Employment & labour

• Ms He Ting Ru queried the Minister for Manpower on the number of salary claims over the last three years, broken down by work pass type and for Work Permit holders by industry.
• Minister Tan See Leng provided the incidence of salary claims by foreign employees with a breakdown by work pass type from 2021 to 2023 in Table 1.
• He also presented the incidence of salary claims for Work Permit holders in the top three industries with such claims from 2021 to 2023 in Table 2.
• The response focuses on data for foreign employees, specifically highlighting trends from 2021 to 2023.
• The tables aim to address both parts of the query regarding work pass types and industry breakdown for Work Permit holders.

• Mr Liang Eng Hwa questioned whether the Ministry of Manpower would review the age limit for foreign domestic workers (FDWs) to work in Singapore, currently set at 60 years old, and whether it would consider employer appeals for yearly extensions beyond this limit.
• The Ministry of Manpower explained that the age limit helps mitigate rising medical costs for employers, as these costs generally increase with age, which is a burden on households.
• The Ministry noted that on appeal, it may approve work permit renewals beyond the age limit, taking into account the MDW’s health, experience, and the employer’s household needs.

• Mr Don Wee asked the Minister for Manpower about alternative support measures for companies employing Singaporeans with special needs, beyond using foreign worker quota adjustments to address operational challenges.
• Minister Tan See Leng outlined existing support measures, including the Open Door Programme with free recruitment services, job redesign grants covering up to 90% of modification costs, and training subsidies for employers hiring persons with disabilities.
• The government also mentioned the enhanced Enabling Employment Credit providing wage support for employers hiring PwDs earning below $4,000 monthly and committed to reviewing measures to better support inclusive employment.

• The Ministry of Health conducts regular engagements through surveys, workshops, and consultations to assess pharmacist job roles and skills, which informed the 2020 Development Framework for Pharmacists outlining competency domains.
• Public healthcare institutions sponsor pharmacists for postgraduate training to prepare them for enhanced clinical, specialist, and leadership roles, such as in antimicrobial stewardship or specialized clinics.
• The government leverages postgraduate skills by deploying pharmacists into higher-level positions that align with their advanced competencies and institutional needs.

• Mr Don Wee asked how the Ministry for Social and Family Development can better support small enterprises in hiring Singaporeans with special needs and how the effectiveness of these measures will be evaluated.
• The Government, through SG Enable, offers various supports including the Open Door Programme with job matching, job coaches, and grants covering up to 90% of job redesign costs, and the Enabling Employment Credit providing wage support up to 20% for hiring persons with disabilities.
• Additional initiatives include the Place-and-Train programme with high wage and course fee subsidies, the Enabling Business Hub at Jurong for logistics sector opportunities, and partnerships with business federations and banks to engage SMEs in inclusive hiring.
• The effectiveness of these measures is tracked through the annual Comprehensive Labour Force Survey, with a goal to increase the employment rate of persons with disabilities from 32.7% in 2022/2023 to 40% by 2030.

• As of December 2023, about one in 420 public officers are Persons with Disabilities, and the main challenge they face is a lack of disability awareness and acceptance among employers, supervisors, and co-workers.
• The Public Sector supports these employees through the Open Door Programme, which provides customised job coaching, workplace accessibility advice, and subsidies for disability-inclusion training for both PwDs and their colleagues.
• The Public Service follows Tripartite Guidelines to ensure fair hiring and performance assessment based on competencies, without discrimination based on disability.
• Agencies also offer flexible work arrangements such as part-time work, hybrid setups, and adjusted hours to support long-term employment for staff with disabilities.
• These measures collectively aim to build an inclusive workplace environment that integrates and retains employees with special needs in the public sector.

• Private Education Institutions (PEIs) in Singapore are required to comply with baseline standards under the Private Education Act and are supported by the EduTrust Certification Scheme, which sets minimum requirements for student protection, academic quality, and operational standards.
• Data from PEI Annual Returns and the 2022/2023 Graduate Employment Survey indicate that about 36% of full-time external degree graduates from PEIs are foreigners, with 55% of foreign graduate respondents securing full-time employment.
• Employers are responsible for assessing the suitability of foreign PEI graduates, while SkillsFuture Singapore focuses on enhancing local workforce capabilities through initiatives like the SkillsFuture Level-Up Programme.

• Patrick Tay Teck Guan asked for the share of GDP growth from 2016 to 2023 driven by resident full-time income earners across the 20th, 50th, 80th, and 90th percentiles, including employer CPF contributions.
• Gan Kim Yong responded that a breakdown of GDP growth by these income percentile groups is not available.
• The debate highlights a gap in data availability for tracking income distribution's role in economic growth.

• Miss Rachel Ong inquired if the Open Door Programme Job Redesign Grant extends to companies hiring persons with disabilities on a part-time basis and how many have used it over five years.
• The grant supports employers hiring persons with disabilities with at least one-year contracts, regardless of part-time or full-time status.
• Over 110 organizations used the grant from 2019 to 2023, but no breakdown is available for part-time versus full-time hires.

• Member Louis Ng Kok Kwang asked for the mean and median weekly working hours over the past five years for full-time resident employees aged 25 to 64 in three salary brackets.
• Minister Tan See Leng responded that working hours decreased across almost all income groups between 2019 and 2023.
• For employees earning below $2,000 per month, mean hours dropped from 45.2 to 43.2 and median hours from 44 to 42 per week.
• For those earning $2,000 to $4,999 per month, mean hours fell from 45 to 43.9 and median hours from 44 to 43 per week.
• For those earning $5,000 and above, mean hours decreased from 45.8 to 44.5 while median hours remained unchanged at 44 per week.

