understandably anxious about the drastic confluence of digital disruptions, outmoded skills and ageism working against them. Compared to fresh graduates, their needs are more complex as many would also be from the sandwich class, juggling lifestage obligations of parenting and eldercare and so their salary expectations are naturally higher. Even though they have an established track record, they will find it harder to pivot, having honed their skills in industries that may be on the decline. And yet, with their maturity and life experience, they still have much to offer our society and ample potential to grow. As the relevant Ministries and agencies work together to operationalise the finer details of this programme, I would like to share insights from industry leaders so that the programme can bring maximum benefit to the trainees and companies participating in this scheme. Principally, industry leaders recommend that expectations of both sides must be carefully managed to heighten mutual understanding and satisfaction with the programme.[+1 sentence] The participating companies’ should be supported with instructive guidelines on how best to integrate and upskill their trainees. MOM should provide some flexibility and support for employers across a group of complementary companies to offer cross-training opportunities.[+3 sentences] For example, career portal Mums@Work has successfully experimented with developing consortia of companies in related industries collaborating to collectively train returning talents so that they can be exposed to a broader swathe of skills. Trainees can thus explore multiple career paths and better identify their transferable strengths in the process. With such innovative arrangements, companies can offer their trainees a wider range of skills upgrading opportunities and support each other without incurring prohibitive overheads. Companies should also be upfront with their trainees about the potential for longer term job prospects or the lack thereof, and share in advance the kinds of post traineeship support they can provide.[+10 sentences] They should also be more explicit about articulating their criteria for retention if they can afford to increase their headcount. That way, the trainees will not feel like they have been led down the garden path. Besides such substantive issues, the approach that participating companies adopt in hosting these trainees can also make or break a traineeship. There are horror stories of job attachment schemes where mature trainees must sign in daily for a visitor’s pass to enter the company, or who are supervised by very junior colleagues with no managerial experience to speak of. These socio-emotional aspects of mid-career training must be effectively addressed to ensure win-win outcomes for everyone. Above all, the scheme must accord trainees with a sense of purpose and dignity. On their part, trainees must also pull their weight and not regard the traineeship as a paid sabbatical. They too should be provided with pointers on how they can make the most of their stints and the appropriate mind sets they should adopt to fully benefit from the programme. Fundamentally, the traineeships should offer a combination of substantive skills and career planning competencies that will empower these mid-career jobseekers for their next career move. In this regard, the experience of the Singapore Computer Society’s Career Compass programme offers some valuable lessons. Besides providing training in technical skills relating to growth areas such as AI, cyber security and enterprise architecture, the programme also offers career preparatory training in areas such as professional branding, resume building and interview skills.[+2 sentences] With a careful and concerted design of SGUnited Mid-Career Traineeship offerings and actionable guidelines for participating companies and trainees, I am hopeful that this scheme can help to prepare mid-career workers for the next phase of their careers. On that optimistic note, I support the Fortitude Budget.
Ms Joan Pereira (Tanjong Pagar)1130 words
[+5 sentences]Mr Deputy Speaker, I rise in support of the $33 billion Fortitude Budget. This is an unprecedented Budget but it is necessary as this is one of the worst crises to hit us in our nation’s history. Many of my residents in Henderson-Dawson have shared with me how they and their companies have been directly assisted by the various assistance schemes and programmes announced as parts of the Unity, Resilience and Solidarity Budgets. Many are also acutely aware that we are drawing on our reserves and have expressed their worries about drawing down on our nation’s savings, especially since we do not know how long this crisis will last. It is a delicate balance between the needs of our present and our future, and the Government has had to make some very tough decisions for the good of everyone in Singapore under these trying circumstances. The central focus of the Fortitude Budget is jobs.[+14 sentences] I am glad to see that the various age groups of our society will continue to receive assistance. From young graduates to middle aged employees, and to older workers, all will receive help with jobseeking, job-matching and training. We are especially concerned for the sandwiched workers – those who are supporting both children and elderly parents. I urge them to take up the various assistance schemes applicable to them and come forward to request for help if they are unsure of what to do. It is important that even as we focus on taking care of our immediate needs, we must also be mindful of our external environment and keep an eye on what is ahead of us. In early May, Deputy Prime Minister Heng had said that, I quote, “there should be no lost generation in Singapore… we are sailing into uncharted waters, surveying the new landscape, exploring new growth and opportunities, preparing to seize them when the storm passes..." I would like to speak a little about the young adults who will be joining or who had just joined our workforce. This is a world that seems so familiar and yet so different from the one they had grown up expecting to enter. This generation had grown up hearing from their elders about how fortunate they have been, growing up enjoying the many benefits of a prosperous nation as compared to Singapore’s founding years. And now suddenly, within the space of a few months, the world has changed. It is so much harder for them to get jobs. The malls are closed. They cannot hang out with friends. Suddenly, we also have an entire generation of Romeos and Juliets, forbidden from meeting each other. As this group is young, we may not be as worried as we may be for older Singaporeans. They will also receive support under the Fortitude Budget’s SGUnited Traineeship which aims to provide 21,000 traineeships for local first-time jobseekers, and there is additional support from the Hiring Incentive scheme which has been expanded to cover workers of all ages. Certainly, some of the 40,000 jobs to be created in the public and private sectors by the SGUnited Jobs initiative will be offered to this young cohort too. However, being young and with less experience, they may face obstacles searching for jobs in a very tight labour market. I am glad to note that MOM will take active steps to assist those who need advice and career counselling in applying for jobs and being matched with training programmes and jobs.[+11 sentences] However, for some young people, the jobs they had been preparing for may have all but disappeared and some are even at a loss about whether they should consider switching industries.Thus, the Government, together with industry and the Institutes of Higher Learning, should work even more closely together to help them navigate the job market in this challenging environment. We must be mindful of the impact of this crisis on them for years to come and have the appropriate strategy to help them to ensure that they will not become a lost or traumatised generation. For a number of them, they are entering the adult world with “empty hands”, as their parents and family members may also face job losses or business difficulties. My concern is that as our economy recovers in the future, this cohort’s experience and their subsequent actions would have consequences for us as a nation. Even with the use of technology and solemnisations via video link, relationships and marriages may be delayed. They may delay having children, have fewer children or none at all. In delaying procreation, the chances of having healthy children are reduced. Our family units form the foundation of our society. Matching up young single Singaporeans may hardly be a priority now but I hope the Government will be mindful of this issue as it has wide ranging implications, including our economy’s competitiveness and national security. As for those who have decided to take the leap, we can do more to support these new young families. There are attractive grants in place for HDB flat purchases. Nonetheless, I would like to ask the government to help them with the repayment of their HDB loans.[+8 sentences] Please consider accepting even lower deposits and smaller repayments monthly. This need not be permanent. The crisis will not last forever, in three to five years, the economy will pick up and the couples can make up for the difference later. This will also be timely as they progress in their careers, earn more and become able to afford higher mortgage payments. I also wish to appeal for higher subsidies for pregnancy check-ups, deliveries and childhood vaccinations to make procreation even more affordable. Would MND also consider building bigger HDB flats in the future? Not only do bigger units allow families to continue living together and help to look after each other, they will also take into account that more citizens will be working and studying online from home. This will be become a permanent trend. More and more people will need a home office and increasingly, home-based learning will be part of all students’ schedule, whether during emergencies, or, regularly utilised to ensure that the system is working and that the students and teachers stay familiar with the online learning platforms. Such a change in working and learning patterns means that there is a need and demand for a bit more space, with internal dividers, for all members of a family to do their jobs and studying sustainably, without disturbing one another.[+4 sentences] Let us support our young adults who are standing at the entrance of independence and parenthood. Encourage them to proceed to the next lap with those they love. The pandemic will pass. And throughout the way, we will help everyone to tide through these tough times together.
Ms Foo Mee Har (West Coast)1527 words
[+2 sentences]Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Fortitude Budget sets aside $33 billion more to help firms and households, and to save jobs. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought with it a health and economic crisis that has Singapore facing the worst recession since Independence. Our Government’s response has had no precedent – unstinting and rapid support to the tune of $93 billion thus far, resulting in the largest overall Budget deficit in our nation’s history. Including this Budget, the Government will need to draw up to $52 billion dollars from its reserves.[+12 sentences] It is indeed a blessing that Singapore should possess such a reservoir of financial resources to see us through this crisis. Many countries around the world will be burdened, burdened in the years to come with record levels of debt from the huge fiscal stimulus programmes they have had to put in place to deal with the impact from COVID-19. So, we are more fortunate. But, Sir, there is no question that Singapore was absolutely right to tap the reserves decisively in order to help businesses, tide Singaporeans through this crisis and mitigate permanent damage to our economy. However, we should also be concerned about fiscal sustainability, especially when the outlook remains uncertain and downside risks remain significant. There is a lot of talk about what would the shape of the recovery be, but many believe that recovery will be slow and long-drawn; it may take years before we return to pre-COVID-19 conditions. Against this backdrop, I wonder how this massive draw on our reserves will be treated. What are the obligations to pay back? To do so, would be a huge task as the amount is more than 10 times our previous draw, when we used it to deal with the Global Financial Crisis. How will this influence our tax policy in the coming years, as we work to restore public finances in an equitable manner? Will we need to dig deeper, to implement more progressive income taxes and greater wealth taxes? Will tax systems need to evolve in tandem with the rising digital economy and capture revenue earned from online transactions? With the economic outlook remaining highly uncertain and with risks predominantly skewed to the downside, we should be very cautious when we do further draws on our reserves. I support the call to set aside a sum of $13 billion in Contingencies Funds, but, I must urge the Government to do so with utmost prudence.[+14 sentences] Mr Deputy Speaker, the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted businesses and workers unevenly. I urge Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat to adopt in the next phase, if he has to do something, a more targeted approach in future support schemes. For example, the Jobs Support Scheme (JSS), payouts should only go to firms adversely impacted by the crisis. We should learn from Australia. In Australia, for their scheme, eligibility for wage support only kicks in if business turnover drops by 30% due to the pandemic; for larger companies with turnovers of over A$1 billion, their drop in turnover must be at least 50% before they can be eligible. It should not be right for firms to profit from the Government's support scheme during this crisis. For some companies, whose bottom lines have been boosted because of JSS, they should be offered the opportunity to "pay it forward", in support of others who are less fortunate, perhaps through a "Solidarity Levy" of some sort. Sir, this crisis will increase income inequality. Recent research at Oxford found that those earning under GBP20,000 are less able to perform work remotely, earn a smaller proportion of their previous salary and are twice as likely to lose their jobs compared to those earning GBP40,000 or more. We can draw similar parallels here in Singapore. It has been far easier for those employed by large companies and highly skilled sectors to work remotely, than for those employed by SMEs or in the retail and F&B sectors, as well as those engaged in low-paying contract work. So, we must find ways to buffer the hardship faced by these families. We should be prepared to support them with some basic level of income beyond the current provision of COVID-19 Support Grant, should their unemployment persist. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I support Deputy Prime Minister's call to think urgently about how Singapore can emerge stronger. We must prepare our workforce immediately for a post-COVID-19 environment, to adapt quickly to structural changes in the economy, changed consumer habits and new ways in which countries will compete and co-operate with one another. I also applaud Deputy Prime Minister for his bold move to launch the SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package, creating 100,000 opportunities in jobs, traineeships and skills training to mitigate risks associated with unemployment.[+6 sentences] The Deputy Prime Minister has promised to "protect every worker even if we cannot protect every job". But this commitment to protect every worker should not create a false sense of security or complacency. Instead, it should encourage individuals to leverage this safety net in order to position themselves for the longer term, by critically assessing their operating environment, learn new skills, try new jobs and seize on the many schemes available to ensure that they remain relevant. The formation of National Jobs Council as well as the Emerging Stronger Task Force are great initiatives for developing strategies to pivot ourselves to the new jobs landscape. I am also impressed with the speed by which job initiatives are being rolled out – these include the 11,000 traineeships by 1,000 organisations who have come on board so far, so quite impressive. Our ability to coordinate, navigate and implement Whole-of-Government initiatives is truly the competitive advantage that Singapore must play to. Amidst the doom and gloom, it is reassuring to learn that Singapore has secured $13 billion of investment commitments in just four months of this year – amongst the highest in recent years.[+1 sentence] This is a testament of the confidence that investors and businesses have in Singapore and the hard work that MTI continues to put into selling "Singapore Inc". Indeed, as social, political and geopolitical instability continue to play out elsewhere in the world, Singapore is well positioned as the much-sought-after safe harbor for business, talent, intellectual property and investments.[+1 sentence] Sir, COVID-19 has changed many long-held beliefs and opened up new perspectives. I think many of us believed that Singaporeans were not attracted to care-giving jobs, so we were always going to be heavily reliant on foreign nurses and care-giving professionals.[+2 sentences] However, our response to the pandemic shone a light on the meaningful work that healthcare professionals do and held them up as the heroes that they have always been. School children wrote "thank you" notes, Prime Ministers called them out and people clapped from their balconies the world over, out of gratitude for their sacrifice. The large number of temporary positions made available to deal with COVID-19 has also provided a window of opportunity for people to try their hand at this work.[+6 sentences] I must say I am so encouraged to witnessed an emerging interest amongst young people in joining the healthcare industry and shifting attitudes towards the care-giving profession. Sir, we should seize upon this window of opportunity to accelerate this trend and attract more Singaporeans to join the healthcare profession that offers great long-term career prospects. Lastly, COVID-19 has taught us that large-scale remote working is indeed possible. With the help of technology, employers are quickly equipping their workers with the tools they need to work from home. I myself have been surprised at how much more productive I have been, working away from the office. Facebook has begun planning for workers to work permanently from home, whilst Google has extended its work-from-home policy for the remainder of 2020. With working remotely accepted as the new normal, we should leverage this opportunity to supercharge Singapore's growth in the Infocomm Technology sector (ICT).[+1 sentence] Many tech firms complain that they have not been able to scale their business in Singapore given our limited talent pool. With the accelerated plan to build a strong pipeline of digital and technology skills locally as announced by Minister Iswaran yesterday, companies can also supplement the local talent pool with global expertise to scale the business by extending working from home beyond our national borders.[+2 sentences] So, extend that, work from home, but beyond the national borders. Singapore companies can tap AI, data analytics, cybersecurity resources from around the world to support Singapore's development work without these tech professionals having to relocate to Singapore. Our innovations in organising work and how work should be done, can fuel our ambition to be Global-Asia node of technology, innovation and enterprise. I urge the Emerging Stronger Task Force Committee to scrutinise these and other trends emerging from this COVID-19 pandemic, so that it may inform their recommendations to prepare Singaporeans for a post-COVID era.[+3 sentences] Winston Churchill is credited with first saying, "Never let a good crisis go to waste". Singapore has certainly invested a good deal in this crisis, it is time to learn the lessons, turn challenges into opportunities and reap the rewards for a stronger, brighter tomorrow. I support the Budget.
Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang (Nee Soon)1614 words
[+1 sentence]Sir, I join many Singaporeans in thanking the Government for the Unity, Resilience, Solidarity and Fortitude Budgets. The support measures introduced will help ensure that we can all get through this pandemic and most importantly, get through it together. I am thankful that the concerns of those on unpaid leave or reduced salaries have been addressed through expanding the COVID-19 Support Grant to help this group of Singaporeans. I am thankful we are proposing to help the SMEs with further rental waivers and allow tenants to repay their arrears through installments.[+1 sentence] I am also thankful for all the hard work by MOM, all the other Government agencies and the NGOs who have worked tirelessly to help our migrant friends. Our migrant friends have worked hard to build, clean and maintain Singapore as the shining red dot we are today. I am glad we have not left them behind and have committed to improving their living conditions.[+57 sentences] I raised all these concerns in my previous speeches and I am thankful to everyone who has taken the time to share your concerns, feedback and suggestions with me. Thank you for speaking up. Sir, we have given a lot but as I raised in my previous speeches, there is one more thing we need to give out. We can and we need to give time. Time for working parents to spend with and look after their young children during this difficult period. During this pandemic, many parents are feeling the stress of trying to balance work and looking after their children, especially helping their young ones with home-based learning (HBL). As Zack, a parent, shared with me, "Imagine working from 9.00 am to 6.00 pm. Reached home about 7.00 pm. Have dinner until 7.30 pm. And only having this time, 7.30 pm to 9.00 pm, to check on the kids' HBL. Kids must sleep at 9.00 pm to ensure nine hours of healthy sleep. Super tiring. Yet, we endured for the sake of our children". Many parents are especially worried about how they will cope with alternating weeks of HBL for non-graduating students. It will be difficult for parents who are unable to work from home. Who will look after their children? Not everyone has grandparents who can help and even for those who do, they might not be able to help during this period. Another parent shared with me, "I have two Primary school going kids. Primary 1, Primary 2. Who is available to guide them on HBL days during Phase One? Grandparents aren’t computer literate. If there isn’t any HBL plus Google meet plus video call, I will choose to deposit them at my parents house easily. If I have to take annual leave to guide their HBL, employer won’t allow." I know Minister Ong has stated, "Schools will be prepared to extend limited care to young students on HBL but without childcare arrangements". It will also be difficult for parents who can work from home. They are expected to meet their bosses' deadline and to be equally productive, even as they try to give their young ones attention and guide them on HBL. Do they please their employers or the children? I know firsthand how difficult it is. For the past two months, I worked from home with three little ones who had HBL. Ella is now six years old and Katie and Poppy are three years old. You cannot leave them to do HBL on their own. It is impossible. They have also attended many of my Zoom work meetings, climbed on my shoulders when I am clearing emails, and pulled my hands and legs, wanting me to play with them when I am drafting speeches. This happened when I was drafting this speech last Saturday. Parents truly appreciate this opportunity to work from home. As Zyen, another parent, shared, “WFH with an infant is really no joke. Always have to work till midnight to complete the work. But I do, really cherish and appreciate. I‘ve been there when she flipped, sat up by herself and now standing with support. Gonna miss this bittersweet timing”. Sir, more than anything, parents feel guilty that we cannot give our children the attention they need even though they are right there in front of us. I am not the only one with kids climbing on my shoulders. Amelia shared that, “My son climbs onto my shoulders while I work, too. I feel guilty for being impatient with my daughter who asks questions or wants to share something with me while I’m rushing my work”. I know there is no easy solution, especially during these difficult times. I know employers are equally stressed. But we need to give parents some breathing space and help them balance both work and family commitments. It is good that the Government has asked employers to be more empathetic to the challenges working parents face but we need to do more than that. We cannot leave this important issue to the discretion of the employer. The Government needs to step in to help and to mandate like how we have done so in so many areas in tackling this pandemic. We need to remember the issue does not just stem from alternating weeks of HBL. What about parents whose children are required to stay home because they are exhibiting COVID-like symptoms? Many pre-schools rightly ask a child to go home if he or she shows a single symptom. But a lot of parents are affected because of this. An educator in a childcare centre shared with me that, “On the ground, parents tend to negotiate with teachers if teachers were to reject children from entering schools due to respiratory symptoms with reasons that they are unable to get leave from work or no one to take care of their children”. Some parents, “would suggest to teachers to keep children at the sick bay the entire day until the parents end work”. Let us not forget that there are also school closures due to positive COVID-19 cases, Leave of Absence or Stay-Home Notices. As I have previously stressed, our current childcare leave entitlement is already insufficient during a regular year.[+1 sentence] Now, in the most irregular year, how can parents possibly have sufficient childcare leave? The only option left for many parents is unpaid leave.[+11 sentences] Indeed, many parents have shared that they are doing just that. But in this business climate, parents fear losing their jobs if they continue to take unpaid leave. To help parents, I hope we can introduce a Government-paid COVID-19-related childcare leave for parents whose children need to stay home due to COVID-19-related issues. By calling for it to be Government-paid, this would ease the financial burden for employers, whom I know are equally stressed. Sir, this leave is critical for those who are unable to work from home. This includes parents working in essential services who perform a duty for our nation, who keep us safe. We need to make sure that they are looked after, too. For parents who are working from home, this COVID-19-related childcare leave can help take off the pressures of balancing competing work and childcare responsibilities. They can take this leave when needed, such as helping their child catch up with HBL and their school work. Sir, we will not be the first country to provide a COVID-19-related childcare leave. Other countries have already taken steps to help working parents facing childcare challenges as a result of this pandemic. In the US, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act expands paid leave options for working parents who are unable to find childcare arrangements, entitling them up to 12 weeks of partially paid family leave.[+2 sentences] This includes parents working from home. Businesses whose employees take this leave pay for it through a refundable tax credit administered by the Department of Treasury. In Canada, working parents are entitled to job-protected leave of absence for up to 16 weeks under federal law, allowing parents to attend to childcare and eldercare needs while protecting them from being fired or penalised. In Italy, the government extended annual parental leave by 15 days for parents with children aged up to 12 years. In Belgium, the government introduced a special parental leave for parents of children under the age of 12 where parents can take leave in the form of 1/2 or 1/5 reduction of working time.[+5 sentences] This means working half time or one day off a week, taken in any combination of weekly or monthly blocks. Other countries have adopted a variety of measures – tax credits, protection against discriminatory firing, increase in annual leave and flexible leave. I believe some combination of these solutions would provide our working parents the support they so desperately need. Sir, in conclusion, we cannot leave it to employers and employees to work out amicable arrangements to balance business needs with childcare needs in this difficult time. In this difficult time, the Government has to step in. We should; other countries have already done so. I hope the Government will consider introducing a Government-paid COVID-19-related childcare leave and provide it at least until the end of Phase Two of the re-opening after the circuit breaker.[+5 sentences] Many parents are calling for this and I hope the Government will support them. “Spend time with those you love, one of these days you will either say I wish I had or I’m glad I did.” Let us give our working parents the time they need to spend with their children during this pandemic and let us all value the precious time we have with our loved ones. Sir, I support the Budget. Together, we will beat this virus.
