預算辯論 · 2026-03-03 · 屆國會 15
2026人力部供給委員會辯論：AI時代的勞動力與職業韌性
人力部供給委員會辯論是預算案中AI與勞動力議題的核心戰場。部長陳詩龍指出AI正在改變工作本質——不僅是做什麼工作，還包括工作如何組織、技能如何構建、職業如何演進。核心關切：(1)AI是顛覆者(gamechanger)——可增強也可替代工人，取決於工作和崗位如何重新設計；(2)SkillsFuture參與已超60萬人，458,000+新加坡人使用了SkillsFuture學分；(3)要求將"崗位重新設計"升級為"人+AI崗位重新設計"，運用設計思維整合AI與人類判斷力、同理心和創造力；(4)中年PME面臨更高風險，需要將職業健康(career health)主流化、預防化和個性化；(5)生成式AI對白領職業的風險高於手工技能型崗位。
關鍵要點
- • AI可增強也可替代工人，取決於崗位設計
- • SkillsFuture參與超60萬人
- • 崗位重新設計升級為人+AI模式
- • 中年PME面臨AI衝擊風險最高
- • 生成式AI威脅白領多於藍領
- • 職業健康需主流化與預防化
積極推動AI與勞動力融合，強調崗位重設計而非簡單自動化
質疑ITM更新速度是否跟上AI重塑產業的速度
勞動力政策從技能培訓轉向AI時代的職業韌性體系
“AI is a gamechanger. It can augment workers or displace them, depending on how work and jobs are redesigned.”
參與人員 (1)
完整譯文（中文）
Hansard 原始記錄 · 2026-05-02
主席：人力部（MOM）S項下。楊婉玲女士。
下午1時47分
獲取熟練外籍勞工
楊婉玲女士（榜鵝）：主席先生，我動議，“將估算表S項下的總撥款減少100元。”
新加坡正經歷深刻的勞動力變革。我們看到人口老齡化的影響，總生育率處於歷史低點。如今更多的勞工也是照顧者，而傳統上承擔照顧角色的女性，仍需在工作與照顧之間平衡。同時，我們的企業正應對成本上升和貿易壁壘增加所帶來的不確定全球環境。在這些變化之中，越來越多的新加坡人選擇平臺工作作為謀生方式，無論是為了靈活性、自主性還是收入穩定。疊加於此的是人工智慧（AI）的出現，它已經開始改變工作的本質。
不僅是我們所做的工作，還有工作的組織方式、技能的培養以及職業發展的演變。在此背景下，新加坡的人力政策不僅要平衡全球人才吸引與本地勞動力保護，更要積極促進新加坡人在職場演變中茁壯成長。
在上一屆政府任期內，人力部及三方夥伴攜手引導勞動力走出新冠疫情危機，使工人受益於經濟復甦。我們為低薪工人及平臺工人爭取了更好待遇，改善了照顧者獲得靈活工作安排（FWA）的機會，並提前為超級老齡社會做準備。但隨著新任期開始，我們的勞動力及產業轉型政策面臨更復雜的任務。
人工智慧是遊戲規則改變者。它可以增強工人能力，也可能取代他們，這取決於工作和職位如何重新設計。關鍵問題不是轉型是否會發生，而是轉型是否能帶來更高工資、更深技能和更好職業路徑給新加坡人。
我們的首批產業轉型地圖（ITMs）於2016年推出，當時具有前瞻性。但人工智慧正以更快速度重塑產業，要求更敏銳、更動態的應對。雖然部分ITMs已更新並輔以職位轉型地圖，我們現在必須確保它們明確指引：基於AI的業務流程重設計、勞動力轉型時間表以及現有職位淘汰時進入新角色的可信路徑。
同樣重要的是，我們必須確保僱主帶領勞動力共同前行。取代應是最後手段。隨著產業轉型，職場必須更具包容性和支援性，尤其是對中年轉職者和有照顧責任者。
雖然我們在保障平臺工人的生計穩定和近期職場保護方面取得實質進展，平臺工作本質上仍不穩定。近期平臺退出提醒我們，工人仍易受突發商業決策影響。同時，道路安全日益令人擔憂。2025年平臺工人死亡和受傷人數上升，凸顯他們每日面臨的風險。
我們需要超越基本保護。隨著更多新加坡人依賴平臺工作為主要生計，我們必須防範平臺整合導致支付和激勵的惡性競爭。平臺退出時，工人不應面臨延遲或未支付報酬的風險。需要更強保障確保及時通知、履行支付義務和清晰記錄，無論違約發生與否，同時加強道路安全保護。三方合作必須繼續作為此項工作的基石。2025年平臺工人三方小組展示了有效合作如何解決複雜挑戰，如非法平臺工作。
未來，平臺工人協會應且必須繼續作為核心支柱，加強合作，提升平臺工人的生計韌性和安全成果。今天，我的政府議會委員會（GPC）同事及勞工議員將分享我們對人力政策如何繼續保障新加坡人核心優質就業，同時在我們小紅點的土地和基礎設施限制下推動經濟進步的看法。因為這仍是一項微妙但必要的平衡。
我們必須幫助時間緊張的中年轉職者提升技能；同時不對緊張勞動力市場中的僱主施加不可持續壓力。我們必須為進入職場的高等教育學院學生提供保障，因入門職位正在演變。我們必須確保本地與外籍勞動力互補性保持靈活響應，且不損害企業敏捷性。我們必須加強收入保障，因為勞動力流動加劇、技能半衰期縮短、照顧負擔加重及成本壓力持續。
鑑於基礎設施限制和社會承載能力，我們擴充外籍勞動力的空間有限。因此，我們的人力策略必須聚焦轉型，而非替代。企業必須在提高生產力的同時減少對勞動力的依賴。本地勞動力必須隨著產業轉型提升技能層級。
在這一新階段的勞動力轉型中，我提出三項預算優先事項。
第一，我們必須繼續吸引頂尖全球人才，方式應強化而非替代新加坡人核心。這需要更強的互補框架、更明確的技能轉移期望及本地領導力路徑。
第二，面對企業利潤空間收緊，我們必須支援轉型，而非依賴勞動力擴張。外籍勞動力應與更深層次的產業升級同步調整，使競爭力由生產力驅動，而非壓低勞動力成本。
第三，生產力提升必須轉化為實際工資增長，尤其是對低薪及風險工人。職位重設計和AI採用必須直接關聯工資提升，使轉型縮小而非擴大不平等，因為最終，每位工人都重要。
[(程式文本) 提出議案。 (程式文本)]
主席：楊婉玲女士。
外籍勞動力的質量與生產力
楊婉玲女士：主席先生，我們對外籍勞動力的態度必須超越單純獲取。他們的部署必須推動生產力，並轉化為更好的工作和更強的工資成果給新加坡人。
我注意到人力部計劃於2026年將社會服務、餐飲服務和運輸行業的八個職業納入非傳統來源職業名單（NTS-OL）。NTS-OL是解決關鍵崗位人力短缺的重要工具。但在擴充套件時，我們必須確保外籍勞動力的獲取不僅僅是緩解短期勞動力缺口。
它必須積極支援隨著AI和技術轉型而升級和重新定義的職位，成為對新加坡人有吸引力的工作。因此，我呼籲人力部在擴充套件的同時附加明確的生產力掛鉤條件。
使用NTS-OL勞動力的企業也應承諾為本地員工提供結構化培訓，實現技能轉移，並通過職位重設計改善工作流程。在適當情況下，NTS-OL勞動力的獲取應與可證明的勞動力升級計劃掛鉤，包括為新加坡人設計的職業路徑和可衡量的生產力提升。
第二，我們應確保擴充套件不會抑制脆弱本地工人的工資增長。預算應支援企業在勞動力多元化的同時重設計職位，使生產力提升轉化為更高工資，而非單純替代勞動力成本。
最後，我們必須確保勞動力多元化強化新加坡人核心。這意味著在NTS-OL擴充套件的行業中，嵌入本地員工的晉升路徑、領導力管道和技能提升。外籍勞動力必須是轉型的補充，而非替代。若執行得當，此擴充套件可提升全體勞動力的生產力，支援可持續增長，帶來更好工資和優質工作給所有新加坡人。
《僱傭法》審查
黃祈添先生（亞逸）：《僱傭法》上次審查是在2018年，恰逢該法50週年。
其中一項深遠修訂是將法案保護範圍擴大至43萬名經理及執行人員。因此，覆蓋範圍的擴大使得本次審查比以往更為重要。去年預算委員會（COS）會議上，人力部宣佈了審查計劃。
幾乎同時，新加坡全國僱主聯合會迅速表態，審查不應“無意中強制推行可能減少僱主靈活性並削弱企業競爭力的漸進式僱傭做法”。除三方工作組去年8月首次會議宣佈的廣泛目標外，關於審查領域的進一步訊息甚少。有傳言稱可能會提高法定最低年假天數。
據人力部2022年資料，25至64歲全職本地員工中超過90%已享有超過法定最低7天的年假。如果擬議修訂實質上符合市場普遍做法，增加年假將是順理成章。
部長能否分享迄今為止的審議情況？人力部、工會及僱主組織如新加坡全國僱主聯合會（SNEF）之間是否存在重大分歧？因立場差異，哪些修訂領域被擱置或推遲？鑑於《僱傭法》覆蓋工人數量顯著增加，部方是否考慮在三方談判同時進行公眾諮詢？
展望未來，政府應調整三方立場，更傾向於支援工人，尤其是在當前就業環境下。正如總理今年預算演講所言，我們必須始終關照自己。
法案中長期存在的一個異常是工人與非工人的區分，在AI技能升級和職位融合的當下環境中，這一區分已變得模糊。是否有計劃實現工人與非工人在薪資門檻上的平等？
此外，法案及三方指引均設想支付裁員補償。人力部先前調查顯示，約90%的公司已按三方指引支付裁員補償。
在新加坡這樣先進經濟體中，立法將這些指引作為常規已是時候，體現對所有工人的基本標準。規模較大的公司（超過25名員工）應至少支付每服務年一個月的補償，這也是工會企業的常態。
根據人力部自身裁員資料，立法規定合理的裁員補償金額並非重大立法變革，但符合“每位工人都重要”和“我們優先”的承諾目標。人力部能否確認裁員補償是否為本次法案審查討論議題？
主席：黃祈添先生，您可將三項發言合併。
鄭德源先生（先鋒）：上次《僱傭法》修訂於2018年，2019年4月生效。我知悉審查仍在進行，宣告本人為審查三方工作組成員。
因此，我請求人力部向議會更新修訂計劃的時間表及主要領域，回應我過去幾年在議會的遊說。
同樣，《勞資關係法》上次修訂是在2015年。為避免利益衝突及保障管理效能，擁有高階管理職能的執行人員被排除在集體談判範圍外。
隨後幾年，工會嘗試擴大代表範圍涵蓋執行人員，但遇到困難，因第17(3)條款措辭過寬，僱主可主張低至中層執行人員亦屬排除物件，而法律本意僅排除高階管理層及其職能確實存在利益衝突者。
我請求人力部通過修訂指引或《勞資關係法》以法定明確性，提供更清晰堅定的闡述。
下午2時
限制競爭條款指引
我還想請部方更新關於限制競爭條款三方指引的進展。
兩年多前，人力部宣佈正與三方夥伴協商制定該指引，旨在為僱主提供更明確指導，為員工提供更好保護。當時預計2024年底釋出。
現已2026年，許多員工，尤其是專業人士、經理及執行人員（PMEs），仍面臨廣泛且限制性強的限制競爭條款，限制其流動性、議價能力及職業發展，即使無正當商業利益需保護。
部長能否向議會通報當前狀態，並說明僱主和員工何時可望獲得明確實用的指引？在此期間，人力部對受過度限制或不合理限制競爭條款影響的員工有何建議？
失業支援及強制裁員通知
幾十年來，我在勞工運動工作，陪伴成千上萬失業工人，有時提前通知，有時一夜之間，常常對未來缺乏清晰認識。裁員不僅是經濟事件，更是影響生計、家庭和尊嚴的人性事件。
我想請部方更新兩項直接影響失業工人的關鍵保障：技能未來求職者支援計劃和強制裁員通知框架。
首先，關於技能未來求職者支援計劃。自計劃啟動以來，人力部能否提供最新情況？如今，更多PMEs遭遇非自願失業，且生成式AI加劇此趨勢。我強烈建議人力部考慮將求職者支援計劃上限從現有的5,000元提高至7,600元，即專業人士、經理、執行人員及技術人員（PMETs）的中位薪資，我指的是PMETs，甚至高於PMEs，以確保計劃保持有意義、充足且反映當前勞動力市場現實。
其次，關於強制裁員通知。現行通知多在裁員決定確定後發出，屆時選擇有限，干預被動。我建議裁員通知應提前發出，以便啟動早期支援，如職業輔導、職位匹配、再部署及可能的裁員替代方案。早通知促成早干預，早干預可保住工作。
優質AI工具的獲取
何德仁副教授（提名議員）：主席先生，我建議部方考慮向更廣泛的新加坡人群體，如所有中年工人，提供限時免費或補貼的優質AI工具訪問許可權。
許多優質工具月費不超過20美元，約30新元。提供六個月全額或部分補貼訪問，可顯著幫助人們熟悉並嘗試AI。尤其是害怕錯過的心理，可能促使人們首次嘗試這些工具，儘管已有免費版本。許多工具直觀易用，無需特別培訓即可採用。
鑑於可能出現富裕與低收入群體在優質AI工具訪問上的差距，另一個建議是為低收入新加坡人長期補貼優質AI工具訪問，確保AI採用包容性，不擴大現有不平等。
AI時代的在職培訓
林志明副教授（盛港）：我一位從13歲起就認識的密友是銀行家。金融業佔我們勞動力的16分之一，這本身並不特別。但特別之處在於他如何進入該行業。我的朋友受訓於建築學，獲得學士和碩士學位，畢業後卻申請並獲得投資銀行的第一份工作。銀行為何要面試他？
據他說，他們對他的敏銳和膽識印象深刻。無論如何，他們都有理由教他工作中所需的一切知識。如今，他是一位極為成功的金融家，領導著一家頂級資產管理公司在亞太地區的業務。
這個故事說明了我們都熟悉的一個現實。儘管像我這樣的教育者盡了最大努力，但我們工作所需的大多數技能並不是在課堂上學到的，而是在生活環境中的在職培訓（OJT）中獲得的。
事實上，在職培訓（OJT）可能包括正式組織的結構，如學徒制或實習，也可能是更非正式的過程，如指導和導師制，通常傳授的專業技能對於實際日常工作表現來說，遠比證書本身所賦予的認可更有價值。
如今，澳大利亞、法國、德國、印度、瑞士和土耳其等多樣化國家都擁有國家級的學徒制體系。新加坡也有在職培訓體系，但存在某些不足。
技能未來（SkillsFuture）旗下的勞動力技能資格（WSQ）框架包括僅評估路徑。但由於強調紙面資格，僅評估路徑仍受制於對評估而非實際展示的堅持，對證書獲取而非經驗的偏重。我所接觸的人士表示，這已成為技能行業職業晉升的阻礙，而非真正的跳板。
勞動力新加坡（WSG）運營現有的職業轉換計劃（CCPs），但這些大多與行業轉型地圖相關。實際上，涵蓋的行業有限，主要限於專業和技術崗位，而非廣泛基礎。
WSG還為僱主提供職業試用計劃，企業可在政府支援下試用員工一段時間。這有助於分散僱主的招聘風險。但對於尋求再培訓和技能提升的學員如何獲得結構化系統性的新技能接觸，則不太明確。
最近，WSG推出了面向工藝教育學院（ITE）、理工學院和大學畢業生的產業畢業生實習計劃（GRIT）。這是一個重大舉措，我全力支援。但快速搜尋顯示，開放職位不足100個。
勞動力部長黃循財在國慶集會上宣佈該計劃時提到，如果經濟惡化，將擴大該計劃。儘管經濟表現良好，我相信GRIT的時機已經成熟。
自主型人工智慧（Agentic AI）威脅取代入門級職位。然而，若沒有培訓新員工的渠道，尤其是現場培訓，將出現經驗豐富的中級工人短缺的難題，而這類人才需求依然旺盛。政府正是可以介入，通過補貼勞動力市場無法滿足的缺口。我建議我們制度化國家級的在職培訓體系，涵蓋學徒制、實習和導師制。
目前，獲取GRIT職位主要是分散的，主要依賴招聘單位主動釋出或少數私人職位中介。理工學院和部分大學專案確實贊助實習，但僅限於已完成課程部分的學生。大多數接受學徒制的專案集中於技術或專業學科，如金融、技術、醫學或法律。
這些事實意味著在職培訓的益處往往只惠及勞動力的有限部分，且目前大多數職位面向的是科學、技術、工程和數學（STEM）或金融畢業生，他們多數已有能力尋找、識別並申請此類機會。有大量證據表明，實習和學徒制不僅有助於知識轉移和更高效的生產，還能在一定程度上減少勞動力市場的兩極分化，這在新加坡日益成為關注點。然而，這類體系在更大制度框架內運作時更為成功。
國家級機構將建立各方承諾的標準規則，促進工人與企業的匹配，並鼓勵學徒完成正式培訓後轉移至其他企業。重要的是，通過主導建立全國認可的實習和學徒計劃，實現證書的自願漸進式獲取，政府還能規範學習文化，使更多候選人受益。非學術領域，如烹飪藝術、音樂和體育；手工藝實踐，如製表、傢俱製造及其他技藝；以及依賴經驗和在職培訓而非單純書本知識的職業。換言之，政府是否願意成為支援那些有志於貢獻於傳統上服務不足但能提供有意義中產階級穩定工作的經濟部門的新加坡人的倡導者？
該國家在職培訓體系可通過兩個方面進一步強化。首先，為鼓勵企業參與，我建議允許工人將技能未來積分用於帶薪實習專案。其次，按照慣例，此類學徒和實習通常為短期，六個月至一年——
主席：楊業財先生。
提升低薪工人
楊業財先生（拉丁馬士選區）：主席先生，提升低薪工人的工資和工作前景是建設真正“我們優先”社會的基礎，一個進步共享、沒有工人被落下的社會。
漸進工資模式（PWM）在過去十年取得顯著成效。低薪工人的收入增長超過中位數。然而，從2024年到2025年，中位數實際收入增長超過低薪工人。
這一雖小但值得警惕的逆轉發出警訊。如果我們真心追求包容性增長，低薪工人的工資增長必須持續超過中位數，而非僅僅持平。提高本地合格薪資（LQS）值得歡迎，但僅靠工資規定是不夠的。僱主必須推動業務和勞動力轉型，將生產力提升融入低薪崗位。
PWM的優勢在於將工資與技能、責任和生產力掛鉤，而非簡單設定工資底線。它維護尊嚴並鼓勵晉升。
三方工作組重申生產力是可持續工資增長的基礎。因此，我問人力部，我們是否在PWM行業看到可衡量的部門生產力提升？如果沒有，將採取哪些進一步措施？
必須支援工人提升和轉型技能以增強職業流動性，尤其在人工智慧重塑經濟之際。培訓獲取必須更智慧、更有針對性。我敦促人力部利用人工智慧個性化技能未來課程推薦，整合入全國職工總會（NTUC）人工智慧職業教練，使工人獲得明確的技能路徑指導。
人工智慧將重塑各行業。問題不在於工作是否改變，而在於低薪工人是否能從變化中受益，而非被取代。我呼籲政府與三方夥伴緊密合作，共同開發人工智慧增強崗位，更新技能框架，使技術應用轉化為可衡量的生產力提升、更優工作質量和更強工資增長，特別是在PWM行業。
主席先生，擺在我們面前的問題很簡單。隨著新加坡前進，我們的低薪工人能否更快進步？包容性增長不會偶然發生，它需要意圖、問責和行動。讓我們重新承諾，確保進步階梯觸手可及，沒人被落下。
提高工作補貼收入門檻
林志明副教授：先生，2025年，商品及服務稅（GST）券的可及收入門檻從34,000美元上調至39,000美元。這並非首次調整。2012年設為24,000美元，之後每隔幾年持續上調。歷史調整源於生活成本上升及GST提高。自2012年以來，增長約1.6倍。
相比之下，工作補貼收入補助的收入門檻從2013年前的1,700美元，2013年調至1,900美元，2023年為2,500美元，2025年為3,000美元。相當增長約1.75倍。雖看似相當，但最近一輪通脹對最貧困者影響最大。因為價格漲幅最大的類別，如食品、交通和租金，在低收入群體支出中佔比過高。
這一結論有大量新加坡及全球研究支援。名義工資增長可能部分抵消購買力下降，但尚不明確是否如此。畢竟，儘管2024年最低百分位實際收入顯著提升，但此前多年實際收入增長落後於中位數。我認為應不成比例地將工作補貼收入門檻提高至3,500美元，更好支援那些努力維持生計卻受高成本壓力困擾的人。
下午2時15分
新加坡的就業不足
鄭德源先生：我特別關注新加坡非時間性非自願就業不足問題，呼籲加強監測這一趨勢。
全國職工總會（NTUC）已與新加坡科技設計大學合作開展研究，近期將分享更多資訊。我們意識到這通常由職位、技能與僱主及求職者（無論年輕或年長）期望不匹配引發。此類不匹配可能導致就業不足。我們應密切監測，並在個人職業生涯各階段提供適當的職業諮詢、輔導和指導，從第一份工作、工作期間、尋找下一份工作乃至退休和再就業。
同理，我建議批准個人及僱主的技能未來積分用於專業職業輔導、指導、導師制和諮詢服務，超出目前高等教育機構、勞動力新加坡（WSG）和就業促進機構（e2i）提供的範圍。
縮小青年就業差距
嚴彥松先生（亞歷山大選區）：先生，新加坡畢業生面臨嚴峻的就業市場。隨著人工智慧自動化許多入門級任務，企業越來越優先考慮能立即產出的候選人，而非應屆畢業生。2025年9月，30歲以下居民失業率為5.5%，幾乎是全國居民失業率的兩倍。畢業後若無法儘快獲得優質崗位，許多青年將面臨長期負面影響，早期失業與終身收入降低、技能退化甚至社會和公民疏離相關。
在繼續之前，我宣告本人為一家中小企業（SME）的董事及股東。
為支援新加坡青年更順利進入職場，我提議設立青年工資補貼計劃。該計劃激勵微型和小型企業為工藝教育學院（ITE）、拉薩爾藝術學院、南洋藝術學院、理工學院及大學畢業生提供首個正式職位。前三個月內提供20%工資補貼，涵蓋關鍵的試用期和初期培訓。政府可共同承擔20%工資，補貼上限為每月1,000美元。此舉確保畢業生獲得優質崗位和結構化培訓，同時政府分擔入職初期成本。針對微型和小型企業的工資補貼，助力這些小企業提供更具競爭力的薪酬，幫助其與中大型企業爭奪人才。
為應對僱主擔憂青年員工培訓後迅速離職，政府可額外資助20%的一個月留任獎金，僅在僱傭滿一週年時發放。我建議該計劃初期實施三年，並進行嚴格效果評估後再決定是否延長。
該計劃將補充GRIT計劃。GRIT提供三至六個月的臨時崗位，但不保證全職穩定就業。此提案鼓勵從第一天起永久聘用。關鍵是，GRIT僅限800個名額，而該工資補貼可支援每年約53,000名畢業生中的更大比例。
青年工資補貼計劃將重點從臨時培訓轉向立即穩定的中小企業就業。通過激勵永久聘用，緩衝人工智慧驅動的崗位替代，確保新加坡下一代以更大安全感和信心進入職場。
崗位再設計
何德成副教授：主席先生，我宣告本人為提供職場學習和崗位再設計諮詢服務的教育機構高階管理人員。
我擔憂新加坡崗位豐富與本地工人願意從事崗位之間的不匹配。隨著人口老齡化，護理和醫療崗位將持續增長。儘管生成式人工智慧（GenAI）可能威脅多種白領職業，但需要手工技能或靈巧度的崗位相對抗自動化。技術工種如技師和機械師不易被自動化取代。
然而，許多新加坡青年不願從事醫療和技術工種。這將增加我們對外籍勞動力的依賴，同時難以滿足青年人的職業期望。現實是，並非所有新加坡人都能成為專業人士或企業高管，在高度競爭和技術驅動的全球經濟中，許多人必須在服務業和技術工種中發展職業。工資是重要考量，這些崗位的薪酬必須提升。但崗位吸引力還取決於工作是否有意義及社會認知。
我的問題是，我們是否能更大膽地大規模再設計崗位，如護理、安全和技術工種，使其成為青年人渴望追求的職業，讓人工智慧和機器人接管繁瑣工作，而工人則專注於服務設計、創新和客戶互動。應有更多如高階執業護士的崗位，賦予更大專業責任及相應薪酬和認可。目標是開發融合頭腦、情感和技能的崗位，使其更抗人工智慧和自動化，同時比單一維度崗位更吸引新加坡人。
我還想強調崗位再設計的第二個方面。隨著組織審視工作流程以利用人工智慧和自動化，我們需要更強的人本崗位再設計能力，確保人工智慧增強而非取代人類貢獻。
儘管人工智慧模型迅速發展，我仍對人類獨特價值持樂觀態度。因為人工智慧模型缺乏意識，沒有內在的對錯感，且基於過去或現有資料訓練。認識這些限制有助於我們識別應塑造崗位再設計的人類獨特優勢。我希望新加坡能引領人本崗位再設計，並想問人力部是否有計劃發展更深專業知識。
讓我以一個簡短例子結束。去年，我在阿斯塔納參加會議時，加入了由一位年輕導遊帶領的一日遊。他帶我徒步登上一座俯瞰湖泊的山頂，那不是典型旅遊景點，而是他祖父母小時候帶他去玩的地方。那段個人故事和對地點的人文聯絡，創造了電子導遊或人工智慧無法複製的體驗。這讓我相信，即使在人工智慧驅動的未來，人類的洞察力、同理心和講故事能力仍將是有意義工作的核心。
支援多元技能發展
張佩珊女士（非選區議員）：先生，我們已投資建設技能優先經濟的基礎設施。2024年11月推出的職業與技能護照體現了這一願景。截至去年11月，已有超過70萬人使用該護照。這是良好開端，但使用量並不代表僱主評估和招聘候選人的方式發生了實質性轉變。工具能改變工人展示技能的方式，但單靠工具無法改變招聘行為。如果僱主仍基於學歷和過往職位招聘，那麼正如我同事安德烈昨天所說，護照可能淪為數字檔案櫃。
證據顯示存在一個真實的差距。由經濟合作與發展組織（OECD）和成人學習研究院（Institute for Adult Learning）共同開發的2025年技能優先準備與採納指數，將新加坡在30個參與國家中排名第12。雖然新加坡在採用技能優先實踐方面取得了實質性進展，但關鍵差距仍然存在，例如企業採用技能優先招聘和更強的生態系統協調。
相關地，在人力資源專業人士協會（IHRP）進行的一項調查中，九成受訪者相信技能優先招聘能夠擴大其組織的人才庫。然而，63%的招聘經理，即負責面試和處於招聘前線的人士表示，他們對技能優先招聘實踐不熟悉。
這是能力差距，而非價值觀問題。由人力發展新加坡（WSG）和技能未來新加坡（SSG）合併成立的新法定機構被宣佈為工人的一站式服務中心。我希望它也能成為僱主的變革夥伴。它應致力於彌合不僅是技能差距，還有那些擁有真實技能組合的工人與尚未識別這些技能的僱主之間的評估差距。
我有兩點建議。第一，新機構應開發實用工具包，供僱主用於基於作品集的評估和技能優先招聘。第二，將技能優先招聘能力納入人力資源行業轉型計劃，並嵌入所有層級人力資源專業人士的認證路徑中。
新加坡核心與人力資本實踐
鄭德源先生：我想請人力部（MOM）介紹加強新加坡核心工作的現狀，以及互補性評估框架（COMPASS）的最新進展。自啟動以來，尤其是在取消公平考慮框架（Fair Consideration Framework）三重弱勢觀察名單後，其效果如何？
一些招聘人員坦言，他們只有在必須滿足政府要求，即在MyCareersFuture入口網站上釋出職位14天后，才能聘用外國專業人士（PMEs）時才會釋出職位。如果情況如此，政府將難以準確掌握新加坡所有可用職位空缺。人力部是否考慮動員和/或要求所有公司在該入口網站上釋出其空缺職位，以便於跟蹤、分析和理解行業招聘需求？
同樣，我聽說有些人僅將14天釋出要求作為表面功夫。同樣，目前非常需要對就業中介機構進行更嚴格的審查，因為有時違規和表面功夫是由他們實施的。我敦促人力部對此保持密切關注。
關於第二點，人力資本從業者，尤其是他們的實踐和流程，對於促進公平包容的工作場所，包括擁有強大新加坡核心的工作場所，至關重要。我知道人力資源專業人士協會（IHRP）正在努力認證人力資本從業者，頒發IHRP認證。我宣告本人是人力資本發展工作組的聯合主席。
人力部是否可以逐步強制要求人力資源從業者獲得認證，既然我們已有IHRP認證？在此期間，或許公司應考慮至少擁有一名獲得IHRP認證的人力資源專業人士，方可獲准聘用任何外籍勞動力。同樣，我建議允許僱主使用其企業技能未來（Enterprise SkillsFuture）積分，類似於工人所擁有的，用於派遣其人力資源員工參加IHRP培訓和認證。
校準新加坡核心與競爭力
李顯龍先生（提名議員）：主席，企業支援強大新加坡核心的原則。外籍勞動力必須保持互補，而非替代。這一社會契約是根本且必須維護的。然而，我們看到的並非邊際調整，而是勞動成本基線的結構性重置。
自2020年以來，僱傭準證（EP）合格薪資將從4500新元提升至明年的6000新元，六年多時間內約增長三分之一。同一時期，S準證合格薪資將從2500新元提升至2027年的3600新元，約增長44%。一級S準證徵費現為650新元。低薪準證（LQS）將於7月提升至1800新元。
單獨看，每項調整或許合理，但合計起來，代表了成本結構的顯著轉變，尤其是對於本地勞動力池有限的行業，儘管已盡最大努力。
在高階領域，新加坡競爭以成為區域總部和專業任務的樞紐。新加坡與其他中心之間的選址決策日益邊際化。當更高的EP門檻疊加上租金、能源和合規成本的提升時，累積效應顯著。搬遷是顯而易見的，未實現的投資則不易察覺。錯失任務和未能落戶的團隊可能悄然縮減未來新加坡人的就業機會。
在S準證方面，壓力更為迫切。面向國內的行業，如餐飲（F&B）、零售及其他勞動密集型行業，利潤微薄。許多企業已實現數字化和流程簡化。進一步的成本上升將導致兩條路：提高價格，加劇生活成本壓力；或壓縮運營，降低服務水平和就業規模。
重要的是，這些行業正支援低薪新加坡工人的工資提升。如果企業生存能力減弱，我們希望提升的工人可能面臨招聘和晉升放緩。
關於LQS，我要明確：提升低薪新加坡人是國家優先事項，僱主支援這一方向。漸進式工資補貼計劃（PWCS）有所幫助。問題不在原則，而在於節奏和校準，尤其是在多重槓桿同時調整時。這裡也存在結構性矛盾。企業被鼓勵提升外籍勞動力質量，但各技能層級的徵費增加意味著升級和留用成本均在上升。當成本差距縮小時，升級動力可能減弱。
因此，問題是如何同時實現三大目標：維護社會契約，保持新加坡競爭力，以及維持新加坡人長期就業機會。
人力部如何評估累計的合格薪資和LQS調整是否強化了新加坡核心而不削弱競爭力？是否存在結構化框架評估行業敏感性，尤其是利潤微薄或自動化路徑有限的行業？若出現意外經濟影響，有無機制進行重新校準？
如果校準得當，新加坡可以保持競爭力與社會凝聚力，成為企業成長、投資落戶和新加坡人繁榮的地方。
下午2時30分
親商即親工
羅順先生（惹蘭勿剎）：主席，我宣告我是聯邦資本集團的集團董事總經理，該集團是一家新加坡全球企業，管理著1000多個就業崗位。政府議程的核心之一是就業。除了收入，工作還賦予工人尊嚴、意義和信心——這是政府補貼無法替代的。
我們應支援就業和工人。我還要補充，政府應採納這樣一種理念：要親工，政策也必須親商。我們應視企業為政府實現政策目標的平臺和夥伴。讓我舉三點。
第一，我們希望讓長者延長就業時間，理想情況下薪資與年輕時相當，即使生產力有所下降。第二，我們希望通過提升低端工資來縮小收入差距，甚至超過低薪工人的生產力水平。第三，我們希望求職者儘快找到工作，即使這意味著他們必須在工作中學習技能以勝任崗位。
從僱主角度看，招聘很少是短期行為。企業通常提前一年以上規劃。因此，我建議人力部的政策納入兩項原則。
第一，正如李顯龍先生所說，企業應獲得更多時間以適應政策變化。第二，企業應獲得更長期的方向指引，而非每年臨時延長補助。我建議立即實施。
首先，關於高階就業補貼（Senior Employment Credit），今年再次延長，此前已於2023年和2025年延長。為何不承諾更長期延長，並提前兩年通知僱主任何變更？
其次，漸進式工資補貼計劃（PWCS）可設為更長期，或納入永久的工作補貼計劃（Workfare）。這尤為重要，若技術變革擴大了生產力差距，低薪工人難以彌補。另建議維持PWCS支援的最低工資門檻為100新元，而非政府擬定的200新元。
第三，整合政府的實習和崗位培訓計劃，使僱主獲得限時薪資支援，聘用任何已積極求職六個月的求職者。政府已有職業轉換計劃（Career Conversion Programmes）作為現行模式。我的建議是不再對求職超過六個月者設定不同崗位或行業限制。這實際上涵蓋了嚴傑立議員關於青年求職的提議。
這些舉措親商，最終也親工。它們將有效緩解許多議員提出的就業相關焦慮。
推動勞動力轉型
溫瑞扎爾博士（惹蘭勿剎）：主席，技術不會改變企業，改變企業的是人。如果我們想實現持續增長，企業和工人必須共同轉型。不是先AI後人，而是共同轉型。這就是企業勞動力轉型方案實施的重要性。
首先，將技術採納與崗位重塑掛鉤。許多企業投資於AI和自動化，這是好事。但真正的考驗是：我們是在重塑崗位，還是僅僅減少員工？崗位重塑必須成為企業轉型的預設預期。
一家物流中小企業採用AI路線最佳化時，沒有裁減司機，而是培訓他們進行數字車隊協調和客戶管理。生產力和工資均提升。在精密工程領域，AI輔助檢測減少了人工檢查。技術員未被替代，而是轉型為機器人維護和資料職能。這是我們想要的模式：採納技術，重塑崗位，提升技能，分享成果。
第二，使轉型對中小企業切實可行。中小企業面臨成本、能力和困惑等實際限制。若申請支援需穿越多個計劃和機構，將失去他們。人力部能否確保方案簡化，提供明確諮詢支援，幫助中小企業開展結構化崗位重塑和技能對映？轉型必須務實，而非理論。
第三，為工人展示清晰路徑。對工人而言，轉型必須回答三個問題：我需要哪些技能？誰支援我的培訓？我的工資如何提升？尤其是中年和低薪工人必須看到切實的晉升，而不僅是數字化。如果AI提升了生產力，但工資停滯，信心必然受損。
因此，我的問題是：人力部如何衡量企業在採納技術的同時是否重塑崗位？第二，人力部是否會公佈結果指標，如重塑崗位數量和工資提升情況？第三，如何加強對中小企業的諮詢支援，確保AI採納促進崗位升級而非裁員？第四，人力部如何支援因AI影響而失業的零工和自僱人士？
主席，企業轉型必要，但勞動力轉型不可妥協。增長必須提升工人，否則難以持久。
成熟專業人士的職業與就業能力
陳淑貞女士（東海岸）：主席，專業人士（PMEs）佔本地居民勞動力的64.2%，新加坡正邁向超級老齡社會，強化40至60歲初期PMEs的職業健康日益緊迫。我們的勞動力迅速老齡化，工人中位年齡現為45歲，隨著產業轉型，許多中年專業人士面臨更大風險。
我們已有堅實基礎。2025年技能未來參與人數超過60萬，企業培訓委員會（CTCs）持續推動崗位重塑和技能提升，多階段職業聯盟（AfA）提供額外支撐。但為維持就業能力，我們必須使職業健康成為主流、預防性且易於行動。我有三點建議。
一、引入國家職業健康篩查。我建議在MyCareersFuture和勞工總會（NTUC）AI職業教練基礎上，增設一項國家標準化、補貼的職業健康篩查，面向35至65歲PMEs。類似預防性健康檢查，該診斷將評估技能準備度和數字差距、崗位匹配及流動選項；以及轉型風險，特別是需求減弱的行業，如專業服務、製造業和資訊通訊技術。高風險者將獲得簡短的人力輔導，直接連結MyCareersFuture以便跟進。標準化篩查配合人工支援，幫助PMEs及早行動，助僱主預見再部署和勞動力轉型需求。
二、使中年職業更新成為共同責任。工人正在提升技能，去年超過45.8萬新加坡人使用技能未來積分。但僱主，尤其是中小企業，需要更強支援以重塑崗位、再培訓員工和招聘中年候選人。共資更新計劃可支援崗位重塑、向增長領域再部署及崗位特定、僱主驗證的培訓。這至關重要，因為退休和再就業年齡今年將分別提升至64歲和69歲。中年職業更新將影響幾乎每位PME的職業生涯。我將在稍後COS發言中詳細闡述加強人力資源能力。
三、將多階段職業嵌入職場。現代職業非線性。面對老齡化和壽命延長，借鑑基於證據的框架，包括斯坦福長壽模型，我們可在構建、鞏固、再培訓和轉型階段推廣國家職業分類。這為工人和僱主提供共同語言，促進更好規劃、更清晰預期和更主動的職業決策。
主席，支援成熟PMEs的職業健康和就業能力需要建立新的國家契約，基於共同責任。政府必須提供早期訊號工具、便捷支援和明確路徑。僱主必須重塑工作並投資中年職業更新。工人必須承擔終身職業健康的責任。
若能做到，PMEs將擁有清晰、信心和能力，保持就業能力，在更長、更充實的職業生涯中有意義地貢獻，確保新加坡勞動力在老齡化中保持韌性。
技能工種應獲尊重與支援
彭麗燕女士（海灣-布萊德爾高地）：主席，我發言主題是通過技能工種創造多元成功路徑，以及我們作為社會需要的心態轉變，即認可動手工作為必要、技能性強且值得尊重的職業。
在辯論中，AI的興起及其多種用途被廣泛討論。但我們不能忘記，新加坡每天依靠修理電梯、維護社群、保障廚房運轉、維修車輛、安裝電氣系統及應急響應的工作人員。這些不是“低技能”工作，而是需要工藝、紀律、判斷力，且通常需多年磨鍊的崗位。AI無法替代這些工作。如果我們想要強大的本地勞動力核心，必須重視這些工作和角色，不僅僅是口頭上，更要體現在對這些工人的待遇和職業晉升設計上。
主席，我歡迎政府將與僱主、勞工運動、行業協會和高等院校合作，開發技能工人的結構化職業路徑，使傾向於動手和“用心”工作的人員看到晉升和職業發展的可能。這是重要訊號，因為認可不僅是社會尊重，更是清晰的路徑。人們看到掌握技能的前景，才會投入精進。
因此，我提出三點務實呼籲。
第一，積極推廣技能工種是必要工作且受尊重的選擇，而非備選或次選。這關乎工作中的尊嚴和自豪感，影響年輕人、家長和僱主對這些路徑的看法。
第二，應確保技能掌握轉化為良好生活。技能需時間積累，深厚掌握應通過結構化晉升、基於技能的薪酬等級和從學徒到專家再到大師級工匠等可信頭銜體現。如果希望新加坡人留在工種領域，實際工資和晉升必須清晰且具競爭力。
第三，企業必須成為解決方案的一部分。我敦促僱主支援並公平報酬技工，並呼籲政府與行業合作，建立一致的培訓、指導和評估標準，尤其是在能力參差不齊的中小企業中。強大的本地勞動力不僅僅建立在善意之上，而是建立在使技能發展和晉升成為現實的系統上。
主席，我的問題是：在制定結構化的熟練技工職業路徑時，我希望部委能確保這些路徑具有可見性、可信度和以結果為導向，使熟練工人能夠實現真正的晉升和認可，年輕的新加坡人也能看到技工職業是通往成功的首選路徑。
重視熟練技工職業路徑
Saktiandi Supaat議員（碧山-大巴窯）：主席，最近我在大巴窯與一名維修我們較老組屋的電梯技師交談。他分享說，如今的系統比以前複雜得多。他的工作不再只是機械維修，而是需要解讀系統資料、排查混合系統故障並確保安全標準得到滿足。這不是低技能工作，而是應用技術專長。即使是最先進的人工智慧系統，也無法獨自維修我們建屋發展局（HDB）組屋的電梯，維護我們的地鐵（MRT）列車和軌道，或服務精密製造機械。
隨著我們自動化更多流程，我們需要高度勝任的技師來補充人工智慧。我們必須充分投資於熟練技工，以免出現高階創新卻缺乏足夠的運營深度。部委是否追蹤關鍵熟練技工的中長期人力預測，特別是支援數字基礎設施和綠色轉型的技工？我們是否發現任何新興缺口？
從工資和生產力角度看，如果技工職業沒有明確的晉升和有競爭力的收入，年輕新加坡人將不願進入這些行業，本地核心力量將隨時間削弱。中級技術崗位是否已有工資壓縮的跡象？這將如何影響這些職業對新加坡人的吸引力？
真正的技藝精通需要多年學徒、重複操作和積累經驗，應當以良好且穩定的生活水平作為回報。政府是否考慮制定國家大師級技工認證框架——類似其他行業的特許專業人士的國家分級認證，認可高階技工精通水平，併為職業轉換者和勞動力轉型開闢新途徑？
人力部如何與高等院校和行業機構合作，制定明確透明的技工職業階梯及工資參考標準，使從學徒到高階專家的晉升在職責和薪酬上都有清晰結構？
下午2時45分
支援變革中的工人
Ng Chee Meng議員（實龍崗）：主席，過去十年，勞工運動與三方夥伴緊密合作，為工人爭取更好工資、福利和工作前景。我們的工人，包括專業、管理及執行人員（PME），持續實現實際工資增長。多元技能提升計劃（PWM）使低薪工人的實際收入增長幅度最大。如今收入不平等處於歷史最低水平。PME若被裁員，也能通過SkillsFuture求職者支援計劃獲得更好支援。年輕畢業生通過GRIT計劃獲得額外就業支援。
展望未來，技術和全球經濟變動可能導致工人，尤其是PME，面臨更頻繁的就業中斷。隨著社會進入“超級老齡化”時代，工人還將面臨更強烈的照護需求。這些變化將影響各年齡層、各職業類別的工人。因此，我們必須更多關注他們的獨特需求和挑戰。
今天，我將重點爭取更多支援給年輕畢業生、PME和照護者。其他議員已涵蓋或將涵蓋其他工人群體。
首先，我們要從一開始就加強年輕畢業生的職業健康。許多議員也有類似呼籲。年輕畢業生進入職場時，工作性質正在轉變。有時他們需要在入門級崗位上勝過人工智慧，有時則需迅速補充人工智慧技能以保持競爭力。職業生涯中，他們可能多次適應和轉型，因為變化速度和技能淘汰加快。
我請求人力部陪伴年輕畢業生應對這些挑戰。我們必須大膽重新思考、更新和重塑技能與就業生態系統，使包括PME在內的工人在職業各階段，從畢業到退休，都能獲得更好支援和賦能。
合併技能發展局（SSG）和就業與職業指導局（WSG）是朝正確方向邁出的一步。我們必須努力促進業務轉型與勞動力轉型的更好整合。
這很重要。根據全國職工總會（NTUC）的經驗，當工人，包括PME，看到培訓能帶來更高工資或更好工作機會時，他們更願意提升技能。此外，業務轉型與勞動力提升同步進行時，能釋放真正價值，因為企業能更好地將人工智慧融入商業模式，工人也能更好地應用所學並分享實際生產力提升。
我有兩個澄清問題。第一，部委能否分享更多關於SSG與WSG合併如何惠及工人（包括PME）從畢業到退休職業發展的細節？第二，部委是否考慮如何更好地整合業務轉型與勞動力轉型的各項努力，並與三方夥伴合作，作為新機構的一部分？
第二個群體是我們的PME。尤其是中年、中等收入、需要支援子女和年邁父母的PME，他們特別擔心裁員對自己和家庭的影響。
因此，NTUC一直呼籲為面臨裁員的工人，特別是PME，提供更多支援。我們要求強制提前裁員通知，以便為面臨裁員的PME提供更早更好的過渡支援；並審查SkillsFuture求職者支援計劃，確保為中等收入PME提供基本支援。
基於此，我想問部委是否考慮提前強制裁員通知，以便更早更好地支援被裁工人；以及是否擴大現有SkillsFuture求職者支援計劃的覆蓋範圍，納入中等收入PME。
第三個群體是我們的照護者。隨著新加坡快速老齡化，越來越多工人，尤其是30至50歲的“夾心一代”，將面臨照顧幼兒和年邁父母的雙重壓力。
照護問題早在2023年我們的“每位工人都重要”對話中就已成為關鍵關注點。NTUC最近的經濟情緒調查顯示，近一半受訪照護者因照護壓力考慮離職。我們必須做更多工作，支援照護者平衡工作與照護。
首先，我們應推動更強有力的制度措施，包括法定帶薪照護假，使照護者能繼續就業，在快速轉型的經濟中保持技能更新。其次，為因照護而離職的照護者提供更多支援和更早的退休保障承諾。為50歲及以上新加坡人提供一次性、基於資產測試的中央公積金（CPF）補充，是朝正確方向邁出的一步，尤其惠及照護者。
然而，我特別關注一群約13,000名因照護年邁親屬而退出勞動力市場的人。我注意到人力部資料顯示，這群人大多是女性、單身、50歲及以上、非高等教育背景且無近期工作經驗。
我們認為還有提升空間。我們請求部委研究為中低收入、因照護離職且缺乏退休保障的照護者提供有針對性的CPF補充。這些措施將為工人提供更大支援和更早保障，確保他們為照護所做的犧牲不會過度影響自身長期需求。因此，我想請部委說明其研究和考慮更好支援照護者就業能力和退休保障的計劃。
更多退休保障支援
Sanjeev Kumar Tiwari議員（提名議員）：主席，隨著我們成為超級老齡社會且壽命延長，退休資金充足變得至關重要。NTUC和工會一直倡導恢復成熟工人的CPF繳費率，使其與年輕工人相匹配。我很高興聽到總理在2026年預算中宣佈加強CPF計劃以支援工人退休保障。
我們感謝政府持續提高繳費率，並延長CPF過渡補貼以支援僱主實施繳費提升。然而，面對新加坡勞動力老齡化及激烈競爭環境，部委如何追蹤成效並確保55至64歲年齡段的高齡就業率不受影響？
我們也期待新的自願CPF投資計劃推出生命週期投資產品。對許多人來說，CPF特別賬戶是熟悉且穩定的儲蓄增長方式。隨著2025年特別賬戶關閉，一些會員對如何在55歲後繼續增長資金以備養老感到不確定。
部長能否說明如何向會員，尤其是不熟悉投資風險且無法承擔高風險的人，清晰解釋該計劃？將提供何種指導，幫助他們做出明智決策，避免無意中承擔不完全理解的風險？
最後，我也歡迎為50歲及以上餘額較低的新加坡人補充CPF餘額。我呼籲政府繼續密切監測新加坡人的退休保障成效，特別是對有需要、處於弱勢行業、年齡較大且CPF餘額較低的人群，鑑於當前的轉型。
終身退休儲蓄
Shawn Loh議員：主席，終身退休投資計劃（LRIS）將成為CPF體系的變革者。今年一月我在議會提出此議題時，得知人力部正處於實施的最後階段，我感到欣慰。
經過十年研究！在此期間，典型的全球投資組合（65%股票、35%債券）以新加坡元計年均收益約6%。而CPF普通賬戶的投資收益僅為2.5%。這幾個百分點的差異，長期累積，可能決定退休時是焦慮還是安心。這也可能是解決財富不平等的部分方案，因為廣大中產階級在CPF儲蓄中持有大量資產。
CPF LRIS並非適合所有人。正如Sanjeev議員所說，個人需根據自身風險承受能力評估。有些人希望普通賬戶儲蓄保持流動性以備未來購房需求，有些人則不願動用享有4%無風險利率的特別賬戶儲蓄。事實上，鑑於總理上週更新稱，四分之三使用特別賬戶投資CPFIS的投資者表現不及4%無風險利率，部委應考慮在LRIS推出後關閉特別賬戶的CPFIS計劃。
總體而言，我相信LRIS將惠及大多數新加坡人，尤其如果我們能做到以下幾點。第一，開展大規模公眾教育活動，宣傳承擔長期投資風險以獲得更高預期回報的好處。這不應是例行公關，而應是向新加坡人推介平衡長期非投機性投資風險以實現更高預期回報的“銷售”宣傳。
第二，儘可能簡化LRIS的選擇流程，甚至可將LRIS設為某些情況下的預設選項。例如，將普通賬戶餘額超過全額退休金的部分預設投入LRIS，除非會員選擇退出。
第三，增加新加坡人用LRIS進行投機的阻力。例如，可設冷靜期。想在退休前出售的會員可能需參加金融素養課程，瞭解短期投機對非專業投資者的風險。
總體而言，通過提升金融素養和明智的行為引導，我們能賦能更多新加坡人最佳化終身退休儲蓄，實現安心退休。
主席：秩序。我們已在議院內討論五小時，建議現在休息。
【程式文本】議長離開委員會主席席，回到議院主席席。
議長：秩序。我宣佈休會，下午3時30分恢復會議。秩序，秩序。
會議休會於下午2時57分，至下午3時30分。
會議於下午3時30分恢復。
【副議長（Christopher de Souza議員）主持】
【程式文本】撥款委員會辯論繼續。
【副議長（Christopher de Souza議員）主持】
【程式文本】S項（續）
主席：Saktiandi Supaat議員。
下午3時30分
CPF充足性與負責任選擇
Saktiandi Supaat議員：主席，我宣告我曾是CPF諮詢小組成員。主席，每位新加坡人都應享有安全且充足的退休保障。在2026年預算中，宣佈的低成本生命週期投資計劃為管理CPF資金提供了新選項。我支援給予會員更多選擇，但想強調三項應指導我們設計更新系統的原則——互補性、適宜性和保障措施。
第一，互補性。新計劃必須明確定位為附加選項，而非取代CPF的無風險利息框架。對許多新加坡人，尤其是年長工人和優先考慮確定性的群體，CPF的保證利息仍極具吸引力。CPF投資計劃（CPFIS）已為希望積極投資的會員提供選擇。
新生命週期計劃介於兩者之間，適合希望部分市場敞口但偏好專業管理、自動再平衡投資組合的會員。我們的溝通必須讓所有CPF會員理解三種選項的差異，確保每種選項仍滿足大量CPF會員的需求。
