Employment & labour

• The Singapore Police Force (SPF) has increased the number of Police Officers by about 18% over the last decade and is enhancing recruitment by offering meaningful jobs, competitive terms, and better career advancement through a unified service scheme and specialist tracks.
• SPF is redesigning frontline police work to incorporate more data, technology, and automation, while also extending the retirement age to 55 and re-employing about 60% of retired officers based on performance and organisational needs.
• The Home Team Specialist Scheme has recruited 290 civilian officers for specialized roles, allowing uniformed officers to focus on core policing functions and operational duties.

• The Ministry of Manpower and CPF Board conduct public education on employment rights through the WorkRight initiative, including social media outreach and mobile clinics across heartlands.
• Institutes of Higher Learning supplement national efforts with their own programs, such as training Career Guidance staff and integrating employment rights into curricula like ITE's Education and Career Guidance module.
• Students can access employment rights information via the MOM website and institutional online career portals, with guidebooks from WorkRight provided to graduating students.
• There are plans for closer collaboration between Institutes of Higher Learning and the National Trade Union Congress to enhance education through talks and roadshows on campus.

• The government provides a range of assistance for retrenched workers and their families, including employment support, financial aid, and help with housing, healthcare, and education costs during an economic downturn.
• Employment measures include scaled-up training programmes, career coaching, job search workshops, and initiatives like the Career Support Programme and the Jobs Bank to help workers re-skill and find new jobs.
• Financial and social assistance can be accessed quickly through Social Service Offices, with increased capacity and flexibility in schemes like ComCare, while Family Service Centres offer support for stress and family issues.

• Patrick Tay highlighted the financial sector's vulnerability to global economic pressures, citing layoffs by major banks and the need for a "3R" (ready, resilient, relevant) workforce, proposing tripartite collaboration and skills upgrading through the new Financial Sector Tripartite Committee and a career advisory centre.
• Lawrence Wong acknowledged global consolidation pressures but noted Singapore's relative containment of impact, emphasizing growth in areas like fintech and asset management, and committed to enhancing education curricula, expanding SkillsFuture programs, and fostering a Singaporean core in leadership roles.
• Both speakers stressed the importance of tripartite partnership—among unions, employers, and government—to support displaced workers, promote fair employment practices, and prepare the workforce for future industry changes through continuous learning and structured career pathways.

• Zainal Sapari inquired about the number of workers who did not receive their salaries from liquidated companies between 2013 and 2015 and suggested amending laws to make salaries a first charge in liquidation.
• K Shanmugam explained that employees' salaries are paid as preferential creditors, after the liquidator's costs, and this aligns with international practices.
• He noted that private liquidators handle insolvent companies with assets, while the Official Receiver deals with those with few or no assets, often unable to cover costs.
• The Ministry does not have statistics on private liquidations and has no plans to change the law, as prioritizing liquidator costs ensures creditors' overall interests are protected.

• Leon Perera asked the Ministry for Manpower to specify which types of jobs in the Career Support Programme (CSP) pay at least $4,000 a month and whether the Ministry would monitor the employment status of participants after wage support ends to assess the CSP's value and sustainability.
• The Career Support Programme (CSP) was launched as a pilot in October 2015 to provide Singaporeans aged 40 and over who have been job-searching for at least six months with greater access to mid-level and above jobs.
• Under CSP, wage support is provided to employers who hire eligible individuals in any job with a gross salary of at least $4,000 a month, with supported jobs including roles in Business Development, Project Management, Sales and Marketing, Finance, Operations, and Information Technology.
• The Workforce Development Agency (WDA) will monitor the employment status of individuals placed through the CSP.
• This response addresses both parts of Leon Perera’s question by listing the job types supported and confirming monitoring arrangements.

