8 April 2016
Budget Cut at Committee of Supply 2016
7 November 2016
Part-time Work for Work Permit Holders
11 September 2017
Implementation Plans for Cashless Public Transport System
6 November 2017
Number of Work Permit Holders Granted Transfer of Employer
19 February 2018
Changes in Employers for Existing Work Permit Holders
7 March 2019
Expanding Foreign Construction Worker Directory System to Other Sectors
2 March 2020
Rationale for Requiring Work Permit Holder to Seek Approval to Marry Singapore Citizen or Permanent Resident
3 March 2020
Number of Applications Received from Work Permit Holders to Marry Singapore Citizens or Permanent Residents Past Five Years
2 September 2020
Speech in Response to President's Address
22 September 2020
Distribution of Care Packs for Workers at Yishun Glen BTO Worksite
13 December 2020
Visit to Yishun Glen BTOs Worksite
27 December 2020
Speaking at International Migrants Day Forum
18 February 2021
"The Ground Speaks: Budget Conversations 2021" by A Good Space and CAPE
8 March 2021
Update on Household Services Scheme
2 May 2021
Donation Drive for Workers at Yishun Glen BTO Worksite
4 October 2021
Data on Percentage of Work Permit Holders Who Have Done Work Involving Skills That Matched Skills under Skills Evaluation Certificate Schemes They Obtained
5 October 2021
Data on Workers Who Found Employment Successfully through Foreign Construction Worker Directory System and Singapore Construction Manpower Exchange & Work Permit Holders Obtaining Skills Certification in Singapore Instead of Overseas Testing Centres
4 March 2022
Provision of Subsidies to Families Using Household Services Scheme and Expanding It to Include Workers from More Countries
Louis delivered his budget cut on Better Collaboration between MOM and NGOs at Committee of Supply 2016 as follow.
Louis: Sir, there is a significant population of migrant workers currently residing and working here in Singapore. To address the multi-faceted problems they face, we need holistic and cross-disciplinary solutions. This may be a task too large for any one body to take up on its own. Our Universities and members of civil society who have worked with migrant workers are sources of information and practical expertise that could be a brain trust for the Government.
Will MOM consider the creation of a working group that includes representatives from the Ministries, the Universities and civil society to tackle migrant workers' labour issues, as the Universities can provide comparative jurisdiction knowledge and technical knowhow, and NGOs can provide an on-the-ground perspective of how the system functions in reality?
I believe that with greater collaboration between the different stakeholders in the sector, we can show that Singapore also cares for and about the workers who have contributed to our nation-building.
Mr Lim Swee Say (The Minister for Manpower): Mr Louis Ng touched on the role of NGOs and civil society. I agree with him. I would like to assure Mr Ng that MOM already regularly engages tripartite partners, academics and NGOs in the course of our work. These range from employment standards, supporting low-wage workers and retirement adequacy to foreign worker management. Going forward, I would like to assure Mr Ng that we will continue to engage our social partners as we try to shape the new employment landscape together.
Louis asked the Minister for Manpower whether the Ministry will consider allowing work permit holders to engage in part-time work, considering Singapore's current labour shortage.
Mr Teo Ser Luck (for the Minister for Manpower): Mdm Speaker, we do not allow foreign work permit holders to engage in part-time work for several reasons.
First, we expect employers to bring in work permit holders for specific, full-time jobs. Work permit holders should not have the time to engage in part-time work on top of the work for their primary employer.
Second, allowing part-time work may put work permit holders at risk of exploitation, especially if employers offer their work permit holders to do part-time work for other firms.
Third, allowing part-time work may increase the overall demand for work permit holders, which would run counter to the national effort to restructure the economy and prevent over-reliance on foreign manpower. Firms should address their manpower needs by becoming more manpower-lean, or by re-designing jobs to be more attractive to locals, rather than by relying more on foreign workers.
Finally, allowing work permit holders to do part-time work is likely to increase competition with locals for freelance jobs or part-time work.
We offer support for companies through the Lean Enterprise Development or LED Scheme to transform and achieve manpower-lean growth. Many progressive companies have come forward to take up the LED Scheme and we encourage more to do so.