即使有了新生命週期計劃，我們也應繼續完善CPFIS。趨勢令人擔憂，自2016年我所在的CPF諮詢小組研究此問題並首次提出LRIS以來，大多數CPFIS投資者表現不及CPF無風險利率。這是由於CPFIS可投資產品受限，還是其他原因？
第二，適宜性。CPF會員並非同質。30歲、投資期限長的會員與58歲、臨近退休的會員風險承受能力截然不同。
雖然隨著年齡增長降低風險的滑行路徑結構理論上合理，但我們必須確保會員理解：第一，回報無保證；第二，退休臨近可能遇到市場下跌；第三，較短的投資期限限制了恢復時間。
對年長會員的溝通必須謹慎、平衡且透明。既然CPF已提供無風險利息基線，CPF局如何確保充分解釋各選項的權衡及潛在收益？是否會有清晰的情景示例或簡單決策支援工具，如基於年齡、退休年限和風險承受度的提示，引導會員選擇三種方案？
第三，保障措施與治理。在產品設計方面，CPF局如何調整增長與資本保全之間的滑行路徑？是否會提供多條滑行路徑以反映不同風險偏好？
計劃提及退休目標日前的分階段清算。清算將多早開始？在市場波動加劇期間如何管理清算？計劃是否允許靈活選擇退休目標日期，考慮到工作年限延長及會員可能晚於65歲退休？
關於費用，目標是保持低廉和簡單。是否會設定包括管理費、平臺費和交易費在內的一攬子費用上限，使會員看到透明的單一數字？供應商如何選拔？會如何權衡長期業績、風險管理能力和運營韌性？
最後，在總結髮言中，首相確實提到生命週期投資選項的推出計劃定於2028年。該計劃在2028年實施時，財政部將如何衡量參與率、風險調整後的回報率以及公積金成員退休保障改善的成效？鑑於距離2028年還有較長的準備時間，財政部是否考慮過提前試點或分階段引入生命週期投資方法的部分元素，以便成員能更早受益？
加強我們工人的職業健康
Gho Sze Kee 女士（蒙巴頓選區）：主席先生，在我不到一年前的首次發言中，我指出，在這個由人工智慧驅動的變革時代，傳統的職業發展假設將不再適用。這一觀察變得愈發緊迫。
技術週期越來越短。商業模式和崗位迅速演變。整個職業和行業正在被顛覆。過去的職業穩定模式不再適用。新畢業生更難找到第一份工作。中年職業專業人士面臨更大的職業不確定性。
敏捷性和韌性是關鍵字。我們必須假設沒有“安全”的工作。我們的勞動力，無論價值鏈的哪個環節，都必須預期在整個職業生涯中不斷提升技能和重新培訓。終身學習不再是一個流行詞，而是我們所處新現實的預設狀態。我們必須昂首闊步，準備在必要時轉型，進入新的職業和行業。
但這只是部分情況。雖然一些工作和行業消失，新的行業也在誕生，許多崗位被重新設計並賦予新職責。僱主現在難以找到具備匹配技能的人力。這是我們今天面臨的矛盾。我們看到的不是簡單的崗位替代，而是勞動力錯配。
為了賦能我們的工人和企業應對快速變化的就業市場，我們迫切需要更新職業和就業服務生態系統。為此，我們需要從整體大局出發，在所有利益相關者之間達成新的共識。我認為這包括三個部分。
首先，我們的勞動力必須主動承擔個人職業健康的責任。這是基礎，責任最終落在個人身上。
其次，僱主也應更積極地承擔員工職業健康的責任。在新現實中，僱主不應僅以數字看待勞動力，而應視其為企業長遠發展和福祉的利益相關者。企業只有員工興旺，才能繁榮。投資員工不是成本，而是對韌性和增長的長期投資。
最後，我認為政府扮演最核心、最全面的角色。我們必須認識到勞動力的職業健康是國家經濟健康的基礎。這需要全政府的努力。政府必須確保現有生態系統支援這一努力。需要全域性視角和協調、前瞻性的策略，連線教育、培訓、就業促進和僱主參與。
工會在這方面發揮關鍵支援作用。三方夥伴關係長期以來是我們勞資關係的基石，這種合作在新的共識中將更加重要。我認為工會是生態系統的收發器，接收和傳遞訊號。它們作為利益相關者之間的重要橋樑，放大反饋並催化行動。
主席先生，職業健康必須從學校開始。我們的教育系統必須跟上快速變化的就業格局。我們今天培養的年輕新加坡人必須為這個勇敢新世界的職業做好準備。他們不僅要具備未來工作的技能，還要為後天的工作做好準備。這意味著擁有正確的心態、適應力、韌性和駕馭不確定性的能力。
除了學校，我們還必須確保系統支援整個職業生涯的持續升級和再培訓。政府在這方面做了很多工作。為應屆畢業生和中年工人提供崗位匹配實習計劃，幫助有意轉行者。為勞動力提供再培訓和技能提升的支援資源，以及幫助願意或必須轉崗者的專案。還有緩解財政影響的資源。對同樣處境艱難的僱主也有支援。
我親眼見證了這些努力的實際成效。我是新加坡海事官員工會（SMOU）的顧問。去年，SMOU與新加坡海事港務局及人力部合作伙伴機構推出了升級版三方海事培訓獎（TMTA）。TMTA支援中年轉行進入海事行業的人員。學員在培訓期間獲得每月津貼的經濟支援。我很高興地看到，首批升級計劃下的學員已全部進入航海階段培訓，且很快將有更多第二批學員加入。
這是支援被替代人員並更好地使勞動力與經濟需求對接的工作例項。我邀請部長向議員們介紹其他類似支援勞動力的舉措，如職業健康新加坡計劃。但我必須指出，這些舉措大多是被動的。
政府作為最有能力識別未來趨勢的利益相關者，能夠預見新興變革，繪製所需技能和能力圖譜。政府能洞察更廣泛的模式、跨行業轉變、系統性風險與機遇，並將其轉化為行動。它能幫助系統中其他利益相關者領先一步，彌合不同利益相關者間的脫節，促使他們聚合資源、需求和技能，實現匹配和調整。主席先生，責任最終落在個人，但政府扮演著關鍵角色，我期待部長的回應。
加強人力資源能力
Jessica Tan Soon Neo 女士：主席先生，隨著經濟轉型和人工智慧重塑工作方式，公司和員工感受到壓力。年輕員工想知道如何在人工智慧驅動的世界中成長，成熟員工希望得到保障，不被淘汰。人力資源專業人士處於幫助兩者應對轉型的核心位置。
新加坡通過產業轉型計劃、人力資源技能框架和IHRP認證路徑取得了實質進展。這些舉措提升了標準，促進了勞動力規劃、崗位重塑和資料驅動的人力資源管理。這些是真實的進步，但能力仍不均衡，尤其是人力資源團隊精簡的中小企業。人力資源領域需要切實且可擴充套件的支援。
人力資源必須從事務性執行轉向人機協作的戰略管理。我提出五個優先事項，以進一步加強人力資源能力。
第一，從靜態崗位描述和技能轉向動態技能分類。38個行業的技能框架雖有用，但靜態。我們應試點基於人工智慧的分類法，即時持續對映和更新技能，為中小企業提供前瞻性基線，而非基於靜態技能列表被動招聘。事實上，已有全球公司開發此類AI解決方案。政府可資助優先行業，先從人力資源行業開始，開發動態技能分類法。
第二，採用基於技能的勞動力規劃和情景模擬。我們應支援工具和諮詢服務，使人力資源能夠模擬多種未來情景，預測崗位變化，主動規劃再部署和再培訓，而非僅關注人數和預算。
第三，將“崗位重塑”重新定義為人機協作的崗位重塑。這不是對自動化帶來的崗位進行增量調整，而是運用設計思維，將人工智慧與人類判斷、同理心和創造力融合。財政部可資助操作手冊和試點，測試新崗位模型並評估效果。
第四，擴大人員分析和預測決策支援。人力資源需要資料素養、分析工具和預測模型，支援人員調崗和內部流動。對分析工具的補貼和針對性培訓將幫助人力資源團隊做出基於證據的調配和留任決策。
第五，使人力資源成為人工智慧倫理、透明度和信任的關鍵守護者。僱主應披露人工智慧在重大決策中的應用，擴大自動化前諮詢員工，實施人工複核和公平性審計。人力資源可領導確保這些保障措施的落實。
下午3時45分
主席先生，面對快速變化和人才稀缺的經濟，公司難以吸引、培養和留住人才。員工無法獨自應對這些變化。加強人力資源能力對於幫助企業繁榮和支援新加坡人多階段職業發展至關重要。
低薪工人與包容性職場
Yeo Wan Ling 女士：基於績效的職場必須讓工人有信心，在轉型經濟中擁有未來。漸進式工資信用計劃（PWCS）在提高低薪工人工資方面取得了重要進展。PWCS支援了工人和僱主應對調整。我們感謝財政部將PWCS延長兩年，並注意到PWCS現行形式本為過渡性措施。
但在人工智慧顛覆時代，鑑於我們勞動力擴張的結構性限制，生產力增長必須更多來自崗位升級，而非簡單增加人力。這使得低薪工人更易受到轉型快於再培訓的替代風險。
因此，我們是否可以考慮將PWCS強化為更持續的工人支援機制，幫助中小企業提升低薪工人的技能，推動他們進入更高生產力崗位，設立結構化職業晉升路徑和協商的工資階梯增長？
漸進式工資信用計劃
Pritam Singh 先生：PWCS於2022年推出，其重要政策意圖是作為過渡支援，幫助企業分擔提高低薪工人工資的成本。最初兩年，據報道，PWCS幫助了超過9萬家僱主，支援了超過50萬低薪工人工資增長，支付總額約27億新元，截止2025年初。
關鍵的是，PWCS不僅僅是工資支援。人力部期望僱主利用過渡期提升員工技能，轉型業務，提高生產力，使工資增長在長期內可持續。
今年預算已將PWCS延長至2028年。鑑於此，關於合資格僱主在技能提升、業務轉型和生產力改善方面的表現如何？人力部是否跟進評估PWCS是否在這三方面產生了實質影響？不應沒有向議會報告這些補貼的成效。
政策評估還可揭示重要缺口，輔助未來關於人力征費和配額的政策制定，是否應調整，例如識別在當前技術條件下業務轉型升級已達實際極限的行業。以組屋環境的保潔為例，該行業生產力提升有限，機器人技術尚未發展到能以商業可行價格獨立清掃不同樓層公共走廊並應對樓梯。
PWCS投入數十億新元，議會理應跟蹤該政策的影響，判斷是否需進一步延長，以及是否應施加預期業務成果，確保納稅人的補貼惠及企業和工人。
或者，如果政策意圖僅是無附加條件支援企業以推動低端工資上漲，應明確傳達，而非尋求對某些僱主可能不現實的成果。
支援照顧者
Mariam Jaafar 女士（森巴旺選區）：成年照顧者是社會無形的支柱。他們照顧年邁父母、長期病患配偶、罕見病兒童和需要幫助的家庭成員。他們默默無聞、忠誠奉獻，常常付出巨大個人代價。
我在伍德蘭居民A女士每天花約12小時照顧年邁的父母和姑媽。她數月未能整夜安睡。她告訴我感到孤立、內疚和被困，但仍堅持，因為家人依賴她。
照顧責任常導致工作時間減少，工資增長放緩，晉升延遲，有時甚至被迫離開職場。責任減輕後，重返職場也不易，尤其是多年離開後。技能過時，自信下降，僱主猶豫，機會減少。
這些犧牲不僅是個人的，還影響代際。當父母精力有限，孩子可能得不到足夠關注。低收入家庭的孩子可能缺少豐富機會和社會流動路徑。今天的照顧責任悄然塑造明天的不平等。
我歡迎照顧者培訓補助和居家照顧補助的增強。但我們還需更多努力，更好理解和緩解代際影響。部長能否分享有關照顧責任代際影響的證據？
我認為我們必須在三個方面更進一步：減負、留任和重返職場。
首先，減負。能否擴大實際的喘息和導航支援？如何減少他們的社會孤立？如何確保他們的孩子不被忽視？其次，留任。能否加強彈性工作安排激勵，並在關鍵轉折點提供結構化輔導，使照顧者不必在職業和照顧間做出選擇？第三，重返職場。能否建立結構化迴歸路徑，使為家庭挺身而出不意味著職業倒退？
支援照顧者不是慈善。如果照顧者茁壯成長，他們的孩子也會受益。
當養老成為挑戰
Abdul Muhaimin Abdul Malik 先生（盛港選區）：先生，我們常談新加坡人口老齡化是人口挑戰。今天，我想重新定義為職場挑戰，正在我們職場悄然展開。
許多同事屬於夾心一代，一邊照顧年邁父母，一邊全職工作。資料說明問題。
2024年，有87,100名居民因照顧責任退出勞動力市場，其中86%為女性。近半數年齡在40至59歲黃金工作年紀。這些退出不表現為失業，卻代表了大量經驗人才流失。這不是暫時現象。新加坡人口老齡化意味著養老責任只會增加。但我們的政策關注仍不平衡。我們在支援職場父母方面取得巨大進展。現在是時候為照顧者提供類似支援。
40至59歲的工人，我們最有經驗的專業人士，非自願退出職場，因缺乏結構化職場支援。我們在最不應失去人才時失去生產力和機構知識。
現有措施幫助離職照顧者通過再培訓和重返職場支援。雖有價值，但屬被動。我們需要主動的職場支援，防止退出。
工人黨建議設立家庭照顧假，參照育兒假。負有照顧責任的員工每年應享有6天假期，其中3天由僱主支付，3天由政府支付。照顧多名物件者額外獲2天假。
近期三方彈性工作安排指導是起點，但我們需要僱主框架，使養老支援成為標準做法，而非酌情決定。我們必須使養老話題正常化，就像育兒話題一樣。先從資料收集了解規模，試點職場框架，制定跨行業切實可行的最佳實踐。
研究顯示，兼顧工作和照顧責任的員工壓力更大，生產力下降。通過結構化假期支援他們，可提升福祉，同時通過更好留任和生產力回報成本。
是的，我們有重返職場專案。是的，我們有彈性工作指導。但坦率說，當某人需要再培訓重返職場時，我們已失去他們多年的貢獻。防患於未然勝於事後補救。支援養老不僅是富有同情心的政策，更是明智的經濟政策。我們無法承受失去87,000名工人，許多處於最具生產力的年紀，面對我們選擇不主動應對的挑戰。問題不是我們是否負擔得起行動，而是是否負擔得起不行動。
資深就業能力
桑吉夫·庫馬爾·蒂瓦里先生：主席先生，我們年滿50歲及以上的資深員工帶來了深厚的領域知識和寶貴的經驗。然而，隨著新加坡進入超級老齡化社會，同時應對重大經濟結構調整，我們必須確保我們的政策繼續更好地服務於資深員工和僱主雙方。
感謝政府回應全國職工總會和工會的呼籲，逐步將法定退休年齡和再就業年齡分別提高至65歲和70歲，目標是在2030年前實現。這提高了55至64歲年齡段的勞動參與率，從2015年的69%提升至2025年的73%。這使得更多員工能夠達到基本退休金額，從2016年的六成提升至2022年的七成，我很高興公積金局預測到2027年將有八成員工達到這一標準。
然而，資深員工發現自己越來越多地在照顧家庭和希望有更多工作選擇之間平衡，以便更好地實現工作與生活的平衡。請問勞工部能否提供最新情況，說明正在採取哪些措施以提供更多工作選擇並擴大靈活工作安排的可用性？
與此同時，許多距離法定退休年齡還有10至15年的資深員工和求職者擔心在工作場所快速技術變革中遭遇年齡歧視和被替代。許多資深員工和求職者告訴我們，職業生涯後期晉升機會和優質工作崗位減少。年輕一代也深信不疑。還有人表示，雖然願意提升技能和學習，但長時間工作、下班後的照顧責任、不熟悉的學習形式以及將學習成果轉化為更好工作前景的不確定性，都是實際障礙。勞工部能否分享如何計劃在職業中期階段介入，提升員工在進入50多歲前的持續就業能力？
因此，我歡迎延長資深就業補貼計劃至2027年，以繼續支援僱用和/或留用資深員工。這向企業發出重要訊號，表明資深員工仍是寶貴貢獻者，並提供一定的成本緩解，這對中小企業在激烈競爭的商業環境中尤為重要。勞工部是否考慮在2027年審查結束後繼續延長該補貼？
讓靈活工作安排發揮作用
鍾佩珊女士：主席先生，我們的總生育率（TFR）持續下降，2025年降至0.87的新低，這是迄今為止最明確的訊號，表明僅靠財政激勵措施無法有效改變現狀。財政激勵固然重要，但它們未能解決年輕新加坡人（包括我本人）關心的一個關鍵問題——正如我上週預算辯論中提到的，我們沒有足夠的時間和精力成為全職父母。對我們許多人來說，新加坡的工作生活結構讓為人父母感覺像是一種妥協，而非選擇。
上週，印德拉妮部長呼籲全社會重新審視和支援婚姻與為人父母的觀念。我希望政府能以身作則，從一個新的槓桿——時間入手，推動靈活工作安排從意圖轉向實際影響。
現行的三方指導方針賦予員工提出請求的權利和審議流程，但不規範結果。當流程未被遵循時，員工可向三方公平與進步就業實踐聯盟（TAFEP）投訴。我們不應低估員工向TAFEP投訴所付出的關係成本，這會造成緊張局面，且可能被視為難纏。
我曾提交國會質詢，詢問自2024年12月指導方針生效以來，TAFEP收到多少關於不當處理此類請求的投訴。答案是1起；且該案涉及拒絕通知的格式，而非拒絕的實質內容。
主席先生，我不認為這意味著指導方針運作完美。我認為這意味著它們未被充分利用。一宗投訴並非成功的標誌，而是障礙過高的訊號。雖然僅靠立法無法改變職場文化，但它可以設定底線，表明政府嚴肅對待心態轉變，支援新加坡人建立和發展家庭。
作為起點，我有兩點建議。
第一，將框架從指導方針提升為具有法定效力的立法。這意味著不合規行為應可被追究。未能妥善處理或無正當商業理由拒絕請求的僱主，應承擔相應後果。第二，將靈活工作視為有子女且子女年齡低於三歲的父母的推定權利（在工作性質允許的情況下），這不是絕對或無條件的權利，而是僱主必須證明偏離的起點，而非員工必須請求的福利。
資深就業
瑪麗亞姆·賈法爾女士：主席先生，在兀蘭，我遇到許多60多歲和70多歲的長者，他們告訴我：“我想繼續工作，但需要適合我的工作。”隨著健康壽命延長，許多長者希望工作，有些甚至需要工作，但許多人面臨困難。我歡迎延長資深就業補貼和公積金過渡補貼，但這還不夠。
下午4點
許多長者面臨技能不匹配問題。雖然有培訓補助，但往往感覺千篇一律。一位72歲的男士告訴我：“他們一直推我去學人工智慧課程，但對我來說太難了，實際上幫不到我找到工作。”其他長者則面臨體力要求高或工作環境不靈活的問題。辦公室、工廠和零售空間通常為年輕且身體健全者設計。真正有意義的兼職或靈活崗位稀缺。許多人做零工，這既沒有保障，也無法發揮他們的專業知識和經驗。
因此，我請問部長，能否為長者提供量身定製、真正符合其能力的培訓，並提供專門支援，幫助他們找到真正適合其生活的工作？能否幫助長者更好地導航技能未來課程選項，使他們能真正利用學分？
能否重新設計工作場所，尤其是零售、物流和服務等中小企業，使其更適合長者？能否重新設計工作本身？如減輕工作負擔、靈活工時、輔助工具、導師型職位，使經驗與活力同等被重視？能否為實現這些目標的企業提供補助和稅收優惠？這些干預措施是對現有工資支援計劃的補充，而非替代。如果我們希望長者保持獨立，就必須重新設計工作，而不僅僅是補貼。
我也注意到兼職再就業補貼的延長。勞工部能否分享迄今的採用情況和成效？能否推廣實用模式，使長者能保持節奏同時保持參與？關於三方資深就業工作組，何時能期待關鍵建議？如何跟蹤成功，超越單純的崗位安置？
讓我們確保長者不僅活得更久，更能茁壯成長。讓我們確保他們不僅謀生，更能貢獻、指導和領導。讓我們確保他們不僅生存，更能成功。因為長者成功，新加坡才能成功。
主席：彭麗燕女士，請您一併發表兩項發言。
三方靈活工作安排工作組
彭麗燕女士（海洋坊-布拉德爾高地）：主席先生，關於靈活工作安排請求的三方指導方針非常重要，因為它們明確了員工如何提出靈活工作請求以及僱主如何評估這些請求的規範。這種明確性減少誤解，建立信心，促進建設性和成熟的職場對話。
對員工而言，這些指導方針具有實際益處。它們促進工作與生活平衡，提供清晰、結構化的途徑，申請在工作地點、工作時間或工作量上的靈活性。這對父母、照顧者及管理健康狀況者尤為重要，使他們能在履行家庭和個人責任的同時保持經濟活躍。
對僱主而言，指導方針引入了紀律和透明度。僱主應書面回應請求，若拒絕，應基於業務需求明確說明理由。這減少猜測，限制偏見感知，增強信任和職場和諧。
主席先生，我支援這些指導方針的主旨。但我請求勞工部認識到一個簡單的現實：並非所有僱主，尤其是中小企業，都有能力、人力和人力資源專業知識有效實施這一正式的靈活工作流程。
雖然TAFEP提供補助、模板、培訓和諮詢服務，但實際操作挑戰依然存在。如果不解決，這些指導方針可能淪為合規問題，而非實質內容，特別是對中小企業而言。
在實際操作中，中小企業面臨五大痛點。
第一，人力資源限制，小團隊缺乏專職人力資源。第二，管理層壓力，主管需同時處理團隊的混合和錯峰工作安排。第三，績效和公平問題，包括產出跟蹤、濫用擔憂和不平等感知。第四，運營成本增加，如資訊科技投資和額外人力覆蓋輪班。第五，運營和合同限制，尤其是餐飲、零售、安全等需現場工作的行業。
主席先生，如果我們希望建立公平包容的職場，這些安排也必須對僱主可持續。沒有僱主就沒有員工，反之亦然。在加強員工保護的同時，我們必須同等加強對中小企業的支援，使其以切實、適度且商業可行的方式實施這些指導方針。
支援員工與包容性職場
主席先生，我將談談為殘疾人士、女性和照顧者營造安全、包容和公平職場的重要性。
首先，我們必須加強防止職場歧視和騷擾的保護，包括常常隱蔽且不易察覺的欺凌行為。所有僱主都希望有安全和受尊重的職場，但許多中小企業在政策設計、投訴處理、文件記錄、決定適當應對措施方面存在困難，尤其缺乏內部人力資源專業知識。
欺凌並非總是顯而易見。它可能表現為言語恐嚇、精神操控、被動攻擊、反覆貶低、敵對語氣、公開羞辱、故意排斥或不斷變化的期望。這些行為可能不會留下明顯的書面證據，但隨著時間推移，會侵蝕信任，破壞心理安全，導致員工流失，這對員工和僱主都是雙輸。
因此，保護必須是真實、可及且持續執行的，但我們不應假設僱主總是錯誤方。有時不當行為也來自同事。該體系應幫助僱主及早介入，指導其妥善處理投訴，併為員工提供安全、可信賴的舉報渠道。
第二，為殘疾人士、女性和照顧者提供包容性就業既是社會善舉，也符合經濟利益，尤其在勞動力緊缺的情況下。強有力的支援框架能幫助這些群體實現照顧願望，最大化貢獻。
但要實現包容，必須超越員工障礙，也考慮僱主實施能力。對中小企業而言，包容性招聘可能帶來突發運營成本、崗位重設計、額外監督、工作流程調整、培訓及管理健康和福祉問題。如果希望包容招聘可持續，必須支援僱主，而非讓其不堪重負。
最後，公平且基於績效的職場至關重要。公平意味著更廣泛的機會、減少偏見、基於績效和潛力的晉升，但公平也必須可持續。包容政策、靈活安排和更強保護只有在員工信服且僱主可行的情況下才能成功。許多中小企業老闆承受巨大壓力，先支付員工工資再支付自己，管理現金流風險，滿足合規要求，承擔維持企業生存的全部情感負擔。
歸根結底，公平職場離不開僱主和員工雙方的福祉。必須雙向兼顧。主席先生，2025年年中，一家沙拉店老闆因涉嫌虛假工傷索賠而不幸去世。勞工部正在調查。但即便如此，一起死亡事件也太多了。這提醒我們，僱主的心理健康同樣重要。
基於此，我向部長提出四點建議。
第一，勞工部可提供實用指南和支援，幫助中小企業識別和應對隱蔽的職場欺凌，包括提供清晰示例和易於實施的示範政策。
第二，勞工部可制定併發布簡單、適度的調查流程和工具，供中小企業處理涉及歧視、欺凌和騷擾的投訴。
第三，勞工部或可協助僱主，尤其是中小企業，將包容性就業方案轉化為日常可行流程，使對殘疾人士、女性和照顧者的支援變得切實可行。
第四，勞工部可考慮將僱主支援計劃和指導方針整合到單一、使用者友好的平臺，類似於“SupportGoWhere”，使中小企業能快速瞭解其資格及如何實施支援，減少對顧問甚至中介的依賴。
主席先生，我希望部長能考慮我提出的問題。
促進更安全更健康的工作場所
楊益財先生：主席先生，職場安全不僅是統計數字，它關乎生命、家庭和未來。我欣慰地看到，2025年職場致命傷害率降至每10萬人中0.96人，低於2024年的1.2人。這反映了員工、僱主和政府的持續努力。
但每一條因工喪生的生命都是多餘的。改進不能導致自滿。我們必須採取下一步果斷措施。
首先，職場安全與健康（WSH）必須適應我們日益老齡化的勞動力。隨著退休和再就業年齡提高，職業生涯更長也必須更安全。跌倒、肌肉骨骼疾病和疲勞等風險貫穿所有行業，而非僅限傳統高風險行業。
僱主必須超越合規要求。他們應重新設計崗位，自動化危險任務，從源頭消除風險。安全的工作設計應成為常態，而非例外。已證明能減少事故的安全技術，其採用不應僅限自願。在高風險行業，勞工部應推動強制採用防撞系統、影片分析檢測不安全行為和疲勞檢測工具等技術。如果這些技術能挽救生命，我們應要求使用。
政府也能做更多推動變革。公共採購政策應獎勵擁有良好WSH記錄和明確風險消除及崗位重設計投資的企業。
第二，疲勞必須被視為核心安全問題。指導方針是良好開端，但僅靠指導方針不足。勞工部應加強對工作時間和休息時間的保障，要求僱主實施正式的疲勞風險管理系統。
最後，我們必須繼續提升外籍勞工福利標準。雖然我歡迎宿舍標準的提升，但宿舍應更好地融入周邊社群，提供便捷的醫療、娛樂和基本設施，靠近工人居住地。
主席先生，職場安全和員工福利不是合規演練，而是對尊嚴、責任和公平的承諾。如果我們知道有效措施，必須強制執行；如果發現有害因素，必須重新設計；如果設定標準，必須嚴格執行，因為每位員工都應擁有安全健康的工作環境。
楊婉玲女士：雖然職場問題受到密切關注，我們不能忘記勤勞的外籍勞工的居住條件。許多人大部分時間在宿舍和工地之間，休閒、社交或建立社群的機會有限。
長期與家人分離也會影響情緒健康，加劇孤立感。我認可勞工部改善宿舍標準的努力。
勞工部、全國職工總會和我們的外籍勞工中心合作管理娛樂中心，是正確方向。這些中心提供娛樂、社群活動和基本服務，如雜貨、匯款和通訊，每週服務數千人。
除此之外，我呼籲勞工部繼續投資措施，加強外籍勞工對設施和社群空間的訪問，確保他們的居住環境支援福祉、尊嚴，當然還有社會融合。
主席：陳志榮部長髮言。
人力部長（陳志榮博士）：主席先生，我藉此機會祝大家中國情人節快樂。感謝支援我們員工和僱主的議員發言。
工作的性質正在迅速變化。正如本週末的地緣政治衝突所示，世界正被顛覆，全球貿易和投資流動正在重塑。人工智慧正在改變我們的工作方式，我們的勞動力也在演變。今年，新加坡將成為超級老齡化社會。
即使我們尋求新的增長前沿，也必須確保我們的增長具有包容性，併為所有人創造有意義的職業。我們今天起點相對較好。儘管全球環境充滿挑戰，新加坡的勞動力市場依然具有韌性。
截至去年12月，自2021年我們走出新冠疫情以來，已經連續17個季度實現就業增長。我們的居民失業率保持在2.9%的低位。2025年勞動力市場依然緊張，職位空缺多於求職者。2020年至2025年間，中位數實際收入增長了8.3%，約合每年1.6%。低收入工人的實際收入從2020年到2025年增長了15%，約合每年2.8%，增速快於中位數工人。這得益於生產力提升和有針對性的工資支援。
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這些成果反映了我們的工人和企業的韌性與貢獻，以及對人工智慧和先進製造等增長領域的投資，以及與三方夥伴的良好合作。人力部將繼續與工人和企業同行，確保每一位工人都重要，每一位工人都能實現潛力，達成職業抱負，每一家公司都能通過發揮員工的最佳表現而繁榮。
人力部今年有三大優先事項。我們將與三方夥伴一起：一，賦能新加坡人建立有意義的職業；二，助力企業轉型並提供優質工作崗位；三，建設更具包容性的職場，確保無人被落下。
讓我先談第一優先事項，賦能新加坡人終身建立有意義的職業。對於青年，我們致力於為你們的職業生涯打下堅實基礎。學校到職場的轉變可能令人畏懼，尤其是在人工智慧改變入門級崗位的焦慮和擔憂中。
幸運的是，至少目前，畢業生市場依然韌性十足。職位空缺持續多於求職者。超過四成的空缺是適合年輕畢業生的入門級專業、管理、執行和技術（PMET）崗位。到2025年12月，2025屆大學畢業生中已有超過八成找到工作，這與2024屆相當。
我們將繼續優先創造更多全職崗位給應屆畢業生。雖然職位空缺存在，但部分畢業生確實面臨尋找合適崗位的挑戰。為支援他們，我們去年推出了GRIT計劃，以及公共部門的GRIT@Gov。
GRIT幫助畢業生獲得結構化、行業相關的工作經驗。已有400多名畢業生在各行業開始實習。僱主告訴我們，GRIT幫助他們在更謹慎的環境中增加招聘，並計劃將表現優異者轉為全職。我們通過繼續補貼實習期內轉正的學員，激勵僱主這樣做。
以DBS的Jewel Goh女士和Dominic Wong先生為例，兩位近期畢業生開始了實習。Jewel擁有應用人工智慧與分析文憑，有機會應用所學支援DBS的技術系統和大規模運營。Dominic是傳播學畢業生，有機會與DBS利益相關者發展合作關係。我相信他們的GRIT經歷讓他們對下一步更清晰、更有信心。
GRIT計劃對2025屆畢業生開放，我們將擴充套件至2026屆。我們也在加快申請者入職速度。如市場情況需要，可能擴大容量。
多位議員提出支援青年建議。Gerald Giam先生建議為中小企業僱用畢業生提供工資支援。Jamus Lim副教授提議設立國家學徒計劃，加強在職培訓。
這些建議與政府持續努力一致。我們通過人工智慧學徒計劃和SkillsFuture工學結合計劃等方案，增強基於工作場所的學習和在職培訓。教育部早前分享，工學結合文憑計劃將根據經濟策略審查（ESR）建議加強，支援靈活的培訓與工作結合路徑。GRIT計劃補貼70%的實習成本。
我們將繼續研究這些建議，探索更多支援應屆畢業生的方式，但也要設計支援措施，確保可持續。例如，GRIT從增長領域的領先企業提供實習崗位，確保畢業生獲得高質量經驗和更強的長期前景。若為中小企業提供廣泛工資補貼，若企業缺乏培訓能力或補貼結束後無法提供有意義職業，可能無法提供同等質量經驗。一般補貼可能導致更多浪費，因為80%的畢業生在沒有此類補貼的情況下，畢業數月內已能找到工作。
此外，我們還需防範意外後果，如企業可能裁減年長員工，替換為更便宜的畢業生以節省人力成本。因此，我們目前的做法適合當前形勢，許多全職崗位仍然空缺。為幫助畢業生匹配崗位，我們加強了通過WSG、e2i和高等院校的職業指導和就業促進工作。
此外，海外工作經歷有助於裝備新加坡人應對全球化經濟所需的技能和視野。自2024年啟動以來，WSG的海外市場沉浸計劃已支援120多名本地專業人士獲得海外經驗。結合其他機構的海外派遣計劃，截至2025年，已有超過430名本地工人受益。
我們認識到青年對海外經驗興趣日益增長。因此，將擴大海外市場沉浸計劃，支援年輕專業人士更早獲得海外歷練。提供早期機會有助於強化人才儲備和提升企業全球競爭力。詳情將適時公佈。
除了良好開端，我們還將確保所有工人擁有資源，在整個職業生涯中茁壯成長。我們將通過四個方面實現：建設人工智慧準備型勞動力；幫助工人自信地導航勞動力市場；發展本地專業人才儲備；支援被裁工人。
首要任務之一是建設人工智慧準備型勞動力。麥肯錫、EDB和Tech in Asia最近報告顯示，約五成東南亞企業尚未從人工智慧中獲得顯著財務收益，部分原因是缺乏內部專業知識和員工採納率低。
我們不能讓這一差距持續。為將人工智慧潛力轉化為新加坡人的優質工作，我們將採取果斷措施建設人工智慧準備型勞動力。像學習語言一樣，真正掌握人工智慧需要持續使用和通過試驗建立信心。因此，我們將讓新加坡人更容易獲得實踐經驗和最新人工智慧工具。
正如預算案宣佈，參加指定SkillsFuture人工智慧課程者，將免費獲得頂級人工智慧工具高階版訂閱六個月。人力部已與谷歌、Manus、微軟和OpenAI等供應商接洽。我們將適時公佈具體工具和平臺。
Terence Ho副教授建議人工智慧訪問應更廣泛，包括成熟和低收入工人。我同意訪問應包容，不論年齡或收入。因此，該計劃對所有25歲及以上新加坡人開放，並配備實用且易懂的人工智慧培訓。
此外，我們將繼續探索更多方式，讓成熟和低收入工人參與國家人工智慧發展。人工智慧準備型勞動力有助提升生產力，但我們必須引導人工智慧應用，增強工人潛力，而非取代。我稍後將詳細說明對僱主的支援。
第二，我們將幫助工人更好地導航勞動力市場，自信抓住新機遇。為此，我們正在根本性審視就業與技能生態系統，正如Gho Sze Kee女士早前所述。
我們有四個目標，即“4V”：數量（volume），希望覆蓋更多勞動力；多樣性（variety），滿足複雜就業市場中更多元需求；速度（velocity），更快匹配人才與機會；價值（value），提升長期職業健康。
為推動這些戰略轉變，我們將成立新機構。主席先生，獲准後，請書記員分發一份支援新加坡人職業發展的工作資料。議員們也可通過MP@SGPARL應用訪問。
主席：請繼續。[向尊敬的議員分發資料。]
陳秀龍博士：謝謝。我繼續。正如總理所述，SSG和WSG將合併為“新加坡勞動力與技能局”（WSSG），這是人力部下屬的新法定機構，並與教育部共同監管。該機構將於2026年第三季度成立，由現任WSG執行長Dilys Boey領導。使命是賦能新加坡人發展未來技能，獲得優質工作機會；助力企業創造優質崗位，發展勞動力；推動終身學習和職業健康文化。
秘書長黃志明先生詢問合併如何惠及新加坡工人，如何更好地將培訓轉化為就業和生產力提升。Eileen Chong女士表示，新機構應不僅支援工人，也支援僱主，推動SSG鼓勵技能優先招聘的持續努力。
目前我們的技能和就業促進能力分屬不同機構。合併後形成統一強大的人力資本發展引擎。它將與其他機構和利益相關者合作，惠及工人和僱主。
對工人而言，這意味著在快速變化的市場中更簡便、更整合的職業支援。意味著通過單一門戶訪問培訓、職業指導和工作機會，無需多頭跑。結合職業和技能資料，我們能更清晰展示機會所在，助力更明智的職業和培訓決策。
對僱主而言，合併將幫助我們更及時響應人才需求。憑藉更及時全面的勞動力市場和技能洞察，WSSG可減少技能錯配和招聘時間。單一聯絡點也簡化了我們支援企業招聘、培訓和勞動力轉型的方式。
WSSG將在拓展職業健康運動中發揮關鍵作用，超越被動的職位匹配，推動主動的職業規劃。正如分發給議員的資料所示，我們有針對工人和僱主的多項舉措。
對工人，我們去年推出了Career Health SG，核心資訊是——保持主動，預見職業發展。迄今反響良好，近三分之二工人認可提升職業健康的價值。但仍有許多人不知如何開始。
因此，開啟職業健康之旅無需感到壓力山大。我們開發了實用工具幫助新加坡人。職業與技能護照讓你盤點技能，CareersFinder幫助你發現未曾考慮的工作選項。需要更個性化支持者，我們擴大了職業規劃專案的覆蓋。近九成參與者表示參加後方向更明確，自信提升。
這些工具已帶來積極成果。職業與技能護照與JobStreet和FastJobs等招聘平臺整合後，合作伙伴發現帶有驗證資質的求職申請被僱主篩選的機率提高1.5倍。我們將擴充套件護照合作至MyCareersFuture、Careers@Gov、EASE、FindSGJobs和eFinancialCareers五個招聘平臺。也已與人力資源科技公司JobTech平臺整合，助僱主基於驗證技能資料搜尋候選人。
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對僱主而言，TalentTrack和TalentTrack+等工具幫助更好評估勞動力準備度，識別內部人才擔任新崗位。
總體而言，我們的工具和舉措已幫助超過80萬人和3.8萬家公司。
通過WSSG，我們還將加強職業和就業服務提供者生態系統，更有效服務不同勞動力群體。隨著勞動力演變，需新型職業支援——部分可由專注特定行業、部門或群體的私營服務商提供。
例如，自2017年起，WSG與Ingeus和AKG兩傢俬營招聘公司合作，為專業管理人員（PME）提供更專業支援。我們觀察到接受幫助者的再就業率高於一般被裁居民。
為進一步推進，我們成立了職業與就業服務推進聯盟（AfA-ACES）。該工作組將與私營部門合作啟動九個試點，測試涵蓋不同個人和僱主群體的新服務。例如，針對應屆畢業生，測試結合職業指導和行業體驗的服務，支援學校到職場過渡。針對中層專業人士，試點個性化職業代理，助你晉升更好崗位。針對照顧者、長者及面臨較大困難者，探索支援更靈活工作或重返職場的新方式。針對中小企業，測試支援內部流動及建議採用新工作模式。
工作組將在今年下半年釋出建議。
這些努力也將幫助解決Patrick Tay先生關心的就業不足問題。人力部研究了過度資格的就業不足，即工人學歷高於崗位要求。初步發現，新加坡大多數過度資格工人是自願接受現崗位，原因包括靈活性或計劃中的職業轉型。
非自願過度資格工人比例仍小且穩定。我們加強職業和就業生態系統的努力，將更好支援這些工人找到更符合抱負的工作或發展技能進入此類崗位。詳細研究結果將於今年晚些時候公佈。
第三，針對有志擔任領導職務的新加坡人，我們將助你發展所需技能。過去一年，我們擴大了專業發展專案的容量和參與度。在EDB支援下，人力資本領導學院運營的新加坡領導者網路成員超過4000人，提供新專案和擴充套件服務，包括已支援約120名專業人士的海外過渡支援計劃。
最後，隨著經濟演變，一些新加坡人不可避免地會發現工作發生變化或結束。但我想向你們保證，新機會也將出現，我們將助你抓住。
去年，我們推出了SkillsFuture求職者支援計劃，為非自願失業者提供臨時經濟援助和求職支援，幫助他們重新站穩腳跟，自信迴歸職場。該計劃已惠及許多新加坡人，但我們可以做得更多。正如秘書長黃志明先生和Patrick Tay先生建議，擴大計劃覆蓋範圍，超出當前收入上限。求職者支援計劃實施不到一年，我們正在根據經驗審視計劃及引數。請大家耐心支援。高階國務部長許寶琨將提供後續更新。
現在談談職業後期階段。隨著新加坡人壽命更長、更健康，我們必須從應對老齡化壓力轉向釋放職業長壽的益處。如先前宣佈，退休年齡和再就業年齡將於2026年7月1日分別提高至64歲和69歲，確保2030年前提升至65歲和70歲。這將為長者提供更多靈活性和保障，同時使僱主能留住經驗豐富的員工。
除了工作年限，我們還必須轉變工作效率，通過創造更多靈活多樣的路徑，讓長者保持參與和生產力。
三方高階就業工作組正在研究一種更綜合的方法來支援職業的長期發展，包括幫助個人更早規劃晚期職業轉型，並使僱主能夠設計適合年齡的工作和工作場所。高階國務部長許寶琨將分享更多關於這些舉措的資訊。
在此期間，我們將把高階就業補貼延長至2027年12月，以繼續支援僱主僱用高階員工。
與此同時，我們將繼續加強退休保障政策，為我們的長者提供更大的保障。過去幾年，我們一直在完善公積金制度，為新加坡人提供更多支援。這一切的實現，得益於我們堅實的社會契約以及個人、家庭、僱主和政府之間的共同責任理念。我們將繼續堅持這一方向。
如已宣佈，我們將在2027年提高55歲至60歲員工的公積金繳納率1.5個百分點，提高60歲至65歲員工的繳納率1個百分點。這將更好地支援希望繼續工作的長者的退休保障。
通過此舉，我們已達到三方年長員工工作組建議的60歲至65歲高階員工的目標繳納率。我們將把公積金過渡補貼延長一年，以幫助緩解僱主公積金繳納增加的一半負擔。
今年晚些時候，我們還將公佈2027年以後各年齡組的新退休金額，幫助會員更好地提前規劃。隨著生活水平的提高，新退休金額將更好地反映未來滿足基本退休需求所需的儲蓄。
對於那些儘管努力仍難以積累足夠儲蓄的長者，我們承諾給予支援。如已宣佈，我們將為符合條件、年齡50歲及以上且公積金餘額低於現行基本退休金額的新加坡人提供最高1500元的公積金補充。今年將自動發放該補充款項。
最後，我們將為新加坡人在公積金體系內提供更多選擇，以增長他們的退休儲蓄。
目前，公積金體系提供最高6%的無風險利息。尋求潛在更高回報的會員可以通過公積金投資計劃（CPFIS）投資，該計劃約有700種產品可供選擇。但這需要具備金融知識和積極的投資管理能力。
正如總理所宣佈，公積金局將推出一項新的投資計劃，包含生命週期投資產品，隨著投資者年齡增長，產品將自動通過滑行路徑轉向低風險資產。這有助於在不同人生階段調整投資風險暴露，並在退出時減輕市場下跌風險。
為了簡化選擇，我們將精選兩到三家信譽良好的商業供應商，提供少量選項。針對Saktiandi Supaat議員關於產品供應商選擇的問題，申請將由公積金局委任的獨立投資顧問嚴格評估，涵蓋投資能力和業績記錄等方面。我們將限制總費用以保持成本低廉，並準備為有興趣的會員提供有限時支援。
我們同意Saktiandi Supaat議員的觀點，對於許多新加坡人，尤其是年長員工和優先考慮確定性的群體，公積金的無風險回報仍極具吸引力。並非所有人都願意承擔投資風險。因此，該新計劃將是自願參與的。
偏好主動管理自己投資的會員可以繼續通過公積金投資計劃投資其普通賬戶和特別賬戶餘額。會員也可以選擇將儲蓄保留在公積金賬戶中，繼續獲得無風險回報。
我們同意Shawn Loh議員、Sanjeev Kumar Tiwari議員和Saktiandi Supaat議員的看法，投資者素養至關重要。會員必須瞭解產品及其風險，併為自己選擇最合適的選項。我們將與選定的產品供應商和合作夥伴，包括新加坡金融管理局，共同加強投資者教育。
我還要感謝各位議員對產品設計提出的建議，如冷靜期、目標日期和鼓勵持有等。我們將在進一步與業界接觸時予以考慮。我們計劃於2028年上半年推出新計劃，當然，如果能更早推出，我們也會盡力。更多細節將適時公佈。
接下來談談我們的第二個重點，即在變化的環境中支援企業蓬勃發展併為新加坡人創造優質就業機會。Yeo Wan Ling女士請求更新我們如何調整外勞政策，以促進增長和為新加坡人創造優質就業，同時認識到外勞增長的限制。
蓬勃發展的企業是優質就業的引擎。在加入政府之前，我一生都在私營部門工作，因此我理解私營企業家和業主面臨的焦慮。蓬勃發展的企業是優質就業、工資增長的引擎，並持續為新加坡創造機會。在快速變化的全球環境和資源更緊張的情況下，企業只有不斷轉型業務模式和投資員工，才能蓬勃發展。因此，支援企業轉型仍是我們外勞策略的核心。
我們將繼續保持全球連線，開放引進能夠補充本地技術勞動力的人才，同時在有提升生產力空間的領域減少對外勞的依賴。我們將根據這一思路進一步完善外勞政策。
首先，我們將繼續在全球範圍內爭奪頂尖人才。自2023年推出海外網路與專才通行證（ONE Pass）以來，申請人數穩步增長。目前，已有超過8,000人持有ONE Pass，他們中的許多人為我們未來經濟關鍵領域做出貢獻。
以A*STAR新加坡基因組研究所助理主任Anders Jacobsen Skanderup博士為例，他開發了Fragle，一種基於人工智慧的新方法，通過血液檢測監測癌症進展和復發。再如OpenAI董事總經理Oliver Jay先生，他在連線矽谷與亞洲方面的經驗支援新加坡成為領先的人工智慧中心。Jay先生此前曾花兩年時間指導新加坡高速成長企業如Carousell和Glints的領導者。
為了增強我們在人工智慧和量子計算等關鍵新興技術領域對頂尖人才的吸引力，我們將於2027年1月推出新的ONE Pass人工智慧與科技通道，取代Tech.Pass，並提供比Tech.Pass更具吸引力的條件。
第二，我們必須保持開放，歡迎海外技能和專才，同時確保他們繼續補充本地勞動力。
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我們的就業準證（EP）和S準證的最低資格薪金定期更新，以跟上本地工資基準的步伐——它們並不領先於本地工資基準——確保來新加坡的外勞不會主要通過接受較低薪金來競爭。
如已宣佈，我們將把EP最低資格薪金從5,600元提高至6,000元，符合本地中上三分之一專業、管理、執行及技術人員（PMET）的工資水平。此規定適用於2027年1月1日起的新EP申請及2028年1月1日起的續簽，以便僱主有時間調整。
除了滿足資格薪金要求外，EP申請者還必須通過COMPASS。Patrick Tay議員請求更新COMPASS框架如何激勵企業改善勞動力結構。
自兩年半前實施以來，截至2023年，約三分之二現有EP持有人已通過COMPASS。結果顯示我們正朝正確方向前進。依賴單一國籍外勞較高的企業比例下降了20%，依賴外勞較高的企業比例下降了37%。
對於S準證，我們將繼續提高最低資格薪金，符合本地中上三分之一助理專業人員及技術人員（APT）的工資水平。
第一步，我們將最低資格薪金從3,300元提高至3,600元，適用於2027年1月1日起的新申請和2028年1月1日起的續簽。到2030年左右，如果經濟持續增長，S準證最低資格薪金預計將達到4,000至4,500元。當然，這取決於當時的本地工資水平和經濟狀況。
隨著本地勞動力老齡化，新加坡需要工作準證持有人來提供關鍵基礎設施、商品和服務。
過去五年，建築業工作準證人數增長了36%，以趕上疫情後重要專案的進度。所有行業的工作準證人數共增長了186,000人，增幅為27%。因此，我們同意Yeo Wan Ling女士的觀點，鑑於基礎設施和社會限制，我們的工作準證增長必須可持續。企業必須通過採用技術和重新設計崗位來提高運營效率。我們也有補助金幫助企業實現這一目標。
因此，即使我們管理人數增長，我們仍將支援企業獲取更高質量的工作準證持有人，關鍵是更高質量。為此，我們將對工作準證框架進行兩項改進。
首先，我們將簡化工作準證徵費框架，使企業更易理解，並能規劃如何招聘、培訓和留住工作準證持有人。幾十年來，我們的徵費框架發展成包含24個不同費率和等級。我們將從減少費率數量開始，由24個降至20個，並逐步進一步簡化。
對於海事造船廠和工藝行業，我們將努力使徵費率與建築業保持一致。首先，我們將把基礎技能工人的徵費分別提高100元和150元。此舉旨在激勵企業招聘更高技能工人。我們的呼籲是企業引進更高技能工人，留住他們並進行良好培訓。
對於製造業和服務業，我們將合併最低的兩個等級。新合併等級中，製造業高技能和基礎技能工人的徵費分別為300元和470元；服務業分別為400元和600元。請注意，高技能工人的徵費將低於相對低技能工人。
我們將保留最高等級的現有徵費率，以便依賴工作準證較多的企業繼續支付較高費率，因為我們希望他們與我們合作，重新設計、改進和轉型工作流程，實現更高生產力。
此修訂後的徵費表將於2028年生效。我們提前通知，以便企業做好規劃。人力部將與行業密切合作，加強識別各行業符合較低徵費資格的高技能工人的框架。
第二，我們將於2026年9月新增八個職業至非傳統來源職業名單（NTS-OL），涵蓋餐飲服務、社會服務和航空運輸領域。NTS-OL允許企業從非傳統來源國家招聘更高質量的非PMET工人，填補本地人不足的特定崗位。
Mark Lee議員分享了以國內市場為主的行業面臨的挑戰，這些行業利潤微薄，依賴S準證持有人擔任前線崗位，如餐飲業。隨著NTS-OL擴充套件至包括四個更多餐飲崗位（包括前線服務員），企業可以留住這些可能不符合更高S準證資格薪金的工人。
Mark Lee議員和Shawn Loh議員提出了一個重要觀點。我們需要既支援工人，也支援企業。他們詢問人力部在調整政策時如何考慮行業需求和企業成本。
我們的政策調整是在與行業機構和合作夥伴密切協商後製定的。在自動化或本地化空間有限的關鍵或戰略領域，人力部與行業機構合作，提供有針對性的外勞靈活性，避免固化勞動密集型商業模式。我們密切監控企業成本增長，同時考慮新加坡持續吸引投資和人才的能力。
