Employment & labour — Topics

18 Sep 2023

Avenues for Home Team Officers to Raise Workplace Difficulties

Home Team officers can report grievances about unfair discrimination or treatment through formal and confidential channels, including directly to any level of management, with investigations conducted seriously and wrongdoers disciplined regardless of seniority.
There are clear escalation processes, independent reviews by HR or internal bodies, and options to appeal to higher authorities or the Head of Civil Service if unsatisfied with outcomes.
Officers are regularly informed of these channels through onboarding, training, and internal communications, and feedback is gathered via anonymous surveys, with cases investigated over the past five years leading to disciplinary action where substantiated.
The Ministry emphasizes responsible reporting and warns against false allegations made in bad faith, which may result in disciplinary action against the reporter.

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18 Sep 2023

Child Development Co-Savings (Amendment) Bill

The Bill enhances parental leave and benefits by doubling Government-Paid Paternity Leave to four weeks (voluntary initially) and doubling Unpaid Infant Care Leave to 12 days per parent annually, effective from 2024, to support fathers and families.
It clarifies and improves operational efficiency, including simplified revocation processes for Approved Persons and clearer eligibility criteria for benefits like the Government-Paid Paternity Benefit for self-employed fathers.
MPs broadly support the Bill but raise suggestions such as making paternity leave mandatory sooner, introducing childcare sick leave, expanding support for single unwed parents and families with children with special needs, and advocating for flexible work arrangements.
The debate highlights ongoing challenges in achieving work-life balance, low fertility rates, and the need for a whole-of-society effort, including employer support and cultural shifts to normalize paternal involvement.
The Government commits to continued review of family policies, emphasizing the goal of building a "Singapore Made for Families" while balancing economic and operational considerations for businesses.

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3 Aug 2023

Initiatives to Encourage Employers to Provide Mental Health Support in Workplace

The Ministry of Manpower, together with Tripartite Partners and stakeholders, has developed practical resources like the Tripartite Advisory and a Playbook to guide employers on implementing mental well-being initiatives, including plug-and-play templates.
Programmes are offered by the Workplace Safety and Health Council and Health Promotion Board to support employers, such as free consultant advice and workshops under the Total WSH Programme and the Workplace Outreach Wellness package.
The National WSH CARE Award annually recognizes organizations with exemplary mental well-being practices to promote them as employers of choice.
The Ministry currently does not plan to introduce mandatory mental health awareness and training programmes for employers and managers.

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3 Aug 2023

Help Provided to Social Service Agencies Unable to Meet Sector Salary Guidelines

The Ministry has adjusted programme funding for social service agencies to reflect changes in manpower costs under the revised salary guidelines.
The National Council of Social Service offers HR clinics, workshops, and grants to help agencies implement the guidelines and improve compensation practices.
Agencies are encouraged to engage donors to align funding with salary realities, and NCSS will support this through a future playbook and new fundraising initiatives.

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3 Aug 2023

Recognition of Doctors and Dentists for Purposes of Paid Sick Leave

Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim asked the Ministry of Manpower about efforts to educate workers and employers on the 2019 Employment Act amendment that recognizes registered doctors and dentists for paid sick leave.
Minister Tan See Leng confirmed the amendment effective April 2019 allows medical certificates from any practitioner registered under the Medical or Dental Registration Acts for paid sick leave.
The Ministry and tripartite partners have raised awareness through guidebooks, newsletters, infographics, and MOM’s website.
The Workright initiative also assists employees and employers in understanding their rights and obligations under the Employment Act.

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3 Aug 2023

Training for Migrant Domestic Workers in Caregiving for Individuals with Special Needs

The Agency for Integrated Care and SG Enable provide training courses for caregivers of individuals with special needs, which migrant domestic workers (MDWs) can attend if hired by households, with costs potentially covered by the Caregivers Training Grant.
Employment agencies facilitate matches by requiring employers to specify caregiving tasks, and MDWs have the chance to clarify job expectations and training before accepting assignments.
MDWs who feel unsure or uncomfortable with caregiving tasks should inform their employers to request additional training or support, and may also seek help from their employment agencies.

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3 Aug 2023

Assessing Quality of Cleaning Vendors

Joan Pereira asked the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment if the Government will implement measures to assess and review the quality of cleaning vendors, prompting a detailed response from Grace Fu Hai Yien.
Since September 2014, cleaning businesses providing general cleaning services have been required to be licensed by the National Environment Agency (NEA), with requirements including a trained workforce and payment of Progressive Wage Model wages and bonuses to resident cleaners, and training standards were enhanced from 31 December 2022.
From 1 January 2024, NEA will implement a revised cleaning business licensing framework with three classes of licenses to differentiate businesses by capabilities, allowing buyers to make more informed decisions, with the highest Class 1 license requiring advanced training, higher capital, and a good track record.