Louis: I thank the Minister of State for the reply. I have asked whether we can consider allowing work permit holders to do part-time work but I understand this might already be happening on the ground, but under the radar. The reality is workers want to work; companies need the workers. These are jobs that they cannot find Singaporeans to work in, especially at that particular shift. So, rather than ban, can we consider regulating, so that we can protect the workers?
As the Minister of State mentioned, if they are doing the part-time work under the radar, they might be exploited. So, if we are worried about opening the floodgates, then perhaps, if I could ask the Minister of State if they can consider opening up on a smaller scale, at perhaps a few industries or just one industry to start with, and study whether it works before we decide further on whether to ban it or to open it.
Mr Teo Ser Luck: The fundamental is, firstly, to protect the interests of our local workers. I think that is the first and foremost. Secondly is that you also want to protect the interests of the foreign workers, the risks of them being exploited. For some industries, we do actually offer some flexibility. For example, in the services industry, within the same company, we do allow them to redeploy their work permit holders across different departments within the same business, within the same company. That is possible.
(Supplementary Question) Louis: I think there is one more group we also need to reach out to, and I am wondering whether MOT will be working with MOM to reach out to the foreign workers, many of whom actually do not have bank accounts.
Dr Lam Pin Min (for the Minister for Transport): Yes, indeed. This is another group that we will try to facilitate as much as possible. We will be working with the banks and MAS to see how we can facilitate the opening of bank accounts for this group of commuters. At the same time, I have also mentioned in my replies just now that for those commuters who really cannot switch to e-payments, there will still be cash alternatives at sites that are nearby to the transport modes.
Louis asked the Minister for Manpower since the transfer policy was implemented for construction and process workers, (a) how many work permit holders have been granted a transfer of employer with the employer's agreement and without the employer's agreement respectively; and (b) whether the Ministry will consider extending the scheme to work permit holders in other sectors.
Mr Lim Swee Say (MOM): Since 2005, we allow work permit holders (WPHs) in the construction sector to change employers if their current employers agree. Since 2015, we also allow all construction sector WPHs to change employers at the end of their work permit term, if they are not able to come to a mutual agreement on the renewal of their work permits. Since June this year, we also allow WPHs in the process sector the same flexibilities. In addition, WPHs who have valid claims against their employers have been allowed to find another employer. The transfer policy improves productivity as employers benefit from hiring WPHs with work experience in Singapore. Employers also save on repatriation, search and hiring costs, as the WPHs do not have to leave Singapore.
As of October 2017, approximately 128,000 WPHs changed employers before the end of their work permit terms with their employers' consent. Another 400 WPHs changed employers after completing their work permit terms.
MOM is reviewing whether the transfer policy can be extended progressively to other sectors at an appropriate time, taking into account the impact on both businesses and workers.
Louis asked the Minister for Manpower (a) whether any employers have been found collecting kickbacks to hire existing work permit holders who have changed employers; (b) what initiatives the Ministry has undertaken to match employers with existing work permit holders who are changing employers; and (c) what has been the rate of uptake of such initiatives.
Mr Lim Swee Say (MOM): From 2015 to 2017, 21 employers¹¹ were found collecting kickbacks to hire Work Permit Holders (WPHs) who had changed employers. The Ministry of Manpower takes a serious view of employers who collect kickbacks from WPHs. Employers found to do so are liable for a fine up to $30,000, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years, or to both.
Since 2005, WPHs from the Construction sector have been allowed to change employers if their current employers agree. In 2015, Construction WPHs were also allowed to change employers near their work pass expiry if they are unable to come to a mutual agreement on the renewal of their work permits. These flexibilities were extended to the Process sector in 2017.
WPHs who wish to change employers are able to seek new employment on their own, or engage the services of employment agencies. The Singapore Contractors Association Limited (SCAL) has also put in place a Foreign Construction Workers Directory System (FCWDS) to facilitate the matching of employers and existing construction workers. In addition, the Migrant Workers’ Centre (MWC) will assist WPHs with valid salary claims who seek employment.
As of Dec 2017, approximately 131,000 WPHs have changed employers near their work pass expiry or upon employers’ consent.
¹¹ Employers were issued with warning, caution, admin financial penalties, composition, or were prosecuted.