Ms Anthea Ong (Nominated Member)1908 words
[+10 sentences]Mr Deputy Speaker, before I start, I would like to thank Deputy Prime Minister Heng and his team at MOF for their hard work in devising a fourth Budget within a space of four months. I also appreciate the sensitive consideration of naming each Budget such that we are emotionally connected to them. "Fortitude" is an excellent name for this Budget as we dig deep into courage to face the painful effects of an unfolding economic crisis. The pain is widespread. Many have reached out to me with their stories. Witnessing this suffering has compelled me to file cuts tomorrow, so that the issues faced by struggling groups are raised to this House. Public rental households are one such group. The number of households who have suffered complete loss of income since the beginning of April has risen sharply. Average income levels have gone into freefall. On the ground, community organisations have observed that households face mounting debt, including rent arrears. MND shared that “about 5,200 public rental households, or about 10% of all public rental households, are in rent arrears”. Around one in four such households owes more than $3,000 in rent.[+1 sentence] As the economic impact of COVID-19 worsens, we can expect that more households residing in rental flats will struggle to pay rent. The Deputy Prime Minister said in his Ministerial Statement last week, "Our path forward will be tough, but we will journey together". So, I would like to ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he could consider waiving six months’ rent for all households residing in rental flats, except for those whose rent is already covered under financial assistance from ComCare.[+1 sentence] This will provide immediate and targeted relief that goes directly to the low-income households in need. For context, the Government is extending $334 million in rental relief for Government tenants in this Budget.[+1 sentence] A further $2 billion will offset SMEs’ rental costs.. A similar waiver for rental flat households would cost between $16 million and $57 million, based on my rough calculation.[+38 sentences] Mr Deputy Speaker, while acute pain is undeniable and deeply felt by both citizens and migrant workers, future shocks could be more frequent and unprecedented. The World Economic Forum has called turbulence “the new normal” in its latest Global Risks Report. I will focus on the long term in this speech. The hard work of Singaporeans and Singapore companies, as well as prudent financial management of our Reserves, has allowed us to save up for this rainy day. It is only fiscally responsible for us to ensure that we spend the monies to build a stronger foundation for this new turbulent normal. This demands that we push boundaries and reimagine a social and economic structure that is more responsive, flexible and interconnected. Mr Deputy Speaker, let me first outline why a re-imagination and deep transformation is the only prudent way forward. I will then discuss the considerations in our current spending and planning processes that can set us on the path towards this stronger, more sustainable and more inclusive future. Deputy Prime Minister Heng mentioned that this Budget’s focus is to “enable our businesses and workers to adapt, transform and seize new opportunities”. Indeed, but even more so, our society and economy need a deep transformation. The COVID-19 crisis has shown us unequivocally that human health is intrinsically linked to planetary health. Our increasing urbanisation and disruption of ecological balances increase our risks of exposure to pathogens. Last year, the Clinicians for Planetary Health initiative was launched. It committed to increase awareness of the severe public health impacts of environmental change. Therefore, it is safe to say that to safeguard our economic future, the balance of resources across people, planet and profit needs to be re-examined. First, we can no longer look at our risk response in silo. Risks are multi-dimensional and cross-cutting, and must be addressed as such. Our healthcare system had integrated and implemented the playbook from SARS well – only 3.1% of our infections had been healthcare workers so far, compared to 41% for SARS. Yet, systemic gaps in worker welfare, specifically for migrant workers, left us unprepared for the infection levels in the dormitories. The risk assessment framework should have included the adequacy of safeguards for worker health. This would have required MOH and MOM to work together. Second, existing societal inequities create disproportionate stresses on vulnerable communities. My previous speeches provided several examples of persons with mental health conditions, lower income households and migrant workers being disproportionately affected in terms of income loss and economic and psychological resilience. The digital divide amongst lower income families, the differently-abled and the elderly became more evident. All these could deepen social and community fault lines. What does all this mean in terms of transformation? What society should we envision for ourselves? I call for Singapore to move towards multi-stakeholderism. Governance-wise, this means a policy design process centred around and in collaboration with the actors with a “stake” in the outcome. Business-wise, it means considering workers, suppliers and customers equally. Such considerations are not new. The World Economic Forum was established in 1971 to further the idea that business should serve all stakeholders. A hundred and eighty one CEOs of the Business Roundtable signed a statement last year, committing “to lead their companies for the benefit of all stakeholders – customers, employees, suppliers, communities and shareholders.” Investors also value businesses that take care of its stakeholders. Workers are a major stakeholder. In April 2020, the International Corporate Governance Network (ICGN) led by investors responsible for assets of $54 trillion called for companies to “prioritise employee safety and welfare” and “take a holistic and equitable approach to capital allocation decisions, considering the workforce”. Deputy Prime Minister Heng alluded to similar sentiments in parts of his speech. The Government’s strategy to help Singaporeans ride through this crisis is by safeguarding jobs and income, which it is doing by supporting businesses. Across all four Budgets, around $28 billion has gone towards supporting immediate cash flow needs and overheads. This is about a third of the total Budget to date.[+6 sentences] The Government has also provided support through enabling credit access and matching investments for start-ups. Mr Deputy Speaker, I support the intention to protect jobs and income to strengthen the economic position of our individuals and households. Reducing inequality would also increase resilience across our society, especially in times of hardship, so that economic buffers and important resources do not become accessible only to the privileged few. Therefore, we must enact measures to protect individuals against employers who may be more interested in self-enrichment than in their workers’ rice bowls. Possible measures are curbs on layoffs, excessive executive compensation, and excessive use of share options in compensation structures that disproportionately align managers only to shareholders’ interests. Government bailouts and support may reduce shareholders’ risk-bearing responsibilities. Safeguards against moral hazard can include: reducing dividends, restricting stock buybacks and requiring that any M&A activity should seek to pay back the support provided, that is, a clawback.[+10 sentences] Measuring and reporting should be used to hold companies accountable for how they have used Government grants, therefore taxpayers’ monies. An example is the independent accountability and transparency board created by the Obama administration in 2009. It performed a crucial monitoring function by requiring any entity receiving contracts, grants, or loans to file quarterly reports. We could adopt a similar mechanism to ensure that companies channel Government support to those for whom it is intended. Corporate reporting requirements could compel companies to demonstrate behaviours that meet broader societal and sustainability goals. We must also use the support packages as carrots for companies to actively enhance social equity by integrating community engagement and social responsibility into business strategy, so each can be a Company of Good – a national effort I believe Deputy Prime Minister is very familiar with. This could include an obligation to judiciously use the Business and IPC Partnership Scheme or BIPs, to make in-kind donations to charities. Lastly, promoting sustainable business models will be key to building a better and safer future. McKinsey noted in April that “not only does climate action remain critical over the next decade, but investments in climate-resilient infrastructure and the transition to a lower carbon future can drive significant near-term job creation while increasing economic and environmental resiliency.” The President of the German Parliament recently called for the stimulus plan to focus on “climate policy, digitisation and innovation”. Subsidies and support to companies accelerating climate change should come with conditions for absolute emissions reductions that enable us to accelerate our Paris Agreement commitments.[+18 sentences] As countries grapple with what a green and healthy recovery looks like, measurement and accountability may again be instrumental for change. The Task Force of Climate-related Financial Disclosures framework should be the norm. Science-based targets should form the basis of discussions on business transformations. Such requirements could be considered by the Monetary Authority of Singapore as a cornerstone of future environment risk management guidelines for our financial industry. These safeguards will require strong political will, Mr Deputy Speaker, because they will meet with resistance. But if we want a flexible and responsive society that is able to absorb shocks and rebound from them, I believe we must recalibrate current power structures for a fairer economy that considers key stakeholders in our economic system equally. I hope Deputy Prime Minister addresses this need for safeguards and conditions in his response. The Government is demonstrating its commitment to longer term planning through the Emerging Stronger Task Force and the Future Economy Council. I applaud the intention. However, if we are to recognise a wide range of stakeholders in our future and commit to re-imagining the way forward, changes must be made. I am glad to hear Deputy Prime Minister note that the Task Force will partner with SME owners, industry experts and trade associations as part of Emerging Stronger and his invitation for Singaporeans to participate. I would like to ask Deputy Prime Minister if there are plans to formalise this partnership and citizen participation under this Task Force. This is necessary to integrate meaningful and transparent input from all corners of society. The current members of the Task Force represent industries that we have traditionally treated as pillars of our current economic structure, the composition does not represent the true diversity of economic players in Singapore. For example, I am surprised by the omission of SME, minority, even disability and mental health representation. Companies committed to delivering a sustainable future are also unrepresented, under-represented. So are women. I believe that if we sideline these views now, we are sabotaging our own futures and those of our children’s. Can I please ask the Deputy Prime Minister to ensure a more diverse and better representation on this Task Force to secure a truly resilient and united future for Singapore?[+3 sentences] Unity, resilience, solidarity, fortitude. The names of the four extraordinary Budgets this year speak to our desire as a nation to overcome this crisis together and stronger. Mr Deputy Speaker, I believe that emerging stronger means placing our people front and centre of our plans for the future. Our economic structures must be realigned to put people first so that we build back better as a well-being economy post-COVID. It will take our collective imagination, courage and collaboration to walk through this crisis and emerge stronger, together. Let us start the work for that to happen today with fortitude.[+1 sentence] I support the Budget.
Mr Gan Thiam Poh (Ang Mo Kio)1017 words
[+3 sentences]Mr Deputy Speaker, I welcome the $33 billion Fortitude Budget which will be used to counter the heavy impact of the coronavirus pandemic on our country. All governments around the world are taking unprecedented measures to mitigate the damaging impact of this outbreak and save the lives and livelihoods of their people. We are similar. Fortunately, past prudence has provided us with adequate emergency funds. We are in the midst of a brutal war, the pandemic has claimed over 370,000 lives in the world within a few months.[+19 sentences] Fortunately, we have managed to keep most of our people here safe and the death rate low. This is a challenging war against the virus. It is different from other outbreaks that we have come across so far. To my understanding, it is infectious even a person has not developed any symptoms. Asymptomatic infections have made this task of overcoming it even more challenging and difficult. Notwithstanding, we have to soldier on under these very trying circumstances, be resilient, stay united and help one another to overcome the obstacles ahead of us. We Singaporeans need to stay focused on a sustainable approach. By and large, we understand there is a limit to the handouts we can if we do not find sustainable income that provide long term and permanent social and family safety nets. Sir, in Mandarin. (In Mandarin): I am heartened by the effort to save and create jobs. I hope that more jobs can be created for the middle and senior age groups, particularly quality jobs. I am heartened by the response of our residents to the job offers, their willingness and courage in picking up new skills and adapting. I am glad that the Government has been focused on helping Singaporeans to both upskill and become equipped with new skills, to stay competitive and relevant in response to the market changes. There is a Chinese saying “When rowing a boat upstream, if one does not move forward, the boat will go backwards downstream”. Our people must persist in their efforts forward so that we can secure our place in the world. More assistance will still need to be given to help Singaporeans, as the recovery of the world economy may not be so fast. For those who were retrenched last year and earlier, and had not been able to find jobs, they need help with job matching and retraining. This is especially for those aged above 40. In addition, some have expressed concerns that even with training, it does not necessarily lead to a job. While the COVID-19 Support Grant (CSG) and Self-Employed Persons Income Relief Scheme (SIRS) provide welcomed relief, more salary or wage support can be given to help ease Singaporeans to upskill or reskill without having to worry about maintaining the family.[+11 sentences] I would like to suggest that we look at income matching, for example, a dollar to every two dollars earned for the 6 to 12 months, subject to a cap and overall scheme support budget of $9,000 per person under SIRS. This may be more sustainable. Singaporeans should also adapt to tap upon technology and target not just Singapore, but the world as their market. Recently, a Singaporean actor took on a side job selling seafood for his friends on the Internet. To everyone’s surprise, including himself, he became an Internet celebrity, and companies and talent agencies from China rushed to contact him as their partner, asking him to promote all kinds of goods on the Internet. This is a very popular way of selling goods in China’s huge market today. While some of his language may be too colourful, his adaptability had created new opportunities for him. He can look forward to a very interesting new career. In Singapore, the Government has already started helping stallholders sell online and do live-streaming sales. Let us hope more business owners will try to change their operating models. There has been feedback that there are still many who have been struggling with their businesses and who have been making sacrifices for the circuit breaker to the extent that they have been lending to their companies with their pay to support cashflow. Some have appealed for the Job Support Scheme (JSS) for working directors who are also shareholders. Instead of limiting the JSS to those who earn below $100,000 a year, why not remove this income cap? After all, the JSS is capped at 75% of $4,650.[+15 sentences] Some are concerned that their businesses may not pick up after the reopening of our economy and thus will continue to face financial difficulty. It is important to them that all their clients order can be resumed. Otherwise, such business cannot hang on much longer. Even with the salary support from the Government, many businesses cannot afford to pay the balance 25% because they have zero revenue. While we need to prioritise safety, and indeed, being a highly interconnected hub, we can only be safe if the world is also safe, however, we cannot be closed off from the world. It will do more harm than good to “de-globalise”. We have to be proactive, not passive, to overcome this challenge. In order to survive, we cannot afford to sit back and keep drawing upon our past reserves and assets. For example, we could consider staycations now that our community infection rate has been controlled. We should also start thinking how we could have effective and efficient test kits to check on all inbound travellers and returnees to prevent imported cases while revitalising the aviation, tourism and MICE sectors. Most importantly, those who have the ability should help the have-nots. Because everyone is important and we care for all. Finally, let me conclude with a limerick. January: Complain about having to start work again February: Panic buying of paper products March: Causeway closed April: Everyone stayed home May: Resumption of work we hope June: Worry about savings being depleted July: Pray all will go smoothly August: Celebrate victory With this, I would like to conclude with my support for this Budget. Thank you.
Miss Cheng Li Hui (Tampines)583 words
[+9 sentences]Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I rise in support of the Budget. Twenty-twenty is a year to reset, regroup and relearn. What is before us, is unprecedented. It is both a health crisis and an economic crisis that affects our life, our health and how we live our lives. But far beyond our personal spheres, the world is rapidly changing. Tensions near and far, threaten to destabilise our once predictable place in the world. Global supply chains are also changing as countries ramp up their "nationalistic" strategies. Singapore has always depended on free and open trade. We need to regroup and strategise what is next for us, what can steer our economy into the future where businesses can thrive and individuals can progress. Deputy Speaker, Sir, as we chart our path forward, I am particularly concerned about the challenges faced by our SMEs, especially the micro-businesses in our neighbourhood and hawkers. It is encouraging that the Government has set up the Emerging Stronger Task Force to study the systemic shifts emerging out of COVID-19.[+8 sentences] Other countries are also gradually ramping up their economies as they emerge out of lockdowns. We need to swiftly identify the economic shifts and strategise the way forward. Can the Minister for Finance shed some light on the work done so far and its first findings? How can we take advantage of new opportunities and accelerate our economic rebound? Sir, in March 2018, I spoke about how we in our 40s today will become seniors of the future who will be more tech savvy and self-sufficient. We are also likely to be able to retire later as technology allows us to work from home. This COVID-19 pandemic has also affected seniors in many ways. I would like to highlight digital transformation. Microsoft estimates that two years of digital transformation was accomplished in the last two months. Forbes estimates five years of digital transformation to occur before mid 2021.[+2 sentences] These impacts have also been felt by our seniors, many of whom now communicate with video calls using WhatsApp or Zoom – something unheard of in 2019. Some seniors are also learning to shop online. Although there are no local studies released, in 2019, 40% of seniors aged 65 and above in Germany shop online.[+4 sentences] As we forge ahead in our new post-COVID-19 world, I anticipate far more online participation by our seniors than ever before. How can we capitalise on this digital transformation? How can we enable our seniors to be less isolated, more engaged with each other and with our society? What can we do with technology to help seniors connect with their families and friends and continue contributing to society and the economy even as they continue to earn a wage? As we protect the lives of our seniors by social distancing, we should also take care of their quality of social life by using technology. I am heartened that the SG Digital Office will be hiring 1,000 Digital Ambassadors to help hawkers and seniors learn digital skills.[+5 sentences] It is great that the Government is reaching out to help bridge our digital divide and at the same time provide employment opportunities for our graduating cohorts of ITE, Polytechnics and Universities. I hope MCI will continue to accelerate our digitisation efforts post-COVID-19. There is no doubt what we are experiencing is unprecedented. I hope when we look back to this period in the future, we can say we overcame COVID-19 with unity, solidarity, resilience and fortitude. Let us press on.
Mr Murali Pillai (Bukit Batok)2104 words
[+17 sentences]Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir I support the initiatives introduced in Deputy Prime Minister Heng's Ministerial Statement delivered in this House last week to protect Singaporeans' lives and livelihoods. He and hon Members who spoke before me, highlighted the deteriorating economic situation globally as well as in Singapore. Against this deteriorating situation, I am heartened that Deputy Prime Minister Heng made good his promise made in this House when he was delivering the Ministerial Statement on the Resilience Budget. He said, "should it become necessary, I am prepared to propose to the President further draws on past reserves to deal with the situation." Our past reserves has been characterised as our trump card to get out of this crisis. Indeed, it is fortunate that we can draw on our past reserves, thanks to the prudence of previous generations of Government Leaders and Singaporeans. But equally, it is fortunate that Singapore can count on two further trump cards. They are: our exceptional people, who are all united in the common goal of defeating this virus and its effects on our health and economy; and our excellent men and women of the civil service. By civil service, I also include our Statutory Boards and our uniformed Services. I wish to record my appreciation to the officers in these Government agencies who have been working tirelessly throughout this crisis. We all know our civil service is a lean organisation. With the formulation and implementation of numerous Government budgetary programmes and measures as well as legislation passed in this House within short periods of time, these officers had to rapidly adapt and assume even more responsibilities to support Singaporeans during this turbulent period. I, like a good number of hon Members have received reply emails from Government agencies on petitions written on behalf of residents promptly, despite a spike in the numbers. Many of these replies are received well after office hours. The Government agencies and partners dealing with applications to draw on the Government's COVID-19 support programmes do not have an easy task at all. They need to strike a balance between providing help to fellow Singaporeans, ensuring that the policy objectives of the programmes and legislation are achieved and satisfying themselves that the public resources are judiciously spent. At the same time, I am delighted to note that more and more, our Government agencies apply a degree of flexibility in assessing applications. As an example, I recently received a note from a Senior Director of MSF who conveyed to me that MSF would administer the COVID-19 Support Grants (CSG) flexibly and not just by closely adhering to the criteria. This will ensure the policy objective of CSG of supporting lower to middle income Singaporeans who have lost their jobs, lost a significant proportion of the income or placed under no-pay leave are better served.[+10 sentences] This is a welcome development. Our civil service is also transforming in its delivery efforts to better serve fellow Singaporeans. When we and our nation recover from this crisis, we should not forget the services of our men and women in civil service who went beyond their call of duty. In my view, it is not enough to pat them on their backs. We must follow up and provide tangible compensation to them. I made a similar call for our heroic frontline officers in my speech during the debate on the Unity Budget. I would like to make three points in my speech on the Fortitude Budget. First, providing a permanent legal framework to help small businesses in crises, like the one we currently face. Second, encouraging the stakeholders in the charity sector to collaborate more so as to deliver more impactful programmes for Singaporeans who need help. And finally, providing more credit and cash flow assistance to middle income families. On the first point, I am cheered by Deputy Prime Minister Heng's announcement of the Government's decision to introduce a Bill, mandating the more muscular landlords to grant rental waivers to the SME tenants whose businesses have been severely affected because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[+10 sentences] This measure deals with a big bugbear on the ground, given that most businesses in commercial premises have been closed for two months and are likely to be closed for at least a few more weeks. Deputy Prime Minister Heng mentioned that this was not an easy decision. He said "Government does not ordinarily intervene in contracts after they have been entered into". I appreciate the point Deputy Prime Minister Heng made. This was the stance that was taken on behalf of the Government when I spoke on my Adjournment Motion "Power Imbalance in Contracts Involving Small Businesses" on the 5 February 2018. Then, I argued for Government intervention in form of legislation to protect small businesses to equalise their bargaining positions. I highlighted clauses in tenancy agreements that operate unfairly against tenants which are small businesses. I also drew examples of legislation being enacted in a number of advanced jurisdictions to help small businesses. The hon Senior Minister of State for Law as she then was, Ms Indranee Rajah stated as follows: "In Singapore, our underlying philosophy is that, in general, free-market principles should apply and the Government should intervene only when necessary, for example, to address systemic market failure. Even when we do so, we try as far as possible to have the right regulatory touch and avoid heavy-handed interventions that could lead to distortion or unintended consequences". At this point in time, given the severe impact of COVID-19 pandemic on small businesses, especially in the F&B and retail industries, I think it is right for Government to intervene to protect them or else they will disappear and the employees will be stranded. As it is well-known, two-third of Singaporeans are employed by SMEs. The question I have is on whether we should take a temporary or permanent approach in dealing with such matters. Now that the Government has recognised that there is a need for intervention to help small businesses during crises, should there not be a permanent framework that can be applied as and when the situation calls for it in the future?[+9 sentences] To illustrate the point, let us consider the important role the Price Control Act, an act which the Deputy Speaker is very familiar with, played during the crisis. The Price Control Act or PCA was enacted in 1950 to control prices of goods and to prevent price gouging. This was engaged in 1973 to fix the price of rice when it rose as a result panic buying, in the wake of the oil crisis. It is also used in 1990 when the pork market was reportedly cornered by a few suppliers. So, this is a lever that can be used when sellers take advantage of the situation created by crises. Between January and February 2020, hon Members will recall that there was a public outcry against unscrupulous sellers taking advantage of the COVID-19 outbreak to sell surgical masks, thermometers and hand sanitisers at grossly inflated prices. The Price Controller took swift action under powers vested in him under PCA by requiring the sellers to provide information on the basis for setting prices at that level and also visiting the premises. The issues were quickly resolved without the need for the Price Controller to exercise his power to fix the price of masks, thermometers and hand sanitizers. Across the Causeway, the government used powers under the equivalent of the PCA to fix the price of surgical masks. By similarly having a permanent framework to deal with rent issues faced by the small businesses, we will be in effect making Singapore's economy more resilient.[+16 sentences] This is because the Government of the day can leverage on legislation to ensure that these small businesses will not go belly up in the face of similar crises in future. Time is of essence in such situations. Significant business disruption to such small businesses can be irreversible. There will also be the salutary signalling effect within the business community, as we saw in the case of masks sellers who self-regulated after the Price Controller launched queries into their business conduct. I do appreciate that the shape, form and impact of crises in future may be different. The help measures may also differ from crisis to crisis. However, this need not mean that a permanent piece of legislation would lose relevance. However different the crises may be, the impact on small businesses in form of cashflow and cost will largely remain. For clarity's sake, the circumstances when Government's powers to intervene in the rental market may be triggered must also be spelt out too. The legislation may be worded broadly to provide for a wide spectrum of measures that the Government may impose to help our small businesses as we saw in the PCA example. I respectfully suggest that the Emerging Stronger Task Force of the Future Economy Council consider my proposal. My next point concerns the support under the Fortitude Budget provided to the charity sector. In my speech during the debate on the Resilience and Solidarity Budgets, I highlighted the fact that some charities, especially the smaller ones, already were facing dwindling donations. I recall the hon Member, Mr Saktiandi also made the same point. However, we differed in the approach to be taken to deal with this problem. The hon Member, Mr Saktiandi suggested that the Government support the charities; I felt chary about this suggestion because of the Budget deficit we face this year and the fact that we are drawing on past reserves. Deputy Prime Minister Heng's approach in providing dollar-for-dollar matching addresses both concerns.[+2 sentences] It incentivises donations and the same time provides much needed support to charitable organisations in the essential service or providing the vulnerable a helping hand. In principle, I support the move. In my respectful view, however, the dollar-for-dollar matching should be combined with an outcome driven approach so as to incentivise charity organisations to collaborate and delivery quality programmes for Singaporeans in need.[+7 sentences] Under this approach, there would be need for an analysis on the impact of the charitable programmes on the beneficiaries such that the more impactful programmes should be provided with more public funding. There should be also financial incentives for charities to collaborate, pool resources and scale up. Deputy Prime Minister Heng had noted that many individuals and organisations have stepped up to his call to help Singaporeans in need. With the increased number of charitable funds and individuals wanting to do charity work, there is an opportunity get charitable organisations with similar ideals and objectives to work together to ensure that the dollar provided by our Government is better spent. It may well be that our Government will have to deepen its capability to play the role of matchmaker in encouraging charitable organisations to work together. This will, in my view, accelerate the transformation of the charity sector so that it will emerge stronger from this crisis to serve Singaporeans in need. I now turn to my final point. Our Government has taken decisive steps to ensure that banks better support individuals and businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. What I fear though is that if the economy dwindles even further, more families, especially middle-income families who are not the primary targets of the care and support package, will find themselves more cash strapped. We all recognise that there is a limit to payments such as the Solidarity Payment or the Temporary Relief Fund that the Government may make.[+2 sentences] Such amounts may not be even sufficient. Cash strapped middle income families may be living in HDB or private properties. For these asset-rich, cash-poor families, I wonder if the Government could consider nudging the financial institutions to provide hassle-free, low-interest home equity loan facilities secured by either (a) refinancing of the original mortgage facilities if the original mortgagee is a bank; or (b) by a second mortgage on their homes. To my understanding, such options are not currently available for HDB flats. Traditionally, financial institutions are chary about being second mortgagees as, priority-wise, they rank below CPF and the first mortgagee.[+1 sentence] Also, the processing time can be long. The administration costs in terms of getting valuation and to draw up legal paperwork can be significant too. I appreciate that this measure has to be carefully studied for its social impact because if families default on their obligations, the banks may have to foreclose on their homes.[+2 sentences] However, I think that this issue may be addressed by proper analysis and implementing safeguards on the part of banks. Sir, my comments notwithstanding, I support the Fortitude Budget.
Mr Deputy Speaker3 words
[+1 sentence]Mr Dennis Tan.
Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong (Non-Constituency Member)2325 words
[+4 sentences]Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought huge disruptions to global businesses and lives of people from virtually every country in the world. We are in arguably one of the most uncertain times in the history of mankind. No single government has been able to claim from the start they know how to navigate through the challenges posed by COVID-19 and the consequences it has brought to countries, cities, societies and economies. Our Government of 55 years since our Independence is no exception. To that, we have an unprecedented four Budgets in a short period of less than four months.[+4 sentences] Like everywhere else, the disruptions brought on by COVID-19 have unsettled businesses, lives and governments. This is a sign of things to come in the world, where no government can claim that their past experience will provide useful relevance for the uncertain future. In this brave new world, many heads with different ideas working out consensual solutions for the common good must be preferred. I will start on the issue of support for businesses. In the past two months, under the circuit breaker period, businesses have received support under the Jobs Support Scheme (JSS), limited to 75% or up to $4,600 of every salary. Under this Fortitude Budget, for the months ahead, only selected industries such as listed in Tiers 1 and 2 of the JSS will continue to receive wage supplements of up to 75% of each worker's salary. For most businesses, they will only be receiving up to 25% of the first $4,600 of every worker's salary for the remaining payments under the JSS, and this Fortitude Budget will only bring one additional month's payment, limited to 25% of an employee's salary.[+1 sentence] As most businesses stop receiving the 75% wage support coming out from the circuit breaker period, we may start to see a more accurate picture of businesses suffering and insolvency figures for companies rising later this year. The Government has announced that it will provide a cash grant to offset rental costs of SME tenants and also pass a new law to ensure landlords pass on rental support from the Government. This will be welcomed as a small temporary relief of 0.64 of a month's rental for office and industrial properties and 0.8 of a month's rental for commercial properties.[+25 sentences] Unfortunately, to businesses who cannot open or operate or even for businesses who face a significant drop in their businesses at this time, it may not stave off business and cost pressures in a significant way. In effect, it will be too small an amount to save ailing businesses. Perhaps the assistance by way of JSS and rental support could have been more targeted and not applied to businesses who may not be affected, for example, supermarkets or certain businesses in healthcare, pharmaceutical or IT sectors, just to name a few. In this way, more will be available to the businesses who need them. We should not rely on unaffected businesses to voluntarily return their payouts. The announced support in the Fortitude Budget for digital transformation whether for purpose of boosting e-payments or the digital resilience bonus may help to promote e-payments and to allow safe management practices in COVID-19 settings. While they may assist with business continuity under unique COVID-19 operating conditions, these schemes may be less helpful in generating business or revenue in themselves. The financing support for promising start-ups under the Fortitude Budget may help some new start-ups but are probably irrelevant to the bulk of our existing SME businesses. Beyond the above-mentioned schemes, beyond the foreign work levy waivers and rebates announced in this Fortitude Budget, beyond the assistance from credit loans announced in previous budgets, I am concerned that many SME businesses will still require more assistance if we are to expect them to survive. What are the Government's plans to support them to tide through the months or year ahead beyond what has been announced under the Fortitude Budget? Has the Government factored in any actual draft plans in arriving at the additional $13 billion Contingencies Funds asked for in this Fortitude Budget and if so, whether it can now share such plans with Singaporeans too? I next move on to the challenges during the circuit breaker and the issue of letting businesses open up with less restrictions. The circuit breaker has not been an easy period for many businesses and individuals. Some businesses are baffled why similar businesses did not always result in the same exemptions or the same manpower allocation ratios. Instructions have changed over the weeks for some businesses ranging from meal arrangements for hawkers to types of businesses allowed to be opened or types of merchandise allowed to be sold. In the first few weeks of the circuit breaker, provision shops and minimarts in different Hougang precincts were given different directions. Some were told they were only allowed to sell food. Some were told that they were not allowed to sell mops, brooms, brushes, pails, cleaning liquids, even slippers and limited stationery. Some were allowed to sell with no restrictions. Operators were baffled as some of these items have been sold in NTUC FairPrice without restrictions. Thankfully, after the Hougang Member of Parliament sought clarifications, the authorities reached out and rectified the instructions given. In the circuit breaker period, most businesses were required to stop operating in their premises and most employees could not work in their working premises and had to stay at home. Those who could still do some or all of their work at home were the lucky few ones as for many jobs and many businesses, telecommuting is either not an option at all or not an adequate option for a variety of reasons. Many businesses have been looking forward to the resumption of operations in their premises. Yet, it has been somewhat confusing and uncertain for many business owners whose businesses were supposedly cleared for resumption. Minister Chan Chun Sing was reported in the media on 19 May to have said as follows, "Only those who require the use of machinery and specialised terminals or need to complete legal documentation will be able to return to their workplaces.[+1 sentence] Workers who need infrequent access to the workplace for information or materials can already do so on an existing time-based exemption... The rest of the workers will continue to work from home. This will allow more than three-quarters of our economy to resume their normal operations." These caveats are a challenge to viable resumption for many businesses.[+8 sentences] To continue with telecommuting per se may not be a viable option for many as telecommuting may suit certain positions but not others, and viable work that is required to be carried out in the office and unsuitability for telecommuting goes beyond the over-simplified description of merely requiring "the use of machinery and specialised terminals or need to complete legal documentation", especially bearing in mind many businesses will as I have highlighted earlier see their wage support under the JSS reduced to 25% from June onwards. Productivity is another area of concern. The Government can be less prescriptive in this area, including any current limitation in the number of workers allowed in the workplace. Let businesses take ownership in managing telecommuting and the extent of telecommuting as appropriate for each individual business and their bottom line. Where any of these employees are required to be in the office or for workers where telecommuting has limited application, the Government can leave the onus on businesses to carry out prescribed safe workplace practices, including having appropriate social distancing and safe seating arrangements, use of SafeEntry, keeping records of staff and visitors to premises, including temperature records and good cleaning practices. Let businesses focus on recovery with more breathing space. I am sure that most businesses will understand that their business operations are subject to closure due to failure in social distancing and safe workplace arrangements or in the event of an actual infection and most will take the necessary protective steps accordingly. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, next, I would like to seek an update from the Minister for Manpower in the number of foreign workers who are still currently not allowed to leave their dormitories to go to work. Further, is the Minister able to give a projected estimation of the number of these workers who will be released back to work in each of the next two to three months?[+3 sentences] I am asking these questions because pending a review of our labour policies in the near future – perhaps after the COVID-19 crisis, particularly on our current unhealthy level of reliance on cheap foreign labour and also the way we house them, in the meantime, we need these workers to be back helping to restart our economy and also at the end of the day, the workers do not ordinarily live and work outside of Singapore and they are part of our community. I am also asking these questions because it touches on how confident the Government is in bringing down infection in the foreign worker dormitories to zero. Next, I want to touch on safe connectivity with the world. Last Friday, the Government announced plans to launch "fast lane" arrangement with COVID-19 measures for essential business, official air travel between Singapore and China in early June, starting with six Chinese cities.[+9 sentences] Prior to that, the Government had also announced that there will be talks to reopen borders with New Zealand. Quite understandably, we cannot stay unconnected for too long and the opening up of air travel and connection with these and, indeed, other countries will be beneficial to our businesses and economy. On the other hand, we have had recent experience of significant COVID-19 infections brought about by arriving passengers from abroad, first with the Wuhan tourists in January bringing the first recorded cases and transmissions to Singapore and then later on with some of those returning to Singapore or visitors from abroad around the period of March and April. For the Government's plans to open up air travel in the coming months even with selected countries and pending the eventual introduction of a vaccine for COVID-19, I hope that all necessary measures will be taken to ensure that the reopening will not lead to a resurgence of imported COVID-19 cases. It has been reported that passengers will not be required to serve the 14-days quarantine period and they will be required to undertake swab tests before boarding and after arrival in Singapore. If swab tests are required before boarding a flight to Singapore, how do we ensure all overseas swab test results provided are reliable? For swab tests done on arrival, how will the Government ensure that pending the outcome of the testing, there will not be any risk to any persons with whom the passengers come into contact at the airport, at their selected accommodation and also while being transported to their accommodation? Are there any restrictions on their accommodation for this initial period? Next, on safe travel on public transport. Minister Khaw Boon Wan announced on Monday that rail and bus services will return to pre-circuit breaker levels but indicated that safe social distancing may not be possible.[+2 sentences] This is disconcerting. Besides being a potential Achilles' heel in our fight against COVID-19, it is inconsistent with social distancing efforts that were carried out previously on trains during the circuit breaker. It is also inconsistent with the stringent enforcement efforts adopted in many other situations with regards to social distancing, for which many people have been fined or given warnings for breaches and the rationale for such enforcement.[+1 sentence] Finally, President Halimah Yacob was reported to have stated her support for this Fortitude Budget. I wonder whether the President, in arriving at her conclusion to support the draw of $31 billion from our reserves as well as the previous draws from reserves under the previous Budgets, had already been advised of the total amount of reserves Singapore has and had taken this into consideration.[+2 sentences] Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, in Mandarin. (In Mandarin): Mr Deputy Speaker, we may start to see the number of business failures going up in the next few months, leading to more job losses. After May, most businesses will receive 25% wage support and the Fortitude Budget will only increase support by one more month of such wage support.[+5 sentences] I would like to ask the Minister to extend more support to our SME businesses especially those who are struggling. I also hope that the Government will extend more flexibility to businesses who are cleared to resume business on their premises, to manage their businesses as they see fit as long as they comply with safe distancing and other safe workplace practices as required by the Government. As for the Government’s plans to resume airlinks with China and New Zealand, it is important to resume connection for the benefit of our economy. However, I hope the Government will take all necessary measures to ensure that we will avoid another wave of foreign imported COVID-19 infections. As more rail and bus services are resumed in phase 1, 2 and 3, I also hope that the Government take all necessary measures for safe travel and social distancing especially during peak hours. The relaxation of social distancing in our trains since Tuesday is a huge concern. Lack of social distancing on public transport is inconsistent with the authorities’ stringent enforcement efforts in social distancing elsewhere, not to mention a potential Achilles heel in our fight against COVID-19.[+1 sentence] Finally, President Halimah Yacob was reported to have stated her support for this Fortitude Budget. I wonder whether the President, in arriving at her conclusion to support the draw of $31 billion from our reserves as well as the previous draws from reserves under the Solidarity and Resilience Budgets, had already been advised of the total amount of reserves Singapore has and had taken this into consideration.
Mr Deputy Speaker3 words
[+1 sentence]Mr Terence Ho.
Mr Terence Ho Wee San (Nominated Member)964 words
[+3 sentences]Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I thank Deputy Prime Minister Heng and his team for always having arts in his heart and making arts possible and vibrant, even during this COVID-19 situation. I also want to thank the colleagues in MCCY and the National Arts Council (NAC) for their dedication and commitment to keep arts going strong. They work tirelessly to render support in this difficult period. As at 22 May 2020, NAC has supported more than 850 artists and arts groups, funded more than 60 digitalisation projects and reached over 6.2 million online views. If we take into consideration of the other online digital programmes by the arts groups, we should reach more than 10 million online viewers as today.[+4 sentences] Singapore Chinese Orchestra's digital efforts has seen six series, more than 130 contents uploaded, and a total of more than one million viewership to-date. Singapore Symphony Orchestra's SSOPlayOn! series, the Siong Leng Musical Association and the Nam Hwa Opera have brought their art onto several social media platforms for all to enjoy. The theatre groups live-stream their performances and the Esplanade partners with SISTIC to provide pay-per-view tickets to achieve self-sustained model for online performances. In these difficult times, we need the arts and culture to uplift our spirits. I hope the artists and arts groups can tap on the Fortitude Budget to sustain works, spread positivity and make arts as an essential for everyone in the new normalcy. They can explore and tap on the Enhanced Jobs Support Scheme, SEP Income Relief Scheme, COVID-19 Support Grant and the Arts and Culture Resilience Package (ACRP). The $55 million ACRP seeks to protect the arts and culture eco-system and will provide support and opportunities for our cultural organisations and practitioners until the end of the year, while encouraging the development of longer-term capabilities that will help the community emerge stronger after COVID-19.[+15 sentences] I have four suggestions. One, cultivate concert virtual exposure acquired by the expanding digital consumers of arts to actual engagement. Two, capability building should revamp and remodel in the strategic marketing area to bring headcounts for the various arts form, especially for ticketed events. Three, digital culture pass to encourage pay-per-view digital concert and even purchasing of live concert tickets when we allow concert to be staged at the concert hall. Four, more can be done to commission and collaborate with the private and public sector to utilise collective resources for the arts presentation in a more effective way. Arts are the engines of togetherness and collective sense-making. A lost in cultural eco-system would be harder to re-cultivate than to restore anything. In Mandarin, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir. (In Mandarin): Mr Deputy Speaker, I would like to thank Deputy Prime Minister Heng and his team for always having the livelihood of artists and arts group in their heart. The Government pays great attention to the arts and the cultural sector, making arts an indispensable spiritual nourishment during the outbreak. NAC and Lianhe Zaobao worked together to launch the Zaobao Recital Series comprising four online programmes, including Chinese music, vocals, classical chamber music and literature reciting. Netizens have responded warmly to these online programmes. The enhanced Job Support Scheme has enabled many art groups and artists to maintain their livelihood during the outbreak and continue to create artworks and surprises, so that people can continue to enjoy arts performances online. For example, Singapore Chinese Orchestra staged the Tutti Singapore percussion performance; Singapore Symphony Orchestra uploaded SSOPlayOn! series, and Singapore Chinese Music Federation gathered 30 Erhu players to present a performance called "Towards a Brighter Future" in celebration of the 30th anniversary of Singapore-China diplomatic ties. Dingyi Music Company, Siong Leng Musical Association, Nan Hwa Opera and the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre have also created many online stay-home performances. They use advanced digital technologies to bring arts onto various social media platforms, so that their audiences can enjoy wonderful concerts and performances free at home. There are more than 10 million online viewership to-date.[+17 sentences] During this period, many enthusiastic supporters are paying special attention to the vulnerable groups by giving them donations and support. This is good. I feel that freelancers in the arts and cultural sector will need our help too. The existence of our local arts and cultural community is the spirit and hope of the society. This group of people will not be the first to come to people's mind to help. Their livelihood is not easy in the first place, and made worse by the outbreak. The support they received is far from enough, and this reflects the fundamental cultural attitude of a society. In this regard, we need a wider definition of arts and broader arts recognition among our people, so that more people are willing to support and promote arts and spread its values. I hope that artists and arts groups can make good use of the funding and grants in these difficult times, move on with fortitude and continue to innovate and create. I believe that the community will emerge stronger and more united after COVID-19. The development of arts and culture would also be different from before. We will need new engines and new concepts to create a new world. I hope we can bring online audiences to concert halls and theatres. After artists have returned to the stage, I believe they will be able to create more inspiring programmes. This is because arts can provide spiritual nourishments, lift people's mood and warm their hearts. We will definitely conquer COVID-19, start a new life accompanied by beautiful music and artistic creations, and unite as one people to march towards prosperity and progress. I support the Fortitude Budget. (In English): I am in support of the Fortitude Budget.
Mr Speaker3 words
[+1 sentence]Mr Leon Perera.
Mr Leon Perera (Non-Constituency Member)2352 words
[+16 sentences]Mr Speaker, Sir, across the world, governments, healthcare systems, companies, societies and families have been severely tested by a microscopic virus. We will continue to be tested. We will need to meet these tests as one united people, united by our love for our country and one another Looking back, for me, the past two months have been extraordinary, working with Party colleagues and volunteers to provide support to residents remotely, adapting corporate processes to work from home and making adjustments to family life with my two young children, aged 12 and 14, going through home-based learning. Now, our attention turns to the process of recovery. It is appropriate that an Emerging Stronger Task Force has been formed. I agree with the remarks made by my Party Chairman Ms Sylvia Lim on the composition and work of that task force. As a society, it is our collective responsibility to reflect, draw the right lessons and emerge stronger. After all, the world went through the cataclysm of the Spanish flu in 1918 but many lessons about preventing and controlling pandemics were not permanently and widely institutionalised after that trauma. We have a choice. Will we emerge stronger? What can we learn from this episode for this post-circuit breaker period and the post-COVID-19 future that Singapore will emerge into? I would like to speak about two areas – overall pandemic management and the economy. At the start of the pandemic, the Government quickly formed a whole-of-Government task force and issued regular communications. The challenge facing this task force was gargantuan. Our knowledge of COVID-19 was imperfect and evolving. There were many moving parts. In hindsight, though, many Singaporeans, looking back on the rules and announcements issued since early April, would say that there were too many finely calibrated rules. These were often qualified or changed shortly after being announced and this led to confusion on the ground.[+1 sentence] Let me cite a few examples. On 21 April, when the tighter circuit breaker measures were announced, the press release said outlet-based confectionery operations had to be suspended from 2359 hours on 21 April, but those selling mainly bread could continue.[+17 sentences] What followed was some confusion as those selling mainly cakes try to find out what they could do. It was clarified that they could sell their inventory of cakes but not bake new ones. Some bakeries, such as one making mainly croissants, had to clarify how the rules apply to them. Car workshops were another example. Initially, when the circuit breaker was announced, motor workshops were told they could apply to stay open but only for emergency services. A Straits Times' report from 7 April said that motor workshop operators were confused initially by the phrase "emergency vehicle services" found in the GoBusiness COVID-19 site. Do they mean emergency vehicles like ambulances or do they mean emergency services for vehicles, one asked. Another example, in late April it was announced that exercising and dog walking were not permitted within the common areas of condominiums. One letter writer to TODAY on the 30 April mentioned that "to access public spaces, dogs would have to traverse the common condominium grounds thus rendering the rule moot in practice." Such a rule may also have had the effect of condominium dog owners then crowding in adjacent pathways by the road, HDB or landed common areas or parks. The intent behind these finely calibrated and frequently revised rules was good. But in hindsight, could the technocratic zeal have been tempered by an appreciation that the capacity of society to adapt to so many frequently changing rules is not unlimited, while the capacity of any civil service to issue so many detailed and finely calibrated rules in a very short time is limited. Too frequent and unclear rules can lead to rules fatigue and cynicism towards rule compliance. Moreover, would it not have been more efficient for the exceptions and caveats to rules to have been announced at the same time as the rule. And could some rules that micro-manage what are permissible activities have been avoided in favour of making facility owners responsible for safe distancing, masking and so on? Sir, my colleague Mr Dennis Tan has also made some suggestions on the roll-out of Phase One, with which I agree. I would add one point. The Government's approach to Phase One and beyond hinges on demarcating companies into either an essential or non-essential category for each phase.[+3 sentences] So, for example, in Phase One most retail, cinemas, bars, restaurants, event-based activities and tuition centres remain shut. This is in spite of the fact that crowds and lack of safe distancing have been anecdotally observed in a number of supermarket outlets and shopping malls under current rules, and that safe distancing is no longer mandatory on public transport. We need to find the right balance between protecting livelihoods and protecting lives. Has the Government considered an alternative approach which is to calibrate this a little less finely and with a broader brush.[+8 sentences] This means allowing most establishments to open may be with the exception of those which pose the most extreme risk. But every establishment would be tasked to practise safe distancing, masking and other precautions. This would mean that some establishments would, perhaps, not be able to optimise capacity to economically viable levels. But should we not that choice to business owners? Some business owners may prefer to restart with reduced capacity so as to generate some cashflow, refresh connections with customers, start to rotate staff back to work for the sake of morale and skills refreshing and so on. For those industries where the risk is greater, these should be targeted for more enforcement and regular preventive COVID-19 testing. In fact, the administration of rapid testing and swift isolation in a surgical manner, as opposed to only very severe lockdowns, has been seen as a key to Korea's success, which brings me to my next point on testing. Sir, our current main form of testing appears to be the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction or RTPCR test. Some challenges of scaling up the current PCR test are that testing takes about three hours for results to be obtained.[+5 sentences] Laboratory staff operating the extractors must also wear personal protective equipment or PPE and most countries looking to exit lockdown have similar mass testing strategies – increasing demand for the same reagents and PPE. MOH has said that coronavirus test were conducted by 13 laboratories in Singapore, the majority of which are located at public healthcare institutions such as hospitals. There are private sector industrial testing labs that offer testing of COVID-19 on surfaces, not patient swabs. It is not clear if these labs currently also offer testing of human samples since this is not advertised. It would be good to know if these industrial labs can be co-opted to help with our testing. Given the challenges in scaling up the PCR testing method, there is a need to concurrently explore scaling up of other testing methods to be able to roll out effective mass testing.[+3 sentences] The Tony Blair Institute in the UK has called for antibody tests to be more widely used in conjunction with the PCR test, even if it is less accurate. Could such antibody tests together with the current PCR test be used to triage testing of suspected cases to take the load off the PCR testing infrastructure. Next, Sir, a number of new schemes have been rolled out. For example, there is a $100 utilities rebate in this latest Fortitude Budget – $100.[+18 sentences] Previously, SIRS and JSS were rolled out. Before COVID-19 there were also many schemes. To cite some random examples – Workfare, Jobs Credit, Innovation Credit and SkillsFuture. Some schemes are automatically applied and money gets transferred into your bank account. That is it. Some schemes you have to apply for to get the money or support. For other schemes, the money exists in an account tagged to each citizen and you have to use it. Sir, the more schemes we have, the more there is risk of confusion leading to under-utilisation or other side effects. Also, the more complex the whole system becomes the more resources need to go into the work of explaining, sifting through and helping people or firms to apply for these schemes. Social workers and Family Service Centres and officers at economic agencies like Enterprise Singapore, for example, would have to meet this challenge by mastering all the minutiae of the schemes and then explaining them well. Sir, there are just too many schemes with distinct names and processes right now. Would the Government consider a unified portal across the whole-of-Government where each citizen and company can log on, view and transact? Such a portal would show firstly, that the monies that have been credited from all schemes that automatically kick in; two, the schemes which that person or company is eligible to apply for; or where there is imperfect information where they may be eligible to apply for for those that need application with direct links to the application forms from respective Ministries, Statutory Boards and agencies; and thirdly, the money that has been credited to them in special accounts but which needs to be utilised by a certain date. The existence of such a portal would be a first step. The next step would be to streamline the schemes and curb the tendency to launch new schemes but attempt instead to channel support into existing schemes. Sir, sometimes less is more. And in saying this, for the elderly who are less IT-savvy, arrangements need to be made to facilitate their access to such a portal. Next, let me move to the economy. Minister Chan recently announced $13 billion in foreign direct investment commitments in the first four months of this year versus $15.2 billion for the whole of last year.[+2 sentences] This is good news indeed. I would like to ask MTI how much of this $13 billion is fixed asset investment versus total business spending. How many jobs is this expected to be translated into?[+24 sentences] And what incentives were used to secure these investments? It is important to continue to attract FDI and to refine and improve our strategies for doing so. But the economic challenge of developing home-grown entrepreneurship and our own world-beating companies is going to be greater than ever. World trade growth was already slowing own even before COVID-19. COVID-19 will not put in an end to FDI for sure. But it is likely to result in more competition for perhaps less FDI, as some multi-national companies or MNCs migrate some operations back home and other MNCs try to diversify to less traditional FDI destinations, responding to the imperatives of supply chain resilience, political pressures and other imperatives. Sir, our GDP growth rate was a weak 0.7% in 2019 before COVID-19 and that 0.7% growth rate was one of the lowest rates of growth among major advanced economies in the world in that year. No doubt there are many schemes and programmes to stimulate entrepreneurship. Have these met with the desired results? Are we where we want to be? In this House my colleagues and I have mooted a number of ideas on this front in the past. For example, setting up a fund to support ex-civil servants who want to become entrepreneurs and demonstrating more flexibility in schemes based on results. Sir, NASA recently launched its first vehicle into space using private sector launch capacity provided by the company Space X. Uplifting our entrepreneurial sector is going to be a key national competitiveness challenge facing Singapore. I would argue for renewed soul searching and efforts on this front as an urgent priority. Mr Speaker, Sir, in Malay, please. (In Malay): The Government's approach to Phase One and beyond hinges on the demarcation of companies into either an essential or non-essential category for each phase. This is in spite of the fact that crowds have been observed to continue visiting a number of supermarkets in shopping centres and are not really practising safe distancing under current rules. Has the Government considered an alternative approach, which is to calibrate this a little less finely, but in a broader manner instead? This means allowing most businesses to open, perhaps with the exception of those which may pose the most extreme risks. At the same time, every business should be required to practise safe distancing, the wearing of masks and all other precautions. And for those industries where the risk is greater, these should be targeted for more enforcement and regular, preventive COVID-19 testing. (In English): Mr Speaker, Sir, has COVID-19 shown that our model of economics and politics is perfect? No. Neither is any countries'. The success achieved by other developed countries in the region against COVID-19 such as Taiwan, Korea, Hong Kong and New Zealand should give us pause that we, too, have things to learn. For example, if stronger independent voices had come out to say the precautionary reusable mask wearing was okay in the early days, it may have cut down on some asymptomatic transmission. Last year, I read an excellent book called "The Narrow Corridor" by academics Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson. It uses extensive historical research spanning centuries to argue that the most successful societies are those that find the right balance between a strong, capable state and an equally strong non-state sector – meaning civil society, alternative parties and the private sector – to balance that state. The outcomes of such successful societies are able to obtain combined political stability and law and order on the one hand together with long-term innovation-driven economic development and social progress on the other hand.[+1 sentence] And so, in conclusion, Mr Speaker, Sir, at the end of this speech, I find myself returning to a theme in my very first speech in this House given in January 2016 – the Singapore glass is half full. Singaporeans bear a major two-fold responsibility to preserve what is good about our existing system but to change what should be changed to make it better.
Mr Speaker5 words
[+1 sentence]Minister of State Zaqy Mohamad.