2019年至2025年間，新加坡利潤率每年增長4.4%，表明企業在成本增加的同時提升了盈利能力。新加坡還被評為2025年全球人才競爭力指數中最具人才競爭力的經濟體。
此外，我們正在通過有針對性的工資補貼計劃加大對企業成本的支援，高階國務部長許寶琨和國務部長Dinesh稍後將詳細說明。我們理解企業需要時間轉向更高生產力的模式，因此我們提前宣佈，以穩健和分階段的方式實施變革。
隨著企業轉型，崗位也將演變。企業必須投資培養員工，承擔新崗位和重新設計的崗位，才能成功。
如去年宣佈，政府已預留超過4億新元用於企業勞動力轉型計劃。該計劃與新加坡工商聯合會和新加坡全國僱主聯合會合作，旨在加強企業轉型與勞動力發展的聯絡，實現增長並創造就業。
Wan Rizal博士詢問企業勞動力轉型計劃的實施情況。根據該計劃，技能未來勞動力發展補助（崗位重設計+）將於2026年3月推出，即本月。這是在生產力解決方案補助計劃（PSG-JR）下支援小規模專案的崗位重設計支援基礎上發展而來，後者已促進了員工留任和工資增長。
勞動力發展補助（崗位重設計+）將大幅擴大支援力度。企業現在可獲得高達專案成本70%、每家公司最高15萬新元的補助，高於PSG-JR的3萬新元上限，增幅達五倍。這將使企業能夠重新設計更多崗位，聘請專家建立內部能力，並實施以人工智慧為核心的勞動力解決方案。
重新設計的技能未來企業信貸也將於今年晚些時候推出。企業可利用該信貸進一步抵消勞動力轉型的自付費用。
Terence Ho副教授詢問新加坡如何建立以人為本的崗位重設計專業知識，確保人工智慧是輔助而非替代人類貢獻。我們通過企業勞動力轉型計劃等舉措實現這一目標，該計劃將生產力支援與勞動力支援結合。我們還與全國職工總會通過公司培訓委員會專案密切合作。通過WDG(JR+)，企業可與顧問合作評估人工智慧準備度，識別機會並重新設計崗位。企業還可獲得支援，實施如人工智慧驅動的人力資源工具等勞動力技術解決方案。
我們將繼續改善企業勞動力轉型計劃下的人工智慧支援，提供針對特定企業需求的預包裝解決方案。詳情將隨後公佈。
為進一步推動勞動力轉型，我們還必須培養人力資源領導者和專業人士，因為他們是員工背後的關鍵人物。為提升人力資本管理標準，我們去年成立了三方人力資本能力發展工作組。
該工作組在制定加強企業人力資源能力的策略方面取得重要進展，如建立明確的人力資本績效基準，擴大專業人力資源實踐覆蓋更多組織。高階國務部長許寶琨將分享工作組的建議。
最後，我們的第三個重點是建設更具包容性的職場，確保無人被落下。
經濟增長和企業轉型必須與公平和包容並行。我們的職場必須繼續為每位員工提供安全、機會和尊嚴。過去，勞動力市場的成功狹義地定義為學術資格、線性職業路徑和傳統職業。如今，人們越來越意識到成功有多樣路徑，每個職業都應獲得認可和尊重。
正如總理所說，包容性增長還意味著在國內和基礎服務領域創造優質就業，這些領域僱傭了大量員工。
經濟戰略審查也建議擴大我們經濟中的優質就業範圍。
Terence Ho副教授指出了幾個可以重新設計崗位以吸引更多年輕新加坡人的領域，包括醫療保健和技術工種。總理已闡述我們如何提高教育、醫療和社會服務領域的薪酬和晉升機會。我們正與勞工運動和行業協會合作，在技術工種領域做出類似努力。
我們同意Diana Pang女士和Saktiandi Supaat議員的觀點，技術工種可以且應為偏好“動手”工作、需要專注和精通的人提供優質就業機會。
許多此類行業在我們未來的經濟中仍將是必不可少的。它們可能對人工智慧自動化具有韌性，甚至是互補的。例如，電氣工作將在我們向綠色和人工智慧驅動的經濟轉型過程中保持不可或缺。然而，隨著這些行業勞動力的老齡化，我們需要更加深入地思考勞動力更新以及吸引更多新加坡人加入這些行業。
有年輕的新加坡人在熟練行業中建立了充實的職業生涯。例如，Syntigro Engineering Ptd Ltd的電氣工程師許嘉興先生。嘉興曾在工藝教育學院（ITE）接受航空航天工程培訓，後來決定投身電氣工程職業。
在他的職業生涯中，有一個專案令他印象深刻——在醫院仍全面運作的情況下更換醫院的主電氣配電盤。這是一項非常困難的任務。相信我，我曾管理過醫院，任何停電都會嚴重危及生命安全。因此，這是一項高風險、極具挑戰性的工作，但它帶來了成就感，也讓人自豪於熟練工匠如何保持關鍵系統的正常執行。
如今，嘉興正在新加坡科技學院攻讀電氣與電子工程碩士學位。我們希望支援那些有類似嘉興抱負的人。
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因此，人力部已與新加坡專業行業聯盟簽署諒解備忘錄，啟動提升電氣行業的試點專案。作為該試點的一部分，我們將與業界合作，制定針對行業從業者的舉措，如更有結構性的職業和技能晉升階梯，以及學徒制。我們從電氣行業開始，鑑於其在未來經濟中的關鍵作用、深厚的技能含量以及建立強大本地人才管道的需求。我們將從中學習經驗，擴大到其他行業。稍後會提供更新。
建設不讓任何人掉隊的職場，也意味著確保我們的增長成果共享。我們將繼續支援低薪工人的工資提升，例如通過提高最低工資標準（LQS）。我們收到企業反饋稱，人力部的政策增加了成本，許多僱主在利潤緊張的情況下感到壓力。我聽到了你們的聲音，不僅聽到了，還深表同情。
但同時，我也想分享另一種觀點，我們的人力政策也服務於重要的社會目標。正如財政部關於不平等的偶發論文所強調的，諸如工資調整機制（PWM）等政策在實現包容性增長、防止社會裂痕加深方面發揮著關鍵作用。
政府政策導致的勞動力相關企業成本增加，大部分用於提升低薪工人的工資。若無此類政策，我們的低薪工人將進一步落後，正如新加坡在2012年引入PWM前的基尼係數所顯示的那樣。
政府仍將繼續幫助企業緩解你們所面臨的成本壓力。我們與你們同在。
如已宣佈，我們將把工資補貼計劃（PWCS）延長至2028年。我們將其延長兩年，以支援企業為提升低薪工人所做的努力。
羅尚恩先生和梁榮華先生建議延長或永久設立PWCS的共同資助機制。與此同時，楊婉玲女士和普里坦·辛格先生詢問如何更好地將PWCS與生產力成果掛鉤。
我們的政策在這兩種觀點之間取得平衡。生產力提升是實現可持續工資增長的關鍵。PWM是這些努力的核心，將工資增長與技能發展、職業晉升和崗位重塑聯絡起來。
然而，生產力提升在各行業間可能不均衡。在許多低薪工人就業的本地導向行業，重新設計勞動密集型工作流程需要時間，低薪工人提升技能進入新崗位也需要時間。因此，除了廣泛的企業轉型措施外，我們引入了PWCS，暫時緩衝支援低薪工人的舉措帶來的短期成本影響。這確保支援成為促進生產力提升的催化劑，而非替代品。
PWCS定期審查，以在企業轉型期間提供足夠支援。正如楊婉玲女士所強調，這也確保低薪工人有可控的節奏提升技能進入新崗位，限制失業風險。
許多公司已充分利用政府支援，與員工共同創新和發展。自2022年8月以來，已有超過600家公司申請了公司培訓委員會補助。同樣，自2020年以來，超過600家公司採用了生產力解決方案補助計劃-崗位重塑（PSG-JR）。儘管如此，我們必須不斷更新努力。回應楊美林先生的提問，我們在PWM涵蓋行業提升生產力方面仍有進步空間。
正如新加坡生產力中心的《食品服務生產力報告》所指出，提升生產力對韌性和可持續增長至關重要，尤其是對面臨人力短缺、競爭壓力和運營成本上升的行業企業。政府全力支援僱主和低薪工人共同前行。
我之前提到過我們將推出的一些舉措，包括企業勞動力轉型方案。2027年和2028年延長的PWCS支援也將把工資增長的最低資格門檻從100新元提高到200新元，更好地針對投資能力和勞動力發展的企業。這些努力與經濟策略審查建議相符，旨在擴大經濟中優質工作的範圍。人力部國務部長迪內什將介紹我們如何進一步支援低薪工人的技能提升。
最終，提升低薪工人是全社會的共同努力。我們希望僱主利用支援深化轉型努力，低薪工人抓住技能提升機會，進入更高價值崗位。
包括全國職工總會秘書長黃志明先生在內的議員們談到了照顧者面臨的挑戰，包括“夾心一代”。我們將繼續鼓勵包容性職場實踐，支援可能面臨更高就業障礙的工人，如女性、照顧者和殘疾人士。高階議員黃尚恩將提供相關工作進展。
隨著工作演變，我們的就業框架必須保持適用性。如去年宣佈，我們已啟動《就業法》審查。三方夥伴正在審查《就業法》如何繼續為不同工人群體提供適當保障，包括更新《就業法》第4部分對最脆弱工人的覆蓋和保護。
我們還在研究如何為企業提供更大靈活性和效率的職場管理，以及簡化關鍵條款以便更易合規。我們的目標是確保就業框架保持可信和相關，維護和諧公平的勞資契約，使工人和企業均能繁榮發展。
鄭國威先生建議在裁員前強制提前通知。黃志明先生也詢問是否可以提前實施強制裁員通知。雖然提前通知有其優點，但強制此要求存在不小挑戰。
裁員通常是所有相關方都感到困難的過程，且往往是企業的最後手段。許多時候，高層管理層與董事會會進行幕後協商，盡力保住儘可能多的崗位。如果強制提前通知，可能會不可避免或無意中促使企業更快完成裁員，阻礙此類協商。
企業也擔心機密和市場敏感資訊可能洩露。我們不排除任何選項，正在進行磋商和全面審查，正與三方夥伴就這些問題進行諮詢，適時提供更新。
普里坦·辛格先生建議新加坡立法規定裁員補償，且大企業支付更高金額。我之前在推動《職場公平法》時說過，立法不是萬能的。我們採取平衡方法。保護工人，同時給予企業在不同情況下調整的靈活性，因為裁員原因多種多樣，且企業規模並非衡量支付裁員補償能力的唯一指標。
例如，如果強制要求財務困難的大企業支付裁員補償，可能無意中使更多崗位面臨風險。因此，我們在平衡中審視此事，我相信人力部高階國務部長許寶琨將就《就業法》審查提供進一步更新。
接下來，談談促進更安全更健康的職場。每位工人都應安全健康地回家。職場安全與健康（WSH）是我們所有人的共同責任——僱主、工人和政府。人力部國務部長迪內什將介紹加強和改善WSH責任感的舉措。
最後，外籍勞工在我們經濟中扮演重要角色，通過建設基礎設施為發展做出貢獻。人力部國務部長迪內什也將介紹我們持續保障外籍勞工福祉的努力。主席先生，我現在用普通話發言，請。
（普通話）：[請參閱本地語言發言。] 人工智慧（AI）正在迅速改變我們的工作方式，今年新加坡也將成為超級老齡化社會。一些新加坡人可能對未來感到焦慮，這是可以理解的。隨著經濟轉型，政府將確保國家增長包容性，創造優質、有意義的就業機會給新加坡人。
我們採取的重要步驟之一是利用人工智慧的潛力，為新加坡人創造長期優質就業機會。人工智慧是一種工具，不是競爭對手，絕非年輕人的專屬領域。只要我們願意嘗試，敢於使用，都能從中受益，改善工作方式。因此，人力部將普及人工智慧工具，使新加坡人更容易接觸人工智慧。
報名指定或精選課程的新加坡人將獲得六個月免費訂閱，幫助大家建立使用人工智慧工具的信心。
人力部將確保新加坡人在職業生涯的每個階段都獲得所需支援。我們還將幫助高等院校畢業生為職業生涯打下堅實基礎。
同時，我們也將為希望繼續工作的年長工人提供更靈活的工作安排，增強他們的退休保障。古語有云：“老驥伏櫪，志在千里。”年齡帶來的是經驗，而非退縮。年長工人的經驗和智慧是職場最寶貴的資產。
請放心，無論您目前處於職業生涯的哪個階段，我們都會與您同行。這是人力部對您的承諾。我們將幫助您持續跟上快速變化的就業市場，充滿信心地邁向未來。
正如詩人李白所寫：“乘風破浪會有時，直掛雲帆濟滄海。”只要我們保持信心，攜手前進，必能克服困難，創造更美好的明天。
（英文）：總結來說，主席先生，前路既不確定也不易。但過去60年我們已證明，只要準備好共同應對挑戰，我們就能克服一切——我們曾做到過，也必將再度做到。
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我們強勁的勞動力市場和工資成果，是作為社會、國家和人民有意識選擇投資工人技能和發展、支援企業轉型、維護職場公平與信任的結果。我們將繼續乘勢而上，鞏固成果。
我們每個人都必須發揮作用。工人需主動管理職業健康，企業需持續轉型，政府將繼續與大家同行。
三方合作將繼續是我們的堅實基石。正是通過信任與夥伴關係，通過我們的三方模式，我們才能應對過去的挑戰。我們將共同塑造一個未來職場，讓每個人都能自信貢獻、有目標成長，面對未來充滿信心和保障，無論風雨如何。[掌聲]
主席：人力部高階國務部長許寶琨博士。
人力部高階國務部長（許寶琨博士）：主席先生，我們的勞動力一直是新加坡進步的支柱。隨著新加坡人壽命更長、健康狀況更好，我們有機會將進步延伸到更長久、更有意義的職業生涯。過去，職業生涯往往是線性發展的，畢業後從一份工作開始，在同一家公司逐步晉升。但如今，業務和技術週期加快，商業模式變化，意味著大多數人將在職業生涯中經歷多份工作和多種角色。
工人現在對工作與生活的平衡有不同期望，在不同人生階段有不同需求層次。這種轉變對所有人都有影響。對工人而言，職業不再是攀登企業階梯，而是導航一個動態、多階段的旅程——向上發展、跨領域轉型，甚至有意放緩節奏以平衡生活優先事項，如照顧責任。這也意味著工人需更主動管理職業和技能，並渴望更靈活的工作安排。
對僱主而言，這種轉變不僅是調整崗位職責，更是重新思考如何設計崗位，既利用年輕人的活力，也發揮年長者的智慧和經驗，如何在各階段管理和發展人才，以及如何支援日益多元年齡結構的勞動力的轉型。僱主需積極營造包容、靈活的職場，支援各人生階段的工人。
對政府而言，這種轉變要求根本改變支援勞動力的方式。我們必須超越支援培訓和求職，支援職業生涯的永續性，向工人提供人力資本洞察，賦能他們在職業轉型、人生階段和不同工作形式中採取行動。
這就是為什麼人力部聚焦三大關鍵領域：賦能年長者在更長職業生涯中茁壯成長，支援有意義的參與、職業轉型和晚期工作靈活性；建設支援更長工作壽命的繁榮職場，通過更強的人力資源系統和更好管理年齡多樣化勞動力；第三，調整就業保護以適應變化的勞動力，確保法律和保障隨著工作安排和職業路徑演變保持相關性。
首先讓我介紹人力部如何通過年長者就業策略應對這一轉變，然後談談我們如何更廣泛地加強人力資源能力和就業保護。
新加坡人壽命更長、健康狀況更好。我們的勞動力也在成熟。今天的年長者比前幾代受教育程度更高、技能更強。未來的年長者將更是如此，反映出我們人口中大學入學率高。年長者因此擁有日益豐富的人力資本，許多人希望為經濟做出有意義的貢獻。
支援年長者不再僅是延長工作年限。需要提前規劃，實現晚年階段的可持續職業生涯。我們通過三方年長者就業工作組加強對中年和晚年職業轉型的支援。
十多年前，三方夥伴開始消除年長者繼續工作的障礙。一個重要舉措是逐步提高退休和再就業年齡。這些措施幫助更多年長者保持就業。這些變化意義重大，不僅設定法律界限，還塑造了關於老齡和工作的社會規範，增強年長者繼續工作的信心，給予僱主明確規劃和留住經驗豐富員工的依據。事實上，超過九成符合條件且希望繼續工作的員工成功獲得再就業機會。
今年，我們邁出下一步。我們將把退休年齡和再就業年齡分別提高到64歲和69歲，保持到2030年達到65歲和70歲的目標。
我想向Sanjeev Kumar Tiwari先生保證，這些變化確實產生了效果。過去五年，60多歲居民的勞動力參與率從約58%上升至近60%。50多歲群體的參與率從79%升至82%。國際上，這使新加坡在60多歲工人勞動力參與率方面位列經合組織國家第五，但在50多歲工人中僅排名第23。
我們贊同陳潔儀女士關於加強對成熟及資深專業人士（PME）職業支援的呼籲。我們需要在更早階段做更多工作，支援那些可能比他們需要或願意的時間更早離開勞動力市場的員工。
這就是為什麼人力部（MOM）與全國職工總會（NTUC）和新加坡僱主聯合會（SNEF）於去年七月召集了三方高階就業工作組。三方高階就業工作組體現了員工、僱主和政府共同承擔責任，應對我們資深人士包括專業人士更長、更豐富職業生涯的挑戰。
鑑於職業生涯更長，支援不能等到員工臨近退休時才開始。如我之前所說，勞動力參與率從50歲開始下降，那麼幹預措施必須從40歲開始。通過我們的交流，僱主和資深員工都告訴我們，早期培訓和職業指導對於保持技能新鮮、開闢新路徑以及確保更長工作生涯的每個階段都具有意義和生產力至關重要。
因此，三方高階就業工作組正在研究資深人士職業生涯旅程中的建議，包括中期職業轉型和後期職業階段，在這些階段及時干預能產生最大影響。
正如良好的身體健康支援更長更好的身體壽命，良好的職業健康支援更長的工作壽命。職業健康同樣需要早期、定期的檢查和職業規劃，而不僅僅是在出現問題時才進行。這對許多處於40至50歲中期職業階段的人尤為重要，他們需要適應新角色、新技術或新行業，同時平衡工作與家庭責任。這些關鍵年份決定了他們能工作多久以及工作質量如何。
然而，職場成年人往往獨自面對這一旅程。與學校中結構化的教育和職業指導不同，職場成年人獲得的支援較少，難以理清此階段的選擇。這就是為什麼正如部長早前強調的，我們正在通過與職業及就業服務部門合作，強化和拓展Career Health SG。我們將發展該部門，提供多樣化的優質服務，滿足不同資深人士的需求，幫助他們提前規劃、順利過渡並在更長的工作生涯中建立可持續的職業。
在個人層面，職場發展局（WSG）及其合作伙伴已試點針對50至60多歲人士的定向職業指導專案，幫助他們規劃後期職業生涯。這些專案包括共和國理工學院於2025年4月推出的“設計你的人生——下一章節”工作坊，以及新加坡科技設計大學於2025年10月推出的“下一步：利用設計·人工智慧重新構想你的職業”。這些專案迄今已支援約1000名參與者，其中約五分之四在完成工作坊後六個月內已開始實施其職業規劃。
在正確指導下，後期職業轉型可以開啟新機遇。參與者如61歲的Eddie Sng先生和55歲的Mabel Lee女士展示了這一實踐效果。參加WSG支援的職業指導工作坊後，他們開始將職業轉型視為成長機會，而非職業終結。
Eddie曾任物流董事總經理，現從事物流諮詢工作並創作數字內容。Mabel曾是攝影師及市場營銷專業人士，現擔任兼職市場經理，同時發展其攝影教學事業。他們的經歷表明，戰略性職業指導使年長員工能夠重新思考選擇，自信轉型，並持續有意義地貢獻。
基於這些早期成功，WSG將與合作伙伴合作，擴大後期職業指導服務的覆蓋範圍，並將這些專案納入其常規職業指導服務中。
但第三方的職業指導並不足夠，僱主也必須發揮作用。許多已就業的資深員工需要明確瞭解他們能在崗位上工作多久，工作是否會演變，以及如何調整工作方式。這些資訊只有僱主能提供。因此，僱主必須與員工進行有意識的對話，規劃崗位重設計，識別未來崗位機會所需技能，並隨著時間調整工作安排，作為常規人力資源規劃的一部分。
這種結構化職業規劃（SCP）不僅應是結構化對話，還應作為公司常規人力資源流程的一部分。在兼職再就業補助計劃下，僱主需派管理層和人力資源代表參加SCP工作坊，掌握開展SCP的知識和技能。根據SNEF的調查，約80%的僱主隨後與員工進行了SCP對話，員工普遍認為這些會議有助於理解選擇並順利規劃下一階段職業。
我們的經驗表明，SCP在更早階段啟動效果最佳，而非等到達到再就業年齡才開始。提前加強職業規劃有助於資深員工保持自信和就業能力，同時讓僱主更清晰地瞭解如何在更長職業生涯中發展和部署勞動力。
然而，目前只有不到30%的50歲及以上員工積極規劃職業，只有38%的僱主開展結構化職業對話。Sanjeev Kumar Tiwari先生正確地提出，我們如何在中期職業階段介入，以提升員工在50多歲前的持續就業能力。
因此，基於SCP的積極經驗，我們將推動僱主在員工職業生涯更早階段定期開展SCP對話，並探索如何將SCP更系統地納入人力資源培訓和認證要求。這將使僱主和員工能夠主動重設計崗位，調整工作安排，並在更長職業生涯中建立韌性。
隨著員工進入職業後期階段，有些人希望繼續全職工作，有些人偏好減少工時或更專注的角色，還有些人隨著優先事項、健康狀況或身體能力變化需要調整。資深員工能否持續貢獻，很大程度上取決於工作場所的適應能力，僱主在其中扮演關鍵角色。
為支援僱傭和留用資深員工的僱主，我們將延長高階就業津貼至2027年12月，正如總理在預算案中宣佈的。Sanjeev Kumar Tiwari先生和Shawn Loh先生曾詢問是否會進一步延長該津貼，以及該計劃是否會在2027年後繼續研究。
在三方高階就業工作組的框架下，我們正全面審視對僱主的支援措施，包括高階就業津貼的評估及是否適合採取更長期措施。我們也已將兼職再就業補助計劃延長至2027年12月，支援僱主提供合適的兼職及靈活工作選項，以吸引和留住資深員工。除了這些措施，我們還需重新思考傳統崗位設計。
什麼是適合年齡的工作實踐？沒有一套放之四海而皆準的模式適合所有公司，不同行業和崗位可能各異。通過賦能成熟員工多階段職業聯盟（AfA-EMW），我們正與包括中介機構在內的組織合作，測試實用模式，增強僱主的信心。
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例如，在AfA-EMW框架下，QED Changemakers的試點專案讓我們看到如何以新方式釋放資深專業知識。通過將經驗豐富的資深專業人士與需要其專業知識的公司按專案連線，資深專業人士可以持續有意義地貢獻，分享數十年經驗，保持活躍並獲得收入，而公司，尤其是中小企業，則能在需要時獲得資深領導力支援。
另一個例子是通過簡單的崗位重設計，保持經驗豐富的公交車長安全且可持續地上路。Tower Transit正在試點新的工作安排，允許資深公交車長安全自信地繼續工作。通過更均衡的班次、崗位輪換和輕鬆的職責，資深員工能持續貢獻，公司則保留經驗，維護服務可靠性，並支援下一代公交車長。
這些原型正在開發中，將納入三方高階就業工作組的建議中，將好點子轉化為可推廣的實踐。
隨著資深員工經濟活動時間延長，工作也必須保持安全和可持續。為支援行業主導的解決方案，解決包括資深員工面臨的常見工作場所安全與健康風險，人力部將啟動就業長壽安全與健康行動聯盟（AfA-SHEL）。國務部長Dinesh Vasu Dash將分享更多細節。
這些努力體現了對資深就業的整體方法，幫助資深員工以適合他們、僱主及經濟的方式持續有意義地貢獻。
在中期和後期職業階段，順利過渡仍是關鍵挑戰。員工需要更清晰的路徑規劃下一步，僱主需要年齡友好型勞動力設計的指導。儘管資深員工可利用多種培訓、求職或招聘支援計劃，但導航這些不同支援渠道仍具挑戰。為此，三方高階就業工作組正在研究更整合的支援職業長壽方法，探討是否通過專門的職業長壽中心來提供服務，將服務提供者聚集一處，提高意識、協作並開發及推廣多階段長職業生涯的解決方案。
這個中心意味著什麼？對個人而言，將幫助他們更好地導航和獲取符合需求的職業、技能及就業支援，包括允許他們更早規劃後期職業轉型。對僱主而言，他們可獲得實用資源和合作夥伴網路，支援設計年齡友好型工作場所，強化多代際團隊。對合作夥伴而言，這將是測試和推廣新舉措、新創新實踐的平臺，包括AfA-EMW中湧現的實踐。
該中心可與現有職業中心共址，使需要求職協助的個人能獲得涵蓋職業規劃、技能和就業各方面的更全面支援，而非分散導航這些服務。如此，我們將重點從管理退出轉向促進更長久、有意義的工作參與。Mariam Jaafar女士詢問三方高階就業工作組何時公佈建議。三方高階就業工作組將於2026年下半年釋出報告，詳述擬議措施。主席先生，請允許我用中文說幾句話。
（中文）：[請參閱方言發言。]三方高階就業工作組於去年成立。經過與各方溝通交流，工作組得出結論，隨著新加坡人職業生涯延長，我們必須更早協助員工進行職業規劃，支援僱主重設計崗位，並確保相關制度和激勵措施切實可行。
對員工而言，這意味著更早獲得職業指導和技能培訓支援，實現順利轉型並保有更多選擇。
對僱主而言，這意味著獲得更明確支援，留住經驗豐富員工，重設計崗位，並提供更適合年長員工的靈活工作安排。
對政府而言，這意味著加強整體職業和就業生態系統，通過職業指導、技能培訓和就業激勵確保更長職業生涯的可行性和可持續性。
工作組目前正在研究資深員工職業旅程各階段的建議，包括中期職業轉型到後期職業調整的需求，並將於2026年下半年公佈相關成果。
（英文）：我們的資深就業工作反映了支援工作生涯的更廣泛轉變：職業生涯更長，進展不再線性，轉型更頻繁。但這不僅是資深員工面臨的挑戰。整個勞動力都在經歷更多頻繁變化，因經濟結構調整和技術重塑崗位。這要求更強大的系統，幫助所有員工和僱主更有意識、更負責任地管理轉型。
僱主，尤其是人力資源團隊，是關鍵推動者。人力資源處於技能與職業發展、崗位重設計和就業實踐的交匯點。企業如何管理職業，直接影響員工能否在更長職業生涯中保持相關性、生產力和投入度。
這就是為什麼人力部於2025年2月召集三方人力資本能力發展工作組，加強組織間的勞動力發展能力。
我們正在建立更清晰的“優秀”標準。人力部於去年十月推出新加坡機會指數，並於今年初公佈了排名前300的組織。新加坡機會指數為僱主和員工提供資料驅動的標尺，展示最佳工作場所如何塑造薪酬、晉升和留任等結果，幫助僱主做出更精準的人才決策。除了表彰頂尖企業，我們還逐步釋出詳細報告和諮詢支援，幫助所有1500家被覆蓋的組織改進。
為將這些洞見轉化為員工和企業的實際收益，工作組還將提出提升人力資源專業水平的建議。
首先，我們加強人力資源領導力。SNEF牽頭多機構合作，聯合NTUC及本地人力資源協會試點國家人力資源領導力專案。該專案旨在通過國際視野、體驗式學習、指導和網路建設，強化新加坡本地人力資源領導者能力。
其次，我們為人工智慧驅動的變革準備人力資源。隨著人工智慧加速各行業轉型，更強大、更系統的人力資源能力變得尤為關鍵。人工智慧可自動化面試安排、處理常規諮詢等重複任務，也能更快揭示勞動力趨勢，幫助人力資源更早發現技能缺口，設計更優發展和部署策略。
但我們必須明確：人工智慧不是來取代人力資源中的人。人工智慧可處理流程，但只有人類能關懷員工。這種人機協作轉變為人力資源帶來更具戰略性、發展性和以人為本的機遇。
陳潔儀女士問我們如何裝備人力資源更具人工智慧驅動能力。人力部正與數字發展與信息部及信息通信媒體發展局合作，在國家人工智慧影響計劃下提升人力資源專業人士的人工智慧素養。與此同時，NTUC正在制定框架，幫助缺乏人工智慧經驗的公司，尤其是中小企業，整合現有資源進行人工智慧準備評估、培訓、適用補助及廣泛採用的人力資源人工智慧工具。
展望未來，人力部、職場發展局和人力資源專業認證局（IHRP）今年將更新人力資源崗位轉型圖，明確指導兩方面內容：一是人工智慧如何轉變人力資源崗位，二是其對更廣泛勞動力的影響如何改變人力資源需求。三方人力資本能力發展工作組也將把陳女士的建議納入更廣泛審議。
第三，我們必須將專業人力資源實踐擴充套件到更多組織。隨著勞動力多樣化和就業問題複雜化，組織需要符合高標準、具備未來能力並致力於持續專業發展的專業人力資源。
這一需求早在2020年就被認可，當時NTUC-SNEF專業人士工作組建議對大型企業強制人力資源認證。然而，這樣重大變革不可能一蹴而就。因此，我們過去五年一直在為加強人力資源認證價值奠定基礎。我很高興地說，這些努力已取得良好進展。
目前，認證人力資源專業人士社群已超過1萬人。約45%的擁有200名以上員工的大型企業配備了認證人力資源，覆蓋了新加坡近一半勞動力。成效顯著。人力部經濟學家最近的研究顯示，IHRP認證顯著提升了認證專業人士的薪酬和就業前景。這最終轉化為企業和員工的雙贏，體現在擁有認證人力資源的組織比無認證者實施了更多職業發展舉措，如勞動力規劃和職業指導。
隨著關鍵規模的建立，我們現在準備邁出下一步。我們需要更廣泛覆蓋的認證人力資源專業人士，能夠嵌入如前述結構化職業規劃等最佳實踐，強化員工參與度，進而提升企業生產力。我們不能把這留給偶然。
議員Patrick Tay先生詢問政府是否會考慮強制要求獲得IHRP認證。基於專業管理人員（PME）工作小組的建議，三方人力資本能力發展工作組正在研究一項提案，要求擁有超過200名員工的大型組織必須配備合適的人力資源人員並獲得認證。該工作組目前正在研究如何以對企業實際可行的方式實施此要求，並將在今年晚些時候公佈詳細建議。
對於可能沒有專職人力資源的企業，人力部正與合作伙伴共同提升更廣泛的職業和就業服務生態系統。正如部長所提，通過推進職業和就業服務行動聯盟（AfA ACES），我們正與私營職業和就業服務提供者合作，試點新的舉措和服務，以支援不同背景的員工職業發展。
這些努力——從提升人力資源能力到與生態系統參與者合作——是經濟戰略審查中我共同主持的人力資本委員會長期願景的一部分，旨在構建一個面向未來的就業和技能生態系統，在該系統中，僱主投資於人才，人力資源成為戰略合作伙伴，員工能夠在更長的職業生涯中更自信地跨崗位和行業流動。
隨著經濟的發展，更多員工可能面臨職位流失，這並非因為他們能力不足，而是由於企業重組、失敗或經濟週期。即使人力資源能力更強、職業支援系統更完善，職位轉換仍可能困難，尤其是在變化突然發生時。
為幫助員工順利度過此類轉變，我們於去年四月推出了SkillsFuture求職者支援計劃。該計劃為非自願失業者提供臨時經濟援助，幫助他們轉入合適的新崗位，而不是倉促接受不匹配的工作。
截至2025年10月底，已有超過3,500人獲得該計劃支援。據估計，其中超過1,600人已找到新工作。Ng Chee Meng先生和Patrick Tay先生詢問是否考慮提高當前的收入資格上限。鑑於該計劃去年才推出，我們將在積累更多經驗後進行評估，包括對收入資格等關鍵引數的審查，以確保計劃的針對性和可持續性。
基於此，經濟戰略審查中管理重組影響委員會正在研究如何更積極支援員工，以及如何將有意義的支援擴充套件至更多群體，包括專業管理人員。例如，正如部長所說，這可能包括要求僱主提前通知裁員，利用行業協會和商會網路在專業管理人員職位較多的行業提供更有針對性的職位匹配，以及擴大職業轉換計劃的支援範圍，幫助更多員工轉入增長崗位。
這些努力體現了從被動應對職位流失向主動支援職業轉型的轉變，依託強有力的三方合作伙伴關係以及技能、崗位和行業需求的更緊密對接。
除了轉型支援，我們的就業法律對於確保員工得到充分保護也至關重要。許多新加坡人可能未意識到《僱傭法》深刻影響著我們的日常工作生活。該法規定了基本的僱傭條款和條件，如及時發薪、加班費和病假。由於《僱傭法》涵蓋了新加坡幾乎所有員工，我們必須在保護員工和給予僱主發展空間之間保持謹慎平衡。
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但工作的性質已經發生變化。我們的勞動力結構不同，工作安排更加多樣化，企業面臨更激烈的競爭環境。因此，三方合作伙伴於去年八月成立了《僱傭法》審查三方工作組，旨在平衡審查該法的關鍵部分，保護最需要保護的員工，同時支援企業靈活性。
議員Pritam Singh和Patrick Tay先生詢問了《僱傭法》審查的主要領域更新。Pritam Singh先生還詢問審查是否可以在三方談判的同時進行公眾諮詢。在開展此次審查過程中，三方工作組已共同接觸了超過2,000名利益相關者，包括專業管理人員、低收入員工、僱主、人力資源從業者及其他專家，以瞭解勞動力的多樣化需求。員工和僱主的反饋非常明確：不同群體需要不同形式的保護和靈活性。
對於低薪員工，基於時間的保護仍然重要，加班費仍是他們收入的重要組成部分。隨著工資上漲和勞動力結構演變，我們將審查《僱傭法》第4部分，確保這些保護仍針對最需要的員工。
對於僱主來說，需要更大的靈活性來管理成本、重新設計崗位並保持競爭力。正確實施時，這也能惠及員工，使僱主和員工能夠協商出滿足個人需求的互利安排。
Patrick Tay先生詢問人力部是否計劃釋出關於在僱傭合同中包含競業限制條款的指導方針。我們正在與三方合作伙伴討論競業限制條款的使用時機和方式，指導方針將基於法院已闡明的既定原則。認為自己受到不合理或無正當理由條款影響的員工，可以尋求工會、職場公平促進局（TAFEP）或人力部的幫助。我們將在適當時候進一步更新。
最後，許多利益相關者指出該法隨著時間推移變得難以理解。我們將研究如何簡化和澄清關鍵條款，使其更易理解和遵守。
《僱傭法》審查三方工作組將在今年下半年公佈報告。通過該工作組，我們在加強關鍵領域的保護的同時，保持勞動框架的實用性和響應性，以適應職業生涯延長和工作場所演變。
綜合來看，這些努力體現了一個簡單原則：隨著工作的變化，我們的保護措施也必須隨之演進。無論是支援員工應對重組，還是更新《僱傭法》，我們的目標一致——確保員工和僱主能夠自信地適應未來的工作環境。
先生，壽命延長正在重塑我們的工作方式、職業發展和經濟增長。關鍵在於我們的員工、僱主和系統是否準備好自信地適應這些變化。
這就是為什麼我們今年的大部分工作都聚焦於建立務實的合作伙伴關係——通過三方工作組、行動聯盟和經濟戰略審查——認真傾聽，測試地面上的有效做法，並將理念轉化為對員工和僱主乃至新加坡都至關重要的成果。
職業生涯的延長不僅僅是延長就業時間，更是讓新加坡人在不同人生階段保持生產力、適應力和參與度，並使僱主能夠繼續利用緊縮勞動力中豐富的經驗、技能和能力。
這項工作無法由任何單一方獨自承擔。員工必須保持適應力，主動掌握技能併為更長職業生涯中的轉型做好規劃。僱主必須繼續投資於員工，重新設計崗位，發展技能，營造各年齡段員工都能有意義貢獻的工作環境。政府將繼續與雙方同行，加強職業和就業系統，提升人力資源能力，支援轉型，並保持我們的就業保護適應不斷變化的勞動力。
這就是我們如何將更長的職業生涯轉化為新加坡的優勢，同時增強生產力、韌性和包容性。我們對新加坡人的承諾是：隨著工作的變化，我們將持續傾聽、持續支援、持續調整，使員工有信心前行，企業有支援在變革中成長。
主席：人力部國務部長Dinesh Vasu Dash先生。
人力部國務部長（Dinesh Vasu Dash先生）：Tan See Leng部長已闡述了人力部大膽的議程，旨在裝備我們的企業抓住新興機遇，規劃增長路徑。在建設未來經濟的過程中，我們承諾支援每一位員工，確保沒有員工被落下。
這體現了“我們優先”的新加坡精神，每個人都有其位置，能夠有尊嚴地參與。最重要的是，所有貢獻，尤其是來自弱勢員工的貢獻，都必須得到認可和提升。
今天的發言，我將詳細介紹三個方面：首先，我們與工會和僱主共同努力提升低薪員工的工作狀況，以及我們下一階段的工作計劃；其次，我們推動加強工作場所安全與健康，確保員工安全回家與親人團聚；第三，我們將繼續支援外籍勞工。
首先談談我們與工會和僱主共同提升低薪員工的努力。這些努力體現了我們的社會契約核心——我們承諾與低薪員工攜手同行。隨著你們為新加坡的發展貢獻力量，你們也將分享隨之而來的回報和機遇。
我們逐步形成了獨特的新加坡方式支援低薪員工。首先，我們推動可持續的工資提升。通過生產力工資模型（PWM），我們在不危及就業的前提下提升低薪員工工資。
PWM作為九個行業和職業的工資階梯，由三方合作伙伴協商，參考生產力和商業狀況等因素，確保工資增長不超過行業或職業的承受能力。PWM還規劃了明確的培訓和晉升路徑。因此，工資增長對僱主來說是可持續的，因為它伴隨著生產力提升。
未涵蓋在PWM中的低薪員工可受益於最低工資標準（LQS）。企業若僱傭外籍勞工，必須至少支付本地員工LQS。
低薪員工還通過工作補貼計劃（Workfare Income Supplement）獲得額外支援。該計劃補充他們的收入，幫助儲蓄退休金。自2007年實施以來，工作補貼計劃已支援超過110萬名員工，發放金額達127億新元。
副教授Jamus Lim呼籲政府提高工作補貼計劃的月收入資格上限。我們去年已將資格上限從2,500新元提高至3,000新元。目前全職本地員工的第20百分位收入約為2,800新元。因此，3,000新元的資格上限仍針對收入處於底層20%的新加坡員工，並對稍高收入者提供一定支援。同時，我們還將把工作補貼計劃的年度支付上限提高至4,900新元。[詳見《人力部國務部長澄清宣告》，官方報告，2026年3月3日，第96卷，第23期，書面更正部分。]
我們將繼續定期審查工作補貼計劃，確保其有效支援低薪員工，補充PWM和LQS的作用。
其次，我們為企業轉型提供多種支援。議員Melvin Yong強調，企業轉型至關重要，因為它通過提升生產力實現可持續的工資增長，也為低薪員工提供了從事更高附加值崗位的機會。鑑於轉型是一個長期過程，為緩解企業成本壓力，政府於2022年預算案中推出了生產力與工資補貼計劃（PWCS）。
第三，我們通過支援培訓和技能提升促進低薪員工的職業發展。諸如工作補貼技能支援計劃（WSS）等專案降低了低薪員工培訓的機會成本，為員工職業晉升和PWM崗位階梯的提升打開了大門。
我們的做法已為低薪員工帶來實實在在的成果。目前，約有15萬名低薪員工通過PWM享受工資和職業晉升路徑，是2020年的五倍多。2022年，LQS要求也擴大，僱傭外籍勞工的企業必須向所有本地員工支付LQS，確保沒有新加坡員工被落下。另有約10.4萬名未涵蓋PWM的低薪員工因此受益。這顯著改善了低薪員工的收入。2021年至2025年，第20百分位的實際收入累計增長了10.1%，超過了中位數的7.4%。
PWM行業的員工隨著經濟增長，工資持續顯著提升。例如，2021年以來，入門級辦公室及商業清潔工的基本工資要求累計增長約50%。到2028年，該工資將達到2,420新元，幾乎是2021年1,274新元的兩倍。同樣，2021年起，入門級外包保安人員的月薪預計在2026年增長約40%，2028年增長約60%。
這是值得驕傲的進步，體現了工會、僱主和政府共同努力改善低薪員工生活的決心。
但我們承諾將做得更好。我們將基於經濟戰略審查委員會的建議，在各領域持續努力，進一步提升和技能培訓低薪員工，拓寬優質崗位範圍。
首先，我們必須保持提升工資的勢頭。2025年，三方合作伙伴公佈了零售、內部保安、行政人員和司機的最新工資表。其餘PWM行業將在今年晚些時候協商下一階段的工資增長。
正如總理在預算案中宣佈，政府還將提高LQS，確保低薪員工持續獲得工資提升。我們將把全職本地員工的LQS門檻從1,600新元提高至1,800新元，自2026年7月1日起實施。提高LQS以跟上工資增長步伐，確保本地員工獲得有意義的就業，而非企業僅為僱傭外籍勞工而設定的象徵性崗位。
其次，我們將推動企業轉型，提高生產力，創造更好崗位，包括為低薪員工創造崗位。議員Melvin Yong會高興地知道，人力部將推出多項支援舉措。
部長早前已提及這些舉措。例如，技能未來勞動力發展補助（崗位重設計+）將於今年三月推出，作為企業勞動力轉型方案的一部分，提供增強的崗位重設計和勞動力轉型資金支援。今年我們還將推出重新設計的技能未來企業信貸，提供額外的勞動力發展支援。
企業也表達了對近期經濟不確定性和人力成本的擔憂。我們聽到了這些聲音。企業在為低薪員工做出貢獻時，不會獨自承擔成本壓力。
正如總理在預算案中所述，我們將把PWCS延長至2028年。這是在2025年最近一次增強的基礎上，PWCS自2022年推出以來，支援了低薪員工的工資提升，同時企業也在進行長期轉型。2022年至2024年間的工資增長，政府向11萬多家企業提供了約36億新元的PWCS資金支援。這些工資增長意義重大，PWCS支援的中位數月增幅約為250新元，覆蓋超過71萬名員工。
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議員Pritam Singh詢問了PWCS的成效，包括其如何與企業轉型、行業生產力和員工技能提升掛鉤。
提升低薪員工的工資水平，縮小與中位數工資的差距，是本屆政府的核心目標。我之前已分享了我們在這些實際收入指標上的良好表現。
但最終，工資的可持續性依賴於生產力的提升。因此，PWM重點關注生產力，將工資增長與技能發展、職業晉升和崗位重設計掛鉤。企業轉型和崗位重設計的企業補助，以及如工作補貼技能支援計劃等技能提升支援，都是對這一目標的補充。
PWCS為低薪員工的工資增長提供過渡性共同資金支援，使企業有空間重組業務流程，實現生產力提升。
許多前瞻性企業已在創新和發展方面取得良好成效。以ISS新加坡設施服務公司為例，
ISS通過PWCS支援為低薪員工提供工資增長，並通過多種技術解決方案提升生產力。例如，ISS的清潔服務現部署了130多臺清潔自主機器人，顯著提升了生產效率。
ISS在技術和自動化方面的投資也為其員工提供了晉升到更高附加值崗位的機會。例如，PWM下的一名醫療保潔員Arthur Lim先生，已經能夠承擔更多技術要求更高的複雜職責。
Lim先生利用了包括WSS計劃支援的技能提升機會。他現在熟練操作紫外線消毒機等專用裝置，還管理加強的醫療保潔協議，並參與感染控制工作流程。Lim先生表示，學習這些新技能讓他重新找到了工作的意義和對工作場所的貢獻感。
同樣，新加坡生產力中心最近釋出的《食品服務生產力報告》指出，一些餐飲企業正在適應變化，提升能力並促進業務表現。例如，Sushi Express利用壽司機器人，將製作一塊壽司的時間縮短至15秒以內，同時提高了生產一致性。隨著PWCS的延長，我們將繼續支援企業實現這些目標。
在決定這些增強措施時，我們考慮了當前經濟和地緣政治形勢的不確定性、商業狀況以及與三方夥伴的磋商等因素。
政府將在2026年為符合條件的低薪工人的工資增長提供最高30%的共同資助。這實際上高於最初宣佈的20%。2027年和2028年的共同資助比例分別為30%和20%。
2027年和2028年延長的PWCS支援也將提高工資增長的最低資格門檻，從100美元提高到200美元。這更好地鼓勵和獎勵那些按照PWCS目標投資於轉型和勞動力發展的企業。
我們敦促僱主利用政府的各種支援形式，包括作為企業勞動力轉型方案一部分推出的舉措，如SkillsFuture WDG(JR+)和SkillsFuture企業信貸。僱主可以利用這些資源推進各自的轉型之路，並支援低薪工人提升技能，勝任更高價值的工作。
這讓我談談第三個重點領域——支援低薪工人的技能提升。
正如Yeo Wan Ling女士所觀察的，這將使我們的工人能夠與業務轉型同步前進，而不是被取代，從而承擔新角色並在職業生涯中進步。
Tan部長已闡述了Career Health SG如何賦能個人掌控職業生涯，以及我們如何發展SkillsFuture運動以重新整理就業和技能生態系統。這些舉措將支援所有工人在職業規劃和技能提升的旅程中。
然而，低薪工人在離開工作去接受培訓時可能面臨獨特的限制。這形成了一個兩難局面，因為抽時間提升技能可能意味著放棄他們可能需要用於即時開支的收入。低薪工人可以放心，政府理解這些挑戰。他們不必在今天賺取收入和為明天裝備技能之間做出選擇。
那些參加長期課程的人現在可以受益於新的Workfare技能支援（WSS）（Level-Up）計劃。
正如2025年預算中宣佈的，參加長期課程的學員將獲得遠高於現有WSS短期課程支援的培訓津貼。這些長期課程包括Nitec或Higher Nitec資格、文憑、後文憑或本科學位。
我很高興地分享，我們將擴大WSS（Level-Up）支援的課程清單，納入長期的勞動力技能資格（WSQ）完整資格，這些課程同樣有資格獲得SkillsFuture Level-Up計劃下的培訓津貼。相關變更將於今年第四季度生效。
WSS（Level-Up）將支援低薪工人追求這些更實質性的技能提升和再培訓形式，無需擔心生計問題。
舉幾個例子，零售業工人可以獲得更高的培訓津貼，以獲得零售服務Nitec資格或零售（運營）文憑。
同時，我們還將加強WSS（Basic）計劃，支援參加短期培訓的工人。這將幫助工人滿足PWM培訓要求或參加WSQ課程。自2026年7月1日起，自費學員的培訓津貼將從每小時6美元提高到10.50美元。隨著小時培訓津貼的增加，工人現在可以積極考慮培訓，而不會大幅減少收入。
我們還將簡化該計劃以減少複雜性。只有獲得完整資格的學員才會獲得每年800美元的培訓承諾獎勵。完整資格是指一系列相關課程，最終獲得正式資格，如WSQ資格或學術繼續教育和培訓資格。研究發現，這些資格相比不授予正式資格的模組，能帶來更好的學員成果。
Melvin Yong先生建議開發更好的人工智慧相關技能路徑。他會高興地知道，WSS支援的課程包括適合低薪工人的行業相關人工智慧技能課程，使他們不會在當前的人工智慧轉型中被落下。
我們的工作尚未完成。僱主必須繼續為低薪工人提高工資，並在重新設計工作和業務流程方面付出額外努力。工人應抓住技能提升的機會，開闢新路徑，建設職業生涯。政府將與僱主和工人合作，共擔轉型的短期成本，確保培訓和技能提升保持可及。
消費者也有角色可扮演。消費者可以通過支援向低薪工人支付漸進工資的企業，讓他們的選擇產生影響。他們可以關注並支援可能已獲得漸進工資標誌的企業。
我們對低薪工人的承諾是：我們與你們團結一致，盡我們所能支援你們。你們可以依靠我們的支援，我們也將在未來多年持續支援你們。
現在讓我進入第二部分，談談確保工作場所安全。
通過所有利益相關者的共同努力和承諾，我們的職業安全與健康（WSH）表現持續改善。我對朝著2028年WSH目標穩步前進感到欣慰，即將致命傷害率維持在每10萬人中低於1.0。2025年新加坡的工作場所致命傷害率為每10萬人中0.96%，這是除COVID-19干擾工作期間外的最低紀錄。
儘管如此，我們不能自滿。每一起工作場所死亡都是悲劇，我們必須繼續保持警惕，提高WSH標準，建設強大且可持續的WSH文化。
許多公司響應了這一號召，我舉一個例子。
Teambuild（ICPH）私人有限公司，一家製造業中小企業。Teambuild投資技術，重新設計工作流程，為工人創造更安全的工作環境。通過引入鋼筋網焊接方法和機器，他們實現了預製、預裝配體積建築單元的自動堆垛，減少了對這些極重材料的人工搬運。這樣降低了工人的肌肉骨骼傷害，同時提高了生產力，每年節省約18萬美元的生產成本，實現雙重效益。Teambuild的努力表明，當企業優先考慮工人的安全與健康時，也會隨著時間積累建立更具生產力和可持續性的業務。
隨著工作性質演變和勞動力變化，工作場所安全與健康面臨新機遇和新挑戰。數字技術的更廣泛應用和勞動力老齡化是兩個例子。
勞工部將與全國職工總會（NTUC）和新加坡全國僱主聯合會（SNEF）合作，於2026年下半年啟動就業長壽安全與健康行動聯盟（AfA-SHEL）。
