Employment & labour — Topics

6 Feb 2017

Breakdown of Singapore Companies with More than 100 and 1,000 Employees in 1965, 1975, 1985, 1995, 2005 and 2015

Ms Sun Xueling asked for the number of companies in Singapore hiring more than 100 and more than 1,000 employees, as well as the total employees hired, for the years 1965, 1975, 1985, 1995, 2005, and 2015.
The Minister for Manpower, Lim Swee Say, stated that data for the number of private sector establishments and their employees for 1965 to 1985 is not available.
He provided tables indicating the number of establishments hiring more than 100 employees and more than 1,000 employees, along with the corresponding total employees, for the years 1995, 2005, and 2015.

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6 Feb 2017

Insurance Coverage and Compensation for Workplace Injuries

Louis Ng Kok Kwang asked the Ministry of Manpower for statistics from the past three years on workplace injury cases where employers lacked valid work injury insurance, including cases leading to compensation awards, timely payment by employers, and prosecutions for non-compliance.
Lim Swee Say presented a table with data on the number of employers prosecuted for failing to provide work injury insurance, fulfilling part of the request for statistical details.
The debate highlighted concerns about employer accountability and the enforcement of insurance requirements to protect injured workers, emphasizing the need for timely compensation and legal consequences for violations.

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6 Feb 2017

Retrenchment Benefits for Workers

K Thanaletchimi asked about the prevalence of retrenchment benefits in employment contracts, which industries practice them, assistance for those without benefits, and whether a minimum benefit should be mandated.
Lim Swee Say stated that retrenchment benefits are mandatory only if specified in contracts or collective agreements, mainly in unionized sectors like manufacturing and construction, and a 2015 survey found about 90% of retrenching firms paid benefits.
The government decided against mandating baseline retrenchment benefits, as it could discourage higher payments and burden companies; instead, tripartite partners issue updated guidelines on prevailing norms.
Support for retrenched workers is provided through the Adapt and Grow initiative for job matching and career services, and employers must notify MOM of retrenchments since 2017 to ensure timely assistance.

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6 Feb 2017

Criteria for Application of Vocational Driving Licence

Zaqy Mohamad asked whether plans exist to restrict vocational driving licences to Singaporeans by excluding PRs and foreign private car drivers, similar to taxi driving policies.
Khaw Boon Wan stated that from July, all private hire car drivers must obtain a PDVL, with non-citizens eligible only if employed by companies subject to foreign worker quotas.
Singaporeans can obtain the PDVL even if self-employed, aligning the policy with the existing approach for taxi drivers.

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6 Feb 2017

Trend of Women Being Asked by Employers Not to Return to Work after Maternity Leave

Ms Sun Xueling asked the Minister for Manpower about the number of women told by employers not to return after maternity leave and whether this trend is increasing.
The Ministry of Manpower received one such complaint in 2016, involving a business closure, and resolved it with the employer warned and benefits recovered.
There is no evidence of a rising trend in such cases, and female employees are protected under the Employment Act and Child Development Co-savings Act against unfair dismissal during pregnancy.

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6 Feb 2017

Conversion of Government-Paid Adoption Leave to Shared Parental Leave

Louis Ng Kok Kwang asked if Government-Paid Adoption Leave (GPAL) can be converted into shared parental leave and extended to adoptive parents of children above 12 months old.
Teo Chee Hean stated that recent enhancements already provide adoptive fathers the same leave as biological fathers, including sharing up to four weeks of leave and extending GPAL to 12 weeks from July 2017.
The Government explained that Adoption Leave is meant for infants’ first year and that beyond this, childcare leave is available for adoptive parents under existing provisions.
Employers expressed concerns about manpower and administrative costs if leave is further extended or made more flexible, so no further adjustments to GPAL are planned at this time.
The focus is on promoting flexible work arrangements and family-friendly environments through existing grants and tripartite advisories.

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6 Feb 2017

Study on Legislating Eldercare Leave

Ms Kuik Shiao-Yin asked about the outcome of the study on legislating eldercare leave, the barriers to such legislation, and statistics on working caregivers without leave or who quit work from 2012–2017.
Minister Gan Kim Yong responded that while the Ministry of Health is studying the issue, it is not ready to legislate eldercare leave due to concerns over business costs, manpower constraints, and caregiver employability, noting existing leave provisions can be used for eldercare.
The Minister highlighted that 10% of females outside the labour force in 2016 cited caregiving as a reason, and encouraged companies to offer flexible work arrangements and family-related leave benefits, noting positive trends in such provisions.
He mentioned that public service agencies and some private companies already provide eldercare or family care leave, and the government will continue to review the need for legislation as circumstances evolve.

