Employment & labour — Topics

13 Sep 2016

Employees Benefiting from Revision of Employment Assistance Payment

Er Dr Lee Bee Wah inquired about the number of employees who have benefited from the Employment Assistance Payment (EAP) since its last revision and asked what the Ministry is doing to address employers dismissing or refusing to hire workers nearing age 62 to avoid paying EAP.
Lim Swee Say explained that employers must offer re-employment to eligible employees turning 62, with over 98% of such workers being offered continued employment since 2012, and EAP is only required as a last resort when re-employment is not possible.
The Ministry reminded employers that dismissing employees under 62 due to age is unlawful and that failure to offer re-employment or EAP is an offence, while urging them to value older workers and not use age as a hiring factor.
Support for employers includes the WorkPro scheme to redesign jobs and the Special Employment Credit to encourage hiring workers above 55, aimed at helping older employees continue working in a tight labour market.

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13 Sep 2016

Recognition of Medical Certificates Issued by Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners

Patrick Tay asked whether the Ministry for Manpower can consider guidelines or legislation to formally recognize medical certificates from registered TCM practitioners for ailments like sprains, back pain, and torn muscles.
Lim Swee Say explained that under the Employment Act, employers must grant paid sick leave for MCs from government medical officers and private practitioners registered under the Medical Registration Act (MRA) who are appointed by the company.
Some employers, including the Public Service, extend paid sick leave to MCs from other private medical practitioners beyond the Act's requirements.
There were nearly 4,000 private medical practitioners registered under the MRA in 2015, and TCM practitioners can also be registered subject to Singapore Medical Council approval.
The debate highlights the current framework for MC recognition and raises the question of extending it to TCM practitioners for specific conditions.

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13 Sep 2016

Workplace Safety for Female Employees of Child-bearing Age

The Minister confirmed that the Workplace Safety and Health Act already requires companies to consider the health of pregnant employees and their unborn children during risk assessments, and the 2015 enhanced Code of Practice mandates considering individual health risks like those affecting female employees of child-bearing age.
Specific WSH guidelines exist to protect pregnant and lactating employees from hazards such as lead, arsenic, and benzene, and employers are expected to provide alternative job assignments if workplace safety cannot be adequately managed for these employees.
The Ministry of Manpower will take enforcement action against employers who fail to provide safe workplaces for pregnant and lactating employees, ensuring current laws and codes are upheld.

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13 Sep 2016

Unjust Termination of Employment for Employees Diagnosed with Tuberculosis

The Ministry of Manpower states that employees can appeal for reinstatement under the Employment Act and Industrial Relations Act if unfairly dismissed, including cases involving tuberculosis.
Employers are encouraged to treat employees diagnosed with tuberculosis fairly and compassionately, while employees should declare their condition and adhere to treatment to minimise workplace transmission risks.
With treatment, employees with tuberculosis can become medically fit for work within two weeks and are unlikely to spread infection, and affected employees may seek MOM’s assistance if dismissed unfairly.

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13 Sep 2016

Impact of Indonesia's Plan to Stop Its Foreign Domestic Workers from Living in Singaporean Employers' Homes

Melvin Yong questioned how Indonesia’s plan to supply only live-out foreign domestic workers would affect their availability in Singapore and whether the $5,000 security bond could be waived for such workers.
Lim Swee Say noted that Indonesia has not formally communicated any policy change and local agencies have not reported disruptions to the current supply of live-in Indonesian FDWs.
The Ministry clarified that the security bond ensures compliance with work permit conditions and is not linked to live-in arrangements, so abolishing it for live-out FDWs is not being considered.
The government continues to welcome Indonesian FDWs and monitors the adequacy of the overall FDW supply, which currently comes from 12 approved source countries.

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13 Sep 2016

Impact of Private Hire Vehicles on Taxi Drivers' Income

Desmond Choo asked about the impact of private hire vehicles on taxi drivers' income and how the taxi availability framework could be adjusted.
The Senior Minister of State for Transport stated that taxi drivers' net income has increased by about 5% since 2013, and the taxi availability framework is being reviewed with a balanced approach toward commuters and drivers.
The government is monitoring the situation and plans to provide updates by the end of the year after gathering sufficient data.

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13 Sep 2016

Trend for Income Gap

The Minister reported that the income gap has remained relatively stable over the past five years, with the Gini coefficient moving from 0.472 in 2010 to 0.463 in 2015, and real income growth for the bottom 20th percentile households being among the highest at 24%.
The government's strategy to narrow the income gap sustainably focuses on work and skills, through measures like the Workfare Income Supplement, Workfare Training Support, and the Progressive Wage Model, which have started to narrow the wage growth gap between low-income and median workers.
There is ongoing concern about global trends potentially increasing inequality, and the government is committed to strengthening support for low-wage workers, such as transforming wage structures and promoting skills specialisation, while also noting the need to support the "sandwich class" through tripartite efforts and industry transformation plans.