Louis asked the Minister for Manpower whether the Ministry will consider (i) expanding the Foreign Construction Worker Directory (FCWD) System to other sectors such as the cleaning sector and (ii) incorporating the FCWD portal on mobile applications targeted at foreign workers.
Mr Zaqy Mohamad (for the Minister for Manpower): Speaker, the Foreign Construction Worker Directory System (FCWDS) was set up in 2015 by the Singapore Contractors Association Limited (SCAL) to facilitate job matching between employers and foreign workers in the Construction sector. The Construction industry finds it useful to develop the FCWDS to flexibly redeploy workers across companies given that the work is cyclical and mainly project-based.
We have not come across another industry which has expressed interest to set up a similar directory.
The FCWDS has been incorporated into a third-party mobile app owned by the private sector, called the FWapp, to improve its accessibility to foreign construction workers.
Louis: I thank the Minister of State for the reply. I was just wondering whether we can extend this to the cleaning sector. Because I think the cleaning sector, like the construction sector, is quite cyclical as well. A lot of the contracts are two years. So, a lot of these cleaners who come to Singapore to work and gain their experience, sometimes, go back within the two years. I think it will benefit both the cleaners and the companies to hire the skilled workers in Singapore.
The second question I would like to ask is whether we can then incentivise the hiring of the existing workers who are in Singapore. This directory will be more effective if we can incentivise, in a sense, maybe provide a reduced foreign worker levy if they hire workers already in Singapore.
Mr Zaqy Mohamad: I thank the Member for his clarification. Firstly, when we look at this, it is really to strike a balance and giving employers certainty, especially in the Services sector compared to Construction which is very project-based. Services tend to be for longer periods, for example, as mentioned, it could be two years; it depends on the length of the contract. There is a difference there. The second difference is that when you look at the Construction, for example, SCAL as an industry association, championed it and therefore, the database was set up and agreed upon by employers. We have not received requests from other industry associations. Certainly, for the cleaning sector, if the industry association is prepared to do so, we can take a look.
Specific to cases, for example, in Town Councils, where contracts change and cleaning contractors have to move around, we have facilitated some of the changed between employers. We have facilitated some of these to ensure that cleaning service is not disrupted. That is something we are prepared to do, but not as a broad-based policy, nation-wide.
Louis asked the Minister for Manpower what is the rationale for the requirement that a current or former work permit holder who wishes to marry a Singapore citizen or permanent resident must seek approval from the Ministry when S Pass and Employment Pass holders are not subject to the same requirement.
Mrs Josephine Teo (MOM): Work pass holders are meant to be transient. Persons who wish to stay in Singapore for the long-term must meet stringent criteria. Work permit holders (WPHs) are much less likely to meet the criteria than Employment or S Pass holders. As marriage to a Singapore citizen (SC) or permanent resident (PR) does not confer an automatic right of stay, it is better to have conveyed a clear signal in certain cases by not permitting the marriage in the first place. That said, in the last five years, about 8 in 10 WPHs have been granted approval to marry an SC or PR.
Louis asked the Minister for Manpower (a) for each year of the past five years, how many applications have been received from current or former work permit holders to marry Singapore citizens or permanent residents; (b) of these, how many applications have been rejected; (c) what are the top three reasons for rejecting such an application; and (d) what are the considerations in determining whether an application is to be approved.
Mrs Josephine Teo (MOM): From 2015 to 2019, the Ministry received about 1,200 marriage applications per year from current or former work permit holders to marry Singapore Citizens or Permanent Residents. We assess all marriage applications holistically taking into account the applicants' ability to look after themselves and their families. In recent years, about 8 in 10 applications were approved. The most common reasons for rejection were lack of gainful employment or income instability.
Louis shared about his perspective on building an inclusive community.
Louis: Sir, this pandemic has made people who are often invisible in our society much more visible. Our cleaners are now called essential workers. They put themselves at risk during this pandemic to keep us safe. They are labelled as cleaners and worse and ironically, the people who give us a clean environment to live, work and play in, are sometimes labelled as dirty. Most of these cleaners are our migrant workers who do the work that many Singaporeans do not want to do.
As Senior Minister Shanmugam said, "It is because of foreign workers that 57% of Singaporeans have been able to become PMETs. They clean Singapore, they build our HDB flats, they handle our waste management, they form the base of our economy. And therefore, they are helping us build our prosperity."