The Minister of State for National Development (Mr Zaqy Mohamad)3576 words
[+187 sentences]Thank you, Mr Speaker. “Your every day is full of sunshine. But into every life, a little rain must fall” – prose from a song by the legendary rock band, Queen. We are living in very challenging times, with unpredictable weather ahead. They say that in every crisis, lies opportunity. Therefore, we should make the best of every opportunity available, no matter how strong the headwinds are. And this is why the Government and our tripartite partners are making every effort to create an umbrella of opportunities to weather the storm. I will speak about how our workers and employers can tap on the opportunities and support available. We will help workers be flexible, to adapt and to widen their skills. We will also provide support for employers to make use of their downtime to upskill their workforce for transformed jobs. The Minister for Manpower has elaborated on the strong Government support for our workers and I will focus on how fresh graduates and our mature workers can tap on opportunities. Our fresh graduates are entering the job market amidst great uncertainty. I can personally relate to the anxiety of many of our fresh graduates who may be concerned with their job prospects. I graduated in 1999, shortly after the Asian Financial Crisis. There were few jobs and even fewer interviews. But I would like to assure our fresh graduates and their parents, compared to them, we are now more prepared and better resourced to support our fresh graduates. Despite the current economic conditions, there are still jobs available in some areas. We will support employers to take in and groom new hires, including through sector-specific programmes such as the Company-Led Training Programme for Infocomm and Technology jobs. Some may not be able to find employment in this tough job market, and this is why we launched the SGUnited Traineeships programme. We have more than doubled our initial goal from up to 8,000 traineeships to up to 21,000 traineeships. Our graduates can look forward to traineeships in sectors with good growth prospects such as Financial Services, Professional Services and Infocomm Technology and Media sectors. There are familiar roles in Marketing and Finance too, and more specialised ones such as Sports Nutrition and Social Work. Graduates can check out available traineeships on MyCareersFuture.sg by searching for the hashtag #SGUnitedTraineeships. On this note, I would like to thank the Singapore Business Federation for helping to vet and approve the large volume of traineeship proposals from companies. I would also like to acknowledge the many employers that have opened their doors to trainees. An example is Yang Kee Logistics, who will be offering traineeship opportunities in software development and food supply chain management. Two trainees will support the Logistics Integrated Transport Ecosystem project, a cloud-based platform that connects logistics industry stakeholders and multiple intermediaries. They will be able to sharpen their software development skills and gain deeper project management skills. Another trainee will be exposed to Yang Kee's new food logistics business arm as a sales support coordinator. These traineeship experiences will be meaningful and valuable, providing them skills that are in-demand and hands-on industry experience. Traineeships help our fresh graduates to build their experience and skills. This puts the trainee in good stead to find a job, either with the host company or elsewhere in the sector. To give our trainees a further boost, employers that hire them will receive the enhanced Hiring Incentive, with salary support of 20% of monthly salary for six months, capped at $6,000 in total. The Government will work with employers to provide as many jobs and traineeships as possible. As many opportunities are likely to come from firms in growth sectors, I encourage our graduates to keep an open mind and consider how skills acquired in school can be applied to different careers. We are also paying close attention to our mature workers. Many of them may have been in the same occupation for a long time, and find it more challenging to make a career switch. As Mr Patrick Tay mentioned, we need to support our mid-career workers and we also need to help them access the opportunities available. How can mature workers do so? First, do consider making the switch into a new career. I recognise that it is not easy, but you are not alone. Workforce Singapore's Professional Conversion Programmes, or PCP, have helped nearly 14,500 Singaporeans since 2016 to successfully switch to new careers. The results are encouraging. About nine in 10 remain in employment for two years after getting a job, and seven in 10 earned higher wages. Clearly, the PCP has been effective in preparing our workers for new careers. The Government provides up to 90% of salary support and course fees subsidies to encourage employers to hire mature workers through these programmes. We are also ramping up our capacity to provide more programmes. One example is 55-year-old Choa Wai Sim – one individual who successfully made the switch. She previously worked in a traditional sales role performing tasks such as quality control and quotation of sales. While she initially applied for a salesperson role at Aries Fresh Private Limited, she was open to take on a different role focusing on digital sales offered by Aries Fresh in March this year. Thanks to PCP for Digital Sales Executives, Wai Sim gained digital skills which complements her sales experience. I personally found it inspiring that Wai Sim has transformed her 30 plus years of experience to take on the digital world as well. She now uses Facebook and Google Ads to generate leads and increase sales. Wai Sim is earning 30% more, compared to her previous traditional sales role. She is an encouraging role model for all of us and I would like to thank Aries Fresh for investing in our mature workers and I hope that many others would consider this too. Second, mature jobseekers can also consider taking part in the new SGUnited Traineeships for mid-career workers, which will be named SGUnited Mid-Career Pathways Programme. This programme will provide mid-career workers with company attachment opportunities to pick up industry-relevant skills and broaden their professional circles. This will boost their employability when the economy recovers. We aim to provide up to 4,000 of such attachment opportunities. Compared to the SGUnited Traineeships, mid-careerists on this SGUnited Mid-Career Pathways Programme can expect to receive a higher stipend based on their relevant experience and skills that they bring to the host company. To encourage employers to hire mature workers who have gone through eligible programmes such as the SGUnited Mid-Career Pathways Programme, we doubled the Hiring Incentive to 40% of monthly salary for six months, capped at $12,000 in total. Our employers play an important role in growing our economy and hiring our workers. It is important that we also guide them through this storm. Even when employers are in "survival mode", their odds of survival will improve with a more skilled and productive workforce. I would like to encourage employers to take a longer-term view and walk with their workers through these challenging times. Different employers are affected in different ways by this unprecedented crisis. The first group of employers are those who are not so badly affected and are still growing. And we encourage these employers to consider jobseekers who may not have all the skills needed to perform the job, but can do it with some training. To support such employers, we will be ramping up the capacity of our career conversion programmes to more than 14,000 places this year. So, taken together with the Jobs Support Scheme (JSS) and the enhanced Hiring Incentive, the out-of-pocket costs of employers for hiring and training new workers are significantly reduced. For others who are cautious about hiring, do consider the traineeship programmes. I encourage you to offer as many positions as you can. Not only will you benefit from the additional manpower to meet your business needs, you will also help trainees pick up useful skills and work experience. The Government will also subsidise the costs of providing these traineeship opportunities by funding 80% of the traineeship stipends. Employers only need to fund the remaining 20%. Host companies can indicate their interest at the SGUnited Traineeships page on WSG's website. Many employers may face short-term difficulties. We fully understand. Member of Parliament Patrick Tay expressed concerns about unfair practices on the ground, and I share his concerns. While it may not be easy, employers should be fair to their workers during hard times. The Government has provided significant wage support under the JSS to offset and protect local employees' wages. Employers should act responsibly and fairly. Those who put local employees on mandatory no-pay-leave or retrench them will not be entitled to the enhanced JSS pay-outs for those employees. The updated Tripartite Advisory on Managing Excess Manpower and Responsible Retrenchment and National Wage Council's guidelines issued in end-March provides guidance on managing excess manpower responsibly. Where there is a need to reduce wages, managements should lead by example, and seek the consent of the unions and engage employees. Employers should take the lead to help their workers reskill and support business transformation plans. Employees have often been worried about training while working. For some, it is whether they can find time to go for training without disadvantaging themselves at work. Others may find it difficult to identify relevant training to improve their career prospects. Employers should come in to provide guidance. They are best placed to identify relevant skills required for their business transformation strategies. It is also a good opportunity to send workers who would have not otherwise have gone for training to reskill. Moreover, employers can reskill their existing workers at a low cost by tapping on Government support. Employers can send existing workers to participate in job redesign programmes, a type of PCP to help existing employees take on new roles or redesigned job roles in the same company. Many employers think that PCPs are for workers to transit to new sectors, but there are also PCP programmes that employers can adopt in their companies. And the Government provides up to 90% salary support and course fee subsidies. All Watches Private Limited is an employer that is reskilling their workers for enhanced job roles to support their digital transformation plans. They are ramping up its online e-commerce platform given the shift in consumer behaviour and increase in demand for e-commerce. Through WSG's Job Redesign Reskilling Programme for the Retail Industry, 11 workers are gaining relevant digital skills. For instance, their retail team leaders will gain skills to understand online and offline customer behaviour and to develop and implement offline-to-online strategies in enhanced Customer Service Leader roles. I encourage employers to consider this option. Not only would employers keep their workers at lower cost, their workers will emerge with new and relevant skills to support their business transformation and growth. Mr Speaker, before I conclude, let me address Mr Zainal Sapari's points on lower wage workers, particularly those in essential services. The COVID-19 outbreak has highlighted the importance of the work done by our essential workers, many of whom come under the Progressive Wage Model (PWM). For the majority of them, their workloads have increased during this period, and we applaud and appreciate their efforts. Indeed, this is an important group. MOM and our tripartite partners have been working hard to uplift this segment. To support our lower wage workers, we have recently enhanced Workfare to benefit more workers and also provided a special Workfare Special Payment (WSP) payout of $3,000 as a result of the COVID-19 situation. The first payout of $1,500 will be made in the next month, with the second payout of $1,500 in October 2020. In these times, it is imperative that we bolster support for our lower wage workers. Mr Zainal co-chairs the tripartite committees to review and enhance the wage and skills ladders in sectors under the PWM today, so that our workers can enjoy better wages and be more productive. These efforts are complemented by the sectoral tripartite partners' implementation of the various industry transformation maps, such as in the security and environmental services sectors. These will leverage technology to raise our workers' productivity. MOM is and will continue to give our fullest support to these important efforts. Assoc Prof Walter Theseira said, and I quote, "the unseen engine behind global cities worldwide is a vast army of essential workers, who are frequently paid too little to live next to those they provide services to". I fully agree. As a society, we must uplift our lower wage workers and bridge inequality. I believe that our society has matured enough that we would not turn a blind eye to this group of workers, and recognise that they too, should be paid fairly for the essential work that they do. This is the right thing to do. But these efforts will not be able to come to fruition if we do not have the support of the wider community. At the end of the day, all of us would have to contribute towards the higher pay for these workers by sharing the rise in cost of products and services. The Progressive Wage Models (PWMs) have served us well in supporting our lower wage workers, which includes workers in essential sectors such as cleaning and security. Between 2013 and 2018, the real median monthly gross wages of full-time cleaners, security officers and landscape workers grew cumulatively by 30% or more, which is higher than the 16% for the median full-time income of resident workers. As Member Walter Theseira observed in his Budget speech in February, the PWMs have reversed formerly stagnant wage growth for lower income Singaporeans. The vision of PWM was to create occupation, wage and skills ladders across all sectors. This will support our workers to up-skill, raise their productivity and earn higher wages. Given the positive impact of the PWMs, MOM is committed to supporting our tripartite partners' efforts to extend PWM to more sectors. Earlier this year, we announced that the tripartite partners are extending the PWM to escalator maintenance workers. Members of the community have also voiced their support for essential workers during COVID-19. During my speech at the Committee of Supply debates in March, I painted a vision of how the PWM should be a broader movement where the community can play a part as responsible consumers, even in sectors where mandatory PWM is not possible. In this way, companies that voluntarily pay progressive wages and provide job progression pathways to their workers are recognised and rewarded by consumers who support them by purchasing their goods or services. This will in turn spur more companies to be progressive as the best way to advance their business interests. MOM will share more details when the economic climate and business conditions are more favourable. I would like to move on and address Members' points on the vulnerability of lower-wage essential workers. Ms Jessica Tan spoke about the need to pay attention to the working conditions as businesses resumed operations, especially for the essential and frontline workers. COVID-19 has resulted in significant disruptions to the demand and supply of outsourced services by service buyers and providers. This has in turn affected the livelihoods of workers such as cleaners and security officers. The tripartite partners have worked closely to issue tripartite advisories to guide service buyers and providers on how all stakeholders can navigate the situation together to ensure the sustainability of these industries and protect our workers' livelihoods. These advisories guide service providers in properly remunerating their workers and urge service buyers to exercise restraint when activating penalty clauses or liquidated damages. This helps ensure that workers are paid appropriately based on their workloads and that their employers have the cashflow to pay them accordingly. Service buyers and providers are also encouraged to reallocate manpower based on their priorities. This helps to manage the employees' workloads. Finally, employers are also urged to seize the opportunity to up-skill their workers by tapping on Government support, which will prepare them for future challenges and opportunities. By adopting these recommendations, our lower wage essential workers will be protected and employers will be able to tide through this tough period together with them. Beyond this, we are also maintaining our efforts to uplift the well-being of our lower wage workers at work through the Workcare initiative. As I shared earlier, we will be launching a new Workcare Grant later this year to support building owners and employers to provide rest areas for outsourced workers – this, with a view to eventually legislating this requirement. Given the importance of their work, it is only right that we promote a culture of care and provide them with the respect they deserve. I would like make a call for everyone to play a part in supporting our lower wage workers and improving their well-being at work – that even small gestures can be meaningful. The Government will always look after our lower wage workers through our social schemes. Initiatives such as Workfare supplements their wages, the Enhanced Housing Grant ensures that they have a roof under which their families can grow in stable environments and ComCare provides meaningful social support. We hope that everyone can support us in uplifting our lower wage workers and caring for them in the way they deserve. Mr Speaker, I began my speech with how, in every crisis, lies opportunity. We must make every opportunity count. The Government is committed to supporting both our jobseekers and employers to ride out this storm and to emerge stronger. We will help jobseekers seize every available opportunity and employers are encouraged to use this period to build up a skilled workforce so that they are well-positioned for recovery. We can achieve this by working together as Singapore United. Mr Speaker, allow me to share a few key points on the Government's support for employers and workers in Malay. (In Malay): We will support Singaporeans fully. There are many opportunities in growth sectors, so I encourage those who are seeking jobs to be flexible and willing to adapt to access these opportunities. Currently, there are conversion programmes to help you reskill to gain employment in new areas, including the SGUnited Traineeships Programme and the SGUnited Mid-Career Pathways Programme. These programmes can help you to gain industry-relevant work experience and build professional networks. We have also introduced measures to help businesses cope during this trying period. I urge employers to be fair and responsible to their workers. Retain your workers, and tap on Government support to help your workers upskill, and at the same time, help your company transform for the future. Mr Speaker, I am greatly heartened to see my fellow Singaporeans and community organisations stepping up to collectively complement the Government’s efforts to help employers and workers during this difficult period. These include the wonderful efforts by our Malay/Muslim community. Under the SGTeguhBersatu Taskforce, organisations such as MENDAKI SENSE and the Singapore Malay Chamber of Commerce and Industry, or SMCCI, have stepped forward to further strengthen the last-mile delivery of national support measures and lead targeted initiatives to support the Malay/Muslim community on jobs, upskilling and digitalisation for businesses. SENSE has organised three Virtual Career Fairs which have attracted close to 12,000 visitors. More than 3,400 people have submitted job applications and the total number of applications received have exceeded 8,000 applications. To date, the CariKerja app has received over 22,000 downloads. These figures indicate a good start. SENSE will be scaling up their outreach efforts within the community, including to mature workers, fresh graduates as well as PMET jobseekers. For our local businesses, SMCCI, together with technology partners such as Lalamove and Shopback, has helped their members to adopt new solutions that would optimise their businesses in areas such as marketing and e-payments. SMCCI will continue its efforts to conduct more capability development seminars so that our local businesses can make the move to innovate, transform and strengthen their resilience. We can expect structural changes to the global and Singapore economy in the long term. As announced by Minister Masagos last week, I will be leading a new workgroup, comprising MENDAKI SENSE, SMCCI, NTUC, organisations from the public sector and community partners to support our Malay/Muslim workers. This workgroup will support the efforts of the National Jobs Council, led by Senior Minister Tharman. Collectively, we want to build on the efforts of the SGTeguhBersatu Taskforce, to provide employment support for Malay/Muslim jobseekers, and to better prepare them and improve their employment prospects, by working with our partners and the Government. We will also strengthen our outreach efforts to prepare the community for the future of jobs. This includes mature workers, fresh graduates, the self-employed, and our asatizah. We want to help our workers to upskill so that they can stay relevant and subsequently gain employment. With that, they will hopefully have better salary prospects. It is important for the Malay/Muslim community to be ready to seize any opportunities during this crisis and when the economy recovers. Our path forward will be tough, but we will journey through it together. The Government will continue to support Singaporeans in adapting to new circumstances. With strong community support, we will work hand-in-hand to help workers and employers seize available opportunities, so that we will emerge stronger as one Singapore. Thank you.
Mr Speaker3 words
[+1 sentence]Mr Pritam Singh
Mr Pritam Singh (Aljunied)2618 words
[+7 sentences]Mr Speaker, when I spoke on the Resilience and Solidarity Budgets in April, my speech focused on the future. What would happen after the deployment of significant reserves to support lives and livelihoods? I also spoke about how COVID-19 had exposed inequalities – how the wages of some Singaporeans working in essential services need to go up – and what opportunities the COVID-19 crisis had engendered to reimagine a better Singapore. For this Fortitude Budget debate, which once again calls for a draw on the reserves, I will focus on three "E"s – the economy, engagement and empathy. First, the economy. While the central focus of this Budget was jobs, Deputy Prime Minister Heng's speech was instructive in my view for the restatement of three hard truths in the coming months. First, Singapore can expect some tough times ahead. On the day the Deputy Prime Minister delivered this Budget, MTI announced a downward adjustment of our growth forecast of -1% to -4%, to -4% to -7%.[+5 sentences] Second, the Deputy Prime Minister reminded Singaporeans that life will not return to pre-COVID-19 days, with the global economy unlikely to recover quickly. Finally, the Deputy Prime Minister's speech also reminded Singaporeans, "that Government cannot carry businesses forever." On the limit of Government being able to carry business forever, it is clear that companies and businesses will soon have to underwrite their employees' wages. This has hitherto been significantly supported by the Jobs Support Scheme (JSS). With poor economic growth at the door, some business owners have shared with me that they have retained workers as long as they could, thanks to the JSS, even as other workers were emplaced on no-pay leave and have had to take pay cuts. As JSS expires in time, some retrenchments are inevitable.[+2 sentences] To that end, the goal of the Government to accelerate digitalisation, up-skilling for the future and the creation of a National Jobs Council are steps in the right direction and supported by the Workers' Party. These initiatives cohere with an eye on the future and the transformation to a post-COVID-19-ready Singapore economy. On jobs, Mr Speaker, the headline numbers vis-a-vis initiatives like the new SGUnited Mid-Career Traineeships scheme of 4,000 openings may not appear large next to the size of the Singaporean workforce, but they are an important source of hope for those Singaporeans who have lost their jobs or will lose their jobs.[+4 sentences] Today, some Singaporeans would be downcast at the thought of how to finance or how to continue financing their mortgage and other commitments, or the opportunities they can or cannot provide to their school-going children when their own paychecks have dwindled or, in other cases, evaporated. On mid-career workers, I hope the Government considers and incentivises more companies and businesses, through either rebates or reliefs, to offer more of such traineeships and opportunities to mid-career Singaporeans, so that they can learn new skills and embark on new careers. Mr Speaker, more than $50 billion has been committed from the Reserves to fight COVID-19 in the matter of a few short months, more than 10 times the amount drawn from the Reserves during the Global Financial Crisis about a decade ago. Unlike the Resilience Budget, I noticed the Fortitude Budget did not include a line to say that the Government would be prepared to make further draws on past Reserves to deal with COVID-19, if necessary. In this regard, the employment of the Contingencies Fund in this Budget answered the question posed during my Resilience Budget debate speech, which queried whether the next Government would have enough fiscal firepower to deal with the effects of the COVID-19 fallout.[+5 sentences] Nonetheless, I have a few questions for the Deputy Prime Minister on this count. It would appear that this Contingencies Fund would provide the Government with a significant buffer against post-circuit breaker uncertainties. What is of interest is the decision-making process behind the allocation of this amount. How did the Government settle on it? And on what basis was it justified to the President? After delivering the Fortitude Budget, the Deputy Prime Minister was also quoted in the media as saying that Singapore's financial position will be a lot weaker in the coming years.[+10 sentences] This is a very significant comment on Singapore's fiscal health, the implications of which have not been discussed in public in a significant way thus far. Can the Deputy Prime Minister share more details on his thinking on this matter and what can the public expect in the short and medium term over the next five to 10 years, especially with regard to recurrent taxes and the social contract between people and the state. This brings me to my second "E" – engagement. Mr Speaker, when the first of four Budgets this year was announced by the Deputy Prime Minister on 28 February, I stated in my speech during the debate that as far as the Workers' Party was concerned, politics would take a backseat for a unity of purpose in times of the COVID-19 crisis so that Singapore could single-mindedly overcome this challenge. The Workers' Party has not come in to publicly criticise the Government on its handling of an unprecedented crisis in ways that would undermine the national effort. But Singaporeans have a right to expect a thorough review and accounting on the response to this public health crisis. Some, both in and out of this House, have suggested a commission of inquiry or some other independent body to review specific aspects of the Government's response thus far. Whatever the form such a reckoning takes in future, our position, as a constructive Opposition, requires us to communicate the feelings of Singaporeans on the ground in Parliament. As we exit the circuit breaker, there is the perception that the Government's handling of the COVID-19 crisis has certainly not included adjectives more commonly associated with the Singapore Government, such as clarity and decisiveness. For example, there is a broadly accepted view that the public should have been told early and clearly, and not through illegal recordings behind closed doors, for example, that universal masking would prove to be a challenge in view of supply constraints requiring the Government to prioritise our healthcare and other essential workers. To this end, straight talk, especially on Singapore's limitations and shortcomings in managing the crisis, did not always define official Government communication on COVID-19. There was a perception among some Singaporeans of a public confused with many piecemeal announcements, u-turns and positions that did not gel intuitively, like limiting the number of visits to parents and grandparents to two individuals, when public transport safe distancing rules had already been lifted. Other Members have spoken about the operational frustrations of businesses, like those in construction, and I will not repeat these. This morning, the Straits Times carried a story on COVID-19 regulations comparing hair treatments that go on for hours, contrasted with directives that prohibit beauty treatments that last more than 30 minutes.[+8 sentences] For some Singaporean businesses, at times, it felt as if no one in Government was taking ownership of how COVID-19 directives would be perceived, interpreted and understood on the ground. Then, they were higher order trade-offs and decisions that could have turned very differently in view of numerous unknowns associated with the spread of the virus. While other countries requisitioned mask supply lines, it would appear that Singapore resisted doing so, probably with an eye on the future so that international companies would always see Singapore as a reliable place to do business. This must have been a tough call. But rather than getting the public to speculate about these decision making trade-offs, such as whether the possible shortage of reagents to ramp up COVID-19 testing far more quickly was a problem, the public was largely left to infer positions that ought to have been unequivocally made by the Government. For younger Singaporeans, this crisis has been educational and revealing. COVID-19 has reinforced for some Singaporeans, if not exposed for others, especially younger Singaporeans, how reliant Singapore is on foreign sources of manpower and supplies. This is something commentators online would do well to remember when they speak ill or run down our neighbours. Malaysia closed its borders before our circuit breaker, resulting in a difficult adjustment for many Singaporean companies, both public and private, reliant on foreign labour.[+1 sentence] Can we imagine the psychological impact on Singapore had Malaysia stopped food supplies like vegetables as well? Public crisis preparedness, such as a lack of understanding of emergency terminology like DORSCON also revealed gaps that need to be plugged in future.[+3 sentences] A belated explanation of Singapore having raised its DORSCON level to Orange in 2009 as a result of H1N1, ostensibly to temper panic-buying, and the jolting of memories about the existence of a rice stockpile could not overcome a distinct lack of understanding and preparedness about emergencies amongst many segments of the public. This is unlike the mindset of many Merdeka and Pioneer Generation Singaporeans who would recall emergency preparedness exercises, such as water rationing, for example. Engaging more Singaporeans on the need to better compensate for, if not overcome, our limitations in key areas and reintroducing public emergency preparedness for psychological resilience, has been exposed by the crisis, and significant focus would need to be placed on this in future. To that end, and critically, we must take stock of the entire economy and relook at sectors where greater self-sufficiency and buffer are required, especially essential jobs and services.[+19 sentences] Such a thorough review could potentially become a source of more job opportunities for Singaporeans, pegged at more respectable wage levels in some cases. I hope this is something the National Jobs Council can look at. The last "E" I wish to talk about is empathy. We have experienced it in bucket loads over the last two months – a greater acknowledgement of mental health issues; warm cheers of support for healthcare frontliners from HDB flats and condominiums; more stories of Singaporeans offering the Food Panda or Grab delivery person water or a drink before he or she fulfils the next order; and the list goes on. Singaporeans may have grumbled, but they got on with their lives in spite of the inconveniences of the circuit breaker and played their part in protecting lives and livelihoods. In addition, many younger Singaporeans have taken a great interest in those less well-off. This has been one of the seminal moments of the COVID-19 experience thus far. Volunteering to help distribute food to Singaporeans in need, volunteering to swab foreign workers, delivering laptops to families in need with school-going children, and so much more. In a crisis that this generation of Singaporeans will never forget, we saw the best of Singapore. Mr Speaker, being able to put oneself in the shoes of the other is the very definition of empathy. And empathy is a significant source from which fortitude springs and a basis to call upon the cohesion and strength needed for Singapore to overcome challenges and odds. In response to my Resilience Budget speech and, specifically the reference to the New Deal in the US, Deputy Prime Minister Heng cautioned about localising schisms from the US where liberals support comprehensive relief and reform programmes, and conservatives oppose plans that are hostile to growth and business. The Deputy Prime Minister would be aware that Singapore is not alien to diametrically opposed ideological perspectives and these have been present in Singapore for some time. The online discourse has, in fact, accentuated it. Another case in point is the recent response of various Chambers of Commerce on the calls made by Singaporeans to moderate the number of foreign workers in Singapore as a result of the COVID-19 experience. With many corporates and big businesses already perceived to be over-represented in our political ecology, be it through the grassroots or through their association in private-public national level committees, the Government needs to consider how it can become a better arbiter between different views, to give and encourage more space to our youths, NGOs unlinked to GLCs and trade unions, and the people sector to voice their contrarian views and perspectives. This should be done while retaining a laser-like focus on fact-based conversations that portend a progressive future all Singaporeans can endeavour towards. To this end, we have some Singaporeans, including young ones, wondering whether we had done right by foreign workers, calling for an improvement of their living conditions, but only to be met by naysayers questioning their motives. In fact, COVID-19 has, paradoxically, vindicated a smaller group of Singaporeans who have been lobbying for improvements to foreign worker management policies for years. To that end, the Government's decision to quickly introduce guidelines for better foreign worker accommodation standards and the promotion of a more respectful culture between Singaporeans and migrant workers has been a very positive development.[+6 sentences] In my view, Mr Speaker, we should count ourselves fortunate that we have citizens who are the loving critics amongst us, some of whom have been questioned in this very House in this term of Government. Members would recall one citizen's poems were nitpicked with a view to cast wholly negative aspersions on his character, even though that individual was not present in the House to defend himself. Mr Speaker, when any leader or person of influence engages in what will be interpreted as dog-whistling, it sets the tone for how members of the public debate with those whose views they disagree with. If binary black-and-white perspectives are the shape of how we as a society deal with differences after COVID-19, Singapore will become an ordinary society, no different from many around the world. But nobody expects the Government to willy-nilly change its decision at the first sign of pressure and agree with a critic. Singaporeans do recognise the multitude of perspectives the Government has to take cognisance of, but it is important to recognise and not forget that citizens criticise and even organise, because they care. Moving forward, the Government should look at opening more avenues like Parliament for citizen engagement, greater data sharing and empower other institutions like our think-tanks, and nudge the mainstream media to give alternative perspectives more voice and even provide platforms piloting change on a small scale.[+2 sentences] As we traverse the post-COVID-19 volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) world, we need to place more faith and promote even greater participation from Singaporeans than ever before. In conclusion, Mr Speaker, COVID-19 has prompted many Singaporeans to ask fundamental questions about our economy and who we are as a people. As many Singaporeans will have to buckle down to take on new skills and jobs, COVID-19 has also provided an opportunity for Singaporeans to take a deeper interest in their country and their society. This is a positive development, even as COVID-19 has hit Singapore while we contend with other pressing short and medium term issues, such as demographic shifts, technological disruption, climate change and, more ominously, the impact to our position as a global Asia hub from US-China competition and rivalry. The economic picture may be bleak today and, for some, a moment of anguish. But as I had put forth in my response to the Resilience Budget, there are opportunities to reset some fundamental assumptions about the type of society we can endeavour and pivot towards.[+1 sentence] I use the word "pivot" because Singapore is a far more complex and varied economy and society than it was in 1965. The transition will demand everyone's participation, effort and energies. But with the people determined and committed to the nation's recovery and success, COVID-19 is a golden opportunity for this generation to envision and build a better Singapore.[+1 sentence] Mr Speaker, I support the Fortitude Budget.
Mr Speaker3 words
[+1 sentence]Ms Denise Phua.
