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Oral Answer by Minister of State for Manpower Gan Siow Huang to PQ on reviewing the projected number of MDWs

Foreign manpower

NOTICE PAPER NO. 1091 OF 2022 FOR THE SITTING ON 4 APRIL 2022
QUESTION NO. 2792 FOR ORAL ANSWER

MP: Mr Gan Thiam Poh

To ask the Minister for Manpower in view of the disruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic and Singapore’s ageing population (a) whether there is a need to review the projected number of migrant domestic workers (MDWs) for the next 10 years; and (b) what are the lessons learnt in terms of managing the supply of MDWs.

Answer

  1. The demand for caregiving support is expected to increase as our population ages. By 2030, about one in five residents will be aged 65 and above. Employing migrant domestic workers (MDWs) is one of the caregiving options in the eldercare landscape, but other options are also being further developed. Thus, it is not just a straightforward matter to project the number of MDWs as multiple considerations with regards to caregiving are being deliberated and expanded on.
  2. To meet the varied needs of seniors and their caregivers, the Government has a wide range of eldercare services, such as home personal and nursing care, day care and community rehabilitation services. MND, MOH and HDB are also piloting assisted living in the Community Care Apartments, which integrates senior-friendly design features with services that can be scaled up and down accordingly, based on care needs. These options complement MDW- and family-caregiving. To better support families with part-time domestic needs, MOM has also recently announced the expansion of the scope of the Household Service Scheme (HSS) to include basic elder-minding services in addition to domestic cleaning services.
  3. With these caregiving services further developed, families with caregiving needs will have more choices and the growth of MDWs in Singapore may be moderated to some extent. Employers can hire MDWs from 13 approved countries overseas. As MDWs remain important to caregiving needs, MOM will encourage Employment Agencies and employers to employ MDWs from diverse sources.
  4. The Government will continue to monitor our population trends closely and regularly review our policies and plans to meet the caregiving needs of our population.