Melvin Yong先生強調需要超越傳統高風險行業，更加關注常見的工作相關傷害和職業病。他還強調了向上遊推進以使工作場所更安全的重要性。我們同意他的觀點，並將其部分建議納入AfA-SHEL的三個重點領域。
首先是一般勞動力的傷害預防。其次是支援受傷或健康事件後重返工作崗位的人士。第三是工作場所適應和崗位重新設計，使工作場所對我們日益多樣化的勞動力——包括具有各種身體和健康需求的人群——更安全、更可持續。
我們也贊同Yong先生將疲勞視為核心安全問題，並更好利用WSH領域技術的呼籲。AfA-SHEL可以通過針對特定工作場所環境定製的技術解決方案或疲勞管理系統原型，探索這些領域。我們歡迎勞工運動積極參與AfA-SHEL。
Melvin Yong先生還強調政府通過採購政策推動變革的重要性。因此，自2024年4月起，公共部門建築及相關專案的WSH採購標準已提高。此次增強措施包括要求在招標金額達到或超過300萬美元的專案中採用成熟的WSH技術，旨在實現這一目標。
關於平臺工人，Yeo Wan Ling女士呼籲勞工部利用平臺工人三方工作組，探討如何加強平臺工人安全。我們已考慮該建議，更多細節將於本月晚些時候公佈。
讓我快速進入第三部分，談談支援我們的外來勞工。他們日復一日辛勤工作，確保我們的城鎮和家園順利運轉。
多年來，我們與僱主、宿舍運營商和社群夥伴緊密合作，建立了支援外來勞工福祉的韌性生態系統，涵蓋住房、醫療和娛樂需求。
這些努力成效顯著。2024年外來勞工體驗調查顯示，超過九成外來勞工表示滿意在新加坡的工作和生活條件。這是自2011年首次開展該調查以來的最高水平。
外來勞工住房一直是我們的重點。外來勞工建設了我們的家園，我們有責任確保他們在辛苦工作後也有適宜的休息場所。良好的休息也確保他們能持續良好工作，最重要的是安全工作。因此，近年來我們提高了宿舍標準並加強了疫情防控準備。
為支援現有宿舍在2030年前達到更高標準，勞工部推出了宿舍過渡計劃補助，幫助約900個現有宿舍分擔改造費用。這些改進包括套間廁所和隔離設施等，以增強公共衛生韌性。到2040年，所有新建和現有宿舍將符合新宿舍標準，提供更寬敞的房間和室內無線網路覆蓋。
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改善外來勞工的住房條件不一定意味著更高成本。今年早些時候，勞工部開放了首個政府建造和擁有的宿舍——NESST Tukang宿舍。該宿舍超越監管標準，融入了外來勞工反饋的設計特色，提升了居住舒適度和疫情韌性。儘管有這些創新，NESST Tukang的床位價格仍低於符合新宿舍標準的宿舍，預計財務可持續。
我邀請宿舍運營商與政府一道，重新想象新加坡外來勞工住房的可能性。勞工部致力於與您合作，試點宿舍行業的創新和改進，同時推進位於盛港西的新第二宿舍建設。
同樣重要的是為外來勞工提供休息日的空間，建立友誼和聯絡。為此，勞工部在改造和豐富娛樂中心方面取得了顯著進展，訪客數量逐漸增加。
Yeo Wan Ling女士和Melvin Yong先生呼籲繼續改善外來勞工對關鍵設施和社群空間的訪問。我很高興地分享，基於現有娛樂中心，我們將推出娛樂樞紐模式，擴大外來勞工的規模和服務範圍。首個娛樂樞紐將由Soon Lee娛樂中心改建而成。到2030年，外來勞工可以期待一個規模擴大兩到三倍、設施升級、服務更多樣的Soon Lee娛樂樞紐。
除了這一模式，勞工部還將試點較小規模的衛星娛樂中心，將社交和娛樂選項更貼近外來勞工居住地。即使我們改善住房和娛樂中心的物理基礎設施，真正讓外來勞工感到賓至如歸的是新加坡人接受他們並認可他們貢獻的信心。我們日常生活中如何對待外來勞工，反映了我們作為一個民族和社會的本質。
主席先生，我想總結的是，我們支援弱勢工人的努力是對社會凝聚力和韌性的投資——它們將維護我們社會契約的信心，促進持久的信任。
政府堅定承諾這一使命，並將繼續與三方夥伴密切合作。我們將攜手每一位工人，滿懷信心地前行。
主席：人力部長高階議員黃偉中先生。
人力部長高階議員（黃偉中先生）：主席先生，我將先分享我們如何加強工作場所公平框架，確保所有工人都受到公平對待。
感謝Diana Pang女士提出讓包容性做法對中小企業更易管理的建議。TAFEP將加強對《工作場所公平法》的公眾宣傳和教育。TAFEP的資源和指南保持簡明易懂，即使沒有專職人力資源人員的中小企業也能輕鬆應用。
Diana Pang女士還談到加強防止職場騷擾和欺凌的保護。沒有工人應在工作場所遭受此類不可接受的行為。《工作場所公平法》通過要求企業建立申訴處理流程，加強了對遭受騷擾工人的保護。除此之外，我們將從源頭幫助僱主預防職場騷擾和欺凌。
勞工部和三方夥伴正在審查現有的《管理職場騷擾三方指引》，並制定新的三方標準，以加強對僱主採用最佳實踐預防和應對職場騷擾的指導。
現在讓我概述針對需要更多支援群體的專項措施，首先是女性和照顧者，這兩個群體往往重疊。女性承擔照顧責任時，常常感到必須在照顧親人和追求職業之間做出零和選擇。
正如Mariam Jaafar女士指出，離開職場的照顧者往往難以重返職場。新加坡勞動力局的職業轉換計劃等專案可以幫助她們重新獲得有良好前景的工作。但勞工部也希望從源頭緩解她們的困境，使工作和照顧責任可持續。這就是靈活工作安排的作用所在。
靈活工作安排不僅僅是居家辦公，還包括靈活的工作量安排和彈性工作時間。這些安排為僱主和工人提供更多選擇，以可持續和高效的方式組織工作。
Ng Chee Meng先生和Abdul Malik先生強調了夾心照顧者同時照顧子女和長輩的壓力。兩位議員都呼籲通過財政支援和假期等措施加強對這一群體的支援。
關於財政支援，符合條件的在職照顧者可通過Majulah方案下的工作收入補貼和賺取與儲蓄獎金增加收入和公積金儲蓄。曾長期休假的非在職照顧者也可受益於其他措施，例如通過配對退休儲蓄計劃和2026年預算中的公積金補充計劃，在晚年增加公積金儲蓄。
關於假期，許多僱主已自願引入與照顧相關的帶薪假期，作為吸引和留住人才的策略。2024年約有6100家僱主提供帶薪家庭照顧假，佔至少有25名員工的私營企業約36%。然而，許多在職照顧者告訴我們，靈活工作安排是她們更傾向的支援方式。
靈活工作安排（FWA）為照顧者提供了他們所需的靈活性，使他們能夠繼續工作。如果家庭成員需要在服藥或用餐等日常生活中得到幫助，照顧者需要在整個工作周內擁有靈活的時間，而不僅僅是一段固定的休息時間。因此，靈活工作安排更有助於照顧者持續就業。通過繼續工作，照顧者能夠為其長期的財務安全奠定可靠的基礎。
阿卜杜勒·馬利克先生曾建議政府收集有關照顧者就業的資料。我們已經在做這項工作，資料顯示靈活工作安排的提供有所增加。越來越多的女性和照顧者能夠繼續工作或重返職場。
根據人力部的調查，疫情前有一半的企業提供預定的靈活工作安排。疫情爆發後，工作模式發生變化，遠端辦公和彈性工作負荷的靈活工作安排有所增加。現在，大約七成企業提供靈活工作安排，即使企業在適應後疫情時代的新常態並調整相關安排。這支援了我們的勞動力參與率。
25至64歲居民中既不工作也不找工作的照顧者比例從2019年的28.2%下降到2025年的17.2%。同樣，25至64歲女性的勞動力參與率也從76.1%上升至80.5%。
靈活工作安排不僅惠及員工，也是僱主的競爭優勢。它們擴大了人才庫，加強了員工留任，並支援生產力。
作為領先的社會服務機構，新加坡失智症協會對此深有體會。該機構已將諸如錯峰工作時間等靈活工作安排全面融入其職場文化。例如，所有員工都可以選擇自己偏好的工作時間，方便有子女的員工提前開始和結束工作以接送孩子。這帶來了員工高度滿意和低離職率。
但關於靈活工作安排的討論可能較為困難。因此，我們於2024年推出了《靈活工作安排申請三方指引》。該指引以明確性取代不確定性，指導有關靈活工作安排申請的結構化對話。
讓我舉例說明新加坡失智症協會如何運用該指引。一位50多歲的癌症倖存者需要減少工作負荷（彈性工作負荷）以管理健康。她根據三方指引正式提交了靈活工作安排申請。新加坡失智症協會隨後權衡運營需求進行考慮。她的工作職責經過審查並與其他團隊成員協商重新分配。她的申請獲批，目前實行三天工作制。
如果僱主未按照指引考慮申請，員工可向職場公平促進局（TAFEP）尋求協助。TAFEP將與僱主溝通，促使其調整流程，可能包括要求僱主參加有關靈活工作安排實施的教育研討會。
鍾艾琳女士建議將三方指引立法，並將靈活工作安排視為有幼兒工作的父母的推定權利。這些舉措較為生硬，因為不同行業和崗位的企業情況不同。例如，前線崗位無法遠端辦公。全面強制靈活工作安排可能抑制企業運營和競爭力，長期來看可能損害新加坡人的就業機會。相反，我們專注於更可持續的方式，通過崗位重設計支援和為僱主與員工提供公平流程，討論雙方可行且互利的安排，推動企業實施靈活工作安排。
彭迪安女士談及中小企業實施靈活工作安排面臨的挑戰。我想向議員保證，相關支援是有的。包括中小企業在內的企業可利用將於三月下旬推出的企業勞動力轉型計劃。該計劃提供資金和諮詢支援，幫助企業採用靈活工作安排等新工作模式。
我們也在加強對彈性工作負荷安排的支援。彈性工作負荷安排如兼職、工作分享和分時崗位，適合需要減少工作負荷以履行照顧職責的照顧者。然而，2024年，少於一半需要兼職安排的員工獲得了該安排，而超過70%的員工獲得了時間相關的靈活工作安排（如錯峰工作時間）和地點相關的靈活工作安排（如預定遠端辦公）。
目前，我們有兼職再就業補助金，向為年長員工提供兼職、靈活工作安排和結構化職業規劃的僱主提供最高12.5萬新元的資助。
瑪麗亞姆·賈法爾女士詢問補助金的使用情況和成效，以及如何加強對僱主的激勵。僱主對補助金反應積極，已有超過7,600家企業申請，惠及超過66,000名年長員工。正如高階國務部長許文遠所述，我們將補助金延長至2027年底，以持續支援僱主。
鑑於補助金的成功，我們正在審視如何加強補助金，鼓勵僱主為更多員工提供彈性工作崗位。這可能惠及依賴彈性工作崗位的其他員工群體，如照顧者。
談及殘疾人士，他們同樣受益於包容性職場實踐。設想丹尼爾，一位輪椅使用者，申請工作。他具備技能和資格，但一些僱主猶豫不決，不確定他的能力或擔心額外成本。此時，啟用就業津貼（Enabling Employment Credit）發揮作用。該津貼幫助僱主邁出第一步，覆蓋丹尼爾工資的20%，減輕成本顧慮。
我們的努力成效顯著。2025年，有6,800家僱主因僱傭10,800名新加坡殘疾居民獲得啟用就業津貼，較2022年的6,600家和10,000人有所增長。為保持勢頭，我們去年將該津貼延長至2028年底。
同時，丹尼爾本人也需要支援。啟用就業津貼幫助僱主克服顧慮，而開放之門計劃（Open Door Programme）支援僱主和丹尼爾在求職和職場中的適應。通過該計劃，丹尼爾被匹配到合適崗位，並獲得持續支援，如個性化職場輔導。如果丹尼爾需要職場改造，如輪椅坡道，計劃也覆蓋高達90%的費用。
該計劃成效顯著，過去四年支援超過2,400名殘疾人士就業，超過80%至少持續就業六個月。這表明有適當支援，殘疾人士不僅具備就業能力，更是僱主寶貴的長期貢獻者。
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但工作不僅關乎當下收入，也關乎長期財務安全。就業幫助丹尼爾通過定期公積金繳納積累財富，額外支援則有助緩解其財務憂慮。因此，自今年一月起，我們擴大了配對退休儲蓄計劃（Matched Retirement Savings Scheme），納入所有年齡合資格的新加坡殘疾人士。此次擴充套件使約24,000名55歲以下殘疾新加坡人今年可受益。
但包容性職場不能僅靠激勵措施建立，還需明確規範和實用指導。因此，人力部正與三方夥伴及社會服務機構合作，制定新的《合理便利三方諮詢》。該諮詢將提供合理便利在職場實施的實用指導，為僱主提供明確指引，也讓員工有信心及早提出便利需求。
然而，職場需求不斷演變，許多家庭擔憂其殘疾親人能否適應。去年12月，黃循財總理宣佈成立殘疾人士家庭保障工作組，由社會及家庭發展部國務部長吳佩明主持，我及教育部和衛生部同事協助支援。
人力部將與社會及家庭發展部緊密合作，研究如何在不斷變化的就業市場中更好支援殘疾人士：通過提升技能、再培訓、擴大機會、加強僱主支援及構建職業韌性。主席先生，請允許我用中文總結。
（中文）：【請參閱本地語言發言】俗話說，“海納百川，有容乃大。”在這個快速變化的時代，政府的目標非常明確。我們希望幫助每位員工不斷提升，邁向成功。我們堅信包容性職場環境將惠及所有新加坡人。員工能更好地發揮優勢，企業也能吸引更多優秀人才。人力部將繼續不遺餘力加強新加坡勞動力市場。
雖然我們在推動職場包容性方面已取得一定成效，但我們理解部分新加坡人在求職時仍面臨挑戰。
未來，人力部將進一步完善體系，為他們創造更多就業機會。我們將從三個方面著手：一是提升行業標準。人力部將通過緊密的三方合作，設定更高標準，鼓勵更多包容性職場。二是推廣靈活工作安排，幫助女性及需照顧家庭的員工更好平衡事業與家庭責任。三是支援殘疾人士就業。人力部將積極引導僱主，解決其顧慮，幫助殘疾人士找到適合且能發揮優勢的好工作。
這些措施不僅務實，還相輔相成，共同營造有利於所有新加坡人的工作環境。讓我們攜手努力，使每位新加坡人都能貢獻力量，共享成功喜悅。
（英文）：主席先生，請允許我用馬來語結束髮言。
（馬來語）：【請參閱本地語言發言】人力部的目標明確——我們希望讓所有員工，無論背景或處境如何，都能茁壯成長。我們希望打造包容性職場，讓員工實現職業抱負，積極參與勞動力市場。
我們必須共同努力。僱主必須營造一種文化，讓每個人——
主席：抱歉，時間到了。截止時間是晚上7點，我們只有大約25分鐘時間結束本部分。請保持簡短澄清。薩克提安迪·蘇帕特先生。
薩克提安迪·蘇帕特先生：謝謝主席允許發言。主席，我有三個澄清問題。第一是關於陳部長早前提到的GRIT和海外市場沉浸計劃（OMIP）。部長能否分享一下GRIT畢業生的反饋？部長提到鑑於新關稅和地緣政治緊張局勢增加，計劃有擴充套件空間。能否談談擴充套件的看法？我們目前有400個GRIT名額，是否考慮增加？
第二，我很高興聽到剛才關於海外市場沉浸計劃的介紹。隨著新加坡努力國際化，這非常重要。部長能否談談我們還能做多少，擴大該計劃的空間？
第三是關於我之前提問的技能行業。我聽部長提到正在推動電子或電氣行業的行業框架。我建議建立全國性的主技能行業認證框架，為什麼不這樣做？為何選擇行業性而非全國性？我擔心分行業推進會太慢。部長能否談談看法，考慮到中長期關鍵技能行業的人力需求？
最後一個問題是關於生命週期投資計劃。我在發言中問過，隨著延長工作年限，成員可能在65歲後退休，計劃是否允許靈活選擇目標退休日期？
陳振聲博士：關於第一個問題，GRIT計劃，我們最初規劃約800個名額，大部分在GRIT，少部分在GRIT@Gov。
我們收到超過4,000份申請，具體數字我手頭沒有，但大多數申請者在申請期間已找到工作，因為他們同時也申請其他職位。我們對此感到高興，因為GRIT的目標就是幫助他們找到永久工作。到目前為止，已有400人加入，還有相當數量正在辦理入職手續，包括安全審查。令人欣慰的是，到一月底和二月，大多數最初申請GRIT的人已找到工作。[請參閱《人力部長澄清發言》，官方報告，2026年3月3日，第96卷，第23期，書面更正部分。]
我們將繼續維持該計劃，擴充套件至2026年畢業生。鑑於最近爆發的戰爭和緊張局勢，我們不會終止該計劃，視情況可能擴大規模。
關於海外市場沉浸計劃，反響也非常好。我們正擴大參與企業範圍，甚至考慮讓年輕員工參與。關鍵是參與企業必須有明確的商業計劃和職業發展路徑，說明海外工作後員工將承擔的角色。通過與合作伙伴和人力發展局（WSG）發放資助，我們希望覆蓋更多年輕人群。
關於生命週期投資計劃，可能您剛才提到的第二個問題是什麼？該計劃旨在為年輕公積金成員提供長期投資視角，尤其是在職業初期。我們諮詢了多位投資顧問，設計了自動再平衡功能，成員無需主動管理投資組合；達到一定年齡後，投資將逐步清算。
關於時間範圍和是否可延長，我們正與不同供應商溝通，積累經驗後會進一步完善計劃。
目前，儘管法定領取年齡為65歲，許多成員選擇延遲至70歲領取，甚至有人詢問是否可延長至70歲以上。我們會考慮這些反饋，畢竟人們壽命更長且更健康。
關於全國主技能行業認證，我們選擇從三個行業開始，因涉及多個行業。首選電氣行業，我本人也負責貿易和工業部的能源事務。我們的持證電工年齡偏大，中位數約60歲。
為了保障自身韌性和安全，我們必須培訓這批人員。此前提到的賈興表現出色，我們希望以堅實基礎啟動該計劃。
另外兩個行業是管道工和空調技術員，這些都是關鍵行業。考慮到新加坡人口規模，若過於分散，效果會減弱，因此我們先聚焦這三個行業。[請參閱《人力部長澄清發言》，官方報告，2026年3月3日，第96卷，第23期，書面更正部分。]
主席：副教授林佔武。您有兩次發言，共八分鐘。
林佔中副教授：主席，如果我沒聽錯陳部長的意思，他表示政府大體上認同通過實習培訓計劃（如GRIT）進行在職培訓的原則。請問這是否意味著政府確實會不僅在人數上擴大該計劃的深度，還會在領域覆蓋上超越科學、技術、工程和數學（STEM）及金融，涵蓋我們所有工藝教育學院（ITE）、理工學院和自治大學的畢業生？如果是這樣，他是否預期會有明確的時間表來推動這一擴充套件？最後，關於GRIT，今後是否會由新的SSG、WSG法定機構來管理？
陳志榮博士：讓我向林副教授澄清。目前，我們並不打算將其發展為全國性的制度化在職培訓計劃，因為我們認為，鑑於目前的就業形勢，至少到去年，甚至到今年一月，職位空缺仍多於求職者。當然，很大一部分原因是期望與市場上現有職位型別不匹配。我們考慮GRIT是為一部分可能需要額外實習的畢業生準備的。
話雖如此，許多畢業生已經在學習期間安排了自己的工業實習，無論是在ITE、理工學院還是高等院校。因此，我們沒有計劃將其發展為全國性計劃。可以說，今天我們已經有一系列相關計劃——GRIT、海外市場沉浸計劃，這些都是針對初級人員的。更進一步，即使是中年職業階段，我們也有不同型別的實習計劃。讓我澄清這一點。
這些計劃中的大部分將由新成立的WSG管理。至於金融行業，我相信WSG需要與新加坡金融管理局、新加坡銀行與金融學院以及其他專業機構合作，以確保我們的覆蓋面和影響力最大化，惠及本地人才。
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我想我們都希望為人民爭取同樣的目標。我們希望確保為他們帶來最佳成果。我們無法為每個人提供平等的結果，但我們希望為他們提供最佳的結果。我認為根本的區別在於，今天我們希望對每個行業採取更有差異化、更有針對性、更精準的方式，而不是一刀切的全國性計劃。
主席：Jessica Tan女士。
Jessica Tan Soon Neo女士：謝謝主席。我想問高階國務部長，關於中年職業更新及他提到的各種計劃。人力部是否考慮擴大類似公司培訓委員會的支援，專門針對面臨可能職業中斷的中年專業人士（PME），並使僱主能夠更積極地重新設計崗位和重新部署員工？因為公司培訓委員會的支援可以作為企業範圍內的措施，允許進行健康診斷、職業健康診斷，然後共同資助更新計劃及多階段職業規劃。我想問這是否可能？
另一個問題是關於前瞻性規劃和整合多階段職業路徑，人力部是否會探索針對面臨結構性轉變等衝擊的行業（例如製造業、專業服務業和資訊通訊技術業）進行多階段職業路徑的行業特定調整？
最後，關於照顧者，關於為照顧者提供就業支援已有很多討論。但對於那些已經遭遇職業中斷、正試圖重返職場的人，能給予哪些額外支援，幫助他們重新進入勞動力市場？
許寶琨博士：主席，關於議員的第一個問題，即是否考慮類似公司培訓委員會的支援，答案是肯定的。因為公司培訓委員會的結構和形式只是實現目標的手段。如果今天有公司，即使在我們啟動職業長壽中心之前，任何有意系統性轉型其工作場所及商業模式，並帶動員工共同參與的公司，都可以聯絡職工總會（NTUC），那裡有專門的行業培訓官員團隊，可以引導公司進行運營技術路線圖規劃，併為他們制定公司培訓委員會式的轉型路線圖。這可以影響整個公司的員工隊伍，而不僅僅是中年職業者。
第二個問題是關於是否會有行業特定的多階段職業路徑。這也是我們正在考慮的方向。正如我在發言中提到的，沒有一種通用模式適用於所有公司或行業。為了為公司提供更有針對性、量身定製的路徑，我們認為通過“適應未來”（AfA）概念，讓不同行業的公司試點一些轉型為多代際工作場所的方式，然後與同行分享經驗，是一種可行方法。
我們如何擴大這一做法，可以通過各個行業協會和商會，甚至通過職業長壽中心，讓僱主自行開展對話和工作坊，分享經驗，使中小企業和不同規模的公司能夠共同學習，形成實踐社群，從而減少企業在開展工作場所轉型時的顧慮。這正是我們的思路。如何具體操作仍在討論中，我們也歡迎各種建議。
第三個問題是如何幫助照顧者。如果我們能夠讓職業和就業支援生態系統，如部長和我所述，提升效率，吸引更多私營部門參與，我們提供的一些資源不僅對年長員工有用，也能幫助那些離開職場一段時間、需要技能提升的照顧者。職業長壽中心或WSG與SSG的結合，確實朝著這一方向發展，提供一站式服務，幫助他們不僅提升技能，還能更好地規劃如何重返職場，最終找到更好的方式管理重返職場的過程，甚至考慮採用個案管理方式。
換句話說，對於那些離開職場一段時間的照顧者，不能只是簡單地告訴他們“這裡有工作，祝你好運”，讓他們自己和僱主去應對。
可能需要個案管理方式，定期跟進，瞭解他們入職後的情況，確保不僅個人得到支援，也與公司人力資源部門合作，瞭解如何更好地支援這些可能需要更多指導的員工。我們正在探索這些想法。
主席：Patrick Tay先生，您有五個發言，總計七分鐘。
鄭德源先生：首先，關於強制裁員通知，其次是關於ONE通行證。
首先，關於強制裁員通知。就在上個月，我又遇到一家公司在裁員前一天才通知。我認為我們當時忙於幫助工人，因此我敦促人力部重新審視強制裁員通知，要求在裁員前向人力部專門報告，以便我們能及時採取行動。對於違反強制裁員通知規定的，不應只是輕微處罰，而應加重處罰，不僅僅是行政處罰。
第二個問題是關於新的ONE通行證（人工智慧與科技）類別。它與現有的Tech.Pass有何不同？我們真正希望吸引的是哪些人才？
主席：由陳部長回答。
陳志榮博士：主席，為節省時間，我將同時回答這兩個問題。簡短回答是，關於強制裁員通知提前通知，我們正在審查《僱傭法》，會全面考慮相關事項，請放心。
關於第二個問題，ONE通行證的設計是為了吸引行業的推動者、關鍵人物和網路中介。我們相信，我們最寶貴的三大優勢是我們的人才、長期建立的信任以及作為區域樞紐的信譽。當然，在當今不確定的世界中，我們這裡的安全性、可預測性、透明度和制度框架，以及我們在議會中能夠進行的建設性辯論，都使我們處於吸引全球人才的有利位置。
他們可以催生多個企業，通過向本地人才傳遞尖端技術和思維方式，提升整體水平。這樣，我們就達到了目標。
主席：Yeo Wan Ling女士，您有四個發言，總計10分鐘。
Yeo Wan Ling女士：我想向部長澄清。在勞工運動中，我親眼見證了PWM如何為工人帶來尊嚴和結構化的職業發展，而此前這些都不存在。
今天在議會中，我聽到不同觀點質疑我們的PWCS的相關性和有效性，從而影響了PWM提升生產力和技能的意圖。當某項政策明顯改善了數千新加坡人的生活，卻被描述為負擔或無效時，可能會削弱公眾對這些政策的信心。今天表達了多樣化的觀點，包括對政策的具體建議，政府將如何採納這些意見？
陳志榮博士：我理解並尊重今天以及許多會議中表達的多樣化觀點。這些觀點之間存在巨大分歧和張力。例如，有人希望人工智慧發展更快，有人則呼籲更謹慎。我們甚至有賈拉德·賈姆先生和何副教授呼籲快速普及人工智慧技能，儘快讓每位工人掌握AI技能。
另一方面，Pritam Singh先生警告不要無節制擴張，呼籲加強監管；Yeo Wan Ling女士、Wan Rizal博士、Mariam Jaafar女士也表達了確保AI應用真正帶來工資增長而非無就業增長的觀點。還有人希望提升國內行業的生產力和工資，而另一些人則希望通過更容易引進外勞支援低生產力行業。
Yeo Wan Ling女士談到外勞擴張的限制，而賈拉德·賈姆先生警告雙速經濟的風險。同時，像林佔中副教授和Mark Lee先生等議員呼籲給予本地導向行業（包括餐飲和零售）更多引進外勞的空間，幫助中小企業應對成本壓力。
議員們，主席先生，這些例子反映了我們必須面對的根本權衡。所有政策決策都需在這些相互競爭的優先事項之間謹慎平衡。作為執政政府，我們肩負著駕馭複雜問題的責任，必須將這些張力整合為連貫、財政可持續、前瞻且務實的政策，惠及所有新加坡人。
因此，我們廣泛諮詢工人、僱主、工會和行業夥伴，盡力確保各方聲音和關切被聽見。我們的唯一目標是賦能新加坡人，貫穿其人生各階段，確保他們具備在變革世界中成功的能力。
同時，我們也必須確保企業在轉型環境中持續繁榮，營造創新和機會普及的環境。
我們平衡所有這些優先事項。有時，某些看似直觀的路徑為何難以實現，是因為任何政策的實施都會引發連鎖反應，影響深遠。因此，我們如履薄冰。希望在大家支援下，專注於為所有新加坡人及後代建設更美好的未來，我們將繼續努力建設一個繁榮、充滿樂觀、具韌性且安全的國家。感謝議員的理解。
主席：抱歉，我們已到達截止時間。請問Yeo Wan Ling女士是否願意撤回修正案？
下午6時58分
Yeo Wan Ling女士：感謝所有參與這場豐富討論的人。主席，我請求撤回我的修正案。
[(程式文本) 修正案經許可，撤回。 (程式文本)]
[(程式文本) 主估算中S項下3920999400元獲批准。 (程式文本)]
[(程式文本) 發展估算中S項下178690100元獲批准。 (程式文本)]
英文原文
SPRS Hansard · Fetched: 2026-05-02
The Chairman : Head S, Ministry of Manpower (MOM). Ms Yeo Wan Ling.
1.47 pm
Accessing Skilled Foreign Workers
Ms Yeo Wan Ling (Punggol) : Mr Chairman, I move, "That the total sum to be allocated for Head S of the Estimates be reduced by $100."
Singapore is going through a period of profound labour change. We are seeing the effects of an ageing demographic and our total fertility rate is at a historical low. More workers today are also caregivers and women, who traditionally take up caregiving roles, continue to face the balancing act between work and caregiving. At the same time, our enterprises are navigating an uncertain global environment marked by higher costs and rising trade barriers. Alongside these changes, more Singaporeans are choosing platform work as a livelihood of choice, whether for flexibility, autonomy or income stability. And layered onto all of these is the advent of artificial intelligence (AI), which is already beginning to transform the very nature of work.
Not just the jobs we do, but how work is organised, how skills are built and how careers evolve. Against this backdrop, Singapore's manpower policies must not only balance global talent attraction with local workforce protection, but must actively enable Singaporeans to thrive as workplaces evolve.
In the last term of Government, MOM and our tripartite partners worked together to guide our workforce out of the COVID-19 crisis and enabled workers to benefit from the recovery. We secured better terms for lower-wage workers as well as platform workers, improved caregivers' access to flexible work arrangements (FWAs) and took early steps to prepare for a super-aged society. But as this new term begins, our labour and industry transformation policies face a far more complex task.
AI is a gamechanger. It can augment workers or displace them, depending on how work and jobs are redesigned. The key question is not whether transformation will happen. It is whether it will translate into stronger wages, deeper skills and better career pathways for Singaporeans.
Our first Industry Transformation Maps (ITMs) were introduced in 2016. They were forward-looking then. But AI is reshaping industries at a speed that demands sharper, more dynamic responses. While some ITMs have been refreshed and augmented with Job Transformation Maps, we must now ensure they provide clear direction on: AI-driven business process redesign, timelines for workforce transition and credible pathways into new roles when existing ones are sunsetted.
Equally important, we must ensure that employers bring their workforce along this journey. Displacement must remain the last resort. As industries transform, workplaces must become more inclusive and supportive, particularly for mid-career workers and those with caregiving responsibilities.
While we have made meaningful progress and strengthening protections for platform workers in both livelihood stability and recent workplace safeguards, platform work remains inherently precarious. Recent platform exits remind us that workers remain vulnerable to sudden business decisions. At the same time, road safety is an increasing concern. The rise and group fatalities and injuries reported in 2025 underscores the risk that platform workers face daily.
We need to move beyond baseline protections. As more Singaporeans rely on platform work as a primary livelihood, we must guard against platform consolidation creating a race to the bottom in payouts and incentives. When platform exit, workers should not be left exposed to delayed or unpaid dues. Stronger safeguards are needed to ensure timely notice fulfilment of payment obligations and clear records, whether defaults occur while also strengthening protections for their safety on the roads. Tripartism must continue to anchor this effort. The Platform Workers Trilateral Group demonstrated in 2025 how effective collaboration can address complex challenges, such as illegal platform work.
Going forward, platform worker associations should and must remain a central pillar, strengthening partnerships to improve both livelihood resilience and safety outcomes for our platform workers. Today, my Government Parliamentary Committee (GPC) colleagues and fellow labour Members of Parliament (MPs) will share our views on how manpower policies must continue to secure good jobs for our Singaporean core, while powering economic progress within this land and infrastructural constraints of our little red dot. Because of this remains a delicate but necessary balancing act.
We must enable time-crunched mid-career workers to upskill; without placing unsustainable pressure on employers in a tight labour market. We must provide assurance to IHL students entering a workforce where entry-level roles are evolving. We must ensure local-foreign workforce complementarity remains responsive, without compromising business agility. And we must strengthen income security, as workforce churn rises, skills half-lives shorten, caregiving burdens grow and cost pressures persist.
There are limits to how much we can expand our foreign workforce, given infrastructure constraints and our social capacity. Our manpower strategy must therefore focus on transformation, not substitution. Firms must become less manpower-reliant even as they become more productive. And our local workforce must move up the skills ladder alongside industry transformations.
In this new phase of labour transformation, I would like to put forward three Budget priorities.
First, we must continue attracting top global talent in a way that strengthens, not substitutes our Singaporean core. This requires stronger complementarity frameworks, clearer skills transfer expectations and leadership pathways for our locals.
Second, as businesses face tighter margins, we must support transformation, not dependency on manpower expansion. Foreign manpower must be calibrated alongside deeper industry upgrading so that productivity, not labour cost suppression, drives competitiveness.
Third, productivity gains must translate into real wage uplift, especially for lower-wage and at-risk workers. Job redesign and AI adoption must be linked directly to wage progression, so transformation narrows inequality rather than widens it because ultimately, every worker matters.
[(proc text) Question proposed. (proc text)]
The Chairman : Ms Yeo Wan Ling.
Quality and Productivity of Foreign Workforce
Ms Yeo Wan Ling : Mr Chairman, our approach to foreign manpower must go beyond access. Their deployment must drive productivity and translate into better jobs and stronger wage outcomes for Singaporeans.
I note the Ministry's intention to add eight occupations from the social services, food services and transportation sectors to the Non-traditional Sources Occupation List (NTS-OL) in 2026. The NTS-OL is an important tool to address manpower shortages in critical roles. But as we expand it, we must ensure that access to foreign manpower does not simply relieve short-term labour gaps.
It must actively support upgrading and reframing of jobs are they transform with AI and technology into attractive jobs for Singaporeans. I therefore call on the Ministry to accompany this expansion with clear productivity-linked conditions.
Firms that access NTS-OL manpower should also commit to structured training for locals, skills transfer from foreign workers and job redesign that improves work processes. Where appropriate, access to NTS-OL manpower should be tied to demonstrable workforce upgrading plans, including career pathways for Singaporeans and measurable productivity improvements.
Second, we should ensure that expansion does not suppress wage growth for vulnerable local workers. The Budget should support firms in redesigning jobs alongside workforce diversification so that productivity gains translate into higher wages, not simply labour cost substitutions.
Finally, we must ensure that our workforce diversification strengthens the Singaporean core. This means embedding progression pathways, leadership pipelines and skills upgrading for locals into sectors where NTS-OL access is expanded. Foreign manpower must complement transformation, not replace it. If done right, this expansion can raise productivity across the workforce and support sustainable growth that delivers better wages and good jobs for all Singaporeans.
Review of Employment Act
Mr Pritam Singh (Aljunied) : The Employment Act was last reviewed in 2018. That review coincided with the act's 50th anniversary.