Ms Denise Phua Lay Peng (Jalan Besar)1810 words
[+19 sentences]Mr Speaker, Sir, four Budgets in less than four months. Kudos to the Government and especially the MOF team who stitched the Budgets together. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused more disruption than one can imagine – changing lives and livelihoods as we knew them to be. Economic activities have plummeted, the depth and speed of which rival that of the Great Depression. Experts worldwide cannot agree on how long the downturn will be. There is no telling what the recovery is going to look like – V-curve, U-curve, Z-curve, a smooth bounce-back, a slow-burn recovery or worse still, a relapse. One of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's favourite quotes during this season is by former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill who said this, "Now, this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is perhaps, the end of the beginning". Indeed, change has only begun even as Singapore exits from the circuit breaker. Many people, businesses and individuals, understandably are very concerned about how this recovery will look like. I therefore seek Deputy Prime Minister and MOF's reading of the pace of recovery and what the overall strategy would look like in the best case scenario and in the worst case scenario. I want to move next to touch on two things. One, on the small and medium enterprises or SMEs; and two, on charities, the social service sector and the disabled. First, on the SMEs. We all know that the SMEs form an integral part of Singapore's economic landscape, embodying the spirit of entrepreneurship of our nation and employing more than two-thirds of our local workforce. I applaud the Singapore Government's and especially MTI's relentless efforts in supporting them, even before the pandemic. SMEs with a headstart and stronger technological capabilities are likely to recover faster from the pandemic. The prognosis of the rest of the economy will be uncertain. A survey of 48 merchant associations representing almost 500 merchants was conducted in May 2020 by the Federation of Merchant Association Singapore's heartland enterprises unit. When the merchants were asked what challenges they face in joining the e-commerce wagon, as they put it, about half of the respondents quoted these two top challenges: one, the lack of their own internal capabilities to sustain the digitalisation efforts; and two, the cost of implementation and the recurring costs of digitalisation. Capabilities and cost, not only during adoption, but also in sustaining the efforts, remain their top concerns.[+20 sentences] So, using a simple segmentation based on one's willingness to change and two, the ability to change, there appears to be four groups of SMEs. The first group: those who are willing and able to change. I think they will benefit most from Government schemes and they include the early adopters and the high-potential start-ups that are targeted in the Budget. How will we facilitate this group more to help them scale further and to open more doors for and with them? Group two: those who are able to change and not willing to change. How do we convince and incentivise them so more of them will come on board? Group three: those who are not able to change and not willing to change. I think we have no choice but to let them exit. But how will we, considering that they are also Singapore SMEs, how will we help them exit with a softer landing? The last group, which is likely the largest, those who are willing to change but not able to change for various reasons. This is the largest group for which the strategy has to be training and coaching. Sir, it is not enough just to convert them. There is a need, a real need to make them not just "apprentices" and also "disciples" so that more of them can sustain digitalisation efforts and continue to be successful as we emerge from the crisis. Is there some way by which we can invest and handhold them longer and deeper? Pair them perhaps with not just simply Digitalisation Ambassadors, but Digitalisation Coaches who can equip them with more and deeper operational and systemic skills and knowledge in such areas like backend stock inventory management, customer fulfilment, digital marketing skills and so forth. And finally, for those who eventually have to cease operations but nonetheless have the acumen and energy to continue, can there be, for the SMEs, an equivalent of a "professional-conversion" scheme, just like what we have for individuals, a placement scheme, to help them seize business or job opportunities in sectors that are more in the sunrise spaces like urban farming, logistics, warehousing, healthcare, estate maintenance and so forth? Next, I want to move from business to the charities, social service sector and the disabled. Sir, like the SMEs in Singapore's economic landscape, many charities and social service agencies or SSAs form an integral part of Singapore's social service landscape. The services range from serving the elderly to the young, families, they operate in nursing homes, day activity centres, family service centres, early intervention to special education schools. I thank Deputy Prime Minister Heng for acknowledging the importance of SSAs and charities as, "key partners", especially in this period. Deputy Prime Minister shared that in the years ahead, a "stronger social service sector will be even more critical". I want to also thank Deputy Prime Minister for including the charities and SSAs in the Fortitude Budget in many schemes, such as Job Support Scheme and the Enhanced Fundraising Programme to match donations up to $250,000 per charity.[+2 sentences] These are all appreciated. I have several suggestions for consideration by Government for this sector and for the people served by the sector. Suggestion one: raise the cap of $250,000 in the Enhanced Fundraising Programme for larger charities.[+3 sentences] Sir, the larger charities run into tens and hundreds of millions of dollars in budget. They run community hospitals and disability centres. And fundraising provides a substantial top up to Government grants and subsidies for them. For such a time as this, fundraising is expectedly very challenging. It is hence useful for Government to consider raising the matching amount in order to incentivise more donors to invest now, rather than later or never.[+2 sentences] Suggestion two: for this sector is to target high needs areas. There are groups with high support needs which call for more attention and resourcing so that they are not left behind. Some are the more severely disabled groups, such as beneficiaries in the autism day activity centres where we serve the more severe ones, residential homes, such as that run by St Andrew's, families with rare disorders are kids with rare disorders and multiple disabilities and lower income households sandwiched by elderly and younger disabled.[+11 sentences] Target high needs areas. Suggestion three: can we include more blatantly, more explicitly and visibly charities and the social service sector in the transformation masterplan of Singapore? Transformation of a nation is needed – not just in the business sector but also in the not-for-profit sector. Many of the push for digitalisation, innovation and entrepreneurship in business are relevant to the people sector. The willing amongst them, like the SMEs, require not only just Digital Ambassadors but also digital coaches and partners. Charities with high potential and good track records, should be facilitated and governed with a lighter touch. Let them thrive, let them push the boundaries to greater heights and support them in their transformation. Suggestion four: include vulnerable groups such as the disabled right at the start of planning in all of the good things: the digitalistion, jobs and skills upgrading movement, including and not limited to the exciting plans for the new National Jobs Council, SG-United Jobs and Traineeship and SkillsFuture efforts. In fact, adopt the principle of what is commonly known now as universal design and design for all, right at the start. BCA and MND have already done so in the design of buildings and the physical built environment. The same should be applied in other areas as well in the protection and creation of jobs an skills upgrading. So, that is four – include the people sector including the vulnerable, the disabled; right at the start in the planning. And suggestion five: the last one for this group, is to start a disability chapter in the National Jobs Council.[+1 sentence] It is no secret that jobs are already hard to come by for persons with disabilities during normal times. Commissioned by MSF Minister, Mr Desmond Lee, a workgroup that is led by Minister of State Sam Tan and myself is working on the underlying factors for this issue and a report will be published by the end of the year. The COVID-19 outbreak, however, adds urgency to the challenges faced by the disability community especially in the areas of digitalisation and jobs. I therefore urge Deputy Prime Minister and Minster for Finance Heng and Senior Minister Tharman to set up a chapter in the National Jobs Council for the employability training and employment for the disabled so that they will not fall further behind.[+14 sentences] In conclusion, Sir, on the lost, least and last in society. Sir, this battle against our common enemy, COVID-19, can only be truly won if we include whom some in our society perceive as the lost, least and the last amongst us. Let us not give up easily on those who are willing to change but not able to change for some reasons, whether they are SMEs, social service agencies, our elderly, our disabled or others who are vulnerable in our Singapore family. They say it takes a globe to fight this pandemic. And indeed, the globe includes us and it starts with each one of us. Once again, I quote Winston Churchill who said, "These are not dark days these are great days... we must all thank God that we have been allowed, each of us according to our stations to play a part in making these days memorable in the history of our race." And I want to end off with a quote by our founding father of Singapore, Mr Lee Kuan Yew, of whom I know Deputy Prime Minister Heng is a great fan. Mr Lee Kuan Yew said this during the post SARS period, in his experience "in any battle, the morale and the spirit of the people will decide the outcome. I never believed we would fail". Mr Lee Kuan Yew knew at that time it was going to be tough, like climbing up the face of a cliff. But we, like he said, "must have the guts and determination to climb the face of the cliff and we will climb up the face of the cliff!" And if I might add, with fortitude and not just the hindsight vision of 20-20. Sir, we can only be #strongertogether. I support the Fortitude Budget wholeheartedly.
Mr Speaker4 words
[+1 sentence]Ms Yip Pin Xiu.
Ms Yip Pin Xiu (Nominated Member)3081 words
[+21 sentences]Mr Speaker, last week when Deputy Prime Minister delivered the Fortitude Budget, I had a moment of relief, as did many Singaporeans, to hear that the Government is helping to keep jobs and giving more support to businesses that might be struggling. The relief for sectors hit hardest and businesses still unable to open is very much welcomed. It has been months of hard work by the Government. Thank you for your dedication and to Singaporeans for playing their part. Many businesses are affected during this period, with many unsure of their future. This COVID-19 pandemic is causing unparalleled uncertainty across many fronts. One industry that I am immersed in is the sports and fitness industry. With the reliefs, businesses may have less worries for the next month or so but with the uncertainty of when they can resume operations due to safe distancing measures, or when Singaporeans will come back to sports due to their own personal concerns of safety, it is difficult for them to plan for the future. This industry is having a tough time. Most sports and fitness activities stopped even before the circuit breaker started as there were already other measures in place to flatten the curve at that point of time. Most gyms and studios have frozen or adjusted their memberships to retain clients, while some are conducting online classes. Planned events from competitions to fundraising events have been cancelled. All these had led to significant revenue loss across the sector. These are businesses that keep our society healthy and resilient and the COVID-19 pandemic is putting them at a risk. Sports and fitness helps to build a stronger national identity. It improves our health, productivity, reduces medical expenses and enhances social cohesion. Sports and fitness are for people of all ages, abilities and walks of life. More importantly, the Sports and Fitness industry is one of the industries that has a huge knock-on effect to the rest of the economy since the Sports and Fitness industry is not just about people exercising or playing games – it also involves many other sectors and businesses such as tourism, retail, events management, marketing, sports education and training, support services such as Public Relations, fundraising and so on. I understand that we must now proceed with caution as we slowly emerge after two months of circuit breaker measures and I wholeheartedly agree with it. We do not want our efforts to go to waste. We must all still do our part. The current JSS scheme supports businesses that are unable to resume when a circuit breaker ends, with 75% of monthly wages till August or until they open.[+1 sentence] When a Sports and Fitness industry opens. Again, it will receive 25% of Monday wages being in JSS Tier 3.[+8 sentences] However, there will be many safe distancing measures in placed. For example, only being able to have one person per swimming lane or the spacing between each individual has to be huge, hence, only accommodating six people in the studio at all times. This cut in numbers will result in a low income coming in. The Sports and Fitness industry is finding it difficult to survive. Now, as they already had to dig in the reserves for the past two months or so. Besides paying their employees who may have already taken a pay cut, there are also other expenses. If unable to cope, these schools and clubs might start closing down and it will affect our pipeline as the schools and clubs are an important pathway for our sporting performance. Right now, what will be helpful is if we have a clearer view. When Phase Two comes, outdoor sporting facilities can open again.[+13 sentences] Sports and Fitness is a highly varied industry, with many different kinds of activities – from outdoor sports, to personal training sessions, to tennis where players stand on opposing ends of the court, to swimming, to indoor activities such as yoga and kickboxing. There are questions that many businesses are asking – when the numbers remain low, what will the plan be? What about indoor facilities and when these facilities can start again, what will the most number of people be allowed in at any point in time? These details will help this industry be more certain and help the industry chart the path ahead. With all the positives that this industry brings to Singaporeans, we still want to see them around after the COVID-19 pandemic so that they can continue contributing positively to the community. If we continue doing our parts to keep each other safe, we can look forward to getting back into sporting activities safely. The rest of the services associated with the Sports and Fitness industry that I had highlighted above would also be able to better plan their respective businesses and know how to react to the new norms when the time comes. We will all have to adapt to a new kind of normal, to include safe distancing measures and ensure we come out of this stronger. We talk about digitising in times like this. However, the Sports and Fitness industry is one of the sectors that is harder to digitise, as its very essence is to get people to go out and be active, healthy and interact socially. Yes, payments can be done online, some activities can shift online but It will be hard to do things like instructions online especially for our younger, older and special population groups that require a greater level of supervision. Certain activities that require a physical medium like swimming, will also lose out, because, say for example, why would parents want their children to do land activities online for swimming classes when they can take up a land sport instead? Some businesses need more help than digitising. For those that can find a way to digitise, the Enterprise Innovation and Capability Development Grant was announced a week ago. This grant supports businesses that can come out with innovative and smart solutions within the sport industry.[+3 sentences] We eagerly await the application instructions. More importantly, this is also a great opportunity for the Government to take a more holistic approach in improving the entire industry and provide the infrastructural approach and guidance to help the industry grow. This could be done by taking a more inclusive approach in education and towards the sporting enterprises, to help them grow together with this economy. More emphasis needs to be placed on sports in Singapore.[+1 sentence] Starting from our schools. We must create an environment where sports is a bigger part of the curriculum from kindergarten all the way through Junior College and Polytechnic.[+16 sentences] Sports is nowhere near the top of our priority list, but what we learn from sports will also play a big part in our education. Institutions should embrace sporting values into their own culture. When we adequately and holistically impart the fun and advantages of sport in them at a young age, it helps to translate into lifelong participation in sports. Personally, being actively involved in sports since a young age has helped me greatly. My parents saw the value in sports. It has not only helped me physically but also mentally and emotionally. When I was younger, I was not a very good student. I did not get good grades, but after winning a gold medal at the Paralympics in Beijing, I came back and did my "O" levels. I did not hit my expectations but thankfully I managed to get into Polytechnic. Then, I thought to myself, why not use the perseverance, grit, focus and everything I learnt from swimming to apply to my studies? I was then laser focused on getting my grades up and started to do pretty well and eventually got into SMU. If not for swimming, I would not be where i am today. When kids start participating more in sports, their families watch them play and that helps with family bonding. This leads to a more supportive family and community. Parents are our first sport coaches and they impart social and family values through play. Similarly, as we age, other important values can be imparted through sports. For the sporting industry to be sustainable in Singapore, we must create a stronger industry with more opportunities.[+8 sentences] For our sporting culture to grow, the Sports and Fitness industry must grow too. Sport Singapore has done a commendable job with Active SG, Singapore Sports Institute, Sports Cares and more. We have amazing facilities and host world class events. We must continue our efforts and continue to improve by growing the sports industry. As a regulator, an approach would be to work closer with the private sector to enhance capabilities, resources and business opportunities. Sports and fitness businesses are an important pillar of this industry as they bring expertise, knowledge and organised play to the table. They employ passionate Singaporeans that are constantly shaping the lives of people of all ages and backgrounds. And we need them to thrive so as to achieve the outcomes I spoke about earlier. One of the ways is to provide them access to the many facilities that we have developed over the years. We have many facilities that are largely reserved for use only by the public sector. Opening up access would create more opportunities for the industry to grow.[+1 sentence] More importantly, to build sustainability, we also need to accelerate the growth of businesses who have great potential. For these companies, we could offer support for growth, examples include upskilling of workforce, hiring of middle aged educators who are looking for a career switch, support for programme or curriculum development and support for new market development.[+24 sentences] Another approach is to take a more inclusionary path in organising the Sports and Fitness industry. SportSG as a regulator has done a fantastic job with its various initiatives to get people to participate in sports. However, the impact may be greater and faster, if we allow the Sports and Fitness industry operators to help in this process. One of the ways we could do this is to allow the Sports and Fitness industry to fill in the gaps and allow them to grow, rather than to take a one size fits all approach. In the long run, we will have a more vibrant, sustainable sporting Singapore. Mr Speaker, the next group of people that I will be speaking for, are some people that tend to be left behind because they have more specific circumstances and needs that you might not think about unless you were in their shoes. In this period of time, how many Singaporeans have thought about how somebody who is blind and living alone while observing safe distancing measures is coping? If a student with muscular dystrophy needs an oxygen tank with a breathing mask and their teacher asks them to put on a face mask or shield, which would mean that they have to take the oxygen tank off, so that the teacher does not get into trouble for not observing the measures. How would this affect the student and their family? In times like this, it is especially crucial to look out for those who may be struggling more than others. I recognise that SGEnable and Social Service Agency partners are helping people with special needs and the vulnerable in the community. I see the C.A.R.E initiative by Mediacorp Enable Fund aiming to help people with disabilities and their care-givers ride out the COVID-19 pandemic as the impact on this community has been, in their words "disproportionately huge". This fund is driven by public donations and we greatly appreciate that. Together, we can all continue playing a part to ensure no one falls through the cracks. The lack of information to certain disability groups in Singapore is counter-productive to the effort in combating the COVID-19 outbreak. The right to information is crucial for ensuring public awareness, trust and fighting misinformation. We have to ensure that public health information and communication is accessible on all important media publications. It would be ideal if a Singapore Sign Language interpreter is present for all live, recorded events and communications. This includes national addresses, press briefings and live social media. I am happy to see that the Budget speech last week included Singapore Sign Language and live notes. Over the weekend, I was watching a live panel discussion on social media – Get Active TV that featured Minister Fu and SportSG. They too had a Singapore Sign Language interpreter and live notes. I am very heartened at this great development and hopefully this can continue on all other updates and media during this time and beyond. We look forward to a time when all media comes with live Singapore Sign Language interpretation. This is important because that is the first language for many people who are deaf. We need public materials that can be converted into "Easy Read" format so that they can be accessible for people with cognitive impairment. We need to develop accessible written information products by using appropriate document formats with structured headings, large print, braille versions and formats for people who are deafblind or visually impaired.[+4 sentences] The images we put out out there have to be inclusive and enable the independence of Persons with Disabilities (PWDs). For example, the current level of safe entry QR code tends to be placed a bit too high. A consideration could be to place it at varying easy to reach heights as we have done so with many lift buttons. Next, supermarkets have done a great job at dealing with the increased demand and restocking of shelves. The priority shopping hour for vulnerable groups is a great start and we hope that persons with all disabilities can access this, including those with invisible disabilities. Some PWDs find it difficult to go to supermarkets because they are staying at home due to having compromised immune systems. Hence, other than a priority shopping hour, introducing priority delivery slots will also help.[+13 sentences] Many PWDs are finding it hard to get deliveries. This may be a combination of there not being enough slots as well as the accessibility of websites not being optimal. Other than food, access to medical prescriptions and other health care supplies are highly essential as well. Existing volunteer networks can be activated to help deliver these supplies. If possible, doctors should be able to see their at-risk patients online for check ups because they are afraid of going to hospitals to get exposed yet they do need to see the doctor for their regular check up. Besides medications, some disabilities require more home care and physiotherapy services. These services cannot be stopped as it will bring detrimental results mentally and physically to PWDs and their family. In some cases, not getting their physiotherapy will result in irreversible loss of muscle or contracture which will permanently impact their quality of life. In just two weeks' time, they would have permanently lost quite a bit of function. Employment of persons with disabilities remains relatively low in Singapore and for those that are employed, not all are fortunate enough to be able to execute their work from home. The main issues for PWDs working from home are whether their employers can adequately physically and financially provide the assistive devices and technology they may need to work at home. Many themselves are not able to do so because of their socio-economic challenges. For PWDs whose job scope used to be done predominantly face-to-face, the added need for technology to be able to potentially do the work online would mean increased spending. While there is an existing Assistive Technology Fund for Persons with Disabilities, it is a reimbursement fund tied to means testing and the reimbursement can also take up to three weeks which may not be a feasible option for those who are struggling financially.[+11 sentences] Schemes such as NEU PC to provide laptops to students from low-income families are welcome. However, assistive technology and aids are usually more expensive to purchase. This translates to a loss of income and opportunities to retrain or learn new skills. Socially, the lack of access to IT equipment can mean missing out on opportunities to maintain or grow connections with friends and families. This can in turn negatively impact those with psycho-social disabilities, increasing mental stress and straining existing coping mechanisms. As we are encouraged to work from home or have home-based learning, what assistance is being provided to ensure that the assistive technology is available in all homes for persons with disabilities? Many of them face socio-economic challenges and may not be able to afford IT equipment, assistive aids and broadband to help them better cope with life in this period of time. Persons with disabilities who had jobs that cannot be done online or had difficulties finding employment before the COVID-19 pandemic are even more concerned that they will not be able to return to work or get a job. They are also concerned about the accessibility or inclusivity of job training and retraining programmes. The financial assistance provided by the Temporary Relief fund, COVID-19 Support Grant and other schemes such as SIRS are greatly appreciated. Those with disabilities already often have higher healthcare and personal care costs and these costs are likely to increase as alternative or emergency arrangements are made during the circuit breaker or the phases after that. In addition, some PWDs rely on informal and temporary work arrangements and as such, do not strictly fit into the eligibility requirements of SIRS. Taking that into consideration, can the Government consider extending the amount that is given and the duration of the relief for persons with disabilities or increasing the eligibility to those with higher household incomes? Lastly, it is important to have a disability touch point for the COVID-19 response. Having a touch point within the Government or related agencies where persons with disabilities, their care-givers and organisations can feedback on the accessibility of COVID-19 response information and measures is key.[+5 sentences] We need a fast response as a delay might cause harm to some individuals in special situations. This touch point ensures that there is two-way communication about the COVID-19 response and we can identify the gaps quickly and share best practices. The best way to find out what people need is to ask them. In this pandemic, we have to look out for all so that we can truly be an inclusive and united Singapore. I support the Budget.
Mr Speaker10 words
Mr Chee Hong Tat, I believe you have a clarification.
The Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry (Mr Chee Hong Tat)188 words
[+2 sentences]Mr Speaker, I would like to clarify a point that Mr Pritam Singh made in his speech earlier regarding public communication on the use of masks. Sir, since late January this year, during the initial period when the virus first emerged in Singapore and even before the virus was called COVID-19, the Government had already started explaining publicly our position on masks. We explained to the public that there were supply constraints globally and some economies have in fact banned the export of masks.[+5 sentences] We then called on Singaporeans that we have to use masks appropriately. Please do not hoard so that we will have enough supplies, especially for those groups that need them most. Sir, what I have just said are based on media reports and information that can be found in the public domain. Sir, this Government has always been open and transparent with Singaporeans in our explanation and in our communications. When there is new information, there is new evidence, we would likewise adopt an open and transparent manner in our communications because we know that is important in our collective fight against this pandemic.
Mr Speaker2 words
[+1 sentence]Mr Singh.
Mr Pritam Singh86 words
[+3 sentences]Mr Speaker, I would like to thank the Senior Minister of State for that clarification. In that vein, can I ask the Senior Minister of State, with regard to the decision earlier this week to stop usage of face shields except for certain classes of individuals, how was that decision originally taken to allow for face shields and then, a u-turn made thereafter to limit it to specific classes? How did that information change from the health experts I imagine that the Government has access to?
Mr Chee Hong Tat42 words
[+2 sentences]Mr Speaker, I think the Multi-Ministry Task Force or MTF has explained why there was a change in the advisory on the use of face shields. This is as Mr Singh himself alluded to – based on the advice from medical professionals.
Mr Pritam Singh21 words
[+2 sentences]I understand that, Senior Minister of State. Can I ask what were the reasons given by those experts for that change?
Mr Chee Hong Tat25 words
[+1 sentence]Mr Speaker, I am not a doctor, so I am not equipped to provide the medical reasons to answer Mr Singh's question in detail —
Mr Speaker6 words
[+1 sentence]Mr Gan would like to elaborate.
Mr Chee Hong Tat25 words
[+3 sentences]But I think the MTF and the medical professionals have provided the explanation. It is about safety. It is about protecting everybody's health and safety.
Mr Speaker4 words
[+1 sentence]Minister Gan Kim Yong.
The Minister for Health (Mr Gan Kim Yong)217 words
[+3 sentences]Mr Speaker, perhaps I could assist in explaining the rationale behind that. As we move into Phase One of our opening, we will see increased interaction within the community, among people. And therefore, we will have to make sure that additional safeguards are put in place. Given that face shields do not provide a full coverage of your face, your nose and your mouth because there are gaps between the shield and your face, it poses certain risks. These risks are less of a concern during the circuit breaker period when most people are asked to stay home.[+1 sentence] Therefore, we allowed face shields to be used. But when we open up the community and the economy, we expect more interaction and therefore, we need to enhance the protection where possible. Therefore, we encouraged people to use the full-face mask instead of a face shield.[+3 sentences] But we still allow face shields to be used in specific situations where mask-wearing is not practical. One example which we gave was during teaching. Teachers need to make sure that their teaching is clearly heard and it is important for them to see and to interact with the children. We have therefore allowed face shields to be used for teaching. But in other circumstances, we will require a mask to be used.
Mr Speaker2 words
[+1 sentence]Mr Chee.
Mr Chee Hong Tat75 words
[+2 sentences]Mr Speaker, Sir, I just want to reiterate the reason for my clarification in the first place was to highlight that the Government has been open and transparent in our communications on the use of masks since the beginning – since the late January period when the virus first emerged in Singapore. I think that is really my key point – that we have publicly explained that and these are all in the public domain.
Mr Speaker3 words
[+1 sentence]Mr Darryl David.