• The Ministry reported that the proportion of low-wage residents earning up to $1,000 monthly fell from 9.8% in 2012 to 6.8% in 2014 following the introduction of NWC quantitative guidelines in 2012.
• According to the 2014 survey, nearly six in ten private establishments with such employees either gave or decided to give wage increases, with about three in ten implementing the NWC-recommended $60 built-in wage increase; 2015 data was not yet available.
• The NWC guidelines are developed through tripartite consensus to consider economic conditions, business performance, and employee contributions, and while not mandatory, they are widely adopted and form a basis for wage negotiations.
• The question of making payouts compulsory for the bottom 10% of workers was not directly answered in the provided response.

• Patrick Tay Teck Guan asked for the unemployment rates of Singaporeans and Permanent Residents in PMET roles from 2011 to 2015, broken down by age and gender.
• Lim Swee Say responded that the unemployment rates for residents in PMET occupations by age and gender from 2011 to 2015 are provided in Table 1.
• The exchange highlights the government's data-driven approach to monitoring unemployment trends among PMETs.

• Patrick Tay Teck Guan requested a breakdown of Singaporean, Permanent Resident, and foreign PMEs by industry from 2013 to 2015.
• The Minister for Manpower provided a table showing the breakdown of PMETs by residential status and sectors for the requested years.
• The industries specified in the query included manufacturing, construction, services, banking and finance, and IT and communications.
• The response focused on the PMET category, which includes professionals, managers, executives, and technicians.
• The debate centered on providing statistical data on workforce composition across key sectors in Singapore.

• Patrick Tay asked the Prime Minister for the number of mid-career PMEs aged 40 and above hired by Ministries and Statutory Boards as permanent and contract staff each year from 2011 to 2015.
• Teo Chee Hean responded that about 7,100 mid-career PMEs were recruited in that period, averaging 1,400 per year, representing 11% of all new hires.
• Most new Public Service hires start on contracts to assess suitability, with well-performing officers often transitioning to permanent positions after one to two years.

• Christopher de Souza asked about industry feedback on flexible work arrangements for mothers returning to work and whether these arrangements reduce time spent at work or just workload.
• The government collaborates with tripartite partners to promote flexible work arrangements, with employer adoption rising from 28% in 2008 to 47% in 2014.
• A 2014 survey found 65% of working mothers with young children felt able to balance work and family life due to flexible arrangements.
• Flexible arrangements include not only reduced hours or workload but also timing options like staggered hours and location options like telecommuting.
• The Tripartite Advisory on Flexible Work Arrangements encourages considering both employer and employee needs for sustainable implementation.

• Assoc Prof Fatimah Lateef asked the Ministry of Manpower to review healthcare insurance for foreign workers to include coverage for selective infectious diseases like pulmonary tuberculosis, noting that current insurance may not cover cases where the condition is diagnosed after inpatient treatment.
• The Minister of State for Manpower explained that employers must cover medical costs, with insurance covering inpatient and day surgery bills up to $15,000, but outpatient treatments like tuberculosis are not covered to avoid raising costs for employers.
• Assoc Prof Fatimah Lateef highlighted that tuberculosis cases often lead to large hospital bills after inpatient care, but claims are denied due to the diagnosis, urging a policy review.
• The Minister of State for Manpower stated that employers are responsible for costs, and the ministry will review the frequency and impact of such cases to consider policy adjustments.

• Seah Kian Peng asked about the take-up rates for paid paternity leave from 2013 to 2015 and the number of employers providing an additional week since the August 2015 announcement.
• Minister Tan Chuan-Jin reported that 5,500 fathers applied in 2013, 11,900 in 2014, and 12,300 in 2015, with the additional week only claimable from mid-2016 after system updates.
• Seah noted that the 12,300 applicants in 2015 were low compared to annual births and asked why take-up was low and about the Civil Service’s rate.
• Tan responded that take-up rates were 28% in 2013, 36% in 2014, and 25% in 2015 (with increases expected), attributing low uptake to voluntary employer participation and encouraging fathers to apply.
• Tan confirmed the government supports the policy for civil servants and is working with organizations to encourage greater father involvement in parenting.