One of its more far-reaching amendments was to extend the Act's protections to 430,000 more workers, comprising managers and executives. It follows that the broadening of coverage makes the current review of the Employment Act more significant than previous iterations. It was first announced at the Committee of Supply (COS) last year when MOM announced its plans to review the act.
Almost immediately, the Singapore National Employers Federation moved quickly to caveat that the review should not, and I quote, "inadvertently mandate progressive employment practices that may reduce flexibilities for employers and undermine business competitiveness". There have been little further announcements on the areas under review beyond the broad objectives which were announced when the Tripartite Workgroup first met in August last year. There has been some speculation of specific enhancements, including raising the minimum statutory annual leave entitlement.
According to MOM, 2022, more than 90% of full-time resident employees between the age of 25 and 64 already received more than the statutory minimum seven days leave. Any increase through proposed amendments to the act here would be akin to pushing against an open door if proposed amendments substantively amount to what is a common market practice.
Can the Minister share what deliberations have taken place thus far, and if there has been a significant gap in positions between the Ministry, the unions and employer organisations like the Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF)? What areas of amendment have been scuttled or deferred to date in view of divergences in position? Will the Ministry consider a public consultation in parallel with tripartite negotiations, given the significantly larger number of workers covered by the Employment Act today?
Moving forward, the Government should review its tripartite posture to lean on the side of workers more, particularly in today's employment landscape. As the Prime Minister observed in this year's Budget speech, we must always take care of our own.
One long-standing anomaly in the Act is the distinction between workmen and non-workmen, a distinction that has arguably blurred in today's environment of AI skills upgrading and job convergence. Are there plans to achieve parity with regard to salary thresholds for workmen and non-workmen alike?
In addition, both the Act and the tripartite guidelines envisage the payment of retrenchment benefits. Previous MOM surveys indicate that in general, a very large number of companies, around 90%, are already able to pay retrenchment benefits to the level of the tripartite guidelines.
The time has come for these guidelines to be legislated as a norm in an advanced economy like Singapore, as a manifestation of a basic Singapore standard for all workers. Larger companies, those with more than 25 workers, should be expected to pay more at minimum, one month for every year of service, which is the norm for unionised companies.
Based on MOM's own data on retrenchments, legislating for a reasonable quantum of retrenchment benefits that are already the overwhelming norm in Singapore would not be an earth-shattering legislative development. However, doing so would be consistent with the objective of commitments like #Every Worker Matters and a "we first" society. Can MOM confirm if retrenchment benefits are a subject under discussion as part of the current review under the Act?
The Chairman : Mr Patrick Tay, you may take your three cuts together.
Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan (Pioneer) : The last round of Employment Act review was passed in 2018 and effective April 2019. I am aware that the review is ongoing and I declare my interest as part of the tripartite workgroup on the review.
I am therefore asking for MOM now to provide an update to the House on when they plan to roll out the amendments and in what broad areas, pursuant to some of my lobbying efforts in this House the past few years.
By the same token, the Industrial Relations Act was last amended more than a decade ago, in 2015. To avoid conflicts of interest and undermining management effectiveness, executives with senior management functions were excluded from collective bargaining.
In the years that followed, unions which have sought to extend their scope of representation to include executives and have met with some difficulties because the exclusions set out in section 17(3) are too broadly worded, thereby giving employers the opportunity to claim that even low- and mid-level executive employees fall within them, whereas the intent behind the law was only to exclude those who are at senior management levels and carry out functions which genuinely give rise to a conflict of interest if they are represented by a union.
Can I request MOM to look into providing greater clarity through a firmer and clearer articulation on this point, either through amending the guidelines or amending the Industrial Relations Act for statutory clarity?
2.00 pm
Guidelines on Restraint of Trade
I would like to ask the Ministry also for an update on the proposed tripartite guidelines on the restraint of trade clauses.
More than two years ago, MOM announced that these guidelines were being developed in consultation with tripartite partners, with the intention to provide clearer guidance to employers and better protection for employees. At that point, we were told that the guidelines were expected to be released by the end of 2024.
We are now in 2026. Yet, many employees, especially professionals, managers and executives (PMEs), continue to face broad and restrictive restraint of trade clauses that can limit their mobility, bargaining power and career progression, even where there is no legitimate business interest to protect.
Could the Minister update this House on the current status of this and indicate when employers and workers can expect clear and practical guidance to be issued? And in the interim, what advice does MOM have for employees who may be subject to overly restrictive or unreasonable restraint of trade clauses today?
Unemployment Support and Mandatory Retrenchment Notification
Over the decades, in my work with the Labour Movement, I have worked alongside thousands of workers who lost their jobs, sometimes with notice, sometimes overnight, often with little clarity on what comes next. Retrenchment is not just an economic event. It is a human event, affecting livelihoods, families and dignity.
I would like to ask the Ministry for an update on two key safeguards that directly impact displaced workers: the SkillsFuture Jobseeker Support Scheme and the Mandatory Retrenchment Notification framework.
First, on the SkillsFuture Jobseeker Support Scheme. Since the start of the scheme, can MOM provide an update on the scheme? Today, we see more PMEs affected by involuntary unemployment than before and further exacerbated by the advent of GenAI. I strongly urge MOM to consider expanding the Jobseeker Support scheme cap from the current $5,000 to $7,600, which is the median salary of professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs), and I am speaking of PMETs and not even PMEs, which is much higher, so that the scheme remains meaningful, adequate and reflective of present‑day labour market realities?
Second, on Mandatory Retrenchment Notification. Today, notification often comes after retrenchment decisions have been finalised. By then, options are limited and intervention is reactive. I propose that the notice be done prior to retrenchment, so that early support can be activated, such as career coaching, job matching, redeployment and where possible, alternatives to retrenchment itself. Early notification enables early intervention and early intervention saves jobs.
Access to Premium AI Tools
Assoc Prof Terence Ho (Nominated Member) : Mr Chairman, I would like to suggest that the Ministry consider extending free or subsidised access to AI premium tools to a larger group of Singaporeans, such as all mature workers, on a time-limited basis.
Many of these premium tools cost no more than US$20 a month, or under $30 a month. Six months of fully or partly subsidised access, could make a significant difference in helping people become familiar with and experiment with AI. In particular, the fear of missing out could prompt people to try the tools for the first time, which they may put off despite the availability of free versions. Many of these tools are intuitive and can be adopted even without special training.
Given the potential for an AI divide where the affluent and less well-off have differential access to premium AI tools, a further suggestion is to offer lower-income Singaporeans subsidised access to premium AI tools on a longer-term basis. This would help ensure that AI adoption remains inclusive and does not widen existing inequalities.
On-the-job Training in the Age of AI
Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim (Sengkang) : One of my closest friends, whom I have known since I was 13, is a banker. This in and of itself is unremarkable, since the financial sector accounts for one in every 16 workers in our labour force. What is remarkable, however, is how he got there. My mate, trained in architecture, obtaining his bachelor's and master's degrees in the subject, but after graduation, he applied for and scored his first job in investment banking. Why did the bank bother interviewing him to begin with?
According to him, they were impressed by his sharpness and moxie. There was a reason that they would teach him everything that he would need to know on the job anyhow. Today, he an immensely successful financier leading the Asia Pacific business of a top-shelf asset management firm.
The story illustrates a reality that all of us are familiar with. In spite of the best efforts of educators, like myself, most of the skills needed for our jobs are not learnt in the classroom but in life settings on-the-job training (OJT).
Indeed, OJT, which could involve formally organised structures, such as apprenticeships or internships, or more informal processes, such as guidance and mentorship, often imparts specialised skills that are typically far more valuable for the actual day-to-day performance of one's job than the validation conferred by a certification itself.
Today, countries as diverse as Australia, France, Germany, India, Switzerland and Turkey, have national-level apprenticeship systems. Singapore has OJT systems too but there are certain shortcomings.
The Workforce Skills Qualification (WSQ) framework under the rubric of SkillsFuture includes an assessment only pathway. But by emphasising paper qualifications, the assessment only pathway continues to be hamstrung by an insistence on assessment over demonstration, on the acquisition of certification over experience. Those I have spoken to shared that it has become more of an impediment rather than a genuine stepping stone toward career advancement in the skills trades.
Workforce Singapore (WSG) runs existing Career Conversion Programmes (CCPs), but these are mostly linked to industry transformation maps. In practice, the industries covered are linked, limited to professional and technical roles rather than broad based.
WSG also runs a career trial for employers where firms can try the employee out for some time with Government support. This helps spread the risk for employers in terms of hiring. But it is less clear how trainees, especially those who are seeking to retrain and reskill, gain structured systematic exposure to new skills.
Most recently, WSG launched the GRaduate in Industry Traineeship (GRIT) programme for graduates of ITE, polytechnics and universities. This is a major step and one that I wholeheartedly support. But a quick search reveals less than 100 open positions.
Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, in his National Day Rally, announcing the initiative, spoke about scaling up the programme if the economy worsens. While the economy is doing well, I believe that GRIT's time has come.
Agentic AI threatens to replace the need for entry-level positions. Yet, without a pipeline to train new hires, especially on the job, it will be a conundrum, a shortage of experienced mid-level workers which remain in high demand. This is precisely where the Government can step in by subsidising the gap that the labour market would otherwise leave unfulfilled. I propose that we institutionalise a national OJT system for apprenticeships, internships and mentorships.
Presently, securing GRIT positions is largely decentralised, relying primarily on proactive posting by the hiring entity or a small number of private jobs clearing houses. Polytechnics and some university programmes do sponsor internships, but only for students that have first completed their coursework components. Most programmes accepting apprenticeships focus on technical or professional disciplines, such as finance, technology, medicine or law.
These facts mean that the benefits of OJT will tend to accrue to only limited segments of the labour force and indeed, the majority of current listings are for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) or finance graduates, many of whom already possess the means to seek, identify and apply to such opportunities. There is substantive evidence that internships and apprenticeships do not only contribute to enhance knowledge transfer and more efficient production but can also play a role in reducing the extent of labour market polarisation, which is becoming a growing concern in Singapore. However, such systems tend to be more successful when operating within the rubric of a larger institutional framework.
A national level institution would establish the standard rules behind each party's commitments, promote worker firm matching and encourage the movement of journeymen to other firms once they have completed their formal training. Importantly, by taking the lead in establishing a nationally recognised internship and apprenticeship programme that enables voluntary progressive acquisition of certifications, the Government can also codify a learning culture that opens up the substantial benefits of such experiences to a much wider range of candidates. Non-academic pursuits, such as the culinary arts, music and sports; artisanal practices, such as horology, furniture making and other skilled crafts; and professions that rely on experience and OJT rather than book smarts alone. In other words, will the Government be an advocate for Singaporeans that have ambitions to contribute to traditionally underserved sectors of the economy that nevertheless are passed to meaningful middle-class secure jobs?
This national OJT system can be strengthened by two further elements. First, to encourage buy in from the corporate side. I further propose that workers be allowed to apply their SkillsFuture Credit toward paid internship programmes. Second, in line with standard practice, such apprenticeships and internships can typically be short term, six months to a year —
The Chairman : Mr Melvin Yong.
Uplifting Lower-wage Workers
Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye (Radin Mas) : Mr Chairman, uplifting the wages and work prospects of our lower-wage workers is fundamental to building a truly "we first" society, one where progress is shared and no worker is left behind.
The Progressive Wage Model (PWM) has delivered significant gains over the past decade. Lower-wage workers saw income growth that outpaced the median. However, from 2024 to 2025, median real income growth exceeded that of lower-wage workers.
This reversal, though modest, is a warning signal. If we are serious about inclusive growth, the wage growth for lower-wage workers must consistently outpace that of the median, not merely keep pace with it. The increase in the Local Qualifying Salary (LQS) is welcome. But wage mandates alone are not enough. Employers must drive business and workforce transformation so that productivity gains are built into lower-wage roles.
The strength of PWM lies in linking wages to skills, responsibilities and productivity, rather than imposing a blunt wage floor. It preserves dignity and encourages progression.
The Tripartite Workgroup on Lower-Wage Workers reaffirmed productivity as the foundation for sustainable wage growth. I therefore ask MOM, have we seen measurable sectoral productivity gains in PWM sectors? If not, what further interventions will be introduced?
Workers must be supported to upskill and reskill to strengthen career mobility, especially as AI reshapes our economy. Access to training must become smarter and more targeted. I urge MOM to leverage AI to personalise SkillsFuture course recommendations, integrated into National Trade Union Congress' (NTUC's) AI-enabled career coach, so that workers receive clear guidance on their next skills pathway.
AI will reshape every sector. The question is not whether jobs will change, but whether lower-wage workers will benefit from the change rather than be displaced by it. I call on the Government to work very closely with tripartite partners to co-develop AI-augmented roles and to update skills frameworks, so that technology adoption translates into measurable productivity gains, better job quality and stronger wage progression particularly in PWM sectors.
Mr Chairman, the question before us is simple. As Singapore advances, will our lower-wage workers advance faster? Inclusive growth does not happen by chance. It requires intent, accountability and action. Let us recommit to ensuring that the ladder of progress remains firmly within reach and that no worker is left behind.
Raising Income Thresholds for Workfare
Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim : Sir, in 2025, the accessible income threshold for Goods and Services Tax (GST) vouchers was revised upward, from $34,000 to $39,000. This was not the first time. It was set at $24,000 in 2012 before being consistently raised every few years. These historical revisions were due to a combination of rising cost of living as well as the GST hike. This represents an increase since 2012 of around 1.6 times.
In contrast, the income thresholds for the Workfare Income Supplement have gone from $1,700 pre-2013 to $1,900 in 2013, to $2,500 in 2023, to $3,000 in 2025. This equivalent increase is around 1.75 times. While this may seem comparable, the truth is that the most recent bout of inflation hits the poorest the most. This is because the categories where prices rose the most, notably food, transport and rent, consume a disproportionate share of the incomes of those in the lower end of the distribution.
It is a conclusion backed by ample research, both in Singapore and the rest of the world. It is true that this may be partially offset by nominal wage gains that bolster purchasing power. But it is unclear if this is the case. After all, while real incomes for the lowest percentile showed significant progress in 2024, this comes on the heel of many years of falling behind median real income growth. I believe that it is time to disproportionately raise the income threshold for the Workfare Income Supplement to $3,500, to better support those who are working hard to make ends meet but struggling under the burden of high costs.
2.15 pm
Underemployment in Singapore
Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan : I am particularly concerned about non-time-based involuntary underemployment in Singapore and urge for closer monitoring of this trend.
