Speech at The 96th International Labour Conference
Dr Ng Eng Hen, Minister for Manpower and Second Minister for Defence, Geneva, Switzerland
Introduction
Mr President, on behalf of the Singapore delegation, I would like to congratulate you on your election as President of the 96th Session of the International Labour Conference.
Growing Number of Jobs for Singaporeans
2. The Singapore economy continued to grow at a healthy pace, expanding by 7.9% in 2006 and 6.1% for the first quarter of 2007. Buoyed by the strong economic growth, Singapore experienced record employment levels – 76% of working-age Singaporeans at the end of 2006 – one of the highest in the world. The unemployment rate has also dropped to a low of 2.6% in 2006. Our efforts to restructure our economy, upgrade the skills of our workforce and maintain a flexible labour market have provided more jobs for our people.
Globalisation and Vulnerability of Low-wage Workers
3. Nevertheless, globalisation has also led to widening income gaps. Low-wage workers, with lower education and fewer skills, are vulnerable to structural unemployment. ILO's efforts in helping Member States promote decent work is therefore, a timely one. In Singapore, helping vulnerable workers is one of our national priorities. Recently, new initiatives were implemented to help vulnerable workers through concerted efforts of all the tripartite partners, namely the Government, the Singapore National Employers' Federation or SNEF and the Singapore National Trades Union Congress or NTUC.
Helping Low-wage Workers with Workfare
4. Two years ago, we implemented a holistic package of policies and measures to help low-wage workers and their families based on the approach of “Workfare”, rather than welfare. Under-pinning this philosophy of workfare was that all workers, including low-wage workers, sought to be self-reliant for themselves and their families through meaningful jobs that earned adequate wages. They should be able to own their homes, educate their children, and put aside enough for their medical and retirement needs. Recommendations to assist low-wage workers achieve these goals were clustered around six broad spokes: rewarding work; social support to enable work; higher skills for better jobs; expand job opportunities; creating hope for the future; and sharing in the nation's progress.
5. Specifically, to reward work, the Government decided to supplement the take home pay and retirement savings of low-wage workers, provided they work regularly. This wage supplementation has been institutionalised in our social security system under the Workfare Income Supplement or WIS scheme. For example, a 46-year-old worker who earns $1,000 per month will get $100 of Workfare Income Supplement, representing a 10% increase in his income.
6. The other tripartite partners also play a vital role to help low-wage workers. Employers can redesign lower value added jobs into higher value, and help upgrade the skills of workers to do these jobs. Workers' organisations and unions can encourage low-wage workers to upgrade themselves and stay employable.
Countering Discrimination
7. Another important agenda item in this ILC is the ILO Director-General's report on “Equality at work: Tackling the challenges”. We recognise, as do other countries, that providing equal opportunity for employment requires a multi-faceted approach. On its own, legislation cannot eliminate discrimination. We have therefore formed a Tripartite Alliance for Fair Employment Practices or TAFEP in May 2006 to help tackle discrimination at the workplace.
8. TAFEP has made good early progress in raising awareness of fair employment practices at workplaces in Singapore. The Alliance spearheads promotional programmes to shape the perceptions and mindsets of employers, employees and the public against any discriminatory workplace practice. Notably, it has recently introduced a set of tripartite guidelines which shape corporate norms on employment practices, such as the conduct of job interviews, and the design of job application forms. The guidelines have been well-received by employers and workers. To date, more than 500 employers, including various chambers of commerce and other employment federations, as well as the Civil Service which is the largest employer in Singapore, have signed the Pledge to abide by fair employment practices.
9. TAFEP will also set up a one-stop centre where workers and employers can provide feedback on unfair employment practices and seek advisory services. Employers can also tap on the Centre's assistance to build up capability such as HR processes to implement fair employment practices.
Conclusion
10. Mr President, in closing, the Singapore delegation looks forward to a fruitful discussion on the various issues on the agenda. I am confident that under your able leadership, the 96th ILC would be a successful one. Thank you.