• Leon Perera asked whether employees terminated with notice are counted in the Labour Market Survey’s redundancy data, and if not, what the estimated number and percentage of such cases were for 2013–2015, including those from publicly announced retrenchment exercises.
• Lim Swee Say clarified that the Labour Market Survey does include employees terminated with notice in its redundancy data.
• The Minister confirmed that the data encompasses all retrenchment exercises, whether or not they were publicly announced by employers.

• Leon Perera asked for comparative data on healthcare professionals' workload and stress in Singapore versus other developed countries, and the Minister of State replied that direct comparative studies are not readily available, citing OECD ratios showing Singapore’s doctor-to-population (21 per 10,000) and nurse-to-population (69 per 10,000) ratios are comparable to Asian economies like Hong Kong and Taiwan, with commitments to expand healthcare facilities and manpower.
• The Minister outlined initiatives to improve work environments, such as flexible shifts, workflow optimization, and IT adoption, while noting that employee engagement surveys show high job satisfaction in most public hospitals, and emphasized the need for societal appreciation of healthcare workers.
• Perera clarified whether population ratios include foreigners and suggested benchmarking studies on caseloads, linking workload to infection control reviews, to which the Minister responded that ratios cover the total population, surveys track staff well-being, and workload was not a direct cause of recent infection clusters.
• The Minister assured ongoing efforts to enhance productivity, infection control, and staff support, considering Perera’s suggestions to improve the work environment and reduce manpower needs for an ageing population.

The debate on the Central Provident Fund (Amendment) Bill was presented by the Minister for Manpower, Mr Lim Swee Say, for its First Reading in Parliament. The bill aims to amend the Central Provident Fund Act to update relevant provisions. The Second Reading of the bill is scheduled for the next available sitting of Parliament.

• Members of Parliament emphasized the need to maintain national unity, trust in government, and resilience in the face of global uncertainties and security threats like terrorism, while also calling for stronger community bonds and an inclusive society.
• Economic renewal was highlighted as crucial, with a focus on preparing Singaporeans for future jobs through education, skills upgrading, and support for SMEs, while also adapting to slower growth and regional changes like the ASEAN Economic Community.
• Policy suggestions included reviewing the property market to remove additional buyer's stamp duty for locals, enhancing social assistance for vulnerable groups, and strengthening tripartite partnerships between government, unions, and employers to navigate economic challenges.

• The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) is focusing on sustainable economic growth and creating good jobs for Singaporeans amid weaker global growth, with opportunities in ASEAN economies.
• To position Singapore for the future, MTI will advance growth clusters like Advanced Manufacturing, Smart Urban Solutions, Logistics, Aerospace, and Biomedical Sciences, while enhancing infrastructure and R&D investment.
• MTI will support international expansion through trade agreements like the TPP and ASEAN Economic Community, and boost SME and startup growth via initiatives like the Enterprise Development Fund.
• SkillsFuture initiatives will be partnered with industry and unions to equip Singaporeans with skills for future jobs, while sectoral manpower plans and mentors will help SMEs upgrade.
• The overall strategy aims to bring Singapore's economy and people forward together by leveraging innovation, global opportunities, and continuous skills development.

• The Ministry of Manpower aims to help Singaporeans secure good jobs, build fulfilling careers, and achieve financial security, transitioning the economy to be more manpower-lean and inclusive while strengthening the Singaporean core in the workforce.
• MOM will enhance support for workers through protection measures like expanding the Employment Act and raising the re-employment age, progression initiatives such as Sectoral Manpower Plans and skills upgrading, and promoting pride in work through progressive HR practices.
• The ministry will improve retirement adequacy by enhancing the CPF system and implementing the Silver Support Scheme for elderly Singaporeans with lesser means, ensuring long-term sustainability and support for all ages.

• K Karthikeyan asked if firefighters receive training for different jobs before early retirement to help them switch careers.
• Teo Chee Hean responded that since 2012, SCDF has collaborated with the Workforce Development Agency to align its firefighting training with the national Skills Qualifications framework, making skills recognizable to private employers.
• He added that SCDF offers courses for retiring officers, including resume writing and interview skills, to prepare them for second careers.