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13 Sep 2016

WDA Programmes for University Graduates

The Minister confirmed that WDA programmes, including career advisory and job fairs, are already extended to university graduates, with 17% of WDA-assisted jobseekers holding degrees.
For older graduates, the Professional Conversion Programme (PCP) offers 90% wage support (capped at $4,000) for companies hiring PMETs aged 40 and above, alongside other schemes like the Career Support Programme (CSP).
The Minister noted that CSP was introduced to provide wage support for mature PMETs earning between $4,000 and $7,000, complementing the PCP cap.
The speaker asked if there are plans to raise the PCP cap of $4,000, given that many older PMETs have higher salaries and increasing unemployment.
The Minister responded that the combination of PCP and CSP addresses the needs of mature PMETs with higher salaries, without indicating a plan to raise the PCP cap.

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13 Sep 2016

Retrenchment Benefits for Unionised and Non-unionised Workers

Patrick Tay Teck Guan asked the Minister for Manpower how the Government can assist non-unionised workers if retrenchments are carried out irresponsibly, such as without paying retrenchment benefits or providing short notice.
He also inquired about the industries, company types, unionisation status, and average retrenchment benefits paid, with 2013 data showing 90% of companies paid benefits, mostly from manufacturing, wholesale, retail, and financial sectors, mostly non-unionised, and mostly SMEs.
Minister Lim Swee Say responded that the Ministry conducts surveys every four years, with the next one moved forward to include smaller enterprises, and that tripartite guidelines promote responsible retrenchment practices, though retrenchment benefits are not mandated by law except for employees with less than two years’ service.
He added that affected employees can approach MOM, unions, or the Employment Claims Tribunals for recourse, and that the tripartite taskforce provides employment support to retrenched workers.
Patrick Tay suggested tracking "disguised retrenchments" to improve statistics accuracy, which the Minister agreed to, while other members raised questions about survey definitions, industry norms, and notification requirements, with the Minister noting confidentiality concerns but highlighting the tripartite taskforce’s proactive support.

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16 Aug 2016

Abuse of Criteria for Approval of EP Applications

Zaqy Mohamad inquired about the criteria Harry’s International Pte Ltd met for 20 Employment Pass approvals and safeguards against abusing EP quotas, following an employee’s false declaration.
Lim Swee Say stated the 20 EPs were approved based on standard criteria like qualifications and salary, but the employee was convicted for falsely declaring salaries and fined $40,000.
MOM verifies EP applications through checks on qualifications and finances, rejects dubious applications, and bars offenders from working or hiring foreign workers in Singapore.
Employers who make false declarations face fines up to $20,000 or two years’ imprisonment, and since 2014, 58 employers have been convicted for salary falsehoods.
While no EP quota exists, MOM scrutinizes companies with unfair hiring practices, may delay processing, and suspend work pass privileges if corrective actions are not taken.

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16 Aug 2016

Number of Intra-company Transferees from India Approved under Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement

Leon Perera asked for the number of intra-company transferees from India approved under CECA from the agreement's start to the latest available data year.
Lim Swee Say stated that all intra-company transferees must meet work pass criteria but are exempt from the Jobs Bank advertisement requirement.
The Ministry does not disclose data on foreign manpower broken down by nationality, including intra-company transferees.

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16 Aug 2016

Resident Workers Offered Re-employment Contracts upon Reaching Retirement Age

Since the re-employment model was introduced in 2012, over 98% of resident employees wishing to work beyond age 62 were offered re-employment, with 98% of those in 2015 not experiencing a basic wage cut.
A small minority of 2% faced wage reductions upon re-employment, with a median cut of 10%, and nearly one in ten on new contracts actually received higher wages.
The Ministry of Manpower ensures fair wage adjustments by requiring that any changes be based on reasonable factors such as productivity, performance, and duties, guided by the Retirement and Re-employment Act and tripartite guidelines.
Tripartite guidelines on re-employment are gazetted and used by courts and MOM to settle disputes, and employees are encouraged to seek early assistance from unions or MOM if they feel wages are unfairly adjusted.
The re-employment age is currently 65 and will be raised to 67 by July 2017, as part of ongoing efforts to support older workers.

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16 Aug 2016

Impact of Healthcare Infrastructure Expansion Plans on Staff's Remuneration

K Thanaletchimi questioned how healthcare infrastructure expansion would be funded without affecting staff remuneration, given the risk of healthcare clusters using reserves to cover excess capacity costs.
Gan Kim Yong stated that the Ministry of Health fully funds development costs for healthcare infrastructure, including spare capacity for future expansion, to prevent impact on staff pay.
He added that spaces for future use are designed for interim productivity to minimize holding costs, and MOH will assist with separate funding if institutions face difficulties.