NTUC has embarked on a study with the Singapore University of Technology and Design, and will share more soon. We realise this is often fuelled by mismatch in jobs, skills and expectations of employers, including job seekers both young and not so young. There may be occasions where underemployment may occur as a result of this mismatch. We should monitor this closely and provide proper career counselling, coaching and mentoring at all stages of a person's career from his/her first job, during his/her first job, when looking for the next job or beyond retirement and re-employment.
In the same vein, I suggest both individual and employer SkillsFuture credits be approved for use towards professional career coaching, guidance, mentoring and counselling services for workers and individuals beyond those currently provided by our IHLs, WSG and e2i.
Closing Youth Employment Gap
Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song (Aljunied) : Sir, Singapore school leavers face a challenging job market. As AI automates many entry level tasks, firms are increasingly prioritising candidates who are immediately productive over fresh graduates. The unemployment rate for residents below 30 was 5.5% in September 2025, almost twice the national resident unemployment rate. Without access to quality roles soon after graduation, many of our youths risk a long-term scarring effect, where early joblessness correlates to lower lifetime earnings, skills atrophy and even social and civic alienation.
Before I continue, I wish to declare that I am a director and shareholder of a company which is a small and medium enterprise (SME).
To support young Singaporeans in facilitating a smoother entry into the workforce, I propose a Youth Wage Credit Scheme. This initiative incentivises micro and small enterprises to offer the Institute of Technical Education (ITE), Lasalle College of the Arts, the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, polytechnic and university graduates their first permanent positions. It will provide a 20% wage credit over the first three months of employment, covering the critical probation and initial training period. The Government could co-fund 20% of their salary with the payout capped at $1,000 per month. This ensures that graduates gain access to quality roles and structured training while the Government offsets the initial costs of onboarding. Targeting these wage credits in micro and small enterprises empowers these smaller businesses to offer more competitive wages, helping them to compete for talent against medium and larger enterprises.
To address employers' concern of young recruits leaving soon after being trained, the Government could fund an additional 20% of a one-month retention bonus to be paid out only on the first anniversary of employment. I propose that this scheme be implemented for an initial three years period with a robust assessment of its effectiveness before any extension.
This scheme would complement the GRIT scheme. However, while GRIT offers temporary three- to six-month placements, it does not guarantee the stability of full-time employment. This proposal encourages permanent hiring from day one. Crucially, while GRIT is limited to just 800 places, this wage credit could support a much larger proportion of the 53,000 or so students graduating each year.
The Youth Wage Credit Scheme shifts the focus from temporary trainingships to immediate stable SME employment. By incentivising permanent hires, it buffers against AI-driven displacement and ensures Singapore's next generation enters the workforce with greater security and confidence.
Redesigning Jobs
Assoc Prof Terence Ho : Mr Chairman, I declare my interest as a senior executive of an educational institute that offers workplace learning and job redesign consultancy services.
I worry about the mismatch between jobs that are plentiful in Singapore and the number of local workers who are willing to take them up. With our ageing population, jobs in nursing and healthcare will continue to grow. While generative AI (GenAI) may pose risks to various white collar occupations, jobs which require manual skills or dexterity remain comparatively resilient to automation. Skilled trades like technicians and mechanics are not so easily automated.
However, many young Singaporeans do not aspire to careers in healthcare and skilled trades. This will increase our reliance on foreign manpower for essential roles, while making it hard to fulfil the job aspirations of our young people. The reality is that not all Singaporeans can be professionals or corporate executives in a highly competitive and technologically driven global economy. Many will have to build careers in services and skilled trades. Wages are an important consideration and the pay in these jobs must rise. Yet job attractiveness also depends on whether work is meaningful and how it is perceived by society.
My question is whether we can be bolder in redesigning jobs, such as nursing, security and skilled trades, at scale so that they become occupations our young people aspire to pursue, so that AI and robotics take over the tedious aspects of work, while workers contribute to service design, innovation and customer engagement. There should be more jobs, like Advanced Practice Nurses, offering greater professional responsibility with commensurate remuneration and recognition. The aim should be to develop roles that integrate head, heart and hand competencies, making them more resilient to AI and automation as well as more appealing to Singaporeans than single-dimensional jobs.
There is a second aspect of job redesign I would like to highlight. As organisations review work processes to harness AI and automation, we need stronger capabilities for human-centric job redesign, ensuring that AI augments rather than replaces human contribution.
I remain optimistic about the unique value that people bring notwithstanding the rapid development of more powerful AI models. This is because AI models lack consciousness, they do not have an innate sense of right and wrong, and they are trained based on past or existing data. Recognising these limits can help us identify the uniquely human strengths that should shape job redesign. I hope that Singapore can show the way in human-centric job redesign and would like to ask whether the Ministry has plans to develop deeper expertise in this.
Let me conclude with a brief illustration. Last year, while attending a conference in Astana, I joined a day tour led by a young guide. He brought me on a short hike to a hilltop overlooking a lake, which was not a typical tourist destination. It was where his grandparents had brought him as a child to play. That personal story and human connection to a place, created an experience that no electronic guide or AI could replicate. This gives me hope that even in an AI-enabled future, human insight, empathy and storytelling will remain central to meaningful work.
Supporting the Portfolio Generation
Ms Eileen Chong Pei Shan (Non-Constituency Member) : Sir, we have invested in building the infrastructure for a skills-first economy. Tools like the career and skills passport launched in November 2024 reflect that ambition. We know that more than 700,000 individuals have accessed the passport as of November last year. This is a good sign of uptake, but uptake does not tell us if there has been a meaningful shift in how employers evaluate and hire candidates. Tools can change how workers present their skills, but tools alone cannot change hiring behaviour. If employers continue to hire based on degrees and past job titles, then the passport risks becoming, as my colleague Andre described yesterday, a digital filing cabinet.
The evidence points to a real gap. The 2025 Skills-First Readiness and Adoption Index developed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Institute for Adult Learning ranked Singapore 12 out of 30 participating countries. While Singapore made meaningful progress in adopting skills-first practices, key gaps, such as business adoption of skills first hiring and stronger ecosystem coordination, remained.
Relatedly, in a survey conducted by the Institute for Human Resource Professionals (IHRP), nine in 10 respondents were confident that skills-first hiring widens their organisation's talent pool. However, 63% of hiring managers, the people conducting interviews and on the front lines of recruitment, said they are unfamiliar with skills-first hiring practices.
This is a capability gap, not a values problem. The new Statutory Board formed by the merger of WSG and SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) was announced as a one-stop shop for workers. I hope it can also become a transformational partner for employers. It should seek to close not just the skills gap, but the assessment gap that sits between workers who have built a real portfolio of skills and employers who cannot yet see them.
I have two suggestions. First, for the new agency to develop practical tool kits that employers can use for portfolio-based assessment and skills-first hiring. Second, build skills-first hiring capability into the HR industry transformation plan embedded into certification pathways for all tiers of HR professionals.
Singaporean Core and Human Capital Practices
Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan : I wish to ask MOM for the status of the Strengthening the Singaporean Core efforts in Singapore as well as an update on Complementarity Assessment Framework (COMPASS). How effective it has been since its start especially now with the doing away of the Fair Consideration Framework triple-weak watchlist?
Some recruiters have candidly shared with me that they only post on MyCareersFuture portal if they must fulfil the Government's requirements to put up the job for 14 days before they can hire foreign PMEs. If that is the case, it will be hard for the Government to have a good sensing of all the available job openings in Singapore. Would MOM consider mobilising and/or requiring all companies to post their available openings on the portal for ease of tracking, analytics and sensemaking of industry hiring needs?
By the same token, there are those whom I have heard comply with the 14-day posting requirement merely as window dressing. Likewise, a closer scrutiny of employment agencies is much needed at this juncture as sometimes such breaches and window dressing are carried out by them. I urge MOM to pay a close watch on this.
On the second point on human capital practitioners, especially their practices and processes are really key to foster a fair and inclusive workplace including one with a strong Singaporean core. I am aware that the IHRP is doing good work to certify human capital practitioners with the IHRP certification. I declare my interest as co-chair of the workgroup looking at human capital development.
Can MOM progressively then mandate the certification of HR practitioners, now that we have this IHRP certification in place? In the interim, perhaps companies should consider having at least one IHRP-certified HR professional before they can be allowed to hire any foreign manpower. In the same vein, I suggest that employers be allowed to use their Enterprise SkillsFuture credits, similar to what workers have, for sending their HR staff for IHRP training and certification.
Calibrating Singaporean Core and Competitiveness
Mr Mark Lee (Nominated Member) : Chairman, businesses support the principle of a strong Singaporean core. Foreign manpower must remain complementary, not a substitute. That social compact is fundamental and must be upheld. However, what we are seeing is not a marginal adjustment. It is a structural reset of labour cost baselines.
Since 2020, the Employment Pass (EP) qualifying salary will rise from $4,500 to $6,000 next year, roughly a one-third increase in just over six years. Over the same period, the S Pass qualifying salary has moved from $2,500 to $3,600 in 2027, about a 44% uplift. Tier-1 S Pass levies are now $650. The LQS will increase to $1,800 in July.
Individually, each move may be defensible. But taken together, they represent a meaningful shift in cost structure, particularly for sectors where the local manpower pool remains limited despite best efforts.
At the higher end, Singapore competes to anchor regional headquarters and specialised mandates. Location decisions are increasingly marginal between Singapore and other hubs. When higher EP thresholds are layered onto elevated rentals, energy and compliance costs, the cumulative effect matters. Relocations are visible. Investments that never materialise are not. Missed mandates and unanchored teams can quietly narrow future job creation for Singaporeans.
At the S Pass, the pressure is even more immediate. Domestic-oriented sectors, such as food and beverages (F&B), retail and other labour-intensive sectors, operate on thin margins. Many have already digitised and streamlined. Further cost escalation leaves two paths: raise prices, contributing to cost-of-living pressures; or compress operations, reducing service levels and employment scale.
Importantly, these same sectors are supporting wage uplifts for lower-wage Singaporean workers. If viability weakens, the very workers we seek to uplift may face slower hiring and progression.
On LQS, let me be clear: uplifting lower-wage Singaporeans is a national priority, and employers support this direction. The Progressive Wage Credit Scheme (PWCS) helps. The issue is not principle, but pace and calibration, especially when multiple levers move concurrently. There is also a structural tension. Firms are encouraged to upgrade foreign manpower quality. Yet, levy increases across skill tiers mean that both upgrading and retention are becoming more expensive. When cost differentials narrow, the incentive to upgrade may weaken.
The question, therefore, is how we preserve three objectives simultaneously: safeguarding the social compact, preserving Singapore's competitiveness and sustaining long-term employment opportunities for Singaporeans.
How does MOM assess whether cumulative qualifying salary and LQS adjustments are strengthening the Singaporean core without eroding competitiveness? Is there a structured framework to assess sectoral sensitivity, particularly in industries with thin margins or limited automation pathways? And are there mechanisms to recalibrate if unintended economic effects begin to emerge?
If we calibrate carefully, Singapore can remain both competitive and cohesive, a place where businesses grow, investments anchor and Singaporeans thrive.
2.30 pm
Being Pro-business to be Pro-worker
Mr Shawn Loh (Jalan Besar) : Mr Chairman, I declare that I am the group managing director of Commonwealth Capital Group, a Singapore global enterprise that stewards more than 1,000 livelihoods. A core part of the Government's agenda is jobs. In addition to an income, jobs provide dignity, meaning and confidence to our workers – something that Government handouts cannot fulfil.
We should be pro-jobs and pro-worker. I would add that the Government should embrace the philosophy that to be pro-worker, our policies also have to be pro-business. We should see companies as platforms and partners for the Government to achieve its policy goals. Let me name three.
One, we want to keep seniors employed longer and ideally on similar salary terms as when they were younger, even if their productivity declines. Two, we want to narrow income inequality by uplifting wages at the lower end, even above productivity levels of lower-wage workers. Three, we want jobseekers to find jobs as soon as possible, even if it means they have to acquire skills on the job in order to do the job well.
From the perspective of employers, hiring is seldom short-term. Companies plan more than one year in advance. I therefore suggest that MOM's policies incorporate two more principles.
First, as Mr Mark Lee also said, companies should be given more time to adjust and adapt to policy changes. Second, companies should be given more longer-term direction instead of annual, effectively ad hoc grant extensions. I propose to apply this immediately.
First, to the Senior Employment Credit, extended again this year after extensions in 2023 and 2025. Why not just commit to a longer-term extension, with employers given two years' notice of any change?
Second, the PWCS can be made more longer term. Or why not fold this into the permanent Workfare scheme? This is particularly important if technology changes widen productivity gaps beyond what is reasonable for our lower wage workers to close despite all their effort. In addition, the minimum wage increase to qualify for PWCS support should be retained at $100 instead of the Government's change to set it at $200.
Third, integrate the Government's traineeship and place-and-train programmes, such that employers get time-limited salary support to hire any jobseeker who has been actively looking for a job for six months. The Government already has a working model today in the form of Career Conversion Programmes. In my proposal, we should then not need to impose a different job or different sector requirement for those who are looking for a job for more than six months. This effectively covers Mr Gerald Giam's proposal for our youths who are looking for jobs.
These moves are pro-business. And ultimately, they are ultimately pro-worker. This will definitely do a good job in alleviating the job-related anxieties that many of our Members have raised.
Driving Workforce Transformation
Dr Wan Rizal (Jalan Besar) : Chairman, technology does not transform companies, people do. If we want sustained growth, enterprises and workers must transform together. Not AI first and people later, it is together. That is why the implementation of the enterprise workforce transformation package matters.
First, tie technology adoption to job redesign. Many firms are investing in AI and automation, and that is good. But the real test is this: are we redesigning jobs or just reducing headcount? We must make job redesign a default expectation of enterprise transformation.
When a logistics SME adopted AI route optimisation, they did not cut drivers. They trained them in digital fleet coordination and customer management. Productivity improved and wages too. In precision engineering, AI-enabled inspection reduced manual checks. Instead of displacement, technicians were reskilled into robotics maintenance and data functions. That is the model we want: adopt technology, redesign jobs, reskill workers and reshare the gains.
Second, make transformation practical for SMEs. SMEs face real constraints: cost, capability and confusion. If assessing support requires navigating multiple schemes and agencies, we will lose them. Can MOM ensure the package is streamlined with clear advisory support to help SMEs conduct structured job redesign and skills mapping exercises? Transformation must be hands on, not theoretical.
Third, show workers a clear pathway. For workers, transformation must answer three questions. What skills do I need? Who supports my training and how will my wages progress? Mid-career and low-wage workers in particular must see tangible progression not just of digitalisation. If AI raises productivity, but wages remain flat, then confidence will certainly erode.
So, my question to the Minister is this: how will MOM measure whether enterprises are redesigning jobs alongside technology adoption? Second, will MOM publish outcome indicators, such as the number of jobs redesigned and wage progression outcomes? Third, how will advisory support for SMEs be strengthened to ensure AI adoption leads to job upgrading, not displacement? And fourth, how will MOM support gig workers and self-employed persons whose rice bowls are broken by AI?
Chairman, enterprise transformation is necessary, but workforce transformation is non-negotiable. Growth must upgrade our workers, or it will not last.
Career and Employability of Matures PMEs
Ms Jessica Tan Soon Neo (East Coast) : Mr Chairman, with PMEs forming 64.2% of our resident workforce and Singapore becoming a super-aged society, strengthening the career health of PMEs in their 40s, 50s and early 60s is increasingly urgent. Our workforce is ageing quickly. The median age of workers is now 45, and as industries transform, many mid-career PMEs face heightened risks.
We already have strong foundations. SkillsFuture participation reached more than 600,000 in 2025, job redesign and upskilling efforts continue through the Company Training Committees (CTCs) and the Alliance for Action (AfA) on Multi-stage Careers adds further scaffolding. But to sustain employability, we must now make career health mainstream, preventive and easy to act on. I have three recommendations.
One, introduce a national career health screening. I propose augmenting MyCareersFuture and the NTUC AI career coach with a nationally standardised, subsidised career health screening for PMEs aged 35 to 65. Like preventive health checks, this diagnostic would assess skills readiness and digital gaps, role fit and mobility options; and transition risks, especially in sectors seeing softening demand, such as professional services, manufacturing and information and communications technology. Higher risk cases will receive a short human coaching review directly linked to MyCareersFuture for follow-through. A standardised screening, paired with human support, helps PMEs take early action and helps employers anticipate redeployment and workforce transformation needs.
Two, make mid-career renewal a shared responsibility. Workers are upskilling, more than 458,000 Singaporeans used their SkillsFuture credits last year. But employers, especially SMEs, need stronger support to redesign roles, retrain staff and hire mid-career candidates. A co-funded renewal scheme could support job redesign, redeployment into growth areas and role specific, employer validated training. This is essential, as retirement and re-employment ages will rise to 64 and 69 this year. Mid-career renewal will affect nearly every PME's working life. I will expand on strengthening human resources (HR) capabilities in my other COS cut later.
Three, embed multi-stage careers in workplaces. Careers today are not linear. With an ageing population and longer lifespans, drawing on evidence-based frameworks, including the Stanford longevity model, we can mainstream a national career taxonomy across the build, consolidate, retrain and transition stages. This provides a shared language for both workers and employers, enabling better planning, clearer expectations and more proactive career decisions at each career's life stage.
Mr Chairman, supporting the career health and employability of our mature PMEs require a new national compact built on shared responsibility. The Government must provide early signal tools, accessible support and clear pathways. Employers must redesign work and invest in mid-career renewal. Workers must take ownership of their lifelong career health.
If we get this right, PMEs will have the clarity, confidence and capabilities to stay employable and contribute meaningfully across longer, more fulfilling careers, ensuring Singapore's workforce stays resilient as we age.
Skilled Trades Deserve Respect and Support
Ms Diana Pang Li Yen (Marine Parade-Braddell Heights) : Chairman, I rise to speak on creating diverse pathways to success through skilled trades and the mindset shift we need as a society to recognise hands-on work as essential, skilled and worthy of respect.
During these debates, much has been said about the rise of AI and its multiple uses. However, let us not forget that every day, Singapore runs on the work of people who fix our lifts, maintain our estates, keep the kitchen running, service our vehicles, install electrical systems and respond when things break down. These are not "low-skilled" jobs. They are jobs that require craft, discipline, judgement and often years to hone. AI cannot do these jobs. If we want a strong local labour core, we have to value these jobs, these roles, not just in words, but in how we treat these workers and how we design progression for them.
Chairman, I welcome the direction that the Government will work with employers, the Labour Movement, trade associations and institutes of higher learning to develop structured career pathways for skilled tradesmen, so that this inclination towards hands-on and "heart" jobs can see how they can advance and how they can build a career. This is an important signal, because recognition is not only social esteem. It is also the clarity of a pathway. People will invest in mastery when they see where the mastery leads.
So, I make three practical calls.
First, actively promote the message that skilled trades are essential work and a respected choice, not a back-up, not a second choice. This is about dignity and pride in the way that we work. It matters for how young people, parents, employers perceive these pathways.
Second, we should ensure that the trade mastery translates into a good living. Skills take time to build, deep mastery should be rewarded through structured progression, skills-based pay bands and credible steps from apprentice to specialist to titles, such as master craftsman. If we want Singaporeans to stay in trades, real wages and progression must be clear and competitive.
Third, firms must be part of the solution. I urge employers to support and fairly remunerate trade workers, and for the Government to work with the industry to build consistent standards for training, mentorship and assessment, especially in SMEs where the capability varies. A strong local workforce will not be built on goodwill alone; it will be built on systems that make skills development, progression real.
Chairman, my question is this: as structured career pathways for skilled trades are being developed, I hope the Ministry can ensure that they are visible, trusted and outcome-driven, so that skilled workers can make real progression and real recognition, and young Singaporeans can see that trades are a first choice in a pathway to success.
Valuing Skilled Trades Pathways
Mr Saktiandi Supaat (Bishan-Toa Payoh) : Mr Chairman, in Toa Payoh recently I spoke to a lift technician servicing one of our older blocks. He shared that the systems today are far more complex than before. His job is no longer just mechanical repair, it requires interpreting system data, troubleshooting hybrid systems and ensuring safety standards are met. That is not low-skilled work but applied technical expertise. Even the most advanced AI systems cannot repair lifts in our Housing and Development Board (HDB) blocks, maintain our Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) trains and tracks or service precision manufacturing machinery all by itself.
As we automate more processes, we need highly competent technicians who complement AI. We must invest adequately in skilled trades, so that we do not have high-end innovation without sufficient operational depth. Does the Ministry track medium- to long-term manpower projections for critical skilled trades, especially those supporting digital infrastructure and the green transition? Are we detecting any emerging gaps?
From a wage and productivity perspective, if trade careers do not offer clear progression and competitive earnings, young Singaporeans would be discouraged from entering these sectors and local core would weaken over time. Are there already signs of wage compression in middle-skilled technical roles and how might this affect the attractiveness of these careers to Singaporeans?
True trade mastery takes years of apprenticeship, repetition and accumulated experience, which ought to be rewarded with a good and stable living. Would the Government consider developing a National Master Trades Accreditation framework – a national tiered certification that recognises advanced trade mastery, similar to chartered professionals in other sectors and create a new avenue for career switchers and career transition for segments of our workforce?
How is MOM working with IHLs and industry bodies to develop a clear and transparent trade career ladder with indicative wage benchmarks, so that progression from apprentice to senior specialist is clearly structured in responsibilities and in remuneration?
2.45 pm
Support for Workers in a Changed World
Mr Ng Chee Meng (Jalan Kayu) : Chairman, over the past decade, the Labour Movement has worked closely with tripartite partners to secure better wages, welfare and work prospects for our workers. Our workers, including PMEs, have consistently seen real wage growth. Thanks to the PWM, our lower-wage workers experienced the strongest percentage growth in their real incomes. Income inequality today is at its lowest level on record. PMEs now also have better support if they are retrenched through the SkillsFuture Jobseeker Support Scheme. Our young graduates have extra support to find work through the GRIT scheme.
Looking ahead however, technological and global economic shifts could result in more frequent employment disruptions for our workers, including and especially our PMEs. As our society enters a "super-aged" era, our workers will also face more intense caregiving demands. These changes will hit our workers, from the younger to the older, from blue collar to the white collar. As such, we must do more to address their unique needs and challenges.
Today, I will focus my cuts to seek more support for our young graduates, PMEs and caregivers. My fellow MPs have covered or will cover the other worker segments.
First, let us do more to build up the career health of our young graduates from the onset. Many Members in this Chamber have spoken up likewise. Our young graduates are entering the workforce at a time when the nature of work is shifting. In some instances, they need to outcompete AI at entry-level jobs, in others, they need to swiftly top up their skills with AI to be relevant. Throughout their careers, they will likely need to adapt and pivot multiple times, as the pace of change and skills obsolescence increase.
I ask for MOM to be alongside our young graduates as they navigate these challenges. We must boldly rethink, refresh and re-shape our skills and jobs ecosystem so that workers, including the PMEs, can be better supported and enabled as they navigate the different stages of their careers, from graduation, all the way till retirement.
The move to merge SSG and WSG is thus a step in the right direction. In making this move, we must endeavour to foster a better integration of business and workforce transformation.
This is important. From NTUC's experience, workers, including PMEs, are much more ready to upskill when they can see their training resulting in better wages or better work prospects. In addition, when business transformation is done hand-in-hand with workforce upskilling, true value is unlocked because businesses can better incorporate AI into their business model, and workers can better apply what they have learned and share in the real productivity gains.
I have two clarifications to make. First, can the Ministry share more details on how the merger between SSG and WSG will benefit our workers, including PMEs, in their career journeys from graduation to retirement? Second, is the Ministry considering how to better integrate the various efforts across business and workforce transformation, together with Tripartite partners, as part of the new setup?
The second group I would like to speak for is our PMEs. PMEs – especially mid-career, middle-income PMEs supporting their children and aged parents – are especially worried about the impact of retrenchments to them and their families.
That is why NTUC has been calling for more support for our workers, especially PMEs, facing retrenchment. We have asked for mandatory advance retrenchment notifications, so that earlier and better transition support can be given to PMEs facing retrenchment; and the SkillsFuture JobSeeker Support Scheme to be reviewed to ensure a baseline level of support to our middle-income PMEs.
In that light, I would like to ask the Ministry whether the Mandatory Retrenchment Notifications can be brought forward to enable earlier and better support to retrenched workers; and for the coverage of the current SkillsFuture JobSeeker Support Scheme to include our middle-income PMEs.
The third group I would like to cover are our caregivers. As Singapore ages rapidly, more workers, especially the "sandwiched generation" in their 30s to 50s, will face dual pressures from caring for young children and elderly parents.
Caregiving emerged as a key concern as early as 2023 in our #EveryWorkerMatters conversations. In NTUC's recent survey of Economic Sentiments, close to one in two caregivers surveyed considered leaving their job due to stress from caregiving. More must be done to support our caregivers to juggle work and caregiving.
First, let us move towards stronger institutional measures, including statutory paid caregiving leave, so our caregivers can stay employed, keep their skills current in a rapidly transforming economy. Second, provide caregivers who drop out of work due to caregiving with greater support and earlier assurance for their own retirement adequacy. The one-off means-tested Central Provident Fund (CPF) top-up to provide additional support to boost retirement adequacy of Singaporeans aged 50 and above is a step in the right direction, especially for our caregivers.
However, there is one group that I am particularly concerned about – the 13,000 or so who are out of the workforce to care for their elderly. I note from MOM's data that this group is largely female, single, 50 and above, non-tertiary educated and do not have any or any recent work experience.
We think that there is scope to do more. We ask the Ministry to study providing targeted CPF top-ups for middle- to lower-income caregivers who have left employment for caregiving and who lack retirement adequacy. These measures would help provide greater support and earlier assurance for our workers that their sacrifices made for caregiving will not unduly compromise their own long-term needs. I would therefore like to ask the Ministry on its plans to study and consider measures to better support our caregivers' employability and retirement adequacy.
More support for Retirement Adequacy
Mr Sanjeev Kumar Tiwari (Nominated Member) : Mr Chairman, as we become a super-aged society and live longer, having enough for retirement becomes critical. NTUC and the unions have constantly advocated for the reinstatement of CPF contribution rates for mature workers to match those of younger workers. I was glad to hear the Prime Minister's Budget 2026 announcement on the enhancements to the CPF Scheme to support our workers' retirement adequacy.
We thank the Government for continuing with the increases and for also extending the CPF Transition Offset to support employers implementing the increase. However, as Singapore's workforce ages amidst a challenging and hyper-competitive environment, how does the Ministry track outcomes and ensure senior employment rates are not affected, especially for those aged 55 to 64?
We also look forward to the new voluntary CPF investment scheme offering life-cycle investment products. For many, the CPF Special Account was a familiar and stable way to grow their savings. Following the closure of the CPF Special Account in 2025, some members expressed uncertainty about growing their monies to prepare for their golden years, especially after turning 55.
Could the Minister share how this new scheme will be explained clearly to members, especially people who may not be familiar with investment risks and cannot afford to take such high risks? What guidance will be in place so they can make informed decisions, and not inadvertently take risks that they do not fully understand?
Finally, I also welcome the topping up of the CPF balances for Singaporeans aged 50 and above with lower balances. I call on the Government to continue closely monitoring Singaporeans' retirement adequacy outcomes, more so for those who are needy, in vulnerable sectors, older and have lower CPF balances, given the transformation that is taking place.
A Lifetime of Retirement Savings
Mr Shawn Loh : Mr Chairman, the Lifetime Retirement Investment Scheme (LRIS) will be a game changer for the CPF system. When I raised it in Parliament in January, I was glad to hear that MOM was in the final stages of implementation.
After 10 years of study! Over that period a typical global investment portfolio of 65% equities and 35% bonds would have earned around 6% per year in Singapore dollar terms. Investible savings in the CPF Ordinary Account would have earned only 2.5% per year. These few percentage points, over a long time horizon, could be the difference between retiring with anxiety and retiring with peace of mind. This could also be part of the solution to address wealth inequality, given that the broad middle class has a significant amount of assets in CPF savings.
The CPF LRIS may not be for everyone. As Mr Sanjeev said, individuals need to assess for themselves based on their own risk appetite. Some may want their Ordinary Account savings to be more liquid for future housing needs. Others may prefer not to use their Special Account savings that earn 4% risk-free. In fact, given the Prime Minister's update last week that three in four CPFIS investors using the Special Account underperformed the 4% risk-free rate, the Ministry should consider closing the CPFIS scheme for the Special Account once the LRIS is launched.
Overall, I believe the LRIS will benefit the majority of Singaporeans, especially if we can do the following. First, mount a large scale public education campaign over the benefits of taking long-term investment risk to achieve a higher expected return. This should not be routine public communications, but more of a sales pitch to Singaporeans on balancing long term, non-speculative investment risk for higher expected returns.
Second, make it as easy as possible to opt in for the LRIS, perhaps even make the LRIS the default option for some. For example, default Ordinary Account savings above the Full Retirement Sum into the LRIS, unless the CPF member opts out.
Third, add more friction for Singaporeans to speculate with the LRIS. For example, there could be cooling off periods. And those who want to sell before retirement could be required to attend a financial literacy course explaining the dangers of short-term speculation for non-professional investors.
Overall, with better financial literacy and wise behavioural nudges, we can empower more Singaporeans to optimise their lifetime of retirement savings and retire with peace of mind.
The Chairman : Order. We have been in the Chamber for the last five hours, so I propose to take a break now.
[(proc text) Thereupon Mr Speaker left the Chair of the Committee and took the Chair of the House. (proc text)]
Mr Speaker : Order. I suspend the Sitting and will take the Chair at 3.30 pm. Order, order.
Sitting accordingly suspended
at 2.57 pm until 3.30 pm.
Sitting resumed at 3.30 pm.
[Deputy Speaker (Mr Christopher de Souza) in the Chair]
[(proc text) Debate in the Committee of Supply resumed. (proc text)]
[Deputy Speaker (Mr Christopher de Souza) in the Chair]
[(proc text) Head S (con't) — (proc text)]
The Chairman : Mr Saktiandi Supaat.
3.30 pm
CPF Adequacy and Responsible Choice
Mr Saktiandi Supaat : Mr Chairman, I would like to declare that I was a member of the CPF Advisory Panel. Mr Chairman, every Singaporean deserves a secure and adequate retirement. In Budget 2026, the announced low-cost life-cycle investment scheme provides a new option to manage one's CPF funds. I support giving members more options, but I would like to emphasise three principles that should guide our design of the renewed system – complementarity, suitability and safeguards.
First, complementarity. The new scheme must be clearly positioned as an additional option and not a replacement for CPF's risk-free interest framework. For many Singaporeans, especially older workers and those prioritising certainty, CPF's guaranteed interest remains highly attractive. CPFIS already exists for members who wish to actively invest.
The new life-cycle scheme sits in between, for members who want some market exposure but prefer a professionally managed, automatically rebalancing portfolio. Our communications must allow all CPF members to appreciate the differences in the three options and to ensure that each option still serves the needs of a significant demographic of CPF members.
Even with this new life-cycle scheme, we should continue to refine the CPFIS. The trends are worrying because the majority of CPFIS investors have been underperforming the CPF's risk-free interest rates since 2016 when the CPF Advisory Panel that I sat on studied this issue and first proposed the LRIS. Is this a result of the restricted products that can be invested in through CPFIS or some other reason?
The second principle is suitability. CPF members are not homogeneous. A 30-year-old with a long investment runway has very different risk capacity from a 58-year-old approaching retirement.
While the glidepath structure, reducing risk as members age, is sensible in theory, we must ensure members understand that: first, returns are not guaranteed; second, market downturns can occur close to retirement; and third, a shorter runway limits recovery time.
Communications, especially to older members must be careful, balanced and transparent. Since CPF already offers a risk-free interest baseline, how will CPF Board ensure that the trade-offs of each option is sufficiently explained against their potential upside? Will there be clear scenario illustrations or simple decision-support tools, such as prompts based on age, years to retirement and risk tolerance, to guide members through the three alternatives?
Third, safeguards and governance. On product design, how will CPF Board calibrate the glidepath between growth and capital preservation? Will there be more than one glidepath option to reflect different risk appetites?
The scheme also mentions phased liquidation before the target retirement date. How early will this begin? And how will liquidation be managed during periods of heightened market volatility? Will the scheme allow flexibility in selecting target retirement dates, as we extend working lives and members may retire later than 65?
On fees, the objective is rightly to keep costs low and simple. Will there be an all-in fee cap, including management fees, platform costs and transaction expenses, so members see one transparent figure? How will providers be selected and what weight will be placed on long-term track record, risk management capability and operationalised resilience?
Lastly, in his round-up speech, the Prime Minister did mention that the roll-out of the life-cycle investment option is slated for 2028. When the scheme is implemented in 2028, how will the Ministry measure success in terms of participation rates, risk-adjusted returns and improvements in retirement adequacy outcomes for CPF members? And given the long lead time to 2028, has the Ministry considered piloting or phasing in elements of the life-cycle investment approach earlier, so that members can begin benefiting from it sooner?
Strengthening Career Health of Our Workers
Ms Gho Sze Kee (Mountbatten) : Mr Chairman, in my maiden speech less than a year ago, I noted that in this age of AI-driven disruption, conventional assumptions about career progressions and trajectories will fly out of the window. This observation is becoming more urgent.
Technology cycles are getting shorter. Business models and roles are evolving rapidly. Entire jobs and industries are being disrupted. The old patterns of career stability no longer apply. New graduates are having a harder time landing their first jobs. Mid-career PMETs have to contend with greater career uncertainties.
Agility and resilience are the key words. We must all assume that there are no "safe" jobs anymore. Our workforce, up and down the value chain, must expect to not only upskill, but to reskill continuously throughout their working lives. Lifelong learning is no longer just another buzzword, but a default in the new reality we are in. We must keep moving forward with our chin up and be ready to pivot and transition to new careers and industries, when necessary.
But that is only half the picture. While some jobs and sectors are disappearing, entire new industries are also being born and many jobs are being redesigned and given new scopes. And employers are now struggling to find enough manpower with the skillset to match. This is the dichotomy that we are facing today. What we are seeing today is not just displacement, but a misalignment of our workforce.
To empower our workers and businesses to navigate this fast-evolving jobs market, there is a critical need for us to refresh our career and employment services ecosystem. For that to happen, we need to take a holistic, big picture view of the whole ecosystem, and strike a new compact among all the stakeholders. I see three parts to this.
Firstly, our workforce must, of course, take personal charge of their own career health proactively. This is the baseline, the buck stops at the individual.
Secondly, our employers too, should take greater ownership of the career health of their employees. In this new reality, employers should not see their workforce in purely numerical terms, but as stakeholders in the longevity and well-being of their enterprise. An enterprise thrives only when its people thrive. Investing in employees is not a cost, but a long-term investment in resilience and growth.
Lastly, I see the Government as having the most central, overarching role. We must recognise that the career health of our workforce underpins the economic health of our nation. It also requires a whole Government effort. The Government must ensure that the ecosystem we have in place is supportive of this effort. It requires a helicopter view and a coordinated, forward-looking approach connecting education, training, employment facilitation and employer engagement.
Our unions have a key supporting role in this. The tripartite partnership has long been the cornerstone of our industrial relations and this collaboration will become even more important in a refreshed compact. I think our unions as the ecosystem's transceiver, receiving and sending signals. They act as a vital conduit between stakeholders, amplifying feedback and catalysing action.
Mr Chairman, career health must first start in our schools. Our education system must keep pace with the rapidly evolving jobs landscape. The young Singaporeans we prepare today must be ready for the careers of this brave new reality. They must not only be skilled for the jobs of tomorrow but must also be equipped for the jobs of the day after tomorrow. This means having the right mindset, adaptability, resilience and capability of navigating uncertainty.
Beyond the schools, we must ensure that the system also supports continuous upgrading and reskilling throughout working life. The Government has done much in this regard. There are job-matching internship programmes for fresh graduates and mid-career workers. These are programmes to assist those who are keen to pivot to new careers. There are support resources available for our workforce to reskill and upskill, and programmes to help who wish to, or who have to, transition into new roles. There are also resources to cushion the fiscal impact while they do so. Support exists for employers who are caught in the same choppy waters.
I personally see the tangible impact of these efforts. I am the Advisor to the Singapore Maritime Officers' Union (SMOU). Last year, SMOU together with the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, and MOM partner agencies, launched the enhanced Tripartite Maritime Training Award (TMTA). The TMTA supports the mid-career transitions into the maritime industry. The trainees receive financial support in the form of a monthly stipend throughout their training. I am glad to note that the first batch of cadets under the enhanced scheme have all progressed to the sailing phase of their training and they will soon be joined by a larger second cohort.
This is one example of the work being done to support displaced individuals and better align our workforce with the needs of the economy. I invite the Minister to update Members on other similar initiatives that are supporting our workforce, such as the Career Health SG programme. But I must note that most of these initiatives are by nature, reactive.
The Government is the stakeholder best sourced to identify future trends, it can anticipate emerging disruptions and map out skills and capabilities that will be needed. It can be seen that the broader patterns, the cross-sector shifts, the systemic risks and opportunities, and the Government can translate them into action. It can help other stakeholders in the system stay ahead of the curve and bridge the disconnect between different stakeholders, bringing them together to match and realign resources, demand and skills. Mr Chairman, the buck may stop at the individual, but the Government has a critical role to play and I am keen to hear from the Minister.
Strengthening Human Resources Capabilities
Ms Jessica Tan Soon Neo : Mr Chairman, as our economy shifts and AI reshapes how work is done, companies and workers are feeling the pressure. Younger workers want to know how to grow in an AI-enabled world and mature workers want assurance that they would not be left behind. HR professionals sit in the centre of helping both groups navigate this transition.
Singapore has made meaningful progress through efforts, such as the Industry Transformation plan, the Skills Framework for HR and the IHRP certification pathway. These initiatives have raised standards and enabled workforce planning, job redesign and data-driven HR. These are real steps forward, but capabilities remain uneven, especially among SMEs with lean HR teams. The HR sector needs practical and scalable support.
HR must shift from transactional delivery to strategic stewardship of human-AI work. I propose five priorities to further strengthen HR capabilities.
First, move from a static role descriptions and skills to a dynamic skills taxonomy. The Skills Framework for 38 sectors is useful, but static. We should pilot AI-driven taxonomies that continuously map and update skills in real-time, giving SMEs a forward-looking baseline, rather than hire reactively based on a static list of skills. In fact, there are global companies that are developing such AI-solutions. The Government could fund the development of dynamic skills taxonomies for prioritised sectors, starting with our HR sector.
Second, adopt skills-based workforce planning and scenario modelling. Instead of focusing on headcount and budgets, we should support tools and advisory services that enable HR to model multiple future scenarios, anticipate role changes and plan redeployment and reskilling proactively.
Third, reframe "job redesign" as job redesign for human with AI. This is not incremental tweaking of jobs given automation. We must use design thinking to integrate AI with human judgement, empathy and creativity. The Ministry can fund playbooks and pilots to test new role models and measure outcomes.
Fourth, scale people analytics and predictive decision support. HR needs data literacy, analytics tools and predictive models for turnaround and internal mobility. Subsidies for analytic tools and targeted training will help HR teams make evidence-based redeployment and retention decisions.
Fifth, make HR a key steward of AI ethics, transparency and trust. Employers should disclose where AI is used in high impact decisions, consult workers before scaling automation and implement human review gates and fairness audits. HR can take the lead in ensuring these safeguards.
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Chairman, with rapid change and in a talent-scare economy, companies struggle to attract, develop and retain talent. Workers cannot face these changes alone. Strengthening HR capabilities is essential to help companies thrive and support Singaporeans through their multi-stage careers.
Lower-wage Workers and Inclusive Workplace
Ms Yeo Wan Ling : A merit-based workplace must give workers confidence that they have a future in a transforming economy. PWM has made important strides in raising wages for our lower-wage workers. PWCS has supported both workers and employers through this adjustment. We thank the Ministry for extending PWCS for another two years and note that PWCS, in its present form, was meant to be transitional.
But in an era of AI disruption and given our structural limits on workforce expansion, productivity growth must increasingly come from upgrading jobs, not simply adding manpower. This makes our lower-wage workers more exposed to displacement risks if transformation outpaces reskilling.
