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Speech at Ministry of Manpower National Day Observance Ceremony 2011

Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance , Manpower, The Singapore Airlines Theatre, Lasalle College of the Arts

Employment practices Skills, training and development
Mr Stephen Lee,
President, Singapore National Employers Federation

Mr John De Payva
President, National Trades Union Congress

Mr Tony Chew
Chairman, Singapore Business Federation

My colleagues BG Tan Chuan-Jin and Mr Hawazi Daipi

Fellow colleagues at MOM, staff and friends,

Introduction

This year, we celebrate the 46th year of our independence with an economy that is healthy and strong. The global economy is troubled, and it could deteriorate further. But our fundamentals in Singapore are strong. And it is these strong fundamentals that allow us to keep our sights on the future and not be bogged down by the problems of today.

Employment is growing well. In fact, job vacancies have risen sharply, and unemployment is low.

Majulah! The Singapore Spirit

The 2011 National Day theme is “Majulah! The Singapore Spirit” - what does it mean for all of us?

  • “Majulah” - which means “Onward!”1 – it represents our constant desire for a better future as Singporeans. The word “Majulah” connects all of us because we all sing it in the National Anthem on every important occasion.
  • And what does “Singapore Spirit” represent? – there are many different definitions, many different takes on the “Singapore Spirit”. It is something to do with how we come together, regardless of race or religion, to face challenges head-on every time; something to do with how we each do our best in our jobs, in the way we raise our families and the way we look after the elderly, in the way we try to improve our communities, how we each play our part and try to do all these. It is something to do with improving Singapore year by year.
  • So Majulah! The Singapore Spirit is what we are as a people - forward-looking, and determined to overcome obstacles to build a better future for Singapore and for all Singaporeans.
  • At MOM – we must continue to “Majulah” or press ahead in our key priorities for the future. First, to boost productivity across the board; second, to ensure inclusive growth where all Singaporeans benefit; and third, to sustain and add resilience to tripartism in Singapore. These priorities are all interwoven. Each depends on the other.
Priority 1: Productivity

  • Our key task is to achieve growth driven by productivity, rather than growth driven by an ever-increasing supply of labour. The growth of our local labour force is slowing. And we cannot keep increasing our dependence on foreign labour.
  • We must therefore focus on improving the quality of jobs in the years ahead, rather than growing more jobs. This productivity-driven growth – growth that involves improving the quality of jobs - is how we will raise the incomes of Singaporeans, in every job and for every skill and talent. It is how we will get a better standard of living for all Singaporeans.
  • Our tripartite partners are working together to achieve 2-3% productivity growth on average per year over this next decade. If we achieve this, we have a good chance of raising median Singaporean incomes by 30% in real terms, in other words, after deducting inflation, over the course of this current decade - which is a significant lift in living standards. What we achieve in median incomes is of course only possible if it is growth-based income growth, so that those at the bottom, those at the lower half of the population, everyone must come onboard. We must achieve broad-based income growth for all Singaporeans.
  • The truth of the matter is that this is a challenging goal. 2-3% productivity growth is much higher than what we achieved in the last 10 years. And it is also much higher than what most other countries at a similar level of advancement as Singapore have achieved over a 10 year period.
  • So this is a real challenge, but we can achieve it if we work together and put every effort into training workers, improving management processes, investing in equipment and better software, and if we raise our game in innovation in every sector of our economy. Raising our game in innovation is the responsibility of owners and managers of enterprises, as well as the responsibility of the entire workforce.
  • We will not be able to transform ourselves overnight. Our national productivity drive is really a multi-year marathon, not a sprint. It will require concerted effort by companies, industry associations, unions, branches of unions and individual workers - all with the support of the Government. And we have committed to providing very strong support. At the end of the day, it will require the Singapore Spirit, that will help us tackle this challenge and secure a better future for all Singaporeans.

    CET

    MOM is pressing forward in developing a first-class continuing education and training (CET) system. There are many examples of how we are developing the CET infrastructure, many new programmes such as those that are aimed at the PMET group. STEP for instance, which is a very important initiative that we have embarked on to help to upgrade the professionals, managers, executives and technical workforce.