Sir, last year, I joined our Nee Soon Town Council cleaner, Hanif, on his trip back to Bangladesh to welcome his first child into the world. Our plans failed slightly as his wife delivered early and he missed the chance to be there when his son was born. He was already absent for the whole pregnancy. In Bangladesh, I saw first-hand how difficult it is for our cleaners to be so far from home and so far from their loved ones. It was a heart-warming and heart-breaking experience.
Hanif has worked as a cleaner in Singapore for 14 years. In Bangladesh, I saw how much his family love him and miss him. Hanif's wife, Tania, said, "Sometimes I think, if he can come back to Bangladesh, how amazing that would be. I feel sad and I miss his presence. However, reality is very tough, so he has to work hard abroad for us. I have compromised and accepted this. Obviously, I feel sad for my son, that he will be deprived of his dad's love and affection."
Asked how he felt knowing that his son may not see him for a long time, Hanif replied, "We are poor people and to survive we have to make these kinds of sacrifices."
During that trip, I also invited all our Nee Soon East cleaners' families to lunch in Dhaka. We arranged for them to do a video call with their loved ones in Singapore. It was heart-breaking to see them cry as they spoke to their husbands, fathers, brothers and sons.
I met our cleaner Mazibur's daughter who was seven years old and he has never met her. She has never hugged her father. I met Newton's daughter who was about a year old and she too have never met her father and it will years before she meets him.
To be honest, I felt bad that their daughters met me before meeting their fathers. As a father, I cannot imagine not being able to meet my daughters for so many years.
We should show a lot more appreciation to our cleaners for the work they do for us. I have three recommendations.
For the past five years, I have been bringing our cleaners, both local and migrant, out for outings almost every quarter. I learnt this from Speaker when I was serving with him in Kembangan-Chai Chee. We bring them to explore Singapore – to see a different side of our beautiful country that they seldom get to see. I see how much they value these outings. Many do video calls during the outing to share the experience with their families back in Bangladesh.
My first recommendation is that Members of this House join us and organise these outings for our cleaners once it is safe to do so.
My second recommendation is that Members will also help humanise our cleaners. In Nee Soon East, we have placed posters at every block to share who the cleaner for that block is and also their personal stories. I hope that residents will see them not just as a cleaner but as a person.
My third recommendation is that Members will host more inclusive events, again, when it is safe to do so. In Nee Soon East, we had a beautiful barbecue party hosted by Hanif. Together with our cleaners and residents, we celebrated the birth of his son. Together, we celebrated as one Yishun family.
Sir, I truly hope that we can remove the labels that we have created and be truly inclusive. These labels should not define who we are or our place in society. These labels lead to discrimination.
[ They build our homes ]
They leave their homes to come and build our homes. Our migrant friends do the work that many Singaporeans don’t want to do. We should and we can show more appreciation for the work they do for us ❤️
Many of them are now building our Yishun Glen BTO flats and we dropped by last night to personally thank them, show our appreciation and give them a care pack
Each worker also got a personalised handwritten card done by the beautiful volunteers at Hey, You Got Mail
[ They build our homes ]
A very special thank you to our migrant workers who are building our Yishun Glen BTOs 😊 The gifts including top up cards for their phones came from the residents, people they are building the homes for 👍 A big thank you to our Yishun Glen residents for your donations too ❤️
AND my heartfelt thanks to all our volunteers and the volunteers from Backalleybarbers for giving them free haircuts today as well 💪
[ Their painful stories 😢 ]
The stories they shared were painful to listen to. I cannot imagine what it is like being so far from home and from your loved ones, not being able to be with your children, watch them grow and hug them.
“2020 has been a rollercoaster ride for everyone, especially for the migrants living among us.
We see these people every day.
They are our construction workers who have built our homes, roads, and offices.
They are our domestic workers who form the bedrock of our society through caregiving for our seniors and young children.
They are our Malaysian workers who have travelled across the causeway to make a living and support their families.
But they are so much more than the work they do.”
Thank you A Good Space and Tzu Chi Humanistic Youth Centre for organising "2020 Reflections: Voices Of Our Migrants" and thank you to our migrant friends for sharing your stories.