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6 Feb 2017

Enforcement of Labour Court Orders on Errant Employers

The Ministry of Manpower reported that over 95% of salary-related claims and 99.9% of work injury cases are successfully resolved, with errant employers prosecuted and debarred from hiring foreign workers.
For unresolved cases, employers are often in financial difficulty, and workers are advised to approach MOM early; assistance is provided through legal aid, the Migrant Workers' Centre, and tripartite alliances.
The Ministry emphasises enforcement measures, including prosecuting non-compliant employers and applying debarment to culpable directors, while noting existing security bonds for foreign workers already provide some financial recourse.

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10 Jan 2017

Employment Eligibility in Police, Auxiliary Police and Private Security Industry

The Minister confirmed that the Government continues to restrict employment in the police force to Singaporeans and Permanent Residents, while the auxiliary police and private security sectors require a majority of Singaporeans and adhere to dependency ratio ceilings set by the Ministry of Manpower.
Due to growing demand and insufficient Singaporean recruits for auxiliary police officers, the Ministry of Home Affairs has approved Taiwan as an additional foreign source country, alongside the existing approval for Malaysia.
Taiwanese auxiliary police officers must meet the same training, education, and fitness standards as Singaporean and Malaysian officers, pass an English proficiency test, and be deployed based on risk assessment and operational needs.
The Ministry will review the performance of Taiwanese auxiliary police officers after deployment and has not specified a new quota or dependency ratio ceiling beyond the existing requirements.

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10 Jan 2017

Simpler Language in Skills Training Course Materials to Cater to Older Workers

Tan Wu Meng asked whether skills training course materials are checked for plain language to help older workers with limited language skills participate.
Ong Ye Kung explained that while the SkillsFuture Singapore Agency ensures quality through audits, training providers are responsible for choosing materials and methods, such as using simple phrases and visual aids.
He added that basic literacy and numeracy programs are available to help workers overcome language barriers and access more training opportunities.

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10 Jan 2017

Singapore Companies' Efforts to Upskill Employees and Use of SkillsFuture Credits to Train for Alternative Careers

The Minister highlighted that Singapore's adult training system has shifted toward supporting individual lifelong learning, with $400 million in annual subsidies and 40% allocated to individual-initiated training, while noting participation rates above the OECD average but trailing some advanced countries.
Over 126,000 citizens have used $37 million in SkillsFuture Credits by end-2016, but the Minister emphasized prioritizing targeted efforts like Place and Train schemes to align skills with new jobs rather than imposing mandatory employer funding requirements.
Both speakers discussed the need for companies, especially SMEs, to increase investment in employee upskilling, with the Minister citing existing levies and programs while rejecting further burdens like mandatory payroll percentages for training.

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9 Jan 2017

Dedicated Rest Areas Set aside for Outsourced Workers in Government Buildings

Zainal Sapari asked how many Government buildings have dedicated rest areas for outsourced workers and how many of these are inspected regularly.
Lawrence Wong stated that there are 115 Government-owned buildings with commercial space over 3,000 square metres, and 96 of them have dedicated rest areas for outsourced workers.
All buildings with dedicated rest areas are inspected to ensure they are not used for other purposes, while workers in the remaining buildings can use shared spaces like visitors' rest areas and pantries.

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9 Jan 2017

Proportion of Public Procurement Projects' Contract Price Targeted at Wage Increases for Outsourced Workers

The Government mandates accredited cleaning, security, and landscaping service providers to pay workers according to the Progressive Wage Model, which incorporates National Wages Council wage increment recommendations, and about three-quarters of relevant contracts since 2013 include reminders for tenderers to factor in these wage increases.
Agencies are encouraged to allow year-by-year bid price breakdowns to accommodate wage adjustments, and the Government favors accredited service providers who adopt good employment practices.
From 2014 to 2016, around 30% of cleaning, security, and landscaping contracts imposed liquidated damages for service non-performance, collecting about $4 million, which is 0.5% of the total contract value for those contracts.