Mr Darryl David (Ang Mo Kio)1659 words
[+4 sentences]Mr Speaker, Sir, the measures introduced in our four Budgets thus far have been designed to provide short-term measures and immediate relief to save businesses and preserve livelihoods and jobs, as well as to accelerate the long-term transformation of Singapore's socio-economic framework and foundations, so that we, as a country, can emerge stronger from this crisis. While there has been a comprehensive range of schemes and measures rolled out, I would like to focus on a few key areas in my speech. The COVID-19 pandemic has seen the Government take bold, unprecedented steps to help our businesses stay afloat. As most of us know, two of the biggest overheads that businesses must manage are manpower costs and rent. To support manpower cost and to save jobs, the Government has introduced the Jobs Support Scheme and either waived or provided rebates on manpower levies.[+1 sentence] To help companies manage rental cost, the Government first introduced several measures such as rebate on property tax and waiver of rental for tenants of Government properties. More significantly, this is now being reinforced with proposed legislation to mandate commercial landlords to grant rental waivers to their SME tenants who have suffered a reduction in businesses due to COVID-19. This is rare in Singapore's context as the Government does not usually engage in direct intervention of the market, especially in private business arrangements.[+25 sentences] But this is not a common crisis and this uncommon step of intervening demonstrates the commitment of the Government to help SMEs weather through the storm. I am in firm support of this and while this is a positive boost for SME tenants, there is also the possibility that a significant number of smaller landlords could themselves be small companies or even individual owners who are dependent on this rental income to meet their income needs and financial commitments. Waiving the rental income for their tenants might thus result in them being deprived of revenue or even being slapped with penalties from financial institutions because they are unable to service their loans. What help and support would the Government be able to provide smaller landlords in such situations? And if these smaller landlords are unable to fulfill their financial obligations, would the Government be able to intervene to mandate that financial institutions perhaps could suspend loan repayments until this group of landlords are able to start collecting their rental income? I would like to move on now, Mr Speaker, Sir, to helping workers and those who have lost their jobs. Despite all the measures that we have put in place to support companies through COVID-19, not all companies will survive the downturn and the global economic slowdown. Retrenchment is thus imminently unavoidable. It is heartening to know that one of the major thrusts of the main and supplementary Budgets is to preserve jobs and a new National Jobs Council will be set up to look at job creation and the deep skilling of workers. COVID-19 has transformed the way we think about work. In many countries, what was traditionally known as "3D jobs" – dirty, dangerous and demeaning – are now considered as important services that keep countries going, that keep communities going. Frontline jobs that were not given much attention in the past are now being recognised as being operationally essential. Singapore is no exception. COVID-19, indeed, has created some jobs that were unheard of prior to the pandemic. In January this year, we would have no clue what a Safe Distancing Ambassador, a test swabber, a swab assistant or a temperature taker was. But they have now entered the lexicon of our everyday use – in terms of the language that we use. Indeed, as reported in the media this week, we will soon have Digital Ambassadors to help hawkers and senior citizens to learn digital skills. These jobs were clearly created out of the need to manage the challenges of COVID-19 and also help provide part-time employment to those who were made redundant by the crisis. In the mid term, certain jobs like Safe Distancing Ambassadors will continue to be relevant but in the long run, some of these jobs could be less necessary as we internalise the need to practise safe distancing, when a vaccine for COVID-19 becomes available or as we level up on the digital front. To ensure that this precious workforce does not become redundant when these semi-permanent positions are no longer required, how can we future-proof the career paths of currently employed Singaporeans and to help our people retrain, up-skill and continue to pivot and shapeshift, as it were, to stay relevant as we respond to the new normal. I sincerely hope that this is something that the National Jobs Council will need to consider as it balances short-term national needs with the long-term prospects for our people. The next topic, Mr Speaker, Sir, is on digitalisation and education. In the early days of COVID-19, there was a meme circulating that the virus was more effective than CEOs and CTOs in pushing for digital transformation. This meme turned out to be quite prophetic and in the past few months, we have seen companies accelerating digital implementation and making remote work platforms mainstream in somewhat record time. The same could be said about our schools. Since the start of the circuit breaker, school-going children across all age groups have adopted home-based learning. It was reported that more than 96% of students are participating in it.[+2 sentences] On the one hand, this figure is encouraging as it shows that our children have adapted well to learning on digital channels. Yet, on the other hand, it was reported that MOE had to loan out thousands of computing devices and internet dongles to families. These figures suggest that there is a gap in accessibility to digital learning. It is heartening to know that MOE intends to accelerate the ownership of digital learning devices for all Secondary school children from their initial date of 2028. However, I would like to clarify if there are similar plans to accelerate the ownership of these devices for children from other levels of study – so not just Secondary school students and above, but perhaps for Primary school students. And more critically, if there are, will this device be purchased off-the-shelf and supplied by different tech companies or will it be a proprietary device uniquely designed and manufactured by MOE for our schools and for our school children?[+10 sentences] I am strongly advocating for the latter, Mr Speaker. In addition to have the opportunity for Singapore businesses to benefit from both hardware production and software development, the benefits to our children will be myriad. With more control over the design and functionality of this device, this all-in-one custom-designed learning device could function as a lap-top, a tablet, an e-text book, and a communication tool. A veritable digital "Swiss-Army Education Knife" of sorts. The ownership of this multi-function device might also eliminate the need for piles of back-breaking, physical textbooks year after year after year. Going to school in the future could be as easy as just bringing along this device and all forms of learning and work submission can be done digitally on a unified platform. Quite literally, we are putting the world in the hands of our school children. The software could be customised and adapted to suit the pace of learning for different children while also providing personal insights to how each student engages and interacts along the learning journey. Mr Speaker, Sir, I envisage the schools of the future to be one where students would do everything off this device. The operating system of this device could function like an enhanced version of the MOE's present Student Learning System (SLS) and would allow for more coordinated and unified communication and work planning. This would meet the twin goals of being environmentally friendly while also taking a huge step towards being a digital smart nation. We could tier the ownership cost of the device depending on varying household incomes, with the aim that no school-going child should be deprived of their own personal learning device.[+2 sentences] No school-going child should be deprived of their own personal learning device. This would give our children, especially those from lower income background, a sense of pride and ownership that they have their own personal device that will allow them to navigate the same digital and virtual education landscapes as their peers. The deliberately neutral branding also encourages status equality, not to mention standard software and hardware upgrades that will leave no child lacking.[+1 sentence] Mr Speaker, Sir, I know that this might seem like an audaciously ambitious idea, but aiming high and overachieving is something that Singapore has always done. So, I urge the MOE to give this idea a serious thought and I look forward to the day that not only can we ensure that every student – every student is provided with their own personal Smart Learning device, but we can take pride that this device was designed and produced by our MOE, specially for our children.[+5 sentences] Singapore could very well be the first nation in the world to achieve our vision of "smart learning." Mr Speaker, Sir, 2020 will no doubt go down in memory as one of the most volatile years the world, and Singapore, has experienced. Yet in every crisis, lie opportunities to innovate and transform and the past 100 days have certainly seen our companies and schools doing just that, as they have experimented and innovated with new methods of doing business and conducting lessons. As Singaporeans, we are a resilient people. And we can be masters of our own destiny and forge our own uniquely Singaporean path through this crisis. With the Government playing a pivotal role and strengthening its commitment to the people, I am certain that we will emerge as a stronger and more cohesive society after COVID-19. I thus conclude my speech in firm support of the Fortitude Budget.
Mr Speaker3 words
[+1 sentence]Minister Desmond Lee.
The Second Minister for National Development (Mr Desmond Lee)1962 words
[+1 sentence]Mr Speaker, Sir, COVID-19 has disrupted all sectors of the economy including construction. During the circuit breaker period, most construction work was suspended.[+3 sentences] Post-circuit breaker, contractors are anxious to resume work quickly. Many have paid for material or are leasing equipment which are now sitting idle and since contractors are typically paid based on progress payments, no work means no payment; and we understand then anxiety. While we want to resume construction activity quickly, it is equally important that we do so safely. The vast majority of our COVID-19 cases have been amongst construction workers.[+4 sentences] So, we do not want to restart hastily as a new case could easily cause another outbreak or new cluster among construction workers either on a construction site or in the dormitories. Such a resurgence of infection would not only endanger the health of our workers and the wider community, but also bring the construction industry to a halt to get. This is not in anyone's interest. It is in our common interest for construction work to resume in a phased and controlled manner. We had the first tranche of projects which could not be left idle for long because of safety reasons. These have been allowed to restart from 2 June.[+7 sentences] Beyond this list of projects if firms have cleared workers and have put in place necessary safe management measures, firms can submit their applications to BCA and once approved they will be able to resume their projects. On the Government end, my colleagues have been working hard on multiple fronts to allow construction activities to resume faster. First, the inter-agency Task Force has been systematically and progressively clearing workers living in dormitories to ensure they are well so that they can return to work. Many contractors have shared with us their frustration about not knowing what is going on in the dormitories, as workers have been moved around several times during these few months. They would also like to know in advance when their workers can be tested and cleared for work so they can make plans for the projects to resume. They have asked for more information and updates on the dormitories' clearance situation. Members would recognise the scale and complexity of the Task Force operations as there are 43 purpose-built dormitories and more than a 1,000 factory converted dormitories and construction temporary quarters housing more than 300,000 workers and the outbreak situation each dormitory is different. Earlier this week, MOM announced the first batch of 60 cleared dormitories. And another 111 are due to be cleared in the coming weeks.[+29 sentences] We will provide more regular updates to our industry, including a rolling forecast of the dormitory clearance schedule to help employers and their clients plan ahead. For workers living in the community, we have also set aside testing capacity to test construction workers regularly to ensure the health and safety and that of the wider community. Er Dr Lee Bee Wah has shared concerns of contractors with the latest MOM announcement on foreign worker levy rebates. We understand the concerns. Government's intention was to enable workers to be temporarily seconded to other firms to optimise manpower distribution, so that more projects can restart sooner. However, firms have given feedback about this. For example, some of them may require their workers for their own projects that are about to start and cannot second their workers to other projects. MOM and BCA will review this and we will work with them and the industry to find better ways to achieve this optimisation for the benefit of the entire sector. Next, on foreign worker accommodation. Er Dr Lee asked about the new requirements for existing factory converted dormitories and construction temporary quarters. Let me clarify that these requirements are not compulsory. We have piloted the new space norms for new quick build dormitories that will be put up by the end of the year and we have been working with industry associations to make sure these requirements are practical, even as we seek to achieve safety and will be prepared to consider further inputs. So far, we have approved more than 20 requests from contractors who wish to build new CTQs or FCDs for their workers and will continue to facilitate such requests where possible. We have received feedback that the COVID-19 restart criteria for construction are stringent. Let me try to explain why we need to be careful. There is a project with a single owner on a single site with all workers staying on site. The workers have not left the site since end March, even before circuit breaker. Full attention was given to protection and safety by all levels of management, such as ensuring proper segregation among workers, including not allowing workers from different levels of the dormitories to mix. Yet that project had an infection prevalence rate of close to 30% amongst its workers. I share this example which was shared with me to show how infectious disease is and how difficult it can be to prevent spreading from a single case to affecting many more who live and work together. So, imagine how much more challenging in might be for projects with workers living in different accommodation or having to move between different sites, as is the case with many projects with main contractors and several layers of sub-contractors and specialist contractors. But we understand the concerns of companies and will work closely with the industry associations at firms to look at the requirements to ensure that they are practically implementable. We are also providing training to help companies put in place safe management measures by offering a course for safe management offices or SMOs. In the month of June alone, BCA and SCAL will train close to 20,000 such officers. BCA will give priority to train SMOs for projects that are ready to start first. BCA is also ramping up capacity further through tech-enabled learning modules. So, please bear with us. We know there is a lot of information that is being put out about COVID-19 related measures, sometimes from multiple Ministries and agencies, day after day. Given how fluid and dynamic the situation is, contractors have told us that they are sometimes confused, lost, overwhelmed. To avoid the situation where companies do not know who to approach for information, BCA will be the point agency in Government or the one stop-shop front for all matters regarding construction restart.[+3 sentences] So, if companies have questions or concerns, whether about testing their workers or constructing new temporary quarters, they need to only approach BCA who will coordinate with other relevant agencies to make the necessary arrangements or seek the necessary approvals. Because of the current situation, BCA has received a huge surge of calls, emails and queries, and we are ramping up our capabilities to better support our sector. We understand that firms are very concerned about their finances during this period when the projects have yet to restart. Deputy Prime Minister announced during the Fortitude Budget speech that the construction sector will receive enhanced support under the job support scheme until August. And let me assure Er Dr Lee Bee Wah that similar to construction firms, the consultancy firms will also be eligible for the higher tier of 75% JSS support for wages paid between June and August this year. In addition, companies whose foreign workers are not able to resume work will receive foreign worker levy waivers and rebates until July.[+2 sentences] Government has also announced rental offsets for qualifying SME tenants. Even after construction projects restart, we recognise that firms have to bear additional costs to meet the new COVID requirements, which were not priced into the existing contracts. In the short term, the Government will help to bear the additional costs, including paying for the testing costs for workers.[+11 sentences] And in the long term, the Government will continue to support the construction industry and provide assistance to cope with the additional costs. We will share more details on the specific measures when we are ready. We recognise the importance of the construction industry because without them, we would not have our homes, our schools, our hospitals and other services. So, we will do what we can to help as many companies as possible tide through this crisis. And that is also why we have been working closely with our industry partners, such as a Singapore Contractors Association Limited (SCAL), the Specialists Trade Alliance of Singapore or STARS, and the Real Estate Developers' Association of Singapore or REDAS, to address the many issues that the industry is facing during this period. In fact, Minister of State Zaqy and I held a video conference meeting with them just two days ago. This was our third meeting in three weeks and we will continue to do so regularly. I would like to thank Er Dr Lee Bee Wah and Dr Teo Ho Pin for also joining us in the virtual meeting on Wednesday where there were many constructive suggestions raised. For example, SCAL had earlier provided feedback that there are some construction S Pass and work permit holders who do not live in dormitories, work only in offices and do not visit work sites. In consultation with MOH, we agreed to remove the regular testing requirement for this group of employees. There was also feedback that a company had to approach several different agencies to obtain the necessary approval to build new temporary living quarters or to convert existing workplaces and factories into living quarters. BCA has since set up a one-stop platform to facilitate such approvals.[+14 sentences] Participants told us at these discussions which involve a number of Government agencies being brought together are useful and we will continue to coordinate closely and keep our lines of engagement with industry open. Assoc Prof Walter Theseira spoke yesterday about our dependence on foreign workers, including in the construction sector. Let me say a few words about this. Our efforts to raise productivity in the construction industry has been ongoing for decades. In line with the construction industry transformation map under the work of the Future Economic Council or FEC, we have indeed been working with industry to reduce our reliance on foreign workers. But this will require major structural changes to the industry and to how construction work is done. We have been pushing for greater adoption of technology, such as through design for manufacturing and assembly, building information modelling and digitisation of the sector from end to end. This will, in turn, create higher skilled jobs, including many good jobs for Singaporeans. For example, with design for manufacturing and assembly or DFMA, we will need more production managers, quality assurance personnel and logistics and supply chain planners and automated production facilities. Even our foreign workers that take on such jobs will need to be higher skilled. However, the construction sector will not be able to reduce our foreign worker reliance to zero as there will still be many lower skilled jobs in the sector that Singaporeans do not want to take up. We appreciate the contribution of our foreign guest workers who have come here to Singapore to make an honest living for themselves and their families and it is incumbent on us to also take care of them when they are unwell. Sir, many firms in the construction sector, including many SMEs are very anxious about survival and about their future. Let me assure you that our main priority is to restart construction quickly but safely. We will coordinate amongst various agencies and lean forward to provide information to you and work closely with your industry associations and with you to resume construction as soon as we can and work together to transform our sector in the medium to long term.
Mr Speaker5 words
[+1 sentence]Er Dr Lee Bee Wah.
Er Dr Lee Bee Wah (Nee Soon)61 words
[+2 sentences]Thank you, Sir. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Minister Desmond Lee and Minister of State Zaqy for coming in to bring all parties together and trying to help contractors work through the process. And I am very heartened to hear the strong support that the Minister just mentioned given to the construction industry.[+1 sentence] Thank you very much.
Mr Speaker13 words
[+3 sentences]I thought you had a clarification. But thank you anyway. Mr Mohamed Irshad.
Mr Mohamed Irshad (Nominated Member)2154 words
[+23 sentences]Mr Speaker, I stand here today with mixed feelings. On one hand, I am relieved that the circuit breaker has officially ended. On the other hand, with no immediate end in sight to the COVID-19 battle, I am worried about what the next few months, rather years, have in store for Singapore and Singaporeans. I speak for my generation and those young at heart when I say that there are many questions running through our minds. Are we in a grave situation? Yes, without a doubt. Have we faced a situation like this before? No, most certainly not. Have we been in a worse situation? Yes, we have in 1965. Are we facing an existential threat? No, we are not. Do we have what it takes to get through this and emerge stronger? Yes, I strongly and wholeheartedly believe so. Sir, what gives me this confidence is that the Singapore story is replete with instances of major crises that have in some cases shaken us to the core. From a forced Independence to the communist threat to the racial riots to recessions to multiple global financial crises to even pandemics, we have come through it all. And it was those defining moments that have always brought the best out of our people. As we deal with the immediate issues and pressing problems facing us, I remind myself, Members of this house and my fellow Singaporeans that COVID-19 is offering us a once-in-a-generation opportunity to make seismic shifts in the way we have been doing things. This shall form the crux of my speech today. First, responsibility to the nation. Second, the future of work. Third, digital transformation and innovation. I begin by speaking on the theme of our responsibility to the nation. As parliamentarians, we are collectively responsible for our nation's fiscal health.[+1 sentence] Mr Speaker, as I have previously mentioned in this House, one of the hallmarks of the Singapore brand is fiscal prudence pillared by accountability and responsibility. It is the reason why we are able to draw on our reserves and table an unprecedented four Budgets in four months.[+3 sentences] Sir, during our Unity Budget debates earlier this year, several Members of this House raised questions about the continued health of our National Investment Returns Contributions (NIRC), which are now the largest contributor to the Government's coffers. In addition to COVID-19, we continue to face long-term pressures such as the geopolitical tensions between America and China, stagnating growth and more nationalist and protectionist tendencies around the world. Given that our reserves form the basis of our NIRC revenue, what is the projected revenue impact of this large drawdown? Additionally, how long do we expect this to last?[+1 sentence] Mr Speaker, I must point out that the first and only previous instance when we had to dip into our reserves was in 2009. Then, when faced with a fast deteriorating global economic environment and the prospect of a deep and prolonged recession, the House drew down on S$4.9 billion from past reserves.[+2 sentences] And they only used S$4.9 billion. And a mere two years later, the amount drawn was returned back to the reserves in 2011. Today, Sir, we are drawing over 10 times more than what we drew in 2009.[+2 sentences] We owe it to our future generations to safeguard their future as our forefathers have done so for us. My third question thus echoes the concerns which I heard in this Chamber yesterday. Can the Deputy Prime Minister share his plans to return the money drawn back to our reserves in the years to come?[+15 sentences] Finally, Mr Speaker, we must not be lulled into a false sense of security that our reserves are unlimited. Consequently, we cannot afford to be complacent in how the money is being spent. Even as Deputy Prime Minister has assured us that the Public Accounts Committee has been scrutinising Government's expenditure, we need to instill a mindset of "active audit" to ensure that funds channeled for the various schemes and projects are indeed being spent wisely. Mr Speaker, this brings me to my second theme on the future of work. This crisis is an opportunity for us to re-imagine work. At various times, this House has debated the importance of improving our work-life balance and having a more sustainable way of life. Sir, this is our moment. Our experience over the last three months has shown that being present in the office and having face-to-face meetings is not absolutely necessary for many of us. Members of this House and fellow Singaporeans will be surprised to know that the SGUnited Buka Puasa initiative involving multiple Government agencies, private companies and community organisations was conceptualised, planned and operationalised virtually, without even a single physical meeting. And I am sure there are many other such projects. We have, within a very short period of time, adapted to working through video conferencing, private messaging, emails and even the good old fashion phone calls. To quote the CEO of a leading software firm, COVID-19 has resulted in two years of digital transformation in just two months. We need to build upon this rather than going back to old ways. It is time that we reconsider a new model for our companies. Allow me to offer some solutions and suggestions. First, as we reopen the economy, we have to fundamentally rethink future job arrangements. I propose moving away from the traditional five-day work week to a four-day work week with the option of working from home on the fifth day and even having a flexi-hours work model.[+28 sentences] Established companies like Microsoft have demonstrated that a four-day work week can increase productivity by up to 40%. Twitter's CEO recently announced that it will allow its employees to work from home "forever". In New Zealand, a four-day work week to promote better work life balance and domestic tourism as a means to help the economy is being considered. As the Government prepares for Phase Two, we should re-evaluate our traditional model of work. Second, I hope that after COVID-19, telecommuting will not disappear but will be a more permanent feature. As the Government prepares to work with our companies to begin the job creation process, it is incumbent on us to incentivise the creation of jobs which will allow telecommuting. In doing so, we will no longer exclude those who may be unable to work in a traditional nine-to-five environment for various reasons. President Halimah recently said, and I quote, "Imagine how many more women with young children could remain in the workforce if they could telecommute. Imagine the kind of skills and talents among women that we could retain to benefit our society and economy. With dual income families more of a necessity today, we should make it easier for women with family obligations to work." Mr Speaker, it is not just women with care-giving duties who will benefit from this arrangement but many more. Recently, I came across a very moving commentary by Mr Jonathan Tiong, a fourth year student from NUS. He is a disabled person who will soon be entering the workforce. Being a wheelchair user, one of the biggest obstacles he faced was travel, which he defined as the mere act of leaving his home. Unlike an able-bodied person, he cannot just get up and go wherever he wants. The logistics of transport invariably involves at least one other person for him. He shared from his personal experience that video conferencing will help disabled persons and people with disabilities to integrate better into society by allowing them to lead more active professional and social lives. In creating openings and retaining these segments of the population in the workforce, we can then create a workforce that is not only fair to all but also ensure that we maximise our potential to the fullest. I am confident that the National Jobs Council helmed by Senior Minister Tharman will also look into this matter. On digital transformation and innovation, since 2014, the Smart Nation initiative has been quietly transforming and enriching the lives of many Singaporeans. At the World Economic Forum in Davos in 2019, Deputy Prime Minister stated that Singapore needs to work towards repositioning itself to becoming a Global-Asia node of technology, innovation and enterprise. As we restart our economy, the importance of the Smart Nation initiative and the words of Deputy Prime Minister cannot be more true. To ride the new wave, we need our people to be digitally enabled in every sense of the word. What this means is that in addition to the various aspects of citizenry, we need Singaporeans to not only be IT-savvy but also be responsible digital citizens or digitizens. This pandemic has taught us how under-prepared many were for a global crisis that affected all countries. It has also brought to the forefront the need for digital acceleration and the importance of business continuity plans for businesses and organisations of all sizes. In this regard, there is a vital need for a one-stop digital acceleration centre of excellence that can provide seamless solutions for companies and organisations seeking to ride the coming wave. Mr Speaker, a digital economy cannot be the exclusive purview of the rich. Singaporeans living in rental flats and those in the lower income brackets are disproportionately less likely to have wifi at home. In fact, in the last three months, we have seen regular media coverage about the struggles that some of these families face trying to ensure that their children can participate in home-based learning.[+1 sentence] I understand that MSF has plans to proactively reach out to these Singaporeans with a helping hand. The existing Digital Inclusion framework needs to be reinforced so that no one gets left behind causing a digital divide. I urge MCI and IMDA to redouble their efforts in distributing internet connected devices, and work to ensure that affordable wifi is available to residents living in our rental flats. I would also like to express my support and commend MCI and IMDA for launching the Seniors Go Digital Movement.[+29 sentences] It is timely and crucial to also include our seniors in our Digitalisation journey. Beyond family, friends and the wider community, our model of constantly creating public-private partnerships should not be forgotten. Mr Speaker, I hope that MCI and IMDA will collaborate and work with various tech companies as we continue to ensure our seniors are not left behind. On innovation, Harvard Business School professor Rosabeth Moss Kanter said, “Change is a threat when done to me, but an opportunity when done by me.” In my many conversations with fellow Singaporeans over the circuit breaker period, I have come to realise that many of them are embodying a key trait: adaptability through innovation. Let me illustrate this through the lens of our response to this crisis. When we announced the circuit breaker, we had to adapt to a completely new way of life. Parents had to learn how to work from home while supervising their children in home-based learning. Teachers had to transition to teaching the entire syllabus online. Businesses had to learn how to continue operating without access to their paper documents or any in person interaction. Sir, the crisis forced us to be adaptable. No one was spared from the need to change their way of life. Out of this disorientation came the spirit of innovation. We have innovated by adopting video conferencing tools to conduct meetings and even marriages! Our food establishments have innovated by serving their patrons without any physical interaction. Even our wet-markets were not spared. Our civil servants had to innovate as well. The SafeEntry declaration that I scanned today and the TraceTogether app which is running on my phone right now are all concrete examples of innovation driven by our teams at GovTech. Mr Speaker, this adaptability through innovation has ensured that our country can continue to function. In conclusion, the COVID-19 pandemic is the latest in a long list of crises that have hit the world in recent times. It has exposed our fragilities and the urgent need to rethink our way forward. The multi-faceted crisis the world is faced with did reveal itself in various ways in the last decades, continuously sending us signals on the urgent necessity to take action and embark on a transformational journey. Throughout the history of humanity, crises have always represented critical junctures allowing mankind to take the path of innovation and positive transformation that contributed to building better societies. The COVID-19 pandemic should be no exception. We stand at the threshold of history to build a healthier, more peaceful, prosperous, inclusive, resilient and sustainable society in Singapore. In this regard, it behooves me to embrace the spirit of the Singapore Together Movement which has been labelled "a cornerstone" of nation building by Deputy Prime Minister as we beat the odds together. With that, I support the Budget. Majulah, Singapura. It is a privilege to serve.
Mr Speaker3 words
[+1 sentence]Mr Vikram Nair.