It was a beautiful event 🇸🇬
Participants of the discussion: AWARE, ReadABLE, SG Assist, Cassia Resettlement Team, Disable Persons Association, Project X, Sayoni, Engineering Good, REACH Community Services, 6th Sense, Pritam Singh, Louis Ng and Dr Shahira Abdullah and Anthea Ong (moderator).
Louis participated in “The Ground Speaks: Budget Conversations 2021" organised by A Good Space and CAPE to discuss how the Budget 2021 can adequately address the needs of low-income communities such as migrant workers. The discussion touched on subsidised healthcare rates for migrant workers for non-emergency medical services and financial assistance for migrant workers who have suffered salary interruptions due to COVID-19.
For more details on the insights from the discussion, visit A Good Space.
Louis asked the Minister for Manpower (a) whether she can provide an update on the pilot Household Services Scheme (HSS) that allows foreign workers to provide domestic services to households; (b) whether the pilot HSS has been considered a success; and (c) whether the Ministry will consider formalising and expanding the HSS.
Mrs Josephine Teo (MOM): The Household Services Scheme (HSS) was piloted in 2017 to allow eligible companies to hire more foreign workers to provide part-time household services, such as home cleaning. Since then, the HSS pilot has seen a reasonable level of interest from participating companies to meet the demand for part-time household services. The number of HSS companies expanded from 15 in 2017 to 71 currently. These companies are estimated to serve more than 10,000 households.
The pilot has been extended to run for another year, until August 2021. This is to allow firms and households to continue benefitting from the Scheme while the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) focused on managing the COVID-19 crisis.
MOM is currently reviewing the pilot with a view to formalise it as a permanent scheme. The review takes into consideration the effectiveness of the scheme in meeting the needs of households and providers of domestic services, and the risk of HSS workers being diverted by companies to non-domestic work. We are also assessing if the scheme can be expanded to allow HSS workers to support other types of domestic services, such as care-giving services.
[ #JustForU our migrant friends ]
A nice little shop for our migrant friends who are building the Yishun Glen BTOs in Nee Soon East
It’s an extra special shop as it is filled with LOVE All the items are donated and out migrant friends get to choose what they want and need They got clothes, daily necessities and data cards as well so they can call home and speak to their loved ones
Thank you everyone for donating and volunteering and thank you to our migrant friends for all your hard work
Louis asked the Minister for National Development with regard to the Skills Evaluation Certificate schemes (a) for each year in the past five years, what is the percentage of work permit holders who have done work involving skills that match the Skills Evaluation Certificate or Skills Evaluation Certificate (Knowledge) which they have obtained; and (b) if this information is not currently available, whether the Ministry will start tracking this information.
Mr Desmond Lee (MND): Construction Work Permit Holders (WPHs) are required to attain the Skills Evaluation Certificate (Knowledge) [SEC(K)] or equivalent, to work in Singapore. This ensures that our WPHs possess the basic knowledge and skills required to work in our construction industry. The SEC(K) covers a wide range of trades. It is in the employer’s interest to bring in workers with the relevant skills. Beyond fulfilling the basic SEC(K) requirement, construction firms are encouraged to continually upskill or train their workers to be proficient in multiple trades. This will enable the industry to fulfil its diverse manpower needs, while managing its reliance on migrant workers.
Given that a construction worker may do different kinds of works across multiple worksites, BCA does not track the percentage of construction WPHs who have done work involving skills that match the trade for the SEC(K) that they have obtained. Doing so would impose an undue administrative burden on the industry, which may not be commensurate with the information collected.
Data on Workers Who Found Employment Successfully through Foreign Construction Worker Directory System and Singapore Construction Manpower Exchange
Louis asked the Minister for Manpower (a) to date, how many and what percentage of workers successfully found employment respectively through the (i) Foreign Construction Worker Directory System and (ii) Singapore Construction Manpower Exchange; and (b) whether the Ministry will consider implementing such job-matching schemes to work permit holders in all sectors.