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9 Jan 2017

Profile and Allocation of Additional 30,000 Healthcare Workers Required by 2020

The Ministry of Health projected that 30,000 additional healthcare workers would be needed by 2020, with over 10,000 for the aged care sector and about half for professional, managerial, and technical roles, and it has been growing the local core through expanded intakes at medical and nursing schools and allied health degree programmes.
Healthcare Professional Conversion Programmes and mid-career recruitment initiatives have trained over 1,000 candidates, and SkillsFuture initiatives like the Healthcare Study Awards and an Earn and Learn Programme support skills acquisition and professional development.
Efforts to retain workers include strengthened career pathways, re-employment up to age 67, job redesign with assistive technology, and flexible work arrangements, while productivity measures aim to manage manpower expenditure and maintain healthcare affordability.

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9 Jan 2017

Labour Court Orders on Employee Salary Non-payment

About 6,000 salary non-payment or short-payment complaints were lodged by employees each year in 2015 and 2016, with the Ministry of Manpower taking enforcement actions against 200 companies that defaulted on Labour Court orders.
In each of these years, around 1,400 Labour Court orders were issued in favour of employees, and about 350 orders remained unpaid by the 14th day after issuance.
Approximately 25 employers were prosecuted each year for non-payment or short-payment of salary, facing a maximum fine of $15,000 and/or imprisonment of up to six months per charge.

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9 Jan 2017

Rank-and-file Workers on Adapt and Grow Programme

Zainal Sapari asked the Ministry of Manpower about the retention rate and the number of rank-and-file workers in the Adapt and Grow programme.
Lim Swee Say responded that over 7,300 rank-and-file workers were placed through the programme in the first three quarters of 2016.
He added that about 10,000 rank-and-file workers placed in 2015, or seven in ten, remained employed for at least six months after placement.
The Ministry and tripartite partners will continue efforts to support jobseekers through the Adapt and Grow initiative.

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9 Jan 2017

Developing and Maintaining a Singaporean Core in Commercial Aviation Pilot Sector

Low Thia Khiang inquired about measures to maintain and develop a Singaporean core in the commercial aviation pilot sector.
Khaw Boon Wan noted that around 3,200 pilots work for Singapore-based airlines, with about 90% being Singapore Citizens or Permanent Residents.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore has approved four pilot training academies to supplement airlines' in-house training and ensure a sizeable pool of Singaporean pilots.
Support programmes such as the Aviation Leaders Scholarship, SkillsFuture Study Awards, and SkillsFuture Credit are available to help Singaporean pilots upskill in management or specialist areas.

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9 Jan 2017

Number and Causes of Environment-related Workplace Injuries

Zainal Sapari asked for the number of workers affected by environment-related injuries, accidents linked to lack of protective equipment in harsh weather, and safety measures for exposed workers.
Lim Swee Say reported nine workers were affected by environment-related injuries over two years, none due to lack of protective equipment during harsh weather.
The Workplace Safety and Health Council provides guidelines for managing heat stress and haze, including assessing outdoor work necessity and providing raincoats, safety boots, or N95 masks as needed.
Employers are advised to offer rest periods in cool shaded areas with drinking water to mitigate heat stress risks.
The Ministry of Manpower encourages reporting unsafe conditions due to harsh environmental exposure and will investigate to ensure adequate safety measures are in place.

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9 Jan 2017

Maternity Claims for Mothers whose Companies Close Down During Maternity Leave Period

Darryl David asked what options are available to new mothers whose companies close down during maternity leave to claim full benefits.
Tan Chuan-Jin stated that employers must pay maternity benefits even if they close, as required by the Employment Act and Child Development Co-savings Act.
Mothers not paid can seek help from the Ministry of Manpower or Ministry of Social and Family Development, with MOM investigating and taking action through the Labour Court.

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9 Jan 2017

Retirement and Re-employment (Amendment) Bill

The bill raises the re-employment age ceiling from 65 to 67, removes the option for employers to cut wages at age 60, and allows re-employment offers from another employer with the worker's consent, aiming to balance business flexibility and worker security.
Multiple MPs support the bill but urge stronger measures to help mature workers stay employable, such as extending wage subsidies, promoting job redesign, and enhancing skills training to address disruptions from technological and economic changes.
Minister Lim Swee Say explains the shift from raising the retirement age to re-employment age, citing higher employment rates in Singapore and Japan compared to other countries, and addresses concerns about CPF payout eligibility, anti-discrimination enforcement, and guidelines for fair re-employment terms.

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