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3 Aug 2023

Increased Hiring of Administrative and Support Healthcare Employees

Louis Ng asked whether there will be a corresponding increase in hiring administrative and support healthcare employees alongside the exceedance of the 4,000 new nurses target by end-2023.
Ong Ye Kung emphasized that administrative and support staff are essential, with a goal to grow the total healthcare workforce including these roles to 82,000 by 2030.
There has been a corresponding increase in hiring administrative and support staff, with over 3,000 such hires in the first half of the year by public healthcare clusters.
The Ministry of Health will continue to work with public healthcare clusters to build the capacity and capabilities of administrative and support staff to better attract and retain them.

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3 Aug 2023

Jobs in Sustainability or Green Economy Sector and Initiatives to Boost Workforce Capability

There is currently no globally accepted definition of a green economy, but the Green Skills Committee is working to identify and size jobs and skills in this area.
The government has launched training programmes under Workforce Singapore and SkillsFuture Singapore to help workers upskill for roles like sustainability officers and carbon analysts.
Institutes of Higher Learning offer over 250 sustainability-related courses to equip the workforce with green skills.
The government is collaborating with the Green Skills Committee, industry players, and training providers to expand workforce development efforts.
The Ministry did not provide specific current or projected job numbers, indicating that the exact magnitude of growth is still being assessed.

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3 Aug 2023

Identifying Mental Distress and Stressors in Migrant Domestic Workers

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) requires first-time employers to attend the Employers’ Orientation Programme, which educates them on their responsibilities, including being patient and understanding towards their migrant domestic workers (MDWs).
MOM provides a mental well-being guide for employers, shares information on stress signs and healthy habits, and promotes helplines from MOM and NGOs to support MDWs in distress.
MOM collaborates with the Centre for Domestic Employees (CDE) to interview first-time MDWs within six months of employment, facilitating communication and amicable resolution of issues between employers and workers.
MOM also educates MDWs through the Settling-in Programme and outreach materials to help them manage stress and communicate effectively with their employers.

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3 Aug 2023

Enhancing Adult Employment Opportunities for Tradesmen

The Ministry supports adult tradesmen through entry-level and upskilling courses provided by institutions like ITE, BCA Academy, and the Singapore Institute of Power and Gas, with SkillsFuture funding available for mid-career learners.
Training is delivered in English but paced to suit proficiency levels and supplemented with visual aids, while the government partners NTUC to redesign trades for better salaries and career progression.
The Minister did not specify targets for evaluating effectiveness or provide details on outreach efforts to attract tradesmen to adult learning programs, focusing instead on existing course offerings and partnerships.

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3 Aug 2023

Tracking Specific Benefits Offered by Tripartite Standard on Work-Life Harmony Adopters

Mr. Louis Ng questioned how the Ministry verifies company compliance with the Tripartite Standard on Work-Life Harmony (TS-WLH) since TAFEP does not track specific flexible work arrangements and enhanced leave benefits required by the standard.
Minister Tan See Leng explained that adoption of the Tripartite Standards, including TS-WLH, is voluntary and based on self-declaration, with companies listed on TAFEP’s website upon declaration.
TAFEP addresses any reported non-adherence by working with companies to align their policies, and may remove their listing if non-compliance persists; no reports of TS-WLH non-adherence have been received to date.

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3 Aug 2023

Retrenchment among Employees Aged 63 and Older in Last Five Years

Data from 2018 to 2022 shows that workers aged 63 and above were not disproportionately affected by retrenchment, with an average incidence of 3.8 per 1,000, lower than the overall rate of 6.1 for the resident workforce.
The Employment Assistance Payment (EAP) is a legal requirement for employers who do not offer re-employment to eligible employees above the retirement age, and its amount is carefully calibrated to balance support for workers and avoid deterring employers from retaining senior staff.
Retrenchment benefits are not mandated by law and are typically stipulated in employment contracts or collective agreements, with their quantum varying across companies and sometimes scaled down as workers near retirement age.
The Senior Minister of State clarified that the retrenchment data does not include voluntarily retired workers and that the EAP is not tied to years of service, aiming to provide temporary support without creating perverse incentives for employers or employees.
While retrenchment benefits for workers beyond age 63 are not mandated by law, employers may extend them by agreement, but this is not a requirement and depends on individual negotiations.

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2 Aug 2023

Electronic Payment of Salaries for Work Permit Holders

He Ting Ru inquired about the proportion of Work Permit holders receiving salaries electronically and how to make this practice consistent.
Tan See Leng stated that about 97% of employers of Work Permit holders in dormitories use electronic payments, but the Ministry does not track data for all Work Permit holders.
The Ministry strongly encourages electronic payments to reduce disputes and delays, and employers are legally required to comply if a worker requests direct bank transfers.

