In the Committee of Supply debate for the Ministry of Manpower today, the office bearers shared an impressive myriad of schemes that they have undertaken to help the workers in our economy. I counted about ๐ฏ๐ฌ ๐๐ฐ๐ต๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐, and we should appreciate the hard work that our civil servants are putting in.
However, it begs the question: why so many schemes are needed? I have stated in my Feb 25 speech that these โ๐๐ต๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐บ, ๐ฎ๐ฑ ๐ต๐ผ๐ฐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ป๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฐ๐๐ฎ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒโ relief measures are very confusing for Singaporeans and will not allow them to plan for their future as independent and resilient individuals.
I have recommended a blanket ๐น๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ of $1500 take-home pay as the ๐บ๐ถ๐ป๐ถ๐บ๐๐บ level of compensation for local workers, which works out to a gross pay of $๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฑ๐ฑ per month. So, the annual package (incl. of one-month AWS) will be $๐ฎ๐ฒ,๐ณ๐ญ๐ฑ. This is such an easy-to-understand approach for the workers.
MOM in Parliament has provided a chart that purports to be the annual package of a landscape worker. The breakdown is as follows:
Annual base income ๐๐,๐๐๐
Special Employment Credit 1,000
Annual PWM Bonus 670
Workfare Income Supplement 3,100
Workfare Special Payment 3,000
Chas Subsidies 320
Care & Support Package 1,300
U-Save and GST Vouchers 780
Total package $๐๐,๐๐๐
The result is about the same – $26,715 vs $27,570 โ but the Government has to do it with ๐๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ป schemes which I am sure the workers have no idea what or why they are getting. Does the Governmentโs way encourage the work ethic and boost self-esteem better than a simple to understand living wage? You canโt help but wonder if the Government just wants to create additional work for itself.
I asked Minister Josephine Teo whether Singaporean workers were disadvantaged under the current MOM employment policies because:
๐ฎ. Foreign workers don’t have to contribute to CPF and therefore enjoy a ๐๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ versus Singaporean workers (hence why I recommended the $1200 levy on EP holders).
๐ฏ. There is ๐ป๐ผ ๐พ๐๐ผ๐๐ฎ for EP holders.
๐ฐ. There are ๐ป๐ผ ๐๐ธ๐ถ๐น๐น๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฟ or succession planning schemes to ensure that Singaporeans can eventually take over from their foreign counterparts.
In response, she said Singaporean workers were ๐ฃ๐ค๐ฉ ๐๐๐จ๐๐๐ซ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐๐๐๐ as evidenced during the Covid-19 economic downturn when 185,000 foreign workers lost their jobs while Singaporean workers have a net gain in jobs (mostly trainees).
I leave it to you to judge whether she has justified her point below:
https://www.facebook.com/MothershipSG/videos/250084883454903
One point we are sure of is that the pressure on Singaporean workers will continue for now.