Could we therefore consider strengthening PWCS into a more sustained worker-support mechanism, one that helps SMEs upskill their lower-wage workers and move them into more productive roles, with structured career progression pathways and negotiated wage ladder increments?
Progressive Wage Credit Scheme
Mr Pritam Singh : An important policy intent behind the PWCS, introduced in 2022, was to serve as transitional support to help businesses defray their costs of raising the incomes of lower-wage workers. In its initial two years, it was reported that the PWCS helped over 90,000 employers and supported wage increases for more than half a million lower-wage workers with payouts totalling approximately $2.7 billion by early 2025.
Critically and for the purposes of my cut, the scheme was not conceived merely as wage support. MOM expected employers to use the transitional period to upskill their employees, transform their businesses and improve productivity so that wage increases for workers will be sustainable over the longer term.
The PWCS scheme has since been extended to 2028 by this year's Budget. Given this, what has been the report card on qualifying employers insofar as their upscaling initiatives, business transformation and productivity improvements are concerned? Has the MOM followed up with employers to assess whether the PWCS has meaningfully shifted the needle on these three areas that were tied to the PWCS? It cannot be the case that there is no report back to Parliament on the outcomes these subsidies have achieved.
A policy review could also reveal the important gaps to assist future policy-making with regard to manpower levies and quotas and whether they should be adjusted, for instance, identifying sectors where upscaling of business transformation has reached a practical limit given current technology. Conservancy cleaning in the HDB setting is a case in point. Productivity improvements in this sector are marginal, and robotics has not advanced to a point where machines can sweep common corridors across different floors and independently negotiate staircases at a commercially viable price point.
With assistance through the PWCS scheme running into the billions of dollars, Parliament must be expected to track the policy impact of this initiative and to determine whether further extensions are warranted. And if so, whether expected business outcomes should be imposed to ensure that taxpayers' subsidies deliver for both businesses and workers.
In the alternative, if the intention is simply to support businesses without strings attached, so as to force wages up at the lower end, then that should be communicated as such rather than to seek outcomes which for some employers may simply not be realistic.
Supporting Caregivers
Ms Mariam Jaafar (Sembawang) : Adult caregivers are the invisible backbone of our society. They care for ageing parents, chronically ill spouses, children with rare conditions and family members in need. They do this quietly, faithfully, often at great personal cost.
My Woodlands resident, Mdm A, spends about 12 hours a day caring for her elderly parents and aunt. She has not had a full night's sleep in months. She told me she feels isolated, guilty and trapped and yet, she continues, because the family depends on her.
Caregiving often reduces working hours. It slows wage growth. It delays promotions. It sometimes forces caregivers to leave the workforce altogether. And yet, when their responsibilities ease, returning to work is not simple, especially after years away. Skills become outdated. Confidence dips. Employers hesitate. Opportunities shrink.
But these sacrifices are not just personal. They ripple across generations. When parents are stretched thin, children may receive less attention. Those in lower-income households may receive fewer enrichment opportunities and reduced exposure to pathways that expand social mobility. Today's caregiving responsibilities can quietly shape tomorrow's inequalities.
I welcome enhancements to the Caregivers Training Grant and the Home Caregiving Grant. But much more can be done to better understand and alleviate the inter-generational impact. Can the Minister share what evidence exists on the inter-generational impact of caregiving?
I believe we must go further in three areas: relief, retention and re-entry.
First, relief. Can we expand practical respite and navigation support. How can we reduce the social isolation they face? How can we ensure their children do not miss out? Second, retention. Can we strengthen incentives for FWAs and provide structured coaching at key transition points, so caregivers do not have to choose between career and care. Third, re-entry. Can we create structured return pathways so that stepping up for family does not mean stepping back professionally.
Supporting caregivers is not charity. If caregivers thrive, their children thrive.
When Eldercare Becomes a Challenge
Mr Abdul Muhaimin Abdul Malik (Sengkang) : Sir, we often speak about Singapore's ageing population as a demographic challenge. Today, I want to reframe it as a workforce challenge, one unfolding quietly in our workplaces right now.
Many colleagues are part of the sandwiched generation, managing ageing parents while holding full-time jobs. The numbers tell the story.
In 2024, 87,100 residents were outside the labour force due to caregiving, 86% of them women. Nearly half are in their prime working years, ages 40 to 59. These exits do not show up as unemployment but represent a massive loss of experienced talent. This is not temporary. Singapore's ageing population means eldercare responsibilities will only grow. Yet our policy focus remains unbalanced. We have made tremendous progress supporting working parents. It is time we extend similar support to caregivers.
Workers age 40 to 59, our most experienced professionals, are stepping back not by choice but because they lack structured workplace support. We are losing productivity and institutional knowledge when we can least afford it.
Current measures help caregivers after they have left the workforce through reskilling programmes and re-entry support. While valuable, this is reactive. We need proactive workplace support that prevents exits.
The Workers' Party proposes family care leave modelled after childcare leave. Employees with caregiving responsibilities should receive six days annually, three employer-paid and three Government-paid. Those with multiple care recipients would receive two additional leaves.
The recent Tripartite Guidelines on FWA requests are a start, but we need employer frameworks that make eldercare support standard practice, not discretionary. We must normalise eldercare conversations, just as we have normalised childcare discussions. Start with data collection to understand the scale, pilot workplace frameworks with willing employers, develop realistic best practises across sectors.
Research shows employees who balance work with caregiving face higher stress and reduced productivity. Supporting them through structured leave can improve well-being while paying it for itself through better retention and productivity.
Yes, we have re-entry programmes. Yes, we have flexible work guidelines. But let us be honest. By the time someone needs reskilling to re-enter the workforce, we have already lost years of their contribution. Prevention is better than cure. Supporting eldercare is not just a compassionate policy. It is smart economic policy. We cannot afford to lose 87,000 workers, many in their most productive years, to a challenge we have simply chosen not to address proactively. The question is not whether we can afford to act. It is whether we can afford not to.
Senior Employability
Mr Sanjeev Kumar Tiwari : Mr Chairman, our senior employees aged 50 and up bring deep domain knowledge and hard-earned experience. However, as Singapore moves into a super-aged society, while navigating significant economic restructuring, we must ensure our policies continue to work better for both senior workers and employers.
I thank the Government for answering NTUC and the union's calls to progressively raise the statutory retirement and re-employment ages to 65 and 70 respectively by 2030. This has improved labour force participation of those in the ages of 55 to 64, from 69% in 2015 to 73% in 2025. It enabled more workers to attain the Basic Retirement Sum from six in 10 in 2016, to seven in 10 in 2022, and I am glad that CPF has projected eight in 10 will attain this by 2027.
However, senior workers find themselves increasingly juggling caregiving and wishing for more work options, so they can strike a better balance between work and life. Can the Ministry provide an update on what is being done to enable more work options and expand the availability of FWAs?
At the same time, many senior workers and jobseekers who are 10 to 15 years away from the statutory retirement age worry about ageism and displacement amid rapid technological changes in their workplaces. Many senior workers and jobseekers have told us that there are fewer opportunities for career advancement and good jobs later in their career. Younger cohorts are also convinced that this is the case. Others have shared that while they are willing to upskill and learn, their long work hours, caregiving duties after work, unfamiliar learning formats and the uncertainty of translating these to better work prospects are also practical barriers. Can the Ministry share how it plans to intervene at mid-career stage to boost continued employability for workers before they reach their late-50s?
I therefore welcome the announcement of the extension of the Senior Employment Credit scheme to 2027, to continue supporting hiring or/and retaining of senior workers. This sends an important signal to firms that senior workers remain valued contributors and provides some cost relief that is especially important for SMEs amid the hyper-competitive business environment. Will the Ministry considering extending this Senior Employment Credit beyond the end of the 2027 review?
Making Flexible Work Arrangements work
Ms Eileen Chong Pei Shan : Sir, the continued decline of our total fertility rate (TFR) to a new low of 0.87 in 2025 is the clearest signal yet that financial incentives alone have not and will not move the needle. They are important, but they do not address a key concern of younger Singaporeans, like myself, which I had raised in Budget debate last week, that we will not have the time or energy to be present parents. For many of us, the structure of working life in Singapore makes parenthood feel like a compromise, not a choice.
Last week, Minister Indranee called for a society-wide reset on how we view and support marriage and parenthood. I hope the Government will lead by example with the reset, beginning with a new lever – time, specifically to move from intention to impact on flexible work arrangements.
The current tripartite guidelines give employees a right to request and a process for consideration, but do not govern outcomes. The enforcement mechanism, when that process is not followed, is for an employee to approach the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP). We should not underestimate what approaching TAFEP costs an employee relationally. It creates tension. It risks being seen as difficult.
I had filed a Parliamentary Question to ask how many complaints TAFEP had received on the improper handling of such requests since the guidelines took effect in December 2024. The answer, one; and it was a case about the format in which the rejection was communicated, not the substance of a rejection.
Sir, I do not believe this means that the guidelines are working perfectly. I believe it means that they are not being used. One complaint is not a sign of success. It is a sign of a barrier too high to clear. While legislation alone cannot change workplace culture, it can set a floor. It can signal that the Government is serious about the mindset reset to support Singaporeans in building and growing their families.
As a starting point, I have two suggestions.
First, move the frameworks from guidelines to legislation with statutory force. This means making non-compliance actionable. An employer who fails to engage properly or who rejects a request without genuine business grounds, should face consequences. Second, make flexible work a presumptive right for parents of children under three, where the nature of the job allows, not absolute or unconditional, just the starting position that an employer has to justify departing from, rather than a benefit that an employee must request.
Senior Employment
Ms Mariam Jaafar : Sir, in Woodlands, I meet seniors in their 60s and 70s who tell me, “I want to keep working, but I need work that works for me.” With longer health spans, many seniors want to work. Some need to work. And yet, many struggle. I welcome the extension of the Senior Employment Credit and the CPF Transition Offset, but they are not enough.
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Many seniors struggle with a skills mismatch. Training grants exist, but too often they feel one-size-fits-all. One 72-year-old man told me: “They keep pushing me to AI courses, but that is too far a stretch for me. It will not help me actually get a job.” Other seniors face physically demanding roles or inflexible workspaces. Offices, factories and retail spaces are often designed for the young and able bodied. Meaningful part-time or flexible roles are scarce. Many do odd jobs, which provide neither security nor opportunity to contribute their expertise and experience.
So, I ask the Minister, can we give seniors tailored training that actually fits their capabilities and abilities, and dedicated support to place them in jobs that actually fit their lives? Can we help seniors better navigate SkillsFuture course options so they can actually use their credits?
Can we redesign workplaces, especially for SMEs in sectors like retail, logistics and services to be more senior friendly? Can we redesign work itself? Lighter duties, flexible hours, assistive tools, mentor-type positions, so experience is valued as much as energy? Can we give grants and tax incentives for businesses that make all this possible? These interventions complement, not replace, existing wage support schemes. If we want seniors to remain independent, we must redesign work, not just subsidise it.
I also note the extension of the part-time re-employment grant. Could MOM share the uptake and outcomes so far? And could we expand practical models so seniors can pace themselves while staying engaged? And with the Tripartite Workgroup on senior employment, when can we expect key recommendations and how will success, beyond placements, be tracked?
Let us ensure our seniors do not just live longer, they thrive. Let us ensure they do not just earn a living, they contribute, mentor and lead. Let us ensure they do not just survive, they succeed. Because when seniors succeed, Singapore succeeds.
The Chairman : Ms Diana Pang, kindly deliver your two cuts together.
Tripartite Workgroup on Flexible Work Arrangements
Ms Diana Pang Li Yen (Marine Parade-Braddell Heights) : Chairman, the Tripartite Guidelines on FWA requests are important because they set clear norms on how employees should request flexible work and how employers should assess these requests. This clarity reduces misunderstanding, builds confidence and encourages constructive and mature workplace dialogue.
For employees, the benefit is practical. These guidelines promote work-life balance and provide a clear, structured pathway to request flexibility in where they work, when they work, or the workload they take on. This is especially important for parents, caregivers and those managing health conditions, enabling them to remain economically active while meeting family and personal responsibilities.
For employers, the guidelines introduce discipline and transparency. Employers are expected to respond in writing, and where requests are rejected, to explain clearly based on business needs. This reduces speculation, limits perceptions of bias, and strengthens trust and workplace harmony.
Chairman, I support the thrust of these guidelines. But I ask MOM to recognise a simple ground reality: not all employers, especially SMEs, have the capacity, manpower, HR expertise to implement this formal FWA workflows effectively.
While TAFEP provides grants, templates, training and advisory services, real operational challenges remain. If unaddressed, these guidelines risk becoming compliance issues rather than substance, particularly for SMEs.
On the ground, SMEs face five key pain points.
First, manpower constraints, with small teams lacking dedicated HR capacity. Second, management constrain on supervisors as they have to handle both hybrid and staggered work schedules of their team. Third, performance and fairness concerns, including tracking output, fears of misuse and perceptions of inequality. Fourth, higher operational costs, such as information technology investments and extra manpower for shift cover. Fifth, operational and contractual constraints, especially in sectors such as F&B, retail, security, where physical presence is essential.
Chairman, if we want a fair and inclusive workplace, they must also be sustainable for the employers. For without employers, there are no employees, vice versa. As we strengthen worker protections, we must equally strengthen support for SMEs to implement these guidelines in a practical, proportionate and business-viable way.
Supporting Workers and Inclusive Workplace
Chairman, I will now speak on the importance of building a safe, inclusive and fair workplace for the employment of people with disabilities, women and caregivers.
First, we must strengthen protection against workplace discrimination and harassment, including bullying that is often subtle and not immediately visible. All employers want a safe and respectful workplace, but many SMEs struggle with policy design, complaint handling, documentation, deciding on appropriate responses, especially without in-house HR expertise.
Bullying is not always obvious. It can take the form of verbal intimidation, gaslighting, passive aggression, repeated put-downs, hostile tone, public shaming, deliberate exclusion, or constantly shifting expectations. These behaviours may leave little paper trail on the outcast, but over time they erode trust, undermine psychological safety and drive attrition, which is a lose-lose outcome for both employees and employers.
Protections must therefore be real, accessible and consistently applied, but we should not assume that employers are always the wrongdoers. Sometimes, the misconduct comes from fellow employees as well. This system should help employers intervene early, guide them on proper complaint handling and provide workers with a safe, trusted channel to report concerns.
Second, inclusive employment for persons with disabilities, women, and caregivers is both a social good and make economical sense, especially in a tight labour market. Strong support frameworks can help these groups fulfil their care-giving aspirations and maximise their contributions.
But for inclusion to work, we must look beyond the employee barriers and also consider employers' capacity to implement it. For SMEs, inclusive hiring can bring sudden operational costs, job redesign, additional supervision, workflow adjustments, training, managing healthcare and well-being concerns. If we want inclusive hiring to be sustainable, employers must be supported, not overwhelmed.
Finally, fair and merit-based workplace matters. Fairness means wider opportunity, reduced biasness and progression based on performance and potential, but fairness must also be sustainable. Inclusive policies, flexible arrangements and stronger protections will succeed only if they are credible to workers and workable for the employers. Many SME bosses operate under immense pressure, paying off staff before paying themselves, managing cashflow risks, meeting compliance requirements and carrying all the emotional burden of keeping their businesses alive.
Ultimately, a fair workplace cannot exist without the well-being of both the employers and the workers. It must work on both sides. Chairman, sometime in mid-2025, a salad shop owner tragically passed away after an alleged fraudulent work injury claim that was filed against her. MOM is investigating. But even so, one death is one too many. This reminds us that employer mental well-being also matters.
With this in mind, I offer four suggestions to the Minister.
First, MOM could provide practical guidelines and support to help SMEs recognise and address subtle workplace bullying, including providing clear examples and model policies which can be easily implemented.
Second, MOM can develop and publish simple, proportionate investigation protocols and tools that SMEs can use to handle complaints involving discrimination, bullying and harassment.
Third, MOM could maybe help employers, especially SMEs, to formulate inclusive employment schemes into day-to-day workable processes, so that support for persons with disabilities, women and caregivers can become operationally realistic.
Fourth, MOM could consider consolidating employer support schemes and guidelines into a single, user-friendly platform, similar to what we have: SupportGoWhere, so SMEs can quickly understand what they qualify for and how to implement this support without heavy reliance on consultants or even middlemen.
Chairman, I hope the Minister will consider the issues I have raised.
Promoting Safer and Healthier Workplaces
Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye : Mr Chairman, workplace safety is not a statistic, it is about lives, families and futures. I am encouraged that the workplace fatal injury rate for 2025 has fallen to 0.96 per 100,000 workers, down from 1.2 in 2024. This reflects the sustained efforts of workers, employers and the Government.
But every life lost at work is one too many. Improvements must not lead to complacency. We must now take the next decisive steps.
First, workplace safety and health (WSH) must evolve to reflect our ageing workforce. As retirement and re-employment ages rise, longer careers must also be safer careers. Risks such as falls, musculoskeletal disorders and fatigue cut across all industries, not just traditionally high-risk sectors.
Employers must go beyond compliance. They should redesign jobs, automate hazardous tasks and eliminate risks at the source. Safer work design must become the norm, not the exception. Where safety technology has been proven to reduce accidents, adoption should not remain voluntary. In high-risk sectors, MOM should move towards mandating technologies such as anti-collision systems, video analytics to detect unsafe acts, and fatigue detection tools. If these technologies save lives, we should require their use.
Government can also do more to drive change. Public procurement policies should reward companies with strong WSH records and clear investments in risk elimination and job redesign.
Second, fatigue must be treated as a core safety issue. Guidelines are a good start, but guidelines alone are insufficient. MOM should strengthen safeguards on working hours and rest periods, and require employers to implement formal fatigue risk management systems.
Finally, we must continue raising standards for migrant worker welfare. While I welcome the enhanced dormitory standards, dormitories should be better integrated with surrounding communities, with accessible healthcare, recreation and essential amenities closer to where the workers live.
Sir, workplace safety and worker welfare are not compliance exercises. They are commitments to dignity, responsibility and fairness. If we know what works, we must mandate it. If we see what harms, we must redesign it. And if we set standards, we must enforce them, because every worker deserves a safe and healthy workplace.
Ms Yeo Wan Ling : While workplace issues have been closely examined, we must not forget the living conditions of our hardworking migrant workers. Many spend most of their time between dormitories and worksites, with limited opportunities to relax, socialise, or build community.
Prolonged separation from families can also affect emotional well-being and heighten isolation. I acknowledge the Ministry's efforts to improve our dormitory standards.
The partnership between MOM, NTUC and our Migrant Workers' Centre in managing recreational centres is a step in the right direction. These centres provide recreation, community activities and essential services such as groceries, remittance and telecommunications, serving thousands weekly.
Beyond this, I call on the Ministry to continue investing in measures that strengthen our migrant workers' access to amenities and community spaces, ensuring that our migrant workers' living environment supports well-being, dignity and of course, social integration.
The Chairman : Minister Dr Tan See Leng.
The Minister for Manpower (Dr Tan See Leng) : Mr Chairman, I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a very Happy Chinese Valentine's Day. I thank Members who have spoken in support of our workers and also our employers.
The nature of work is changing rapidly. Geopolitical conflicts, as seen from recent developments over the weekend, are upending the world as we know it and reshaping global trade and investment flows. AI is transforming how we work and our workforce, too, is evolving. This year, Singapore will become a super-aged society.
Even as we seek new growth frontiers, we must ensure that our growth remains inclusive and that it creates meaningful careers for all. We start from a relatively good position today. Despite a challenging global environment, Singapore's labour market remains resilient.
As of December, last year, we have recorded 17 straight quarters of employment growth since we emerged from COVID-19 in 2021. Our resident unemployment rate has remained low at 2.9%. The labour market remained tight in 2025, with more vacancies than jobseekers. Real incomes at the median grew by 8.3% from 2020 to 2025, or about 1.6% per annum. Lower-wage workers saw real incomes grow by 15% from 2020 to 2025, or about 2.8% per annum, faster than the median worker. This was bolstered by productivity improvements and targeted wage support.
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These outcomes reflect our workers and businesses' resilience and contributions, and investments in growth areas, like AI and advanced manufacturing, as well as very good collaboration with our tripartite partners. MOM will continue to walk with workers and businesses, so that every worker, every worker matters and every worker can realise their potential, achieve their career aspirations and every business can thrive by bringing out the best in their people.
MOM has three priorities this year. Together with our tripartite partners, we will: one, empower Singaporeans to build meaningful careers; two, enable businesses to transform and provide quality jobs; and three, build more inclusive workplaces that leave no one behind.
Let me begin with our first priority, empowering Singaporeans to build meaningful careers throughout life. To our youths, we are committed to giving you a strong start to your careers. Transforming from school to work can be daunting, especially with the angst and anxiety over how AI is changing entry-level jobs.
Fortunately for us, the market for fresh graduates remains resilient, at least for now. Vacancies continue to outnumber jobseekers. Over four in 10 openings are entry-level PMET roles suitable for young graduates. By December 2025, over eight in 10 university graduates from the 2025 cohort had already found employment and this is comparable to the 2024 cohort.
We will continue to prioritise creating more full-time opportunities for fresh graduates. While vacancies are available, some graduates do indeed face challenges in finding the right match. To support them, we introduced the GRIT scheme last year, alongside GRIT@Gov for the public sector.
GRIT helps our graduates acquire structured, industry-relevant work experience. Over 400 graduates have already embarked on traineeships in the various industries. Employers have told us that GRIT has helped them increase hiring amidst a more cautious environment and they intend to emplace good performers onto full-time positions. We incentivise employers to do so by continuing subsidies for trainees emplaced during the traineeship period.
Take Ms Jewel Goh and Mr Dominic Wong, two recent graduates who started their traineeships at DBS. Jewel, who has a diploma in Applied AI and Analytics, was given the opportunity to apply what she has learnt to support DBS' technology systems and large-scale operations. Dominic, a Communications graduate, got the chance to develop partnerships with DBS' stakeholders. I am sure that their GRIT experience has given both graduates more clarity and confidence to take their next steps.
GRIT remains open to graduates from the 2025 cohort and we will extend applications to the 2026 cohort. We are also speeding up applicant onboarding. If market conditions call for it, we may expand capacity.
Several Members have made suggestions on supporting our youths. Mr Gerald Giam suggested introducing wage support for SMEs to hire graduates. Assoc Prof Jamus Lim proposed a national apprenticeship programme to strengthen on-the-job training.
These suggestions are in line with the Government's ongoing efforts. We have been enhancing work-based learning and on-job training through schemes, like the AI Apprenticeship Programme and the SkillsFuture Work-Study Programme. The Work-Study Programme has grown significantly and as the Ministry of Education shared earlier on, the Work-Study Diploma programme will be enhanced in line with the Economic Strategy Review's (ESR's) recommendation to support flexible pathways that blend training and working throughout life. We are also subsidising 70% of traineeship costs through GRIT.
While we will continue to study such suggestions and look into more ways to support our fresh graduates, we should also design our support carefully and sustainably. For example, GRIT sources the traineeships from leading companies in growth areas, ensuring that our graduates gain high quality experiences and stronger long-term prospects. A broad-based wage subsidy for SMEs to hire graduates may not provide the same quality of experience, if companies lack the capacity to train them or provide meaningful careers once the subsidies end. A general subsidy may also entail even more wastage, given that 80% of our graduates have been able to secure jobs within months after graduation without such wage subsidies today.
Additionally, we also have to balance against unintended outcomes, where companies might end up retrenching older workers and replace them with cheaper graduates so that they can save on manpower costs. So, our approach on balance is appropriate for the present situation, where many full-time roles remain available. To help match graduates to such roles, we have stepped up career guidance and employment facilitation efforts through WSG, e2i and the IHLs.
Beyond this, overseas work stints help and equip Singaporeans with the necessary skills and perspectives for a globalised economy. Since launching in 2024, WSG's Overseas Markets Immersion Programme has already supported more than 120 local professionals to gain overseas experience. Together with other agencies' overseas deployment programmes, over 430 local workers have benefited as of 2025.
We recognise that our youths have a growing interest in gaining overseas experience. Hence, we will expand the Overseas Markets Immersion Programme to support young professionals gain overseas exposure even earlier in their careers. Providing early opportunities strengthens our talent pipeline and our companies' global competitiveness. Details will be shared in due course.
Beyond a strong start, we will also ensure that all workers have the resources to thrive throughout their careers. We will do so in four ways: by building an AI-ready workforce; helping workers navigate the labour market with confidence; developing our local professional talent pipeline; and supporting displaced workers.
One of our foremost priorities is to build an AI-ready workforce. A recent report by McKinsey, EDB and Tech in Asia found that about three in five Southeast Asian firms have yet to see meaningful financial gains from AI. This is partly due to a lack of internal expertise and low employee adoption.
We cannot afford to let this gap persist. To translate the potential of AI into good jobs for Singaporeans, we will take decisive steps to build an AI-ready workforce. Like learning a language, developing true fluency in AI comes from consistent use and building confidence through experimentation. Therefore, we will make it easier for Singaporeans to have hands-on experience and access to the latest AI tools.
As announced at Budget, those who take up selected SkillsFuture AI courses will receive free subscriptions to premium versions of best-in-class AI tools for six months. MOM has been engaging providers, such as Google, Manus, Microsoft and OpenAI. We will announce details in due course, including the tools and platforms that qualify.
Assoc Prof Terence Ho suggested for AI access to be extended even more widely, including to mature and lower-income workers. I agree that access should be inclusive, regardless of age or income. Hence, this initiative will be open to all Singaporeans aged 25 and above, and they are paired with practical and accessible training for AI at various levels.
Beyond this, we will continue to explore ways to include more mature and lower-income workers in our national AI journey. While an AI-ready workforce offers significant potential to improve productivity, we must steer AI adoption to enhance our workers' potential, not displace, not replace it. I will elaborate later on our support for employers to do so.
Second, we will help workers better navigate the labour market and seize new opportunities with confidence. To this end, we are fundamentally reviewing our jobs and skills ecosystem, which Ms Gho Sze Kee spoke about earlier.
We have four goals, the "4Vs": volume, we want to reach a larger share of the workforce; variety, we want to cater to more diverse needs in a complex job market; velocity, or speed, matching people to opportunities more quickly; and value, value-add, supporting long-term career health.
To drive these strategic shifts, we are forming a new agency. With your permission, Mr Chairman, Sir, may I ask the Clerks to distribute a handout detailing our efforts to support Singaporeans' career journey. Members may also access these materials through the MP@SGPARL App.
The Chairman : Please proceed. [ A handout was distributed to hon Members. ]
Dr Tan See Leng : Thank you. I will continue. As we have heard from the Prime Minister, SSG and WSG will merge into Workforce and Skills Singapore (WSSG), a new Statutory Board under MOM and jointly overseen with the Ministry of Education. It will be established in the third quarter of 2026, helmed by Dilys Boey, who is the current Chief Executive of WSG. Its mission will be to empower Singaporeans to develop future-ready skills and access good job opportunities; enable businesses to create good jobs for Singaporeans and develop their workforce; and promote a culture of lifelong learning and career health.
Secretary-General Mr Ng Chee Meng asked how this merger will benefit Singaporean workers, and how we will better translate training into employment and productivity gains. Ms Eileen Chong said that the new agency should not just support workers, but also employers, to take forward SSG's ongoing efforts in encouraging skills-first hiring.
Today, our skills and employment facilitation capabilities sit in separate agencies. Bringing them together under one roof creates a single, powerful engine for human capital development. It will collaborate with other agencies and stakeholders to benefit both workers and employers.
For workers, this means simpler access and more integrated career support in a fast-changing marketplace. It means a single portal to access training, career guidance and job opportunities, without having to navigate multiple agencies. By combining career and skills data, we can give you a clearer picture of where opportunities are, enabling better-informed career and training decisions.
For the employers, the merger will help us be even more responsive to your talent needs. With more timely and comprehensive labour market and skills insights, WSSG can help to reduce skills mismatches and time-to-hire. Creating a single point of contact will also simplify how we support businesses to address hiring, training and workforce transformation needs.
WSSG will play a critical role in expanding the career health movement, going beyond reactive job matching, to proactive career planning. As outlined in the handout distributed to Members, we have initiatives targeting both workers and employers.
For workers, we launched Career Health SG last year with a fundamental message – stay proactive, pre-emptive about your career. The response has been encouraging thus far. Nearly two-thirds of our workers now see value in improving their career health. But there is more to be done. Many are still unsure as to how to begin.
So, starting on your career health journey does not have to be that overwhelming. We have been building practical tools to help our fellow Singaporeans. The Careers and Skills Passport lets you take stock of your skills, and CareersFinder helps you to discover the job options that you may not have even considered. For those who need even more personalised support, we have expanded access to career planning programmes. Almost nine in 10 respondents reported having clear direction and greater confidence after attending such programmes.
These tools have delivered positive outcomes. Following the integration of Careers and Skills Passport with job portals, JobStreet and FastJobs, our partners found that job applications with verified credentials are 1.5 times more likely to be shortlisted by employers. We are expanding our Careers and Skills Passport partnerships to five more job portals – MyCareersFuture, Careers@Gov, EASE, FindSGJobs and eFinancialCareers. We have also integrated Careers and Skills Passport with HR tech firm JobTech's platform, enabling employers to search for candidates based on verified skills data.
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For employers, tools, like TalentTrack and TalentTrack+, can help you better assess your workforce readiness and identify internal talent for new roles.
In total, our tools and initiatives have already helped over 800,000 individuals and 38,000 firms.
Through WSSG, we will also strengthen our ecosystem of career and employment service providers to serve different workforce segments more effectively. As our workforce evolves, new forms of career support are needed – some of which can be delivered effectively through private service providers specialising in certain industries, certain sectors or workforce segments.
For example, WSG has partnered Ingeus and AKG, two private job matching firms, to provide more specialised support for PMEs since 2017. We have observed higher re-entry rates among those assisted, compared to retrenched residents in general.
To take this further, we convened the Alliance for Action on Advancing Career and Employment Services (AfA-ACES). Under this workgroup, we will launch nine pilots with private sector partners to test new services, covering a range of individual and employer segments. For example, for the individuals, for fresh graduates, we will test services combining career guidance and industry exposure to support your school-to-work transition. For mid-level professionals, we will pilot personalised career agents to help you move into better roles. For caregivers, seniors and those facing greater hardship, we will explore new ways to support you to work more flexibly, or better still, get you to return to work. For SMEs, we will test ways to support your own internal mobility and also perhaps, suggest to you, adopt new work models.
The workgroup will release its recommendations in the second half of this year.
These efforts will also help address concerns about underemployment, which Mr Patrick Tay had requested updates on. MOM has been studying underemployment in the form of overqualification, where workers possess higher educational qualifications than typically required for the job. Preliminarily, we found that most overqualified workers in Singapore took up their current jobs voluntarily, for reasons such as flexibility or planned career transitions.
The share of involuntarily overqualified workers remains small and stable. Our efforts to strengthen the career and employment ecosystem will better support these workers to find jobs more aligned with their aspirations or develop the skills to enter such jobs. We will release detailed findings later in the year.
Third, for Singaporeans who aspire to leadership positions, we will help you develop the skills to do so. In the past year, we have expanded the capacity, the uptake of our professional development programmes. With the support from EDB, the Singapore Leaders Network run by the Human Capital Leadership Institute has grown to over 4,000 members, with new and expanded offerings. This includes the Overseas Transition Support programme, which has supported already about 120 professionals.
Finally, as the economy evolves, some Singaporeans will inevitably find their jobs changing or coming to an end. But at the same time, I want to reassure you, new opportunities will arise, and we will help you to seize them.
Last year, we launched the SkillsFuture Jobseeker Support scheme, which provides temporary financial relief and job search support to involuntarily unemployed individuals, helping them regain their footing and return to work with confidence. The scheme has made a difference for many Singaporeans, but we can do more. Just as what Secretary-General Mr Ng Chee Meng and Mr Patrick Tay have suggested, expanding the scheme’s coverage beyond the current qualifying income cap. The Jobseeker Support scheme has been in place for about less than a year, we are reviewing the scheme and its parameters when we have more experience. So, we will ask for your indulgence and patience in supporting us through this journey. Senior Minister of State Koh Poh Koon will provide further updates on the scheme.
Let me now turn to the later stages of one’s career. As Singaporeans lead longer and healthier lives, we must shift from managing the pressures of ageing, to unlocking the benefits of career longevity. As previously announced, we will raise the retirement and the re-employment ages to 64 and 69 respectively on 1 July 2026, and this will keep us on track to raising them to 65 and 70 before 2030. This will give our seniors more flexibility and assurance, while enabling employers to retain experienced workers.
Beyond how long we work, we must also transform how effectively we work by creating more flexible and varied pathways for seniors to remain engaged and productive.
The Tripartite Workgroup on Senior Employment is studying a more integrated approach to support career longevity, including enabling individuals to plan earlier for later-stage career transitions, and equipping employers to design age-friendly jobs and workplaces. Senior Minister of State Koh Poh Koon will share more about these initiatives.
In the interim, we will extend the Senior Employment Credit until December 2027 to continue supporting employers hiring senior workers.
At the same time, we will continue to strengthen our retirement adequacy policies to give our seniors greater assurance. We have been enhancing the CPF system over the last few years, providing Singaporeans with more support. This has only been possible because of our strong social compact and belief in shared responsibility between individuals, families, employers and the Government. We will continue to stay this course.
As announced, we will increase CPF contribution rates in 2027 for senior workers by 1.5 percentage-points for workers aged above 55 to 60, and one percentage-point for workers aged above 60 to 65. This will better support retirement adequacy for seniors who wish and want to take the option to continue working.
With this, we have reached the target contribution rates for senior workers aged above 60 to 65, as recommended by the Tripartite Workgroup on Older Workers. We will extend the CPF Transition Offset for another year to help cushion half of the increase in employer CPF contributions.
Later this year, we will also announce the new retirement sums for cohorts beyond 2027, to allow members to better plan ahead. With rising living standards, the new retirement sums will better reflect the savings needed to meet basic retirement needs in the future.
For seniors who may face challenges in building up enough savings despite their best efforts, we are committed to support you. As announced, we will provide a CPF top-up of up to $1,500 for eligible Singaporeans aged 50 and above, with CPF balances below the prevailing Basic Retirement Sum. The top-up will be automatically credited this year.
Finally, we will provide more choices within the CPF system for Singaporeans to grow their retirement savings.
Today, the CPF system offers risk-free interest of up to 6%. Members seeking potentially higher returns can invest through the CPF Investment Scheme (CPFIS), which has around 700 products available. However, this requires financial knowledge and active investment management.
As the Prime Minister announced, the CPF Board will introduce a new investment scheme, with life-cycle investment products that will automatically shift to lower-risk assets via a glide-path, as the investor grows older. This helps to calibrate exposure to investment risk at different life stages and it mitigates market downturn risk when it is time to exit.
To keep choices simple, we will curate to two to three reputable commercial providers offering a small number of options. To Mr Saktiandi Supaat’s question on product provider selection, the applications will be rigorously evaluated by independent investment consultants appointed by the CPF Board, covering investment capability and track record, amongst others. We will cap all-in fees to keep costs low and are prepared to provide some time-limited support to interested members.
We agree with Mr Saktiandi Supaat that for many Singaporeans, especially older workers and those prioritising certainty, the CPF risk-free returns remain highly attractive. Not everyone has the appetite for investment risk. Hence, this new scheme will be voluntary.
Members who prefer to actively manage their own investments can continue to invest their Ordinary and Special Account balances via the CPFIS. Members can also opt to retain their savings in their CPF accounts to continue earning risk-free returns.
We agree with Mr Shawn Loh, with Mr Sanjeev Kumar Tiwari and Mr Saktiandi Supaat that investor literacy is key. Members must understand the products and their risks, and decide the most suitable option for themselves. We will work with the selected product providers and partners, including the Monetary Authority of Singapore to enhance investor education.
I also want to thank our Members for their suggestions on product design, such as on cooling-off windows, the target date and encouraging retention. We will consider them as we further engage the industry. We target to launch the new scheme in the first half of 2028, but of course, if we can do so earlier, we will. More details will be announced in due course.
Let me move to our second priority, which is enabling businesses to thrive and create good jobs for Singaporeans in a changed landscape. Ms Yeo Wan Ling requested an update on how we will refresh our foreign workforce policies to generate growth and good jobs for Singaporeans, while recognising the limits to which we can keep growing our foreign workforce.
Thriving businesses are the engine of good jobs. Before joining the Government, I was in the private sector all my life, so I can understand the angst faced by private entrepreneurs and business owners. Thriving business, they are engines of good jobs, rising wages and they continue to sustain opportunities for Singapore. In a fast-changing global environment and under tighter resource constraints, businesses can only thrive by continuously transforming their business models and investing in their workforce. Therefore, enabling business transformation remains central to our foreign workforce strategy.
We will continue to remain globally connected and open to talent that can complement our skilled local workforce, while reducing reliance on foreign labour where there is scope to raise productivity. We will make further enhancements to our foreign workforce policies in line with this approach.
First, we will continue to compete globally for top-tier talent. Since the launch of the Overseas Networks and Expertise (ONE) Pass for pinnacle talent in 2023, there has been healthy growth in take-up. Currently, over 8,000 individuals are on the ONE Pass, and many of them contribute to sectors which are critical to our future economy.
Take Dr Anders Jacobsen Skanderup. He is an Assistant Director at the A*STAR Genome Institute of Singapore. He developed Fragle, which is a novel AI-based method to monitor cancer progression and relapse through blood tests. Or Mr Oliver Jay, Managing Director at OpenAI, whose experience in bridging Silicon Valley and Asia supports Singapore’s ambitions as a leading AI hub. Previously, Mr Jay spent two years mentoring Singaporean leaders in high-growth Singapore companies such as Carousell and Glints.
To strengthen our attractiveness to top talent in critical and emerging technologies like AI and quantum computing, we will introduce a new ONE Pass AI and Tech track in January 2027. This will replace the Tech.Pass and offering more attractive terms than the Tech.Pass.
Second, we must stay open to skills and expertise from abroad while ensuring they continue to complement our local workforce.
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Our EP and S Pass Qualifying Salaries are regularly updated to keep pace, they are keeping pace with local wage benchmarks – they do not lead the local wage benchmarks – so that it ensures that foreigners who come here do not compete mainly based on accepting lower salaries.
As announced, we will raise the EP minimum qualifying salary from $5,600 to $6,000, in line with the wages of the top one-third of local PMETs. This will apply to new EP applications from 1 January 2027 and the renewals from 1 January 2028, to give employers time to adjust.
Beyond meeting the qualifying salary, EP applicants must also pass COMPASS. Mr Patrick Tay requested an update on how our COMPASS framework incentivises firms to improve their workforce profile.
Since implementation about two-and-a-half years ago, in 2023, about two-thirds of the current EP holders have passed through COMPASS. Results suggest that we are moving in the right direction. The share of firms with higher dependence on foreigners of a single nationality has decreased by 20%, while the share of firms with a higher dependence on foreigners in general has decreased by 37%.
For the S Pass, we will continue to raise the minimum qualifying salary in line with wages of the top one-third of our local associate professionals and technicians (APTs).
In the first step, we will raise the minimum qualifying salary from $3,300 to $3,600. This will apply to new applications and renewals from 1 January 2027 and 2028 respectively. By around 2030, if the economy continues to grow, the S Pass minimum qualifying salary is expected to be around $4,000 to $4,500. Of course, like I said, the caveat is it depends on our prevailing local wages and the prevailing economic conditions then.
With an ageing local workforce, Singapore needs Work Permit Holders to deliver essential infrastructure, goods and services.
Our Work Permit numbers in the construction sector have grown by 36% over the past five years, as we catch up on important projects post-COVID-19. Across all sectors, Work Permit numbers have grown by 186,000, or 27%. So, we agree with Ms Yeo Wan Ling that our Work Permit growth must be sustainable, given our infrastructural and social constraints. Our businesses must operate more efficiently by adopting technology and redesigning jobs. And we have grants to help companies to do that.
So, even as we manage numbers, we will continue to support businesses in accessing higher quality, the key thing is higher quality, Work Permit holders. To this end, we will make two enhancements to our Work Permit framework.