Mr Vikram Nair (Sembawang)1328 words
[+27 sentences]Mr Speaker, when we started this financial year, we had a long debate over the Unity Budget, which was the largest Budget in Singapore’s history, amounting to around $105 billion. This Budget provided what seemed to be a very generous sum of $5 billion to deal with the effects of COVID-19. At this time, the number of cases in Singapore was less than 200 and the epicentre of the crisis was still very much in China, with the largest number of cases. Within a month, the situation changed dramatically, as COVID-19 spread around the world, and became particularly rampant in Europe and the US, the number of cases in Singapore started spiking as well as we had more people return from overseas. The Government moved swiftly and Deputy Prime Minister Heng announced the Resilience Budget, which was what we needed in light of the worsening situation and the additional restrictions that the Government had to put in place to reduce the spread of the virus. As the number of cases continued to grow with more and more Singaporeans returning home, the danger of wide community spread emerged and the Government decided to implement the circuit breaker. To tide over the circuit breaker, Deputy Prime Minister announced a third Budget, the Solidarity Budget – solidarity because most Singaporeans, apart from our essential workers, stayed at home to prevent this crisis spreading. Workplaces and schools closed and people tried to work from home while students engaged in home-based learning. With the circuit breaker coming to an end, and with Singapore cautiously opening up, this latest Budget, is aptly named "Fortitude" and it aims to help get us moving once again in a very uncertain and volatile world. Even as we have this debate today, the world is a different place. Air travel has all but frozen. The Causeway, which used to see a little under half a million people a day cross up and down, is also quiet, allowing only vehicles with essential supplies coming through. The largest number of COVID-19 cases now is in America, which also has an added crisis as the tragic death of George Lloyd has triggered a “Black Lives Matter” with large numbers of people on the street. The Singapore Government’s approach in this virus has been nimble. We did not create this crisis, but we have to deal with the fallout. We prioritised the saving of lives with a rigorous system of public messaging, contact tracing, quarantine and the expansion of medical resources. Although we have one of the largest numbers of cases in Asia, which is partly because we have done very aggressive testing, we have managed to keep our fatality rates low because our medical capacity is adequate to provide for all who need it. The Ministerial Task Force has communicated regularly, acted decisively and flexibly, staying calm and always having a clear plan for the situation. This Budget, the Fortitude Budget, is the latest additional spending the Government needs and I whole-heartedly support this. Fortitude means courage in the face of adversity and that is exactly what Singapore needs to get back on its feet. The earlier Budgets, particularly the Resilience and Solidarity Budgets, helped businesses stay afloat during a time when Singapore and much of the world was frozen. Our people retained jobs even though many were staying at home and were not able to work. Those who were not so fortunate and lost jobs or income received immediate support. This helped our people have resilience and solidarity. Now, the time has come to slowly get back on our feet and move and this Budget again provides much needed lubrication to help this process. For businesses, the three main concerns are usually payroll, rental and financing. This Budget has provisions for all three. In relation to payroll, the extension of the Jobs Support Scheme means that many employers, particularly those in troubled sectors like aviation, will continue to get significant payroll support for their staff, up to 75% through to August. Rental waivers of two to four months will be enjoyed by many businesses, the load shared between landlords and the Government.[+7 sentences] Landlords in turn can get relief from their own mortgage obligations if they need it. Finally, for many businesses, credit is the lifeblood and the previous Budgets had provided Temporary Bridging Loan Programme and Enterprise Financing Scheme, both of which provided access to credit. These well thought through schemes mitigate the three greatest concerns businesses will have and will, hopefully, give them fortitude to get up and get back in the game. For individuals, particularly those who have lost jobs or income, there is also significant help. The biggest concern for individuals who are out of work is "Will we get more income? And when will we get our next job?" This Budget provides for both apart from those with high incomes or higher value properties. Whether you are self-employed or an employee, if you have lost 30% or more of your income, there will be relief. In addition to this, payments to families from Care and Support packages in previous Budgets will continue and this will help households meet expenses. There is also significant investment in job creation and training opportunities, with a bold plan to create 100,000 jobs and the team is already in place headed by Senior Minister Tharman to look into this very difficult project.[+1 sentence] These are exactly what we need during these difficult times. All this spending comes with a price tag, and in this case, we will, for the first time in our history, be dipping into our reserves to the tune of around $50 billion.[+3 sentences] This is significant, but it is also clear that this is not a decision the Government is taking lightly. Based on what we know from MOF’s public data, the reserves managed by MAS are around $400 billion and Temasek has more than $300 billion on its balance sheet. The full figure is, of course, bigger than this. Against this backdrop, a one off draw-down of $50 billion to deal with what is probably the biggest financial crisis since our Independence is probably justified. We must however be mindful that these reserves built up since our Independence are our “Golden Goose”, and the more we spend of the reserves, the less the net investment income will be. The last time we drew down on these reserves was during the 2008/2009 Global Financial Crisis.[+8 sentences] Back then we had a "V" shape recovery and the Government was able to pay back the draw-down within a year. I do not expect the Government to be able to do so this time. Yet, given the extraordinary situation we are in, I think this expenditure is well justified. I support this Budget. Mr Speaker, I’ll continue in Tamil. (In Tamil): This is a time of unprecedented challenges for the world from COVID-19. Many of our friends in other countries are facing unprecedented hardship and suffering, including being unable to find hospital beds and treatment when they need it and watching loved ones die without being able to be with them in their final moments or attend their funerals. In Singapore, we have faced pain too. Although we have a large number of cases, because we have managed the situation, our death rate from COVID-19 is one of the lowest in the world.[+1 sentence] Now people’s main concern is their livelihoods, and that is exactly what this Budget addresses. For those who own businesses, there is support for payroll, relief from rental and financing available. For individuals who have lost jobs and income, there is financial assistance available as well as training to get new jobs.[+3 sentences] The aim is to help people get back on their feet and get their livelihoods back. This Budget gives us "fortitude" to face the challenges ahead by helping to relieve the main things that cause us fear. Mr Speaker, I support this Budget.
Mr Speaker36 words
[+5 sentences]Order. I propose to take a break now. We will commence the Sitting again at 4.20 pm. Sitting accordingly suspended at 3.59 pm until 4.20 pm. Sitting resumed at 4.20 pm.
Government's Plans In Our Continuing Fight Against COVID-19 Pandemic›Ministerial Statements9 turns · 10,257w
· 61 highlighted
ministerial-statement-1410recorded 2020-06-05
Mr Speaker3 words
[+1 sentence]Deputy Prime Minister.
The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance (Mr Heng Swee Keat)9942 words
[+5 sentences]Mr Speaker, Sir, I thank Members of this House for their support and participation at this debate on our Fortitude Budget. Members have spent many hours raising many points, so it would not be possible for me to respond to each and every one of their points. But where there are good ideas, the various Ministries will take them up and my various colleagues will address these later. In rounding up this debate, let me start by sharing my perspective on the nature of this crisis and the global and historical context. COVID-19 is a global crisis of our generation. Within six months, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that the coronavirus has infected 6.4 million people, claimed over 380,000 lives, disrupted lives and livelihoods, and closed borders worldwide.[+5 sentences] Never before have we seen a global lockdown of this scale. The pandemic has exposed vulnerabilities in global supply chains, accelerated digitalisation and technological changes, and fragmented global markets. There is huge uncertainty on both the health and economic fronts. In fact, it has opened up other fronts. The trigger of this crisis – the coronavirus – will continue to disrupt lives until a vaccine or suitable therapeutics are developed. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) projects the global economy to contract sharply by 3 percentage points. This is much worse than the 0.07% contraction during the global financial crisis and is unseen since the Great Depression.[+26 sentences] There are serious cascading effects on employment and people all over the world. This comes amidst escalating geo-strategic competition between the US and China, which could destabilise the global order. COVID-19 is having a huge impact on the global economy because it shocked both the demand and supply side of the economy simultaneously. On the demand side, reduced social interactions and weakened consumer confidence have significantly reduced consumption which, in turn, reduced income and investment levels. On the supply side, global lockdowns have disrupted deeply integrated supply chains across borders and slowed global trade and investment. These shocks reinforce each other and threaten to impair the long-term productive capacity of economies. Measures that depend primarily on stimulating demand in the economy will not work due to supply chain disruptions. Ms Denise Phua and several other Members of Parliament asked about the global outlook. The road to recovery will be long as we deal with persistent economic impact on workers, jobs and business. Beyond economic costs, there will be immense human and social costs. The world took eight to 10 years following the Great Depression and global financial crisis to recover to pre-crisis unemployment levels. We should not be surprised that it takes as long, if not longer, to bounce back from the effects of COVID-19. The First World War had a lasting impact on the employment prospects of a lost generation of youth in western economies, stripping them of a sense of hope and direction. There is now talk of a global "lockdown generation" and fears that the youths of our time could have their skills, employability and incomes permanently affected even after the world recovers from the pandemic. We must work to prevent a "COVID-19 generation" of workers and students in Singapore. All over the world, we have seen a Catch-22 situation developing as governments grapple with the tensions between saving lives and livelihoods. The reluctance to freeze activities due to heavy economic losses has had tragic consequences. Delayed and incomplete measures to stem infections resulted in a massive number of casualties as healthcare systems were overwhelmed. Singapore has managed to avert some of the harsher outcomes from COVID-19. We were able to act boldly as Singaporeans stood in unity, trusted the Government and worked together to save lives and livelihoods. We imposed a prolonged circuit breaker to significantly reduce the community transmission rates over the past two months. We set up a joint task force to deal with the situation among our migrant worker community and the situation is improving. Aggressive testing and the professional dedication of our healthcare team have kept fatalities low. Our battle against COVID-19 has reached an inflection point. We have now taken the first steps to reopen our economy safely, in a gradual and systematic way. We are now four days into our phased reopening. If infection rates remain low and stable, we expect large parts of the economy to be able to reopen by the end of June.[+3 sentences] We will continue to provide support for our workers and businesses to tide through this period. Internationally, we are working to gradually reopen our borders safely with other countries. This will allow for business travel, which is essential for our open economy. The Singapore-China "fast lane" is a first step in this reopening of borders.[+17 sentences] Around the world, many countries have started to reopen and we are watching them closely. They, too, have taken a phased approach. When infection cases slowed to a trickle, China started to reopen in late April, and South Korea, Germany and Japan relaxed their lockdown in May. France did so this week. Infection rates rose for some countries that reopened earlier but they are actively managing the situation and working hard to respond to the new infections. We are dealing with a highly infectious and agile virus. The world is learning on the go. So, we must be psychologically prepared that infections could rise somewhat, even with the best precautionary measures. We are thus not reopening and going back to our familiar routines but into a new uncertain reality. Singaporeans must learn and adapt to the new reality. We must adjust to new norms, such as higher standards of personal and public hygiene, safe distancing and reduced social contact. We will need to adjust to new ways of working, such as telecommuting, and acquire new skills relevant in the new economy. Changing habits is difficult but we must all do our best. Government interventions have become the cornerstone of the COVID-19 response as populations look towards the one institution that can organise and mobilise. There has been a flight to leadership. Administrations, regardless of where they sit on the political spectrum or their belief in government intervention, have responded with substantial support packages. Some have also stepped in to support distressed corporates from airlines to car makers. We, too, have mounted a strong response because lives and livelihoods are at stake. We are committing almost $100 billion, or close to 20% of our GDP, to our COVID-19 response. Adding the COVID-19 response to our usual spending, the total size of our four Budgets stands at $193 billion.[+12 sentences] This is more than double the size of our annual Budgets in preceding years. In other words, we are looking to spend in one year what we would have done in two years or more in normal times. This is a very big commitment! Beyond the size of headline numbers, what matters even more is whether resources are directed to the right areas, to enable our people and our economy to rebound faster and stronger. Design and implementation are critical. The measures in our four Budgets have been designed to not only respond to the crisis but to also enable Singapore to emerge stronger. The measures aim to protect lives and livelihoods, deal with immediate concerns and build for our future. Our Budgets aim to: (a) minimise the spread of the virus and risk to lives, which has largely been successful; (b) stabilise the economy, save jobs and viable companies, and protect livelihoods; (c) reposition workers, businesses and the community to respond to major shifts; and (d) seize new opportunities so as to emerge stronger. We have put our people at the centre of our Budgets. Our measures on protecting livelihoods centre on helping people to stay employed and businesses to stay viable. The fortunes of workers and businesses are intertwined. By keeping the economy stable, we strengthen social resilience. By investing in upgrading the skills of our people and transforming our businesses, the economy can recover more strongly. This is why over $72 billion, or close to 80% of the amount set aside for the COVID-19 response, is committed to helping our workers stay in their jobs, and supporting our businesses and their employees, which, in turn, support social resilience.[+9 sentences] As our Labour Movement firmly believes – a job is the best welfare. The remaining goes to public health and social support measures, to supplement and strengthen the significant investments made and structural measures already in place. Having set out the global context, let me now respond to the various issues raised in the Budget debate, under three broad themes: First, supporting jobs, livelihoods and our future economy; Second, maintaining a strong fiscal position; and Third, drawing on our deep reserves of social capital. Let me start with jobs and livelihoods, which many Members of Parliament spoke about. This has, indeed, been the focus of our Budgets. COVID-19 will take a lasting toll on the quantity and quality of jobs worldwide, despite countries' best efforts to mitigate the impact. The International Labour Organisation has estimated that COVID-19 could raise global unemployment numbers by "far higher" than 25 million. This is worse than the 2009 Global Financial Crisis, which saw additional global unemployment of some 22 million workers. For Singapore, the highest annual average number of unemployed residents on record was registered during the 2003 SARS epidemic, at 91,000 unemployed residents. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is widely expected to be more severe than SARS, with the number of unemployed residents potentially rising from around 73,000 in 2019 to above 100,000 in 2020.[+8 sentences] The economic fallout of COVID-19 goes beyond unemployment numbers. Even those who keep their jobs may suffer under-employment and significant income loss. This could lead to a vicious cycle where income loss reduces consumption and affected businesses further reduce labour demand. The human and social effects of unemployment and under-employment are no less debilitating. For many of us, having a job means more than getting paid. Through our jobs, we are connected to the workings of the world and to other people, and we take pride in being a contributing member of society. At a personal level, losing a job can lead to a loss of identity, confidence and dignity. This is why, when COVID-19 struck, our top priority is to provide fiscal resources to help workers stay in their jobs. The SGUnited Jobs and Skills package seeks to not only grow pathways to jobs, but also equip workers and their firms with capabilities for the coming years.[+18 sentences] Our Labour Movement is a key partner. I thank Secretary-General Mr Ng Chee Meng and Deputy Secretaries-General Mr Heng Chee How and Dr Koh Poh Koon for NTUC's unwavering support and partnership during these uncertain times, and all our NTUC colleagues who have spoken on behalf of workers in this House. Indeed, every worker matters! Our Jobs and Skills Package goes hand-in-hand with transformation in every business and at the industry level, through our Industry Transformation Maps (ITMs). Every business that is confronted with structural changes and the shocks from COVID-19 will need to take a long hard look at its business model. They will need new markets, new products, or process innovations, and need to harness new technologies. They may need to work with their competitors as industries consolidate for scale. I am glad that many of our business leaders understand more than ever we cannot take the "business as usual" or BAU attitude, or else there will be no business left. Existing jobs will need to be re-designed. New good jobs will be created in growth areas. How do businesses get the right people into these re-designed or new jobs? By hiring the right people and building up their skills. Fresh graduates or mid-career individuals with experience from other sectors are good choices. So are existing staff who can be re-skilled. Business transformation, creating and sustaining good jobs need to be done as part of a coherent business and industry transformation plan. Dr Koh Poh Koon shared many examples of how the Labour Movement has partnered and supported businesses through their transformation journeys. There are three thrusts to our Jobs and Skills Package. First, we will save jobs in viable businesses and preserve workforce capability in sectors which are temporarily hard-hit. The Jobs Support Scheme, which I have enhanced over the four Budgets, will flow a total of $23.5 billion to support 1.9 million jobs over 10 months.[+8 sentences] Close to two-thirds of these jobs are in our SMEs. Over $11 billion has already gone out to help employers defray wage costs. I am heartened to hear that many businesses have found the support useful and have factored it into their decision to retain jobs and workers. Let me be clear, so people understand. The Jobs Support Scheme is what its name says clearly – it is meant to support jobs. We are not supporting businesses for their own sakes. We are supporting businesses – defraying their wage costs – so that they can retain and pay workers. Second, we will open up pathways to new jobs across a range of skills levels and help local jobseekers of all ages and profiles to access them. As Minister Josephine Teo explained, we will create about 100,000 opportunities to help local jobseekers take on new jobs, including in emerging and growth areas, such as infocomm technologies, financial services and healthcare.[+3 sentences] I thank Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam for agreeing to chair the National Jobs Council to oversee this major effort to keep jobs and help people bounce back should they become unemployed. The Council had a productive first meeting just two days ago. Again, I stress the effort we are making is unprecedented. Never before in our history have we set out to preserve so many jobs as well as create so many new opportunities – 100,000.[+22 sentences] The Council has already begun its task. I also encourage our workers to step out of their comfort zone and acquire new skills to prepare for the structural changes ahead. For example, Mr Goo Chong Kiat embarked on a Professional Conversion Programme (PCP) as a Senior Engineer with Systems on Silicon Manufacturing Company during the Circuit Breaker, as he wanted to deepen his skills in areas of Industry 4.0. His advice to others enrolling in PCPs is to keep an open mind and be ready to adapt to a dynamic environment. I cannot agree more! Third, we are dedicating additional help to groups which are harder hit, including our graduating students, our mid-career workers and self-employed persons. As Mr Ang Hin Kee, Mr Desmond Choo, Ms Jessica Tan and Prof Lim Sun Sun have pointed out, we need concerted efforts to support these groups. I also thank Mr Pritam Singh for his support. Minister of State Zaqy Mohamad covered many of the initiatives in his speech earlier. Our fresh job entrants will get enhanced access to jobs and traineeship opportunities in growth areas, through the TechSkills Accelerator programmes mentioned by Minister Iswaran yesterday. Our public agencies are also stepping up efforts to help. Mr Muhammad Syabil Bin Mohamed Sazali is a fresh graduate from NUS Computer Engineering. This July, he will enroll in the Cyber Security Agency's 18-month Cybersecurity Development Programme. Syabil will be amongst the first batch of 40 officers to be groomed as cybersecurity professionals. With widespread digitalisation, demand for cybersecurity professionals will grow. Mature workers will receive strong support from the SkillsFuture Mid-Career Support Package and enhancements to the Adapt and Grow programmes introduced at the Unity Budget. Mr Chew Kok Poh was an Operations Executive with ST Logistics for close to 19 years. With the deployment of Automated Guided Vehicles and a Warehouse Management System, his role was significantly transformed as a large portion of warehouse operation processes became automated. ST Logistics leveraged the WSG redeployment PCP to upskill Kok Poh for the enhanced Logistics Executive role. He now works with the new automation systems to manage warehouse operations and conducts data analysis to plan their weekly manpower resources. I appreciate Mr Heng Chee How's support for our schemes to give our mature workers a leg up in the workplace. We are now encouraging employers to re-design jobs as part of their broader enterprise transformation efforts through the Enterprise Development Grant, the Productivity Solutions Grant – Job Redesign, and the SkillsFuture Enterprise Credit. By pegging the Hiring Incentive for eligible mature jobseekers at 40%, which is double the rate for that of younger workers, we are helping more mature workers to find new employers.[+3 sentences] Many seniors can and want to work longer. We will continue to support them through the Senior Worker Support Package. I join Minister Josephine Teo and Secretary-General Ng Chee Meng in thanking the many firms which have already stepped forward to play their part in supporting the creation of good job pathways. Banks, both local and foreign, are grooming the local talent pipeline, by pledging to offer close to 900 traineeships for local fresh graduates and jobseekers.[+8 sentences] Mr Seah Kian Peng also spoke about the support from NTUC FairPrice and Enterprise Groups, which have offered some 4,000 jobs and 300 traineeships. I encourage more businesses to think long-term and continue to invest in people, or what economists call human capital development. Skilled workers make strong firms and strong firms create good jobs. Every business, every worker, must seek to maximise this synergy. But, despite our best efforts, we cannot possibly save every job. Many sectors were already facing disruptions before COVID-19. For workers who are displaced, you have our assurance that if you make the effort, our tripartite partners will support you to tide through this difficulty. Before COVID-19 struck, structural changes, such as the fragmentation of global supply chains and technological changes, were already in motion. COVID-19 has triggered both a deep cyclical shock and accelerating structural changes in the global economy. To thrive, or even to survive, companies all around the world must adjust to these forces with speed and agility.[+3 sentences] In Singapore, we are fortunate that we started our structural transformation efforts early and companies that have made the efforts are adapting better. In 2015, we set up the Committee on the Future Economy. The Committee charted strategies to build our capacity for a vibrant, strong future economy and to create good opportunities for our people. From 2016, we launched our Industry Transformation Maps to systematically bring together stakeholders to transform our industries, across all 23 sectors and six industry clusters.[+4 sentences] Some business leaders have told us that by embarking on transformation early, they have found it easier to pivot to new areas of opportunity. One example is Forefront Medical, a precision engineering firm providing manufacturing services to the medical industry. Prior to COVID-19, Forefront Medical had started building up automation capabilities, adding cleanroom capacity and growing its local medtech talent pool. These capabilities enabled the company to supply to more global medical companies when the pandemic struck. Forefront Medical also managed to pivot into the diagnostics space by acquiring capabilities in reagent manufacturing for COVID-19 test kits.[+19 sentences] It has already secured a deal with one test kit company and is in discussion with two more. Last week, I had an e-conference with a group of start-ups and venture funds in Singapore. The progress that they all have made in seizing new opportunities cheered me, including the safe bicycle helmet, 3D printing of instruments for swab tests and telemedicine. In the interest of time, let me just share a few more examples, to give a flavour of the progress. And the first flavor is Shiok Meats, a start-up working to harvest crustacean meats from cells instead of animals, thereby eliminating the risk of food-borne diseases. It aims to introduce these alternative proteins grown in food manufacturing facilities to restaurants in the next two years. Novade provides smart field management software for the building and construction industry. Since COVID-19 struck, Novade has launched new functionalities to enable health monitoring procedures on work sites and is now helping clients use these functions to restart and carry out operations safely. ViSenze specialises in retail AI solutions, including virtual try-outs of products using a real-time camera recognition function. It has been piloting these new technologies with retailers to get ready for a "new normal" in post-COVID-19 shopping and is now doubling down its efforts to help retail clients worldwide transform their operations. The start-up mantra is to disrupt the world, to make it better. But with COVID-19 disrupting the world, it is good to see start-ups pivoting to enabling us to cope better with a disrupted world, with the right innovations! In the face of the deep uncertainties that confront the world today, what must Singapore do to survive and succeed? The post-COVID-19 world will be different from today. We may not know the exact contours of how this world will look like, but we know the forces that are shaping it. The Emerging Stronger Task Force, led by Minister Desmond Lee and PSA International Group CEO Tan Chong Meng, are studying key shifts and developing recommendations in the areas of technology and innovation, digitalisation and disruption to global supply chains. In the course of its work, the Task force will consult multiple stakeholders and draw on insights beyond its membership, so that their findings and recommendations are relevant. Many Members spoke about the need to respond quickly to the structural shifts, and I thank Members, including Mr Ang Wei Neng, Miss Cheryl Chan and Mr Douglas Foo for their insights. Accelerating our economic transformation is indeed a national priority and both workers and employers must do their part to stay focused on this. Our Fortitude Budget not only cushions firms to tide over immediate cashflow, cost and credit challenges that Members, including Mr Darryl David and Er Dr Lee Bee Wah spoke about, but also helps accelerate digital transformation and build capabilities to emerge stronger when the recovery comes.[+18 sentences] Minister Iswaran sets out clearly that this crisis has crystallised the need and opportunity for digitalisation and we can only emerge stronger by making a decisive push towards a digital future. And as Mr Christopher de Souza puts it, riding this wave of digitalisation is key to ensuring that our Singaporeans are ready for borderless job opportunities. There will also be a premium on resilience. As Mr Arasu Duraisamy, Mr Patrick Tay and Mr Saktiandi Supaat pointed out, one way for businesses to build resilience, is to build up a strong Singaporean Core. This will not only create opportunities for our local workers but also help our businesses continue to operate sustainably even as other economies grow and develop, or even if there are disruptions to external labour supply. In our next phase of growth, we must anchor Singapore as a Global-Asia node of technology, innovation and enterprise. Like a pearl that is part of a strand of vital global nodes across the world, we must play a valued and inextricable role in the new global configuration. We will do so by forging new partnerships and bringing new value to the world through innovation and deep capabilities, including technological capabilities. I am bringing together the work of our Future Economy Council and the Research, Innovation and Enterprise Council to do so, by enabling our industry clusters to harness the rich opportunities catalysed by innovation networks and the creation of new scientific knowledge. And as Assoc Prof Walter Theseira said, we must undertake this great exercise of economic restructuring together, as equal partners and as one people, in the creation of a new Singapore. The COVID-19 situation is a mighty storm that has damaged sails and forced ships around the world to go into harbour. While waiting for the storm to subside, we must make the best use of this downtime to build new strengths and capabilities. Let us take this rare chance to repair, upgrade our ship and install new instruments, re-orientate our mental compass and strengthen our sailors, so that when the fair wind comes, we will sail out faster and further than ever before. This is what our four Budgets enable us to do – let us make the best use of these! I have explained our immediate priorities to support jobs and livelihoods and why we need to accelerate transformation. Let me now respond to Members' comments on our approach to fund such measures through our four Budgets. I thank many Members for recognising that Singapore's fiscal response has been timely, comprehensive and decisive, and that it is commensurate with the widespread and unprecedented impact of the crisis. Our strong response is projected to stabilise economic activity during this difficult period, and position Singapore for recovery. Based on a recent study by MAS, our four Budgets are estimated to help our economy avert an average output loss of five percentage points, or $23.4 billion per year, over 2020 and 2021.[+6 sentences] This is very significant because when you have a higher base, future growth, even at the same percentage rate, means that you reach a higher level. As Mr Alex Yam mentioned, some are of the view that we have spent too much, while others think it is too little. These contrasting views show that crisis budgeting is anything but straightforward. These decisions have been made after careful deliberations, based on the best information available at that time. As the COVID-19 situation develops, we have continued to enhance and refine our schemes, as evidenced by our four Budgets. Even then, let us stay vigilant – as I said at the outset, we are facing unprecedented levels of uncertainty across various fronts. Mr Liang Eng Hwa, in opening the debate, highlighted a distinctive feature of the Fortitude Budget – that we are setting aside an additional $13 billion in the Contingencies Funds.