Dr Tan See Leng (MOM): The Singapore Construction Manpower Exchange (SCMX), set up in May 2020 by SCAL in partnership with MOM, has replaced the Foreign Construction Worker Directory System (FCWDS) as the platform to actively facilitate the matching of workers in the construction sector. It gives workers the opportunity to continue working in Singapore and saves employers the repatriation costs. Workers whose work permits have been terminated can register with SCMX and the existing employer must agree to the transfer. As of end-August 2021, around 420 workers have successfully found employment via the SCMX. These make up around 20% of the workers enrolled on the scheme.
Besides the construction sector, MOM has also partnered other trade associations, namely Singapore Business Federation (SBF), Association of Singapore Marine Industries (ASMI) and Association of Process Industries (ASPRI), to set up job-matching schemes for the manufacturing and services, marine-shipyard and process sectors respectively in March and August 2020. As of end-August 2021, around 340 workers have successfully found employment via these schemes. These make up around 50% of the workers enrolled on these schemes.
To encourage more workers to be retained in Singapore, from 1 September 2021, MOM, in partnership with SCAL has introduced a new six-month SCMX (Retention Scheme). Under this scheme, experienced workers whose previous employment has been terminated but wished to continue working in Singapore will be placed on the scheme, with safeguards in place against abuse, for example, workers who job-hopped and changed multiple employers within the past 12 months. These workers would not need to seek consent from their original employer and will be granted a 30-day stay during which SCAL will take over the responsibility for the workers, including repatriation if they are unable to find a suitable employer. MOM is in discussion with ASMI and ASPRI to explore setting up a similar retention scheme for the marine-shipyard and process sectors respectively.
Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)
Work Permit Holders Obtaining Skills Certification in Singapore Instead of Overseas Testing Centres
Louis asked the Minister for National Development (a) to date, how many work permit holders (WPHs) have been permitted to obtain their skills certification in Singapore instead of Overseas Testing Centres (OTCs); (b) how many of these WPHs successfully obtained their skills certification in Singapore; (c) what are the main reasons for those who fail to obtain their skills certification; and (d) whether the Ministry will consider (i) making this a permanent programme and (ii) allowing WPHs from more countries to obtain their skills certification in Singapore instead of OTCs.
Mr Desmond Lee: BCA has worked with MOM to temporarily allow new construction Work Permit Holders (WPHs) from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to obtain their skills certification in Singapore instead of at Overseas Testing Centres (OTCs) in the PRC, from 7 May 2021 until the end of this year. This temporary flexibility has been extended to other approved sources of construction WPHs on a case-by-case basis. Agencies will review whether this arrangement can be made permanent, while continuing to ensure that workers are equipped with the basic knowledge and skills required to work in our construction industry.
These workers must obtain their skills certification within a year of their work pass issuance. To encourage employers to get their workers certified earlier, employers have to pay higher levy rates if their workers do not obtain their skills certification within three months of their work pass issuance.
To date, about 3,500 WPHs have been permitted to obtain their skills certification in Singapore. About 1,700 of these workers have arrived in Singapore and about 90% have yet to attempt the certification test. So far, slightly more than 100 of them have obtained their skills certification.
Louis asked the Minister for Manpower (a) whether the Ministry will consider (i) providing subsidies to families using the Household Services Scheme (HSS) similar to the levy concession when hiring a migrant domestic worker and (ii) expanding the HSS to include workers from more countries; and (b) if not, why not.
Dr Tan See Leng (MOM): The Household Services Scheme (HSS) allows eligible companies to hire more migrant workers to provide part-time home cleaning services to households. This scheme seeks to increase options for households to meet their needs for domestic services. HSS companies can hire female migrant workers from India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, in addition to the existing approved countries or regions for the Services sector. The scheme was recently expanded from September 2021 to include (i) other household-related tasks, such as grocery shopping, car-washing and pet-sitting; and (ii) an additional country, Cambodia, where HSS companies can hire female migrant workers from.
Since then, 27 more companies have joined the scheme, bringing the total number of HSS companies to 103. The HSS is estimated to have benefitted 16,000 households. These households typically require domestic services for only a few hours a day or week.
The Ministry is looking to further expand the scope of services which HSS companies can offer, to better support households. We will share more information on this soon. It will take time for HSS companies to make adjustments to their services and prices as more companies come onboard the scheme and more households tap on HSS companies to meet their needs for domestic services. We will monitor the market response and engage households and HSS companies to assess if further adjustments are needed to this commercial scheme.