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2 Aug 2023

Regulation on Maximum Number of Continuous Work Hours Per Day and Total Number of Work Hours Per Week for Construction Site Supervisors

Miss Rachel Ong questioned whether construction site supervisors' continuous work hours and weekly hours are monitored and if there are regulations on their maximum limits.
The Minister for Manpower confirmed that supervisors are protected under the Employment Act, with a maximum of 12 work hours per day and 44 hours per week, with overtime capped at 72 hours monthly and breaks required after six continuous hours.
The Workplace Safety and Health Act also requires employers to manage fatigue through risk assessments and workload planning.

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2 Aug 2023

Reintroducing Heightened Safety Period with Extended Safety Measures Given Continued Occurrence of Workplace Fatalities

Miss Rachel Ong asked if the Ministry of Manpower will reintroduce a heightened safety period with extended safety measures due to ongoing workplace fatalities.
The Minister affirmed that workplace safety remains a priority, with the Ministry maintaining its stance post-exit from the Heightened Safety Period in May 2023, and noted early signs of improvement in major injuries despite fluctuations in fatalities.
The Multi-Agency Workplace Safety Taskforce is establishing most Heightened Safety Period measures as permanent safeguards and rolling out Safety Accountability, Focus and Empowerment measures to enhance accountability, training, and penalties.
New measures include requiring Chief Executives to account for safety lapses, training for company leaders, expanding the Demerit Point System to manufacturing, and mandating video surveillance for large construction sites, with intensified inspections planned.
The Minister emphasized collective responsibility, urging employers to implement robust safety systems, workers to follow procedures, and all to report unsafe situations, aligning with this year’s National WSH Campaign theme “Reporting Saves Lives”.

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2 Aug 2023

Companies Reported for Employing "Phantom Workers"

From 2021 to June 2023, MOM received about 2,000 reports of companies using "phantom workers" to inflate foreign worker quotas, with only 10% substantiated and referred for investigation.
The top three sectors for such companies were food and beverage, personal services (e.g., beauty salons and spas), and manufacturing.
Workers who suspect incorrect income tax due to phantom CPF contributions should inform IRAS with supporting documents for review, while those receiving unknown CPF contributions should report to the CPF Board.

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2 Aug 2023

Companies Investigated for Splitting Local Qualifying Salary Payments for More Foreign Worker Quotas

Yeo Wan Ling questioned the Minister for Manpower about the number of companies investigated in the past five years for splitting Local Qualifying Salary payments to increase foreign worker quotas, and Tan See Leng responded that such actions are prohibited under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act and subject to investigation.
Between 2018 and 2022, about 640 employers were investigated for inflating foreign worker entitlement, with only a small proportion involving splitting local salaries across business entities, and MOM does not track whether these entities are related as it does not affect enforcement outcomes.
Of the 640 investigated employers, enforcement actions were taken against about 15%, while the rest faced no action due to reasons such as no foreign hires using additional quota, administrative lapses, or insufficient evidence.

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2 Aug 2023

Variance between Expected and Actual Grants Disbursed to Businesses and Individuals and Steps to Enhance Accessibility and Usage of Unused Funds

The lower-than-expected MOM expenditure for FY2022/2023, amounting to about $3.3 billion, was primarily due to reduced COVID-19-related spending, specifically the under-utilisation of the Jobs Growth Incentive (JGI), as the economy and job market recovered faster than anticipated.
Application processes for grants have been streamlined through automated wage support schemes like JGI, Enabling Employment Credit, and Senior Employment Credit, which disburse funds without requiring applications, while manual reviews are selectively used for risk management.
The unused funds from JGI and other grants will be re-deployed across the government's term to support SMEs and workers, with plans potentially including upskilling initiatives, productivity boosts, and local employment measures, subject to parliamentary approval through the annual Budget process.

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2 Aug 2023

Studies on Direct Correlation Between Employee Wellness and Productivity in Workplace

The Ministry of Manpower has collected data since 2021 using the iWorkHealth tool, which surveys employee well-being and identifies workplace stressors, showing that employees with work stress or burnout take 1.25 to 1.5 more medical days annually and face two to 2.5 times more accidents or near-misses compared to those without such issues.
International studies indicate a positive link between employee well-being and productivity, supporting the government’s focus on workplace wellness initiatives.
Employers are encouraged to use tools like iWorkHealth to address stressors, and the Workplace Safety and Health Council offers support for measuring the impact of workplace transformation on employee well-being.

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