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16 Aug 2016

Career Progression of Dental Surgery Assistants

The Minister stated that the National Dental Centre and Singapore Dental Association jointly run a NITEC in Dental Assisting Programme that trains 25–30 Dental Surgery Assistants (DSAs) annually, with further upskilling opportunities in infection control, patient management, and emergency care.
DSAs can progress to Senior DSAs who take on larger responsibilities such as clinic coordination and training new staff, but the government assessed that registration or licensing is not necessary as dental surgeons remain responsible for patient safety and care standards.
The Ministry of Health is open to considering further enhancements to career progression and deep skilling for DSAs as part of strategic manpower planning, while maintaining that direct patient treatment and management are not part of their role.

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16 Aug 2016

Enhancing Care-giving Options for Dementia Patients

The Ministry of Health is working to make professional caregiving for dementia patients more attractive through structured training, better pay, and awareness campaigns to grow the local workforce.
The government provides subsidies for training foreign domestic workers in dementia care, with thousands having attended relevant courses to better prepare them for caregiving roles.
A comprehensive competency framework for dementia care is being developed to define required skills and guide career development for care staff.

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16 Aug 2016

Commitment of New Companies in Developing Strong Singapore Core

The Economic Development Board targets investments that align with Singapore’s competitive strengths and constraints to create good jobs for Singaporeans, having secured S$65 billion in fixed asset investments from 2011 to 2015.
The government partners with educational institutions and industry through SkillsFuture, including the Earn and Learn Programme, to equip Singaporeans with relevant skills and foster a Singaporean core in new companies.
The Fair Consideration Framework ensures companies consider Singaporeans fairly for jobs and comply with tripartite guidelines on fair, merit-based, and non-discriminatory employment practices.

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16 Aug 2016

Disputes between Foreign Workers and Employers

In the past three years, the Ministry of Manpower received about 4,500 disputes annually between foreign workers and employers, representing less than 0.4% of the foreign workforce.
More than 90% of disputes are resolved through mediation within one month, with the remaining cases taking about another month for adjudication at the Labour Court, so most are settled within two months.
Employers must provide food and accommodation for the worker throughout the dispute, and if dissatisfied with the outcome, either party can appeal for adjudication at the Labour Court.
The longest unresolved case in the last three years took about 10 months, involving a criminal investigation, and the worker was allowed to change employers after two months while receiving upkeep.

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16 Aug 2016

Employment Claims Bill

The Employment Claims Bill establishes the Employment Claims Tribunals (ECT) to handle salary-related disputes for all employees, including PMEs earning over $4,500 monthly, replacing the Labour Court and expanding access beyond previous salary caps.
The bill mandates mediation through the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management before ECT hearings, aiming for affordable, expeditious resolution without legal representation, with union members allowed representation and higher claim limits of $30,000 when using tripartite mediation.
While the bill focuses on salary disputes, members called for future inclusion of non-salary issues like unfair dismissal and discrimination, as well as broader coverage for domestic workers and seafarers, with the Minister affirming ongoing tripartite review to potentially expand the ECT’s scope.

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16 Aug 2016

SkillsFuture Singapore Agency Bill

The Bill establishes SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) as a new statutory board under the Ministry of Education to drive lifelong learning, skills mastery, and industry-relevant training for the workforce, integrating and restructuring existing agencies like WDA and CPE.
Parliamentarians broadly supported the Bill, emphasizing the need for SSG to focus on future-proofing skills, ensuring inclusivity for all Singaporeans (including seniors, persons with disabilities, and ex-offenders), and collaborating closely with industry, unions, and educational institutions.
Key suggestions raised included expanding work-study programmes like Earn-and-Learn to mid-career workers, improving guidance for using SkillsFuture Credits, enhancing course quality and relevance, and measuring outcomes through employment and productivity metrics.

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16 Aug 2016

Singapore Workforce Development Agency (Amendment) Bill

The Bill restructures the Workforce Development Agency into Workforce Singapore (WSG) to better align workforce development with industry transformation, focusing on lifelong career support, workforce inclusiveness, and creating quality jobs for Singaporeans.
Speakers emphasized the need to address mismatches in skills, jobs, and expectations, particularly for professionals, managers, executives, and technicians (PMETs), and called for enhanced programs like Professional Conversion Programmes and Career Support Programme.
Debates highlighted the importance of partnerships between government, businesses, unions, and workers, as well as the need for flexible work arrangements, support for SMEs, and ensuring a strong Singaporean core in the workforce.

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