[+10 sentences] Such contingency budgeting reflects both the unprecedented levels of severity, as well as uncertainty, of this crisis. Mr Liang asked if the Government can provide an indication of how the Funds may potentially be used. As designed, the Contingencies Funds can be drawn upon if there is a need to do so. And as designed, we have not designated specific purposes for the Funds. In sizing it, we have run some "what if" scenarios, including the possibility that we may experience a setback in our fight against COVID-19 or the global economy does much worse than currently expected. So, unlike our usual annual Budget, where we seek to provide as much details as possible, we are setting aside a sum to meet future events or circumstances that are possible, but for which we cannot yet predict with certainty. This is indeed a special feature that allow us to respond swiftly to unforeseen developments. I thank Mr Liang for pointing this out. Mr Pritam Singh asked about the governance around the use of Contingencies Funds. The use of Contingencies Funds is not new. Each year, we have $3 billion in the Contingencies Funds to meet urgent and unforeseen needs.[+2 sentences] With greater uncertainty, it is natural for us to cater for a bigger quantum. The Singapore Constitution includes safeguards over its use. First, the Government will need to seek President's concurrence for drawing down the Contingencies Funds.[+27 sentences] Second, these drawdowns must be replaced through a subsequent Supplementary Supply Bill or a Final Supply Bill that have to be presented to and voted on by Parliament before seeking President's assent. This provides additional checks and balances over new spending from the Contingencies Funds will continue to ensure judicious use of the Contingencies Funds for urgent and unforeseen needs. When the uncertainty subsides, we can reduce the amount set aside in the Contingencies Funds. Several Members have also pointed out another exceptional feature of our Budgets this Financial Year – the draw on Past Reserves. For most countries, borrowing is the only way to fund their largest stimulus packages. This increases the risk of unsustainable debt financing, which has severe consequences for the economy in the long run. Countries that have taken on significant additional debt to pay for their support measures will have to find new ways to repay their debt and interest accrued. Future generations will be required to shoulder this debt, be it in the form of higher taxes, higher inflation, or lower returns on their retirement assets. Future generations will also be affected in other ways. In order to service debt repayment, there will be less fiscal room to invest in human capital or infrastructure. The "Lockdown Generation" in these countries will end up paying for this crisis a long way down the road. We are fortunate that in this hour of crisis, we have our national reserves to depend on. Our reserves allow us to deal with this crisis from a position of strength and give us options in a period of uncertainty like this. Our reserves are our rainy-day fund. Mr Vikram Nair likened our reserves to a "Golden Goose", painstakingly built up since our Independence. As Ms Tin Pei Ling and Mr Murali Pillai have pointed out, our reserves are our key strategic advantage in the current environment. First, it assures Singaporeans that we have the means to navigate the challenges ahead, to protect our lives and to sustain our livelihoods. Second, it fosters confidence in global investors, that our economic fundamentals are sound and stable in the long term and that we have enough resources to emerge stronger from the crisis. Third, it protects us during this period of flux. Detractors and speculators know well enough not to take advantage of this crisis, to attack our economy or currency. We did not get here by chance or good fortune. We have designed and implemented policies that discourage waste or over-consumption. We have run our public services based on outcomes, not on size of spending. In short, we are in this fortunate position because of consistent hard work, prudence, long-term planning and discipline of those who came before us. Such prudence and discipline are not always appreciated. We have had vigorous debates in this House, on whether the Government could afford to spend more freely from reserves, instead of running Budget surpluses. Even as recently as January this year, before the Unity Budget was unveiled, many commentators inside and outside of this House speculated on how large our accumulated reserves would be. Yet, it took us just three months into FY2020 to use up the accumulated surplus that we had built up over the current term of Government; since the start of this term of Government.[+1 sentence] And even that is not enough. So, mounting COVID-19 packages amounting to nearly $100 billion, of which more than half is funded from the reserves is not a trivial matter, especially when our yearly budget is about $80 billion.[+3 sentences] The total of our four Budgets, including the COVID-19 packages, is more than double the size of our annual Budgets in preceding years. Our reserves are a limited resource and we must not take them for granted. We owe it to our people – seniors, middle-aged, young and those yet to be born – to be prudent and ensure good governance, so that they too have the resources to navigate future challenges in an uncertain world. Ms Foo Mee Har, Ms Tin Pei Ling and Mr Mohd Irshad asked if we would restore the $52 billion drawn from our Past Reserves, and how long that would take. There is no legal or constitutional obligation for the Government to do so.[+4 sentences] The Government put back into the Past Reserves the $4 billion it had earlier drawn on in 2009, during the Global Financial Crisis. And not a single cent of the $150 billion of reserves that backed the Government's guarantee of bank deposits was used, when our banking system emerged safely from the Global Financial Crisis. This current crisis is of a significantly larger scale and reach than the Global Financial Crisis. We are facing huge uncertainties regarding the course of the pandemic and its economic and social implications. What we do know is that there will likely not be a V-shaped recovery, unlike in past crises. And the amount that we are tapping on is $52 billion.[+18 sentences] So, how long would it take to build this back? We cannot be definitive. At this moment, we must focus our minds fully on making the best use of the resources that we have deployed, be prepared to work hard in the years to come, and have the resolve to rebuild our economy. In this way, the Singapore economy can emerge stronger, and we will be in a strong position to build up our resources. But rest assured that we are committed to rebuild not just our reserves, but also to continue developing Singaporeans and building Singapore. Mr Muhd Faisal Manap and Mr Dennis Tan asked if the President was given information on the amount available in the reserves when the Government sought her in-principle support for drawing on them. I am surprised that both Mr Faisal and Mr Dennis Tan had to ask. It is public information that, under our Constitution, the President has access to information about the size of reserves. Under Article 22F of the Constitution, in the exercise of her functions under the Constitution, the President is entitled to any information regarding the reserves. In addition, on the MOF website, it is already mentioned that the President has full information about the size of the reserves. In the process of seeking President's approval, the Government has conducted two briefings to President and the Council of Presidential Advisers. These briefings covered the Government's assessment of the global and local health and economic situations, the details of the measures and the resources needed. Ministers Gan Kim Yong, Chan Chun Sing, Lawrence Wong and Indranee Rajah were with me. In our system, the President is the custodian of our Past Reserves. She needs to concur with any draw, and her decision is made in full knowledge of why the draw is necessary, and the size of our reserves. In fact, Members have heard the President's message in the Resilience Budget, delivered on her behalf by the Speaker, just before my Ministerial Statement then. We have a strict governance system, scrupulously observed. Some have also asked why the Government does not reveal the size of the reserves and let the public decide if we should use more. As Mr Vikram Nair has noted, the size of the reserves invested by MAS and Temasek is public information. But the amount invested by GIC is not disclosed.[+4 sentences] As I had explained this to Members of this House during my last round-up speech in early April – it is not in our national interest to reveal the full size of our reserves. Besides being a buffer against crisis and providing investment return to supplement our annual Budget, our reserves also form our strategic defence against threats. And as a strategic asset, we would be diminishing its value if we disclose this for potential adversaries to use against us. No responsible leader will lay bare your nation's defence plan. Mr Saktiandi Supaat asked if we should take advantage of the lower interest rates now, to borrow more to fund expenditure.[+13 sentences] Fiscal discipline is one of the fundamental principles underpinning Singapore's fiscal system. We spend prudently within our means and responsibly with a value-for-money culture. The rule to run balanced Budgets for each term of Government remains relevant. We also spend equitably, with the principle that each generation bears the cost of the benefits that they enjoy. That is why we do not borrow to fund our recurrent spending. Doing so means getting our children to fund our current spending. There will be less resources for our children, after repaying such debt. While interest rates may be low now, there is no certainty that we will be able to repay accumulated debt obligations in the future. This is especially so with the uncertain economic outlook, where all countries, including Singapore, will be operating in a tighter fiscal space. While we have good reasons not to borrow for our current expenditure, the Government is already using debt productively and equitably to generate long-term returns for Singapore. First, the Government issues debt securities domestically. For instance, to develop the domestic debt market. The borrowing proceeds are invested and we are able to cover the debt servicing costs through the investment returns. Second, as announced in Budget 2019, the Government will guarantee the borrowing by Changi Airport Group to fund the development of Changi East, including Terminal 5.[+21 sentences] In this way, we leverage the strength of the Government's balance sheet to reduce borrowing costs. The debt repayments will be made during a period when the airport will be generating economic returns. Lastly, as I had also mentioned in Budget 2019, the Government is considering borrowing for major long-term infrastructure. Long-term infrastructure requires hefty upfront investments and the costs are lumpy. But once built, they benefit many generations of Singaporeans. Borrowing for such developments allows us to spread costs equitably across current and future generations, without the need for sharp increases in taxes. We have done so in the past, we borrow for many worthwhile investments that have benefited several generations such as the first terminal at Changi Airport and our first MRT lines. They will continue to generate growth for future generations of Singaporeans. I am glad that Members of Parliament have raised concerns about the sustainability of tapping on the reserves. Ms Tin Pei Ling asked whether we are leaving enough reserves behind for future generations. Ms Foo Mee Har and Mr Mohd Irshad asked how the draw would influence our policies, moving forward. The crisis has underscored the importance of upholding the prudence and discipline of our forefathers to spend responsibly, and prepare for the future. This is why, even as we devote considerable resources to overcome the immediate challenges posed by COVID-19, we must continue to plan ahead to secure a fiscally sustainable future. In the medium to long term, our structural needs will persist, and significant fiscal outlay will be required. We need to continue investing in healthcare, education and training, and infrastructure, so that we have adequate capacity to take care of our seniors and support an ageing population; so that we give every child a good start, and give every Singaporean the opportunity to re-skill and up-skill to access good jobs, and so that Singapore remains a liveable city and a place we are proud to call home. These heavy and rising expenditures were known even before the outbreak of COVID-19. COVID-19 has increased the urgency for some of these investments, such as developing advanced medical research and production capabilities, and expanding training capacity for our workers. It is hence critical that we deploy the right mix of fiscal instruments that meets our principles of prudence and equitable spending. As I mentioned earlier, major long-term infrastructure spending, which requires hefty upfront investments but benefits many generations of Singaporeans, may be financed through borrowing to fairly distribute the cost among those who benefit. On the other hand, recurrent spending, should be met with recurrent revenues. Such spending primarily benefits the current generation of Singaporeans, and so, it is fair and responsible for all of us to do our part and chip in. In the Unity Budget, I announced that the GST rate increase will not take effect in 2021. However, we will not be able to put off the increase indefinitely, and this will still be needed by 2025.[+1 sentence] When the GST rate increase does take place, we will cushion the impact for Singaporeans. Six billion dollars in funds have already been set aside during the Unity Budget for the Assurance Package. This is sufficient to offset at least five years' worth of additional GST expenses for the majority of households, and more for lower income ones.[+55 sentences] We will continue to absorb GST on publicly-subsidised healthcare and education. Overall, our taxes and transfers system will remain fair and progressive. With this differentiated and principled fiscal strategy, each generation rightly pays for the benefits that they enjoy, and we do not saddle future generations with our bills. This is an equitable approach, and will continue to be the cornerstone of fiscal sustainability for Singapore. Mr Speaker, Sir, there is a reason I call this our Fortitude Budget. I announced it in the last week of the circuit breaker. Today, we debate the Budget a few days into Phase One of our reopening. The Fortitude Budget supports us as we gradually re-open our society and economy, braces us for the difficult months ahead, and prepares us to emerge stronger. During this time, I have seen and felt Singaporeans' fortitude in action. We have been driven and inspired by the fortitude of our people and companies. Fortitude itself is not an accidental quality. As Mr Christopher de Souza said, it is about courage in adversity. It is forged in crises past, and hardened in crises present. It comes from the strength of mind and character. In the case of Singapore, our fortitude comes too from the strength of our reserves – the financial reserves that I have just spoken about, and just as important, our deep reserves of social capital. Our social capital is made up of the intangible bonds that unite our multi-racial society. The bonds of trust among ourselves and between people and the Government. Our national conversations on the Singapore we want to build. It is the spirit of Singapore Together, where all parts of society work together in partnership, keeping us strong and united, even as the pandemic fragments many societies. Minister Josephine Teo and Secretary-General Ng Chee Meng shared how our tripartite structure acts to build fortitude in our workforce. I would like to acknowledge and honour the fortitude of our people. This crisis has brought out the best in our community. Many Singaporeans have come together to donate their Solidarity Payments to charitable causes. Over 10,000 people have stepped forward over the past two months to volunteer. They run errands for seniors living alone, distribute care packs, manage the National Care Hotline and deliver food supplies to migrant workers and vulnerable families, among others. For example, during his in-camp training, Mr Rajasegaran Ramachandran stepped up to serve at the frontline as a medic at the Singapore Expo care facility to care for COVID-19 patients as he wanted to do his part for the nation. Corporates, volunteer centres and community groups have also come together to contribute. And there are many encouraging stories of people helping one another, such as seniors providing mutual support. Mdm Julie Li, at age 82, frequently checked in with fellow seniors on the phone and shared healthy cooking recipes with them during the circuit breaker. Individuals, too, have shown resilience and adapted to seize new opportunities. Ms Catherine Tang, who has mild autism and works at The Art Faculty store at the Enabling Village, attended online courses during the circuit breaker to improve her customer service skills and support the store's e-commerce platform. I met her over a year ago. It is good to see her keeping so cheerful. Many public servants across different agencies have been working hard during COVID-19 to help Singaporeans. They coordinate our pandemic response, respond to Singaporeans' queries, implement support measures and keep up regular Government services. Many more have stepped up to take on frontline roles such as safe distancing ambassadors to help keep our communities safe. Let me express on behalf of this House our appreciation to our many volunteers and donors to our frontline officers and to all our people in Singapore who have taken the precautionary measures seriously and done your part. Every constructive action adds to our social reserves that allow us to face this challenge with fortitude. I encourage more Singaporeans to step forward and help one another in our community. In fact, contrary to what Mr Singh has mentioned earlier that we are only consulting people inside the business community, the Government has taken extra effort to take a far broader approach. I think yesterday, Miss Cheryl Chan spoke about Our Singapore Conversation and Singapore Together. Just last week, Ministers Desmond Lee, Grace Fu, Indranee Rajah and I had a very good discussion with leaders in our social service agencies. We all felt very cheered by the dedication of our people in the frontline. They were doing their utmost to support our vulnerable people. It is a great example of democracy of deed – of taking action to make a difference. And Ms Yip Pin Xiu mentioned about the sports community and how they are supporting one another. In growing our social reserves, we must continue to support and care for those who have less and those who have fallen on hard times. We will walk this journey with you and leave no one behind. Over the last two days, Members of Parliament like Mr Ang Hin Kee, Mr Lim Biow Chuan, Ms Sylvia Lim, Mr Gan Thiam Poh and Mr Louis Ng proposed refinements and additional measures for various groups in our society. I appreciate your feedback and suggestions. In coming out with each of the Budgets, my colleagues and I had reached out through many channels – social service agencies, community partners, unionists and grassroots leaders – to identify where the greatest needs are. We then carefully considered how we can help those who are most in need, especially those among us who are less able to articulate their needs. The result is not perfect but has gone a long way in alleviating pain points. Mr Zainal Sapari, Ms Foo Mee Har and Ms Anthea Ong asked if we can enhance existing COVID-19 support schemes for low-income workers and households, especially if unemployment persists. While some COVID-19 schemes such as the Solidarity Payment and Solidarity Utilities Credit cover all Singaporeans, the overall payouts are tilted towards lower- to middle-income groups as they have less to fall back on in difficult times. During this COVID-19 period, 60% of households can receive additional benefits equivalent to 12% of household income on average. These benefits include cash assistance from the Temporary Relief Fund, COVID-19 Support Grant and Workfare Special Payment, among others. This is a significant sum – double that given out during the Global Financial Crisis.[+35 sentences] There may be instances of families who marginally miss the eligibility criteria but also need help. We will assess these on a case-by-case basis, and refine our schemes as the situation develops. Other Members like Miss Cheng Li Hui, Ms Jessica Tan, Mr Liang Eng Hwa and Ms Sylvia Lim raised concerns on how some Singaporeans may feel marginalised by the rapid adoption of digital technology. Minister Iswaran laid out our road map for a digital future, with digital inclusion at the heart of our plans. New initiatives like the SG Digital Office, Hawkers Go Digital and Seniors Go Digital will complement existing programmes such as NEU PC Plus and Home Access. We take your concerns like the need to equip our seniors with cybersecurity awareness seriously. But we should not let fear paralyse us into sticking with the status quo. As the world changes, we want to move fast on digital transformation but more importantly, we are determined to move together in digital inclusion. Ms Denise Phua, Ms Yip Pin Xiu and Mr Melvin Yong also called for more support for vulnerable groups, including those with special needs and mental health conditions. I thank Ms Denise Phua for reminding us of my statement that social service agencies are a key partner in our support for our people. Ms Denise Phua has made a thoughtful suggestion – or several suggestions, including one to formalise a workstream on employment for people with disabilities within the National Jobs Council. I have just spoken to Senior Minister Tharman and, in fact, both of us welcome her leadership on this and are glad to support her proposal. Together with our community partners, we have put in resources – finances, networks and systems – over the years to support the vulnerable and I assure members that we will continue to do so. For example, we have built up physical networks to strengthen social service delivery through the SG Cares Community Network. Such physical links are complemented with digital ones to build up bonds among people and within the community. WE CARE Community Services set up a cloud-based contact centre and tele-counselling facilities so that staff can take calls from their homes to continue serving persons with addiction issues. This approach increased participation rates among its beneficiaries. Together, the COVID-19 support measures should be seen in the context of the larger suite of measures to protect jobs and livelihoods and support our businesses during this crisis. Some people have said that the support for jobs is big while the support to me or my household seems small. A thoughtful commentator said to me, it is right that the Government has devoted, as a central plank of the four Budgets, this central focus on supporting our workers to retain their jobs or to move into new jobs, because should the sole breadwinner of the family lose his or her job, the effect on the whole family is much more adverse. So, it is important that we see this in totality, not just what is in each little compartment. Moreover, bear in mind that our social spending has nearly doubled over the last ten years and this reflects our commitment to invest in and support our people. Ms Joan Pereira, Mr Terence Ho and Ms Yip Pin Xiu spoke on areas that merit additional support. I would like to assure them that even as we battle the pandemic, we will continue our longer-term investments in education, housing and healthcare and continue to uplift our arts and sports sectors. We will take lessons from COVID-19 to continue refining our social support policies to help build stronger families and communities. Individuals and the community too play a role. Miss Cheryl Chan said, "the Government can act as a catalyst but we ourselves must be the change makers." There is a role for every Singaporean to play. We have the reserves of strength and kindness in each of us to pay it forward in deed or resources to help support someone else. Moments of crisis are a test of the strength of our reserves and we have the strength – not least of all in ourselves as a people. We have the fortitude to each do our part and emerge stronger. Mr Speaker, Sir, let me say a few words in Mandarin before I conclude in English. (In Mandarin): Today is the fourth day of the post-circuit breaker period. We have entered the first phase of resuming work and school. As we are unable to predict how the COVID-19 situation will evolve, we will need to remain vigilant and observe safe distancing measures. If everyone is socially responsible, it is possible that by the end of June, we will be able to enter the second phase of reopening.[+8 sentences] In the past few months, the global economy has been badly hit in terms of demand and supply. As a small and open economy, Singapore has also been severely affected. In four months, we have introduced four Budgets totaling around $100 billion to deal with the COVID-19 situation to protect our health, save jobs, save livelihoods, save businesses and secure our future. The Budget not only protects us during the storm and acts as a buffer during the current crisis, it is also a booster that will drive the economy when the storm passes and will help Singaporeans and businesses prepare for the future. The tripartite partners will continue to work closely. This is one of the key factors that will help us overcome the crisis. However, we should not believe that every job will be saved or all companies will be able to continue operating. Those who are badly hit by COVID-19 and those who need to make structural changes will have to overhaul their business strategies. Only by saving viable businesses can we protect every worker and their livelihoods. Hence, the Government will spare no efforts to create jobs and training opportunities for Singaporeans. The newly established National Jobs Council is also committed to help jobless Singaporeans return to the workplace.[+1 sentence] At the same time, through various measures complemented by various industry transformation road maps, we will speed up the pace of economic transformation. The Government will also help companies reduce cost and retain their workers. We will also provide cash grants to Singaporeans, especially to help middle to lower income families manage living expenses, to take care of Singaporeans in need as far as possible.[+2 sentences] In other countries, governments have issued debt to finance their relief measures. Singapore is different, because Singaporeans from previous generations and previous governments have been managing our finances prudently. We are able to accumulate national reserves through the years. Thus, we have been able to respond decisively to the crisis without taking on debt.[+39 sentences] We will use every dollar wisely so that the economy can recover swiftly. In the future, we are determined to rebuild our economy and work hard for our next generation. We will also need to continue to manage our finances prudently, increase our income through sustainable avenues to meet the needs of recurrent expenditures. The post-COVID world will be totally different. We must be prepared for the new normal. The COVID-19 situation has worsened the impact of economic cycles, sped up structural changes in the global economy and deepened the fault-lines between countries. Digitalisation of the economy will be deeper, broader and faster. Market structures, trade flows, people and capital flows will also be affected. Singapore will continue to strengthen trade and economic links with other countries to stabilise our supply chains and trade networks. Companies must move with the times in order to seize opportunities. Workers must also upskill and be willing to take on new jobs. The COVID-19 situation has also highlighted the challenges faced by people in need. However, it is encouraging that Singaporeans have shown their best during this period, for example, cohesion, empathy, and helping those around us who are in need. I hope Singaporeans will continue to show care for others. I also hope that through the Singapore Together movement, we will be able to create a more inclusive and caring society. This is undoubtedly the most serious challenge faced by our generation. The First World War resulted in a "lost" generation. Internationally, there are also discussions on whether lockdowns due to COVID-19 will lead to a "lockdown" generation. I strongly believe that Singapore has the capability to overcome the crisis. As long as we work together, stay united and resilient, forge ahead with fortitude, there will be no "lockdown" generation. Instead, we will emerge stronger and become a generation that is more united, stronger and more resilient. (In English): Mr Speaker, Sir, I will now conclude in English. At the start of the speech, I spoke of the great uncertainty ahead and the fundamental shifts that are taking place at an accelerated pace. What does this changed world demand of us? There is no easy answer. We need to adapt and transform ourselves – with agility, creativity and determination. To survive and emerge stronger from the huge uncertainties ahead, we must get three things right. First, we must have good governance and strong, adaptive leadership – a Government that works with you and for you; that is always honest with our people about the truth; steadfast in preparing and anticipating what lies ahead; and committed to supporting our people and businesses to meet uncertainty head-on and emerge stronger. We must have strong social reserves, not just in each of us as individuals or just in our different communities, but across all levels and parts of our society, working together and holding one another up with trust and in solidarity. And we must be crystal clear and unwavering about our values and mission – what we stand for and what we are here to achieve. These make up the essence of the Singapore Together movement, which I launched last year to take Singapore forward. More than ever before, these fundamentals will be crucial as we navigate the uncertainties ahead. Our circumstances have changed over the years, but the Government's aspirations for Singapore have not. It is to be a place where our people, regardless of race, language or religion, can build a better life. We seek to be a vibrant and innovative economy, so as to create good jobs and opportunities for our people; a smart, green, healthy and liveable city that we can be proud to call home; a fair, just and harmonious society where our people care for and support one another; and a safe and secure nation, and a responsible member of the global community. This is not the first crisis that Singapore has faced nor will it be the last. Past generations of Singaporeans have weathered numerous challenges. The Pioneer Generation survived the hardships of World War II. The Merdeka Generation grew up in a tumultuous period leading up to Singapore's Independence. In recent times, Singaporeans experienced the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997, the dot-com bust in 2001, SARS in 2003 and the Global Financial Crisis in 2008.[+8 sentences] What about our generation? How will we respond to this crisis of our generation? Each generation's crisis and response are different. The one constant is how we have persevered with fortitude and emerged stronger. This time, there will be huge uncertainties ahead. But we will continue to persevere and we will, once again, emerge stronger. We are fighting this battle from a position of strength. We have a strong fiscal position. Our founding generation left us a legacy of a sizeable Reserve, which we must continue to treasure and build on. We have strong social reserves, supported by mutual trust, close partnerships, strong values and a sense of mutual responsibility and support. But more importantly, we are fighting this battle from a position of Unity, Resilience, Solidarity and Fortitude.[+15 sentences] We stand together as one united country and one people. We are uniquely fortunate to have built up a priceless harmony, sense of common identity and shared destiny, even as we draw on our diversity of strengths and experiences. We are a resilient people. We will never allow a crisis to bring us down. Even in these trying times, we continue to look ahead. Our people are hardworking and disciplined, willing to learn new skills and adapt. We have enterprising businesses that are ready to grasp new opportunities and thrive in the face of competition. We stand in solidarity with, and care for and support, one another, especially the more vulnerable members of our society. Our people, businesses, the Labour Movement and the Government stand together in partnership, not in division. We stand in solidarity with countries around the world in this pandemic, building on our assets of trust, reliability and efficiency. We have the grit to persevere in adversity with fortitude. We will forge new paths and never waver in our efforts to build a stronger Singapore together. We have a strong healthcare system. We have highly dedicated frontline workers who have worked day and night over the last few months to keep us safe. We will overcome this crisis with fortitude and solidarity. We will emerge stronger as an economy, as a society, and as one united, resilient and determined people.
Mr Speaker3 words
[+1 sentence]Mr Faisal Manap.
Mr Muhamad Faisal Bin Abdul Manap (Aljunied)82 words
[+1 sentence]Thank you, Sir. I just want to reconfirm that what I have heard from the Deputy Prime Minister is correct with regard to the question that I have asked – whether the Government has provided the President with the information on the amount that we have in the Reserves. So, am I right to say – and I just want to confirm with the Deputy Prime Minister – that the answer given by him is, yes, the Government did provide this information?
Mr Heng Swee Keat76 words
[+2 sentences]I am surprised that Mr Faisal Manap did not hear this statement of mine so clearly. The answer is yes. The Member can go back to the transcript of the Hansard and the recording of this session. But, by the way, I should add that, as I have said – and I hope the Member has heard it – the information is public.[+1 sentence] It is in our Constitution and it is on the website of MOF.
Mr Speaker3 words
[+1 sentence]Ms Anthea Ong.
Ms Anthea Ong49 words
[+1 sentence]Thank you, Mr Speaker. Could I ask Deputy Prime Minister Heng if he could address the question in my speech about asking if he would consider waiving six months' rent for all households residing in rental flats except for those whose rental is already covered under the ComCare scheme?
Mr Heng Swee Keat66 words
[+3 sentences]I thank Ms Anthea Ong for her question. As I have said at the outset, all Members of this House have spoken extensively on this Budget and if I were to cover every single point, we would go beyond these two hours. But rest assured that whatever good suggestions will be taken up by the various Ministries so that we can respond to each of these.
Mr Speaker33 words
[+2 sentences]Any other clarifications? Pursuant to Standing Order 44(2), the Motion to consider the Ministerial Statement on the Government's Plans in Our Continuing Fight Against COVID-19 Pandemic lapses at the conclusion of the debate.