    Already, we are seeing success stories coming out of STEP. Let me share with you one example, Mr Jeremiah Oh -
    • Mr Jeremiah Oh. 
      - 31 year-old Jeremiah recently graduated from CG Protégé Animation School. A former customer services officer, he had taken the plunge and embarked on a six-month advanced certificate, followed by a 12-month WSQ Diploma in Animation. 
      - We gave him a 90% course fee grant and also given a monthly training stipend of $1,000 for the 12-month diploma course. 
      - Today, he is a proud member of the team who produced Singapore’s first 3D animated TV series - Dream Defenders and has seen his pay increase by more than 30% compared to his previous employment. 
      - One of many examples of how CET efforts are tailored to real jobs in the economy, how individual Singaporeans boost their skill-sets and salary potential.
  • Let’s press on with re-skilling and up-skilling, and improving the quality of every job, from the simplest to the most complex, from manual or the office-bound. Every job up and down the ladder can be improved, and must be improved. That is how we will raise median incomes as well as incomes for all Singaporeans.

Priority 2: Inclusive Growth

As we seek to lift productivity and wages, we will pay special attention to our lowest wage workers. No worker will be left behind.

The Government will continue to work together with our tripartite partners on the multi-pronged effort to uplift low wage workers so that they enjoy better income prospects, better employability, and more financial security.

Supporting self-reliance:

  • The Workfare Income Supplement (WIS) payment serves to encourage older and low-wage workers to find a job, stay in it and do as well as possible on the job.
  • Over and above the WIS, the Government is providing a Workfare Special Bonus (WSB), a temporary scheme which shares our budget surplus with low-wage workers for the next three years.
  • The first bonus payout was made in mid May this year and is expected to cost the Government about half a billion dollars over a span of three years – this year and the next two to come.

Give “lift” to low-wage workers and set them on path to grow their incomes:

  • The Workfare Training Support (WTS) was launched in July last year to help older low-wage workers upgrade their skills and improve their employability, upgrade to better jobs and thereby earn more.
  • Outreach efforts by Tripartite Committee for Low-Wage workers and Inclusive Growth (Tricom) such as roadshows have even brought training right to the heartlands – with demonstrations, talks to career consultants and details on available courses, making upgrading attractive, accessible and something not too distant for the average worker.

Effective employment laws to protect workers:

  • Another dimension of our work is to enforce laws to protect Singapore workers.
  • MOM has stepped up our enforcement efforts. Last year, 33 employers were convicted for offences under the Employment Act.
  • We have also increased the number of outreach sessions to educate low-wage workers on their employment rights and other employment-related issues.

Priority 3: Tripartism

  • Our concerted tripartite efforts and cooperative spirit allowed us to hold unemployment down in very difficult circumstances and also allowed the economy to recover rapidly, so that we brought jobs back quickly after the recession and brought unemployment back to the near-full employment situation.
  • This same spirit of tripartite cooperation is critical to our future - both in crisis and in peace-time.
  • Tripartism is fundamental to how we respond to future difficulties, which are bound to come in a troubled world environment. Tripartism is a real advantage in how we deal with downturns - in a way that is a plus for both workers and a plus for businesses.
  • We will be conducting public consultations with both employers and employees to see how we can also proactively enhance employment practices. This practice is not only for crises and downturns, but also for peace-time. We continuously seek to improve employment practices, improve working environment and take care of the interest of workers.
  • Just last week, MOS Tan Chuan Jin led our public consultation exercise on issues regarding foreign domestic workers (FDWs) - the first we have done for FDWs. About 50 participants, comprising employers, employment agencies, NGOs and training providers turned up to discuss issues of recruitment, selection and entry of foreign domestic workers. It was a fruitful and spirited engagement, and we received valuable feedback and insights, which will help us to formulate our policies on foreign domestic workers.
  • This is an example of how we must sort out problems and issues calmly and with practical solutions in mind.

Conclusion

  • Thank tripartite partners for their strong support, and all MOMers for their good work and dedication. Let’s work together towards a higher skilled workforce, a higher level of productivity, and a better standard of living for all Singaporeans.
  • Let’s keep up our Majulah spirit. Remaining ever ready for challenges in the economic landscape and ever steadfast in our service to the nation.
  • Majulah Singapura and Happy National Day!

1NDP2011 Official website http://www.ndp.org.sg/#/about/theme-and-logo/