FOR more than a week, the announcements kept coming as the ministries rolled out their plans and proposals for this year and the years ahead. On Friday, it was slightly different.
Parliament came full circle as the debate on the Budget and Government expenditure ended on the same note on which it started: Jobs.
But where Members of Parliament had at first engaged the Government on the broad strategies of its $20.5-billion Resilience Package, this time they cast their eyes on the simple details of those measures to be undertaken by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM).
For example, whether more can be done for vulnerable groups such as contract workers.
With many of MOM’s measures already unveiled in the House, the focus was on ensuring that as few people as possible fall through the cracks on the job front.
According to Acting Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong, the $4.5-billion Jobs Credit and the $650-million Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience (Spur) are already having an impact.
For instance, MediaCorp was an example of a “responsible employer” using comprehensive measures to control costs and save jobs, such as shorter work weeks and leveraging on Spur, while retailer Charles and Keith was using Jobs Credit and Spur to expand operations by 25 workers.
And Spur has seen more than 20,000 workers committed for training two months after its launch, with nearly 13,000 doing so through their employers and the remainder signing up themselves, said Mr Gan, who replied to questions by MPs Lily Neo (Jalan Besar) and Low Thia Khiang (Hougang) on the effectiveness of job placements and whether the Government is monitoring such efforts.
“Unlike some countries which provide extensive unemployment welfare to displaced workers, our measures help employers preserve jobs to minimise retrenchments and unemployment. This will benefit workers,” he said.
But to help older low-wage workers who might see a drop in income during the downturn, a one-off Workfare Special Payment of up to $1,200 will be paid over three tranches for work done last year and this year.
Recognising that some low-wage workers may experience less regular employment this year, a worker only need work two months out of any six-month period to receive half of that payment instead of three months.
These were some of the details released by MOM, the last ministry for the Committee of Supply debate, following the practice of going by seniority of minister.
Other initiatives included a panel co-led by MOM and the Trade and Industry Ministry to look into labour productivity and develop strategies for each industry, as well as a Workplace Safety and Health 2018 national plan to be unveiled in April to develop industry-specific roadmaps and targets.
Mr Gan also addressed MPs’ concerns about contract workers, which increasingly include professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs), pointed out MP Jessica Tan. Asked by Nominated MP Siew Kum Hong what could be done to ensure PMET contract workers also benefited from schemes such as Jobs Credit, Mr Gan said this was a commercial arrangement between job seekers and employment agencies who employed them.
“It’s up to the customer to negotiate with the agency for a lower fee, because the benefit has gone to the agency ... overall the Jobs Credit will make Singaporeans workers cheaper and these benefits will flow through to the employers, and whether they pass it on is an arrangement between (them).”
While a lot of effort will go into managing job losses, MOM will also focus on ensuring that Singapore emerges from the recession with a competitive workforce.
Three Continuing Education and Training (CET) centres will be appointed National CET Institutes to spearhead objectives such as the adoption of innovative methods of adult training and offer quick responses to skills gaps and shortages.
MPs such as Dr Lim Wee Kiak felt there was need to streamline services to minimise confusion. In response, Mr Gan said Singaporeans should make Community Development Councils, which are linked to agencies like the Workforce Development Agency, their first port-of-call.
- TODAY newspaper
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