• Minister Edwin Tong outlined a multi-pronged approach to grow the arts sector, emphasizing that a competitive and sustainable ecosystem with strong companies, skilled practitioners, and supportive audiences is key to ensuring good jobs and competitive pay for arts workers, rather than setting fixed salary guidelines.
• The government has invested significantly in the arts, including a $100 million funding boost under the Our SG Arts Plan 2023–2027 and initiatives like the Arts and Culture Resilience Package, which helped the sector rebound post-pandemic with rising median incomes and sector growth.
• Support measures include strengthening arts companies through funding schemes, developing practitioner skills via frameworks and training programmes, and expanding audience bases through community outreach and international market access to boost demand and artist visibility.

• As of June 2024, over 35,000 Singaporeans have used CareersFinder since its beta launch in July 2023, and the tool is no longer in beta as of March 2024.
• Feedback has been positive, with users appreciating data-driven insights and exploring more opportunities; on average, jobseekers applied to 50% more occupations after using the tool.
• The government has enhanced CareersFinder based on user feedback, such as adding filters for course recommendations, and will continue iterative improvements.

• Joan Pereira proposed extending paid childcare leave to cover children up to age 12, citing the increased use of home-based learning in primary schools.
• Indranee Rajah explained that current policy already provides six days for children under seven and two days for those aged seven to twelve, with no plans to extend the age ceiling.
• She noted that home-based learning is not regular but occasional, and schools inform parents in advance to arrange care, while student care centres remain open.
• The government emphasizes balancing parental support with employers' operational needs and encourages flexible work arrangements, including upcoming mandatory guidelines starting December 2024.

• Dr Tan Wu Meng asked whether a survey has been done to assess healthcare workers’ off-duty work and how such realities are recognized without undermining flexible work arrangements.
• Minister Ong Ye Kung reported that most medical residents stay within an 80-hour workweek, but some complete administrative tasks after hours when not busy with patients.
• He noted that high patient loads and aging demographics pressure the system, and balancing workloads may shift tasks to others or reduce patient care.
• The government aims to manage workload by expanding teams, fostering teamwork, enhancing efficiency, using technology, and encouraging good health.

• Platform workers, including ride-hailing drivers and delivery riders, will be formally recognized as a new class of workers with enhanced protections, including mandatory CPF contributions for those born after 1995, work injury compensation aligned with employees, and the right to form associations for collective representation.
• Debates highlighted concerns about potential wage reductions or discrimination as platforms adjust to new costs, with calls for monitoring and safeguards such as minimum base fares and digital voting for platform work associations to ensure fair representation.
• The Bill aims to balance worker welfare with sector sustainability, with support for the transition measures like the Platform Worker CPF Transition Support (PCTS) scheme, while also discussing long-term career development, mental health support, and safety enhancements for platform workers.

• The Bill introduces a new legal category for platform workers, giving them statutory protections for housing, retirement, and work injury without classifying them as employees, thus preserving the flexibility of the gig economy.
• It mandates gradual CPF contributions from both platform operators and workers starting in 2025, with enhanced financial support for lower-income workers and an opt-in scheme for older cohorts.
• Platform operators must provide work injury compensation insurance similar to employees, with clear liability rules and safety responsibilities, to protect workers from financial hardship due to accidents.
• The Bill establishes a legal framework for platform work associations to represent workers, enabling collective bargaining and dispute resolution, similar to trade unions.

• The SkillsFuture Jobseeker Support Scheme targets lower- to middle-income workers earning up to $5,000 monthly who are involuntarily unemployed, with eligibility assessed via automated checks and case-by-case appeals, and provides stepped-down payouts up to $6,000 over six months to encourage timely re-employment.
• The scheme is designed as a better alternative to unemployment insurance, avoiding moral hazard by requiring jobseekers to actively seek work, and complements other government support like ComCare and the SkillsFuture Level-Up Programme without overlapping as social assistance.
• Permanent Residents are eligible alongside Singapore Citizens to support their economic contributions, with the government funding the $200 million annual cost from the operating budget, and no plans to convert it into an insurance scheme for long-term sustainability.

Chua Kheng Wee Louis asked the Minister for Manpower about the consideration of police and immigration records in work permit applications for migrant domestic workers (MDWs), and employer liability for repatriation costs. Tan See Leng responded that the Ministry does consider relevant security records to prevent undesirable individuals from working in Singapore. He confirmed that employers must cover the costs of bringing in and repatriating MDWs, ensuring they are not left stranded. If an MDW's employment is terminated within six months, the employment agency must refund at least 50% of the placement fees to the employer.

Leong Mun Wai asked the Minister for Health about the proportion of Singaporean nursing graduates employed in public hospitals and their median salaries since 2020. Ong Ye Kung responded that approximately 70% of registered nurses were working in the public healthcare sector between 2020 and 2022. Fresh nursing graduates in public hospitals can expect starting salaries ranging from $2,050 to $4,050 per month, depending on qualifications, excluding additional allowances and bonuses. The Ministry of Health does not gather salary data from the private healthcare sector.

Leong Mun Wai asked the Minister for Education about the unemployment percentages of individuals attending SkillsFuture Singapore training programmes since 2020 and their subsequent job placement rates. Chan Chun Sing responded that SkillsFuture Singapore supports various training initiatives, particularly for unemployed individuals through train-and-place programmes. From 2020 to 2022, over 60% of participants in SGUnited programmes secured new jobs within six months post-completion. The SkillsFuture Career Transition Programme, launched in April 2022, has seen over 54% of its trainees find new employment within six months, although complete data on unemployment status is unavailable.