First, we will streamline our Work Permit levy framework to make it easier for businesses to understand, and they can plan how they hire, how they can train and how they can retain the Work Permit holders. Over the decades, our levy framework has evolved to comprise 24 different rates and different tiers. We will start by reducing the number of rates from 24 to 20, and we will progressively streamline this further over time.
So, for the Marine Shipyard and Process sectors, we will work towards aligning the levy rates with Construction. For a start, we will raise the levies for basic-skilled workers by $100 and $150 respectively. This is set to incentivise companies to hire higher-skilled workers. So, our exhortation is for companies to bring in higher-skilled workers, retain them and train them well.
For the Manufacturing and Services sectors, we will combine the bottom two tiers. For this new combined tier, the levy rates for the Higher- and Basic-skilled workers will be $300 and $470 respectively for Manufacturing; and $400 and $600 respectively for Services. So, please take note. The higher-skilled workers will enjoy a lower levy compared to the relatively unskilled workers.
So, we will retain existing levy rates for the highest tier, so that firms with a higher reliance on Work Permit holders will continue to pay higher rates because we hope that they can work with us to redesign, to improve and transform their work processes to achieve higher productivity.
This revised levy schedule will take effect from 2028. We are giving a heads-up in advance so that companies can plan for it. MOM will work closely with industries to strengthen the framework for identifying higher-skilled workers eligible for lower levies in each sector.
Second, we will add eight new occupations to the Non-Traditional Source Occupation List (NTS-OL) from September 2026, in the areas of food services, social services and air transportation. The NTS-OL allows businesses to hire higher-quality non-PMET workers from non-traditional source countries for specific roles with not enough locals.
Mr Mark Lee shared the challenges of domestic-oriented sectors that operate on thin margins and rely on S Pass holders for frontline roles, such as F&B. With the upcoming expansion of the NTS-OL to include four more F&B roles, including frontline waiters, businesses can retain these workers who may not meet the higher S Pass qualifying salary.
Both Mr Mark Lee and Mr Shawn Loh raised an important point. We need to be pro-worker and we need to be pro-business. They have asked how MOM considers sector needs and business costs when calibrating our policies.
Our policy changes are developed in close consultation with sector agencies and with industry partners. Where essential or strategic areas have limited scope for automation or localisation, MOM works with sector agencies to provide targeted foreign manpower flexibilities, calibrated to avoid entrenching labour-intensive business models. We closely monitor business cost increases, keeping in mind Singapore's continued ability to attract investments and talent.
Between 2019 and 2025, profit rates in Singapore grew by 4.4% per year, indicating that businesses have been improving profitability alongside cost increases. Singapore was also ranked the most talent-competitive economy in the 2025 Global Talent Competitiveness Index.
In addition, we are ramping up business cost support measures through targeted wage credit schemes, which Senior Minister of State Koh and Minister of State Dinesh will elaborate on further later. We understand that businesses need time to shift towards more productive models and, therefore, we announced, ahead of time, we implement changes at a measured pace and phased out approach.
As businesses transform, jobs will also evolve. To succeed, firms must invest in developing their workers to take on new and redesigned jobs.
As announced last year, the Government has set aside over $400 million for the Enterprise Workforce Transformation Package. Working with the Singapore Business Federation and SNEF, the scheme aims to strengthen the link between enterprise transformation and workforce development, capturing growth and creating jobs.
Dr Wan Rizal asked about the implementation of the Enterprise Workforce Transformation Package. Under the Enterprise Workforce Transformation Package, the SkillsFuture Workforce Development Grant (Job Redesign+) will be rolled out in March 2026, this month. This builds on the earlier Support for Job Redesign under the Productivity Solutions Grant programme (PSG-JR), which supported smaller-scale projects, leading to improved retention and wage growth.
The Workforce Development Grant (Job Redesign+) will expand support significantly. Enterprises can now receive up to 70% of project costs capped at $150,000 per company, which is higher than the PSG-JR cap of $30,000. So, it is a five-fold increase. This will allow companies to redesign more roles, engage experts to build internal capabilities and implement AI-native workforce solutions.
The redesigned SkillsFuture Enterprise Credit will also be launched late this year. Companies can tap on the SkillsFuture Enterprise Credit to further defray the out-of-pocket expenses of workforce transformation.
Assoc Prof Terence Ho has asked how Singapore can build expertise in human-centric job redesign, ensuring that AI augments rather than replaces human contribution. We do so through initiatives, such as the Enterprise Workforce Transformation Package, which couples productivity support with workforce support. We have also worked very closely with NTUC through the Company Training Committee programme. Through WDG(JR+), enterprises can work with consultants to assess their AI readiness, identify opportunities and redesign roles. They can also receive support to implement workforce technology solutions, such as AI-powered HR tools.
We will continue to improve access to AI support under Enterprise Workforce Transformation Package, with pre-packaged solutions targeted at specific company needs. Details will be announced subsequently.
To further drive workforce transformation efforts, we must also develop our HR leaders and professionals because these are the people behind the people. To uplift human capital management standards, we formed a Tripartite Workgroup on Human Capital Capability Development last year.
The Workgroup has made important progress in developing strategies to strengthen firms' HR capabilities, such as through establishing clear benchmarks for human capital performance and expanding professional HR practice to more organisations. Senior Minister of State Koh will share more on the Workgroup's recommendations.
Finally, our third priority is to build more inclusive workplaces that leave no one behind.
Economic growth and business transformation must go hand-in-hand with fairness and inclusion. Our workplaces must continue to provide every worker with safety, opportunity and dignity. In the past, success in the labour market was narrowly defined by academic qualifications, linear career paths and traditional professions. Increasingly, there is greater awareness that there are diverse pathways to success, and every profession deserves recognition and respect.
As the Prime Minister said, inclusive growth also means creating good jobs in domestic and essential services where many workers are employed.
The Economic Strategic Review has also recommended broadening the range of good jobs in our economy.
Assoc Prof Terence Ho has identified several areas where we can redesign jobs to attract more young Singaporeans, including healthcare and skilled trades. The Prime Minister has outlined how we are increasing pay and progression in the education, healthcare and social service sectors. We are working with the Labour Movement and trade associations to make similar efforts for the skilled trades.
We agree with Ms Diana Pang and Mr Saktiandi Supaat that the skilled trades can and should offer good job opportunities for those who prefer "hands-on" work that require dedication and mastery.
Many such trades will remain essential in our future economy. They may also be resilient, or even complementary, to automation by AI. Electrical work, for example, will remain indispensable in our transition to a green and AI-powered economy. Yet, with the workforce ageing in such trades, we need to think harder about workforce renewal and attracting more Singaporeans to join these trades.
There are young Singaporeans that are building fulfilling careers in the skilled trades. For example, Mr Koh Jia Xing, an electrical engineer with Syntigro Engineering Ptd Ltd. Having trained in aerospace engineering at ITE, Jia Xing decided that he wanted to embark on a career in electrical engineering.
In his career thus far, one project stood out for him – replacing a hospital's main electrical switchboard, with the hospital still fully operational. That is a very difficult task. Believe you me, I have run hospitals before and any outage will result in a significant compromise in human lives. So, this is high-stake, very challenging work, but it is one that gives a sense of fulfilment, and that pride in how skilled tradespeople can keep critical systems running.
Today, Jia Xing is pursuing a Masters in Electrical and Electronic Engineering at the Singapore Institute of Technology. We want to support those with similar aspirations to Jia Xing.
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Thus, MOM has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Specialists Trade Alliance of Singapore to embark on a pilot to uplift the electrical trade. As part of this pilot, we will work with industry to develop initiatives for tradespeople, such as a more structured career and skills progression ladder, and apprenticeships. We have started with the electrical trade given its essential role in our future economy, that it has deep skills content and the need to build a strong local pipeline. We will learn from this to scale up our efforts to other trades. We will provide updates at a later stage.
Building workplaces that leave no one behind also means ensuring that our growth is shared. We will continue to support wage improvements for our lower-wage workers such as through raising the LQS. We have received feedback from businesses that MOM's policies add to costs, and many employers are feeling the squeeze amidst tight margins. I hear you. I do not just hear you, I empathise with you.
But at the same time, I want to also share with you a different perspective, that our manpower policies also serve important social objectives. As highlighted in the Ministry of Finance's Occasional Paper on inequality, policies such as our PWM play a crucial role in achieving inclusive growth and prevent social fissures from deepening.
The majority of labour-related business cost increases arising from Government policies go towards uplifting wages for lower-wage workers. Without such policies, our lower-wage workers will fall further behind, just as Singapore's Gini coefficient showed before the introduction of the PWM in 2012.
The Government will nevertheless continue to help our businesses to mitigate the cost pressures that you are experiencing. We are with you.
As announced, we will extend the PWCS to 2028. We have extended it by two years to support businesses doing their part to uplift lower-wage workers.
Mr Shawn Loh and Mr Liang Eng Hwa suggested extending or making PWCS co-funding permanent. Meanwhile, Ms Yeo Wan Ling and Mr Pritam Singh asked how PWCS can be better tied to productivity outcomes.
Our policies strike a balance between these two perspectives. Productivity improvement is key to achieving sustainable wage gains. The PWM is central to these efforts, linking wage growth to skills development, career progression and job redesign.
However, productivity improvement can be uneven across sectors. In domestically oriented sectors where many of our lower-wage workers are employed, it takes time to redesign labour-intensive work processes and it also takes time to allow our lower-wage workers to upskill into new roles. Therefore, on top of broad-based enterprise transformation measures, we introduced the PWCS, temporarily cushioning the near-term cost impact of moves to support lower-wage workers. This ensures that support remains a catalyst, not a substitute for productivity improvement.
The PWCS is reviewed regularly to provide adequate support to businesses while they transform. Just as crucially, as Ms Yeo Wan Ling highlighted, this ensures a manageable pace of change for lower-wage workers to upskill into new roles, limiting disemployment risks.
Many companies have made good use of Government support to innovate and evolve alongside their workers. Over 600 companies have tapped on the Company Training Committee Grant since August 2022. Likewise, over 600 companies have taken up the PSG-JR since 2020. That said, we must continually renew our efforts. In response to Mr Melvin Yong, we have some ways still to go to boost productivity growth in PWM-covered sectors.
As highlighted by the Singapore Productivity Centre’s Food Services Productivity report, improving productivity is essential for resilience and sustainable growth, especially for firms in sectors facing manpower shortages, competitive pressures and rising operational costs. The Government is fully committed to walking alongside employers and lower-wage workers on this journey.
I spoke earlier about some of the initiatives we will be rolling out to this end, including the Enterprise Workforce Transformation Package. The extended PWCS support in 2027 and 2028 will also raise the minimum qualifying threshold for wage increases from $100 to $200, better targeting businesses that invest in capability and workforce development. These efforts are aligned with the Economic Strategy Review's recommendation to broaden the range of good jobs across our economy. Minister of State Dinesh will share about how we will further support upskilling for lower-wage workers.
Ultimately, uplifting our lower-wage workers is a whole-of-society effort. We hope employers will take advantage of support to deepen their transformative efforts and lower-wage workers will seize the upskilling opportunities to move into higher-value jobs.
Members, including NTUC Secretary-General Mr Ng Chee Meng, spoke about the challenges faced by caregivers, including the "sandwiched generation". We will continue to encourage inclusive workplace practices, supporting workers who may face higher barriers to workforce participation such as women, caregivers and persons with disabilities. Senior Parliamentary Secretary Shawn Huang will provide updates on these efforts.
As work evolves, our employment framework must remain fit-for-purpose. As announced last year, we have embarked on a review of the Employment Act. The tripartite partners are reviewing how the Employment Act can continue to provide appropriate safeguards for different worker groups, including updating coverage and protections for our most vulnerable workers under Part 4 of the Employment Act.
We are also looking at how to provide businesses with greater flexibility and efficiency in workplace management, and to streamline key provisions for easier compliance. We aim to ensure that our employment framework remains trusted and relevant, upholding a harmonious and equitable labour compact where both workers and businesses can thrive.
Mr Patrick Tay suggested mandating advance notification prior to retrenchment. Mr Ng Chee Meng also asked whether Mandatory Retrenchment Notifications can be brought forward. While advance notification has merits, mandating such a requirement poses non-trivial challenges.
Retrenchment is often, in fact I would say, is always a difficult process for all parties involved and is often a last resort for companies. And many a time, senior management, together with the board, conduct backroom negotiations to try to save as many jobs as possible. If we mandate advance notifications, this may inevitably or inadvertently push companies to finalise retrenchments faster, discouraging such negotiations.
Businesses have also expressed concerns over the potential leakage of confidential, market-sensitive information. We are not ruling out any option, we are engaging, we review, this will be a comprehensive review, we are consulting tripartite partners on these issues and will update in due course.
Mr Pritam Singh suggested that Singapore legislate retrenchment benefit, with larger companies paying a higher amount. I have said before when we pushed for the Workplace Fairness Act that legislation is not a panacea. We adopt a balanced approach. We protect our workers but at the same time we need to give businesses some flexibility to adjust in different situations because retrenchments occur for a whole variety of reasons. And company size is also not an indicator of a company's ability to afford retrenchment benefit.
For example, if you mandate retrenchment benefit in larger companies facing financial difficulties, I think we may inadvertently put even more jobs at risk. So it balance, we are reviewing it, and I think Senior Minister of State Koh will provide further updates on the Employment Act review.
Next, on promoting safer and healthier workplaces. Every worker deserves to return home safe and healthy. Workplace safety and health (WSH) is a shared responsibility that involves all of us – employers, workers and Government. Minister of State Dinesh will update on moves to strengthen and improve WSH ownership.
Finally, migrant workers play an essential role in our economy, contributing to our development by building our infrastructure. Minister of State Dinesh will also update on our continuing efforts to ensure our migrant workers' well-being. Mr Chairman, I will now speak in Mandarin, please.
( In Mandarin ) : [ Please refer to Vernacular Speech .] Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly changing the way we work and, this year, Singapore will also become a super-aged society. Some Singaporeans may feel anxious about the future. This is understandable. As the economy transforms, the Government will ensure that our nation's growth remains inclusive and that it creates good, meaningful jobs for Singaporeans.
One of the important steps we are taking is to harness the potential of AI to create long-term, quality employment opportunities for Singaporeans. AI is a tool. It is not a competitor, and it is definitely not the exclusive domain of young people. As long as we are willing to try and we dare to use it, we can all benefit from it and improve the way we work. Therefore, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) will make AI tools universally accessible, making it easier for Singaporeans to access AI.
Singaporeans who enrol in designated or selected courses will receive six months of free subscription, to help everyone develop confidence in the use of AI tools.
MOM will ensure that Singaporeans have the support they need at every stage of their career. We will also help graduates from Institutes of Higher Learning establish a solid foundation for their careers.
At the same time, we will also provide more flexible work arrangements for older workers who wish to continue working and strengthen their retirement security. As the ancient saying goes, “Even in the twilight years, a hero's ambition does not fade.” With age comes experience, not retreat. The experience and wisdom of our senior workers are the strongest assets in our workplace.
Please be assured that regardless of the stage of career you are currently in, we will walk alongside with you. This is MOM’s promise to you. We will help you to continuously keep pace with the rapidly changing job market and stride towards the future with confidence.
As the poet Li Bai has written, “There will come a time to ride the wind and break the waves, let us set our sails straight and cross the vast sea.” As long as we remain confident and move forward hand in hand, we will surely forge ahead despite the difficulties and create a better tomorrow.
( In English ): So, to conclude, Mr Chairman, the road ahead will be neither certain nor easy. But we have proven over the last 60 years that we can overcome any challenge as long as we are prepared to tackle them collectively together – we did it before and we will do it again.
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Our strong labour market and wage outcomes, they are the result of deliberate choices for us as a society, as a country and as a people to invest in our workers' skills and development, support business transformation, uphold fairness and trust in our workplaces. And we will continue to ride and build on this momentum.
We have all got to play our part. Workers will have to take ownership of their career health, businesses will have to continue to transform, and the Government will continue to walk alongside all of you.
Tripartism will remain the corner stone of our strength. And it is through trust and partnership, through our tripartite way, that we have weathered past challenges. We will collectively shape a future of work where every one of us can contribute with confidence, grow with purpose and we can look ahead with confidence and assurance, come what may. [ Applause. ]
The Chairman : Senior Minister of State Dr Koh Poh Koon.
The Senior Minister of State for Manpower (Dr Koh Poh Koon) : Mr Chairman, our workforce has always been the backbone of Singapore's progress. As Singaporeans live longer and healthier lives, we now have the chance to extend that progress into longer, more rewarding careers. In the past, a career often progresses in a linear fashion, with people starting in one job after graduation and working their way up through the same company. But today, faster business and technology cycles and changing business models mean that most people will go through multiple jobs and roles over their working lives.
Workers now have different work-life balance expectations and different hierarchy of needs at different stages of life. This shift has implications for everyone. For workers, this means that careers are no longer about climbing a corporate ladder, but rather about navigating a dynamic, multi-stage journey – moving up, across domains or even intentionally downshifting to balance life's priorities, such as caregiving. This also means taking greater ownership of their careers and skills and desiring more flexibility in work arrangements.
For employers, this shift means more than just adapting job roles, it means rethinking how jobs are designed to tap on both the vitality of youth and the wisdom that comes with seniority and experience, how talent is managed and developed at every stage and how transitions are supported across a workforce that is increasingly diverse in age. Employers need to be proactive in creating workplaces that are inclusive, flexible and capable of supporting workers at all life stages.
And for the Government, this shift requires a fundamental change in how we support the workforce. We must move beyond supporting training and job-seeking to supporting career longevity, giving workers insights about their human capital and empowering them to take action, across career transitions, across life stages and across different forms of work.
This is why MOM is focusing our efforts in three key areas: empowering seniors to thrive in longer careers, by supporting meaningful participation, career transitions and flexibility in later stages of work; building thriving workplaces that support longer working lives, through stronger HR systems and better management of age-diverse workforces; and thirdly, adapting employment protections for a changing workforce, so that our laws and safeguards remain relevant as work arrangement and career pathways evolve.
Let me first outline how MOM is responding to this shift through our senior employment strategy, before turning to how we are strengthening HR capabilities and employment protections more broadly.
Singaporeans live longer and healthier lives. Our workforce is also maturing. Today's seniors are better educated and more skilled than the generations before them. Future seniors will be even more so, reflecting the high cohort participation in our universities in our population. Seniors therefore offer a growing wealth of human capital and many of them want to contribute meaningfully to our economy.
Supporting seniors today is no longer just about extending working years. It requires planning ahead to enable sustainable careers across later stages of life. We are strengthening support across mid-career and later-career transitions through the Tripartite Workgroup on Senior Employment.
More than 10 years ago, tripartite partners started removing barriers for seniors who wanted to keep working. A major step was to progressively raise the retirement and re-employment ages. These moves have helped more seniors stay employed. These changes matter because they do more than set legal limits. They shape social norms around ageing and work, giving seniors confidence to stay on and giving employers the clarity to plan for and retain experienced workers. Indeed, more than nine in 10 employees who are eligible and wish to continue working are successfully offered re-employment.
This year, we take the next step. We will raise the retirement and re-employment ages to 64 and 69 respectively, keeping us on track towards 65 and 70 by 2030.
I want to assure Mr Sanjeev Kumar Tiwari that these changes have made a difference. Over the past five years, labour force participation among residents in their 60s has edged up, from around 58% to nearly 60%. Among those in their 50s, it rose from 79% to 82%. Internationally, this puts Singapore among the leaders – for workers in their 60s, we rank fifth compared to OECD countries for labour force participation. But for workers in their 50s, we rank only 23rd.
We agree with Ms Jessica Tan's call on the need to strengthen career support for mature and senior PMEs. We need to do more work upstream, to support workers who may be leaving the workforce earlier than they need to or earlier than they would like to.
This is why MOM, together with NTUC and the SNEF, convened the Tripartite Workgroup on Senior Employment in July last year. The Tripartite Workgroup on Senior Employment reflects a shared responsibility, by workers, employers and the Government, to respond to longer, more varied careers for our seniors, including PMEs.
With longer careers ahead, support cannot wait until workers are near retirement. If the drop-off in labour force participation starts from 50, as I said earlier, then the interventions must begin at 40. From our engagements, both employers and seniors told us that earlier training and career guidance are essential to keep skills fresh, open new pathways and ensure every stage of a longer working life remains meaningful and productive.
The Tripartite Workgroup on Senior Employment is therefore studying recommendations across the senior's career journey, including during mid-career transitions and later-career stages, where timely interventions can make the greatest difference.
Just as good physical health supports longer and better physical lives, good career health supports longer working lives. And like physical health, career health benefits from early, regular check-ins and career planning, not only when problems arise. This is especially important for many who are mid-career in their 40s and 50s, adapting to new roles, technologies or sectors, while balancing work and family commitments and responsibilities. These pivotal years determine how long and how well they can continue working.
Yet working adults often face this journey alone. Unlike the structured education and career guidance that one might find in schools, working adults receive less structured support to help them make sense of options at this stage. This is why, as the Minister highlighted earlier, we are strengthening and broadening Career Health SG by working with and developing the Career and Employment Services sector. We will grow the sector so that there is a variety of good quality services to cater to different segments of seniors, to help them plan ahead, navigate transitions and build sustainable careers over a longer working life.
At the individual level, WSG and its partners have piloted targeted career guidance programmes for individuals in their 50s and 60s planning their later-stage careers. They include workshops, such as the Republic Polytechnic's Designing Your Life – The Next Chapter, and Singapore University of Technology and Design's What's Next: Reimagining Your Career Using Design·AI, which were introduced in April and October 2025 respectively. These programmes have since supported about 1,000 participants, with about four in five already embarking on their career plans within six months of completing the workshop.
With the right guidance, later-stage career transitions can open new doors. Participants, like 61-year-old Mr Eddie Sng and 55-year-old Ms Mabel Lee, show how this works in practice. After attending WSG-supported career guidance workshops, both began to see career transitions as growth opportunities rather than professional endings.
So, Eddie, a former logistics managing director, is now pursuing logistics advisory work while creating digital content. Mabel, a former photographer and marketing professional, has secured a part-time marketing manager role while building her photography teaching practice. Their journeys show how strategic career guidance enables older workers to rethink their options, make confident transitions and continue contributing meaningfully.
Building on these early successes, WSG will work with partners to scale up the provision of career guidance for later-stage careers and integrate these programmes into its regular career guidance offerings.
But career guidance by a third-party is not enough. Employers too have to play a role. Many seniors who are already in employment need clarity on how long they can stay in a role, whether their job will evolve and how they might work differently. These are insights that only their employers can provide. Employers must therefore have deliberate conversations with their workers to plan for job redesign, identify skills needed to seize future job opportunities and adjust work arrangements over time as part of regular workforce planning.
This Structured Career Planning (SCP) should not just be a structured conversation, but should be also structured as part of routine HR processes within the company. Under the Part-Time Re-employment Grant, employers are required to send management and HR representatives to SCP workshops, to gain knowledge and skillsets to conduct SCP. Based on a survey by SNEF, about 80% of these employers subsequently conducted SCP conversations with their employees, who found the sessions useful in helping them to understand options and navigate the next bound of their careers.
What we have learnt is that SCP works best when it starts earlier, not only when one has reached the age for re-employment. Strengthening career planning earlier helps seniors stay confident and employable, while giving employers clearer sight of how to develop and deploy their workforce over longer careers.
Yet today, fewer than 30% of workers aged 50 and above actively plan for their careers and only 38% of employers conduct structured career conversations. Mr Sanjeev Kumar Tiwari rightly asked how we can intervene at the mid-career stage to boost continued employability before workers reach their late 50s.
So, building on the positive experience with SCP, we will therefore give a stronger push for employers to adopt regular SCP conversations earlier in their employees' careers and explore how SCP can be more systematically embedded into HR training and certification requirements. This will enable employers and workers to proactively redesign jobs, adjust work arrangements and build resilience over longer careers.
As workers move into later stages of their careers, some may wish to continue full-time work, others prefer reduced hours or more focused roles, while some require adjustments over time as their priorities, their health status or physical abilities change. Whether seniors can continue contributing depends largely on how workplaces adapt. Employers play a critical role here.
To support employers who hire and retain senior workers, we will extend the Senior Employment Credit to December 2027, as announced by the Prime Minister at Budget. Mr Sanjeev Kumar Tiwari and Mr Shawn Loh have asked for longer extensions to the Senior Employment Credit, and whether the scheme will be studied beyond 2027.
Under the Tripartite Workgroup on Senior Employment, we are reviewing support measures for employers more holistically, including reviewing the Senior Employment Credit and whether longer-term measures may be appropriate. We have also extended the Part-Time Re-employment Grant to December 2027, to support employers in offering suitable part-time and flexible work options that attract and retain senior workers. Beyond these measures, we also need to rethink traditional job designs.
What does age-friendly work look like in practice? There is no one-size-fits-all model that will work for every company and it will likely be different across industries and job roles. Through the Alliance for Action on Empowering Multi-Stage Careers for Mature Workers (AfA-EMW), we are working with organisations including intermediaries to test practical models, which can give employers greater confidence to act.
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For example, under the AfA-EMW, the pilot by QED Changemakers gives us a glimpse of how we can unlock senior expertise in new ways. By connecting experienced senior professionals with companies that need their expertise on a project basis, senior professionals can continue contributing meaningfully, sharing decades of experience, staying active and earning an income, while companies, especially SMEs, get access to seasoned leadership when they need it.
Another example explores how simple job redesign can keep experienced bus captains on the road, safely and sustainably. Tower Transit is piloting new work arrangements that allow senior bus captains to continue working safely and confidently. With more balanced shifts, job rotation and lighter duties, seniors can keep contributing, while the company retains experience, maintains service reliability, and supports the next generation of bus captains.
These prototypes are being developed and will feed into the Tripartite Workgroup on Senior Employment's recommendations, translating good ideas into scalable practices.
As seniors remain economically active for longer, work must also remain safe and sustainable. To support the development of industry-led solutions to address common workplace safety and health risks, including those faced by seniors, MOM will be launching an Alliance for Action on Safety and Health for Employment Longevity (AfA-SHEL). Minister of State Dinesh Vasu Dash will share more detail about this.
These efforts reflect a holistic approach to senior employment, to help seniors continue to contribute meaningfully, in ways that work for them, for their employers and for our economy.
Across both mid- and later-career stages, navigating transitions remains a key challenge. Workers need clearer pathways to plan their next steps, while employers need guidance on age-friendly workforce design. Today, even though seniors can tap on many schemes for training, job search or hiring support, navigating these different sources of support can still be challenging. So, to address this, the Tripartite Workgroup on Senior Employment is studying a more integrated approach to support career longevity and whether to deliver this through a dedicated centre for career longevity, which brings service providers together to raise awareness, collaborate, as well as develop and scale solutions for longer, multi-stage careers.
What does this centre mean? For individuals, this would help them better navigate and access the relevant career, skills and employment support in accordance with their needs, including allowing them to plan earlier for their later-stage career transitions. For employers, they would be able to access practical resources and the network of partners to support them in designing age-friendly workplaces and strengthen multi-generational teams. For partners, this would be a platform for them to test and scale new initiatives, new innovative practices, including those emerging from AfA-EMW.
This centre could be co-located with existing career centres, so individuals who need job search assistance can receive more holistic support across the various aspects of career planning, skills and employment, rather than navigating these services separately. In this way, we shift the focus from managing exits to enabling longer, meaningful participation at work. Ms Mariam Jaafar asked when the Tripartite Workgroup on Senior Employment will share its recommendations. The Tripartite Workgroup on Senior Employment will release its report in the second half of 2026, with further details on its proposed measures. Mr Chairman, allow me to say a few words in Mandarin.
( In Mandarin ) : [ Please refer to Vernacular Speech .] The Tripartite Workgroup on Senior Employment was established last year. After communicating and exchanging views with various parties, the Workgroup concluded that as Singaporeans' careers extend, we must assist employees with career planning earlier, support employers in redesigning job roles and ensure that relevant systems and incentive measures are practical and feasible.
For employees, this means receiving support for career guidance and skills training earlier, enabling smooth transitions while they still have options.
For employers, this means receiving clearer support to retain experienced employees, redesign job roles and provide flexible work arrangements that are more suitable for older workers.
For the Government, this means strengthening the overall career and employment ecosystem, ensuring the viability and sustainability of longer careers through career guidance, skills training and employment incentives.
The Workgroup is currently studying recommendations for the various stages of older workers' career journeys, including needs from mid-career transitions to later-career adjustments, and will announce the relevant outcomes in the second half of 2026.
( In English ): Our senior employment efforts reflect a broader shift in how we support working lives: longer careers, less linear progressions and more frequent transitions. But this is not a challenge unique to seniors. Across the workforce, workers are navigating more frequent changes as our economy restructures and technology reshapes jobs. This calls for stronger systems that help all workers and employers manage transitions more deliberately and responsibly.
Employers and especially their HR teams are critical enablers. HR sits at the intersection of skills and career development, job redesign and employment practices. How well firms manage careers directly affects whether workers can stay relevant, productive and engaged over longer careers.
This is why MOM convened the Tripartite Workgroup on Human Capital Capability Development in February 2025 to strengthen workforce development capabilities across organisations.
We are establishing clearer benchmarks of what "good" looks like. MOM launched the Singapore Opportunity Index last October and unveiled the top 300 organisations earlier this year. The Singapore Opportunity Index gives employers and workers a data-driven yardstick to see how the best workplaces shape outcomes like pay, progression and retention, enabling employers to make sharper talent decisions. Beyond recognising top performers, we are progressively releasing detailed reports and advisory support to help all 1,500 organisations covered by the Singapore Opportunity Index improve.
To turn these insights into real gains for workers and businesses, the workgroup will also make recommendations to uplift the HR profession in key areas.
First, we are strengthening HR leadership capability. SNEF is leading a multi‑agency effort to pilot a National HR Leadership Programme, together with NTUC and our local HR institutes. The programme aims to strengthen Singapore's local HR leaders through international exposure, experiential learning, mentoring and networking.
Second, we are preparing HR for AI-driven change. As AI accelerates transformation across sectors, stronger and more systematic HR capability becomes even more critical. AI can automate repetitive tasks like scheduling interviews and handling routine queries. It can also surface workforce trends more quickly, helping HR to spot skill gaps earlier and design better development and deployment strategies.
But let us be clear here: AI is not here to replace the human in HR. AI can take care of the processes, but only humans can take care of people. This shift towards human-AI collaboration presents opportunities for HR to be more strategic, more developmental and more human-centered.
Ms Jessica Tan asked how we are equipping HR to be more AI-driven. MOM is working with the Ministry of Digital Development and Information and the Infocomm Media Development Authority under the National AI Impact Programme to develop AI fluency amongst HR professionals. In parallel, NTUC is developing a framework to help companies with limited AI experience, especially smaller SMEs navigate the complexity of AI adoption for HR by consolidating existing resources for AI readiness assessment, training, applicable grants and widely adopted AI tools for HR.
Looking ahead, MOM, WSG and IHRP will refresh the HR Jobs Transformation Map this year to provide clear guidance on two fronts. One, how AI will transform HR jobs and two, how its impact on the wider workforce will change the demands on HR. The the Tripartite Workgroup on Human Capital Capability Development will also consider Ms Tan's suggestions as part of its broader review.
Third, we must expand professional HR practice to more organisations. As our workforce becomes more diverse and employment issues more complex, organisations need HR that meet high standards, possess future-ready competencies and are committed to continuous professional development.
This need was recognised back in 2020 when the NTUC-SNEF PME Taskforce recommended mandating HR certification for larger firms. However, such a significant change could not happen overnight. This is why we have spent the last five years laying the groundwork to strengthen the value of HR certification. I am happy to say that these efforts have yielded good progress.
Today, the certified community exceeds 10,000 professionals. Around 45% of larger firms with more than 200 employees have a certified HR, covering nearly half of Singapore's workforce. The impact has been promising. A recent study by MOM economists showed that the IHRP certification delivered measurable improvements in both wage outcomes and employment prospects of certified professionals. This ultimately translates into benefits for both firms and workers, as evidenced by the greater range of career development initiatives – such as workforce planning and career guidance – implemented in organisations with certified HR professionals compared to those without.
With this critical mass established, we are now ready to take the next step. We need a broader coverage of certified HR professionals who can embed best practices like structured career planning, which I mentioned earlier, to strengthen employee engagement and in turn business productivity. We just cannot afford to leave this to chance.
Mr Patrick Tay asked if the Government will consider mandating IHRP certification. Building on the PME Taskforce's recommendation, the the Tripartite Workgroup on Human Capital Capability Development is studying a proposal to require larger organisations with more than 200 employees to have a suitable HR personnel certified. The workgroup is now studying how this can be done in a way that is practical for businesses and will put out its detailed recommendations later this year.
For firms who may not have dedicated HR, MOM is working with partners to uplift the wider career and employment services ecosystem. As mentioned by Minister, through the Alliance for Action on Advancing Career and Employment Services (AfA ACES), we are working with private career and employment service providers to pilot new initiatives and services to support workers of diverse profiles in their career journey.
These efforts – from uplifting HR capabilities to partnering ecosystem players – are part of a longer-term vision under the Economic Strategy Review's Committee on Human Capital, which I co-chair, to build a future-ready jobs and skills ecosystem where employers invest in people, HR is a strategic partner and workers can move more confidently across roles and sectors over a longer working life.
As the economy evolves, more workers may face job displacement, not because they lack ability, but because of business restructuring or failure or economic cycles. Even with stronger HR capabilities and better career support systems, job transitions may still be difficult, especially when the change happens abruptly.
To help workers through such transitions, we introduced the SkillsFuture Jobseeker Support scheme in April last year. This scheme provides temporary financial relief to involuntarily unemployed individuals, helping them transition into suitable new roles rather than rushing into poor job matches.
As at end-October 2025, more than 3,500 individuals have received support from the scheme. Among these individuals, we estimate that more than 1,600 have since found new job roles. Mr Ng Chee Meng and Mr Patrick Tay asked whether we would consider increasing the current qualifying income cap. As the scheme has only been rolled out last year, we will conduct a review when we have more experience, including on key parameters such as the qualifying income, to ensure the scheme remains well-targeted and sustainable.
Building on this, the ESR's Committee on Managing the Impact of Restructuring is studying how we can support workers more proactively and how we can extend meaningful support to more groups, including PMEs. For instance, as Minister said, this could include requiring earlier notice of retrenchment from employers, leveraging networks of trade associations and chambers to provide more targeted job matching in sectors with more PME job openings and expanding the scope of support under Career Conversion Programmes to help more workers with the transition into growth jobs.
These efforts reflect a shift from reacting to job loss, to actively supporting career transitions, guided by strong tripartite partnerships and closer alignment between skills, jobs and industry needs.
Beyond transition support, our employment laws are important to ensure our workers are adequately protected. Many Singaporeans may not realise that the Employment Act profoundly shapes our everyday working lives. It sets out the basic terms and conditions of employment, such as timely salary payments, overtime pay and sick leave. As the Employment Act covers almost all employees in Singapore, we must always strike a careful balance between protecting employees and giving space for employers to thrive.
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But the nature of work has changed. Our workforce profile is different, work arrangements are more varied and businesses are operating in a more competitive environment. That is why the tripartite partners convened the Tripartite Workgroup on the Employment Act Review in August last year, to review key parts of the Act in a balanced way, protecting workers who need it most while supporting business flexibility.
Mr Pritam Singh and Mr Patrick Tay have asked for an update on the main areas of review for the Employment Act. Mr Pritam Singh also asked if the review can include a public consultation in parallel with tripartite negotiations. In conducting this review, the Tripartite Workgroup has collectively engaged more than 2,000 stakeholders, including PMEs, lower-income employees, employers, HR practitioners and other experts to understand diverse needs across the workforce. What we heard from workers and employers was clear: different groups need different forms of protection and flexibility.
For lower-wage employees, time-based protections still matter and overtime pay remains an important part of their income. As wages rise and the workforce profile evolves, we will review Part 4 of the Employment Act to ensure these protections remain well-targeted at workers who need them most.
For employers, greater flexibility is needed to manage costs, redesign jobs and stay competitive. Done right, this can also benefit workers, by allowing employers and employees to negotiate mutually beneficial arrangements that meet individual needs.
Mr Patrick Tay has asked about the Ministry’s plans to issue guidelines on the inclusion of restraint of trade clauses in employment contracts. We are discussing with tripartite partners on how and when restrictive clauses in employment contracts can and should be used, and the guidelines will be based on established principles that the Courts have articulated. Employees who believe that they are affected by unreasonable or unjustified clauses can seek assistance from their unions, TAFEP or MOM. We will update further, in due course.
Finally, many stakeholders pointed out that the Act has become harder to navigate over time. We will study how to streamline and clarify key provisions, so that they are easier to understand and comply with.
The Tripartite Workgroup on the Employment Act Review will publish its report in the second half of this year. Through this Tripartite Workgroup, we are strengthening protections where they matter most, while keeping our labour framework practical and responsive as careers lengthen and workplaces evolve.
Taken together, these efforts reflect a simple principle: as work changes, our protections must evolve alongside it. Whether it is supporting workers through restructuring or updating the Employment Act, our aim is the same – to ensure workers and employers can adapt with confidence to the future of work.
Sir, longer lives are reshaping how we work, how we build careers, and how our economy grows. What matters now is whether our workers, employers and systems are ready to adapt to these changes with confidence.
That is why much of our work this year has focused on building practical partnerships – through tripartite workgroups, alliances for action and the Economic Strategy Review – to listen carefully, to test what works on the ground, and turn ideas into outcomes that matter for both workers and employers and ultimately, for Singapore.
Career longevity is not simply about staying employed for longer. It is about enabling Singaporeans to remain productive, adaptable and engaged across different stages of their lives and enabling employers to continue drawing on the full range of experience, skills and capabilities in a tight labour force.
This effort cannot be carried by any single party alone. Workers must stay adaptable, taking ownership of their skills and plan ahead for transitions over longer careers. Employers must continue to invest in their people, redesigning jobs, developing skills and creating workplaces where workers of all ages can contribute meaningfully. Government will continue to walk alongside both, strengthening career and employment systems, uplifting HR capabilities, supporting transitions and keeping our employment protections fit for a changing workforce.
This is how we turn longer working lives into a strength for Singapore, strengthening productivity, resilience and inclusion at the same time. And our commitment to Singaporeans is this: as work changes, we will keep listening, keep assisting, and keep adapting, so that workers have the confidence to move forward and businesses have the support to grow through change.
The Chairman : Minister of State Mr Dinesh Vasu Dash.
The Minister of State for Manpower (Mr Dinesh Vasu Dash) : Minister Tan See Leng has set out MOM’s bold agenda to equip our businesses to seize emerging opportunities and chart a course for growth. As we build the economy of tomorrow, our commitment is that each and every worker will be supported and that no worker will be left behind.
This is the spirit of a “we first” Singapore, where everyone has their place and can participate with dignity. Most importantly, all contributions, particularly those from our vulnerable workers, will have to be recognised and uplifted.
In my speech today, I will elaborate on three areas: first, our tripartite efforts to uplift lower-wage workers and how we will progress this work in the next-bound; second, our drive to strengthen workplace safety and health, such that our workers continue to return home safely to their loved ones; and third, how we will continue to support our migrant workers.
Let me start with our efforts together with our unions and employers to uplift lower-wage workers. These efforts embody the very heart of our social compact – our promise to walk with our lower-wage workers every step of the way. As you contribute to Singapore’s progress, so too will you share in the rewards and opportunities that accompany that progress.
We have forged over time a distinctly Singaporean approach to supporting our lower-wage workers. First, we drive sustainable wage improvements. We have uplifted wages for lower-wage workers without putting their jobs at risk through the PWM.
PWMs serve as wage ladders across nine sectors and occupations. These are negotiated by tripartite partners with reference to considerations such as productivity and business conditions, ensuring that wage growth does not exceed what the sector or occupation can bear. PWMs also map out clear pathways for training and progression. Wage increments are therefore sustainable for employers, as they come alongside productivity growth.
Lower-wage workers not covered by PWMs may benefit from the LQS. Firms must pay their local workers at least the LQS if they hire foreign workers.
Lower-wage workers receive additional support through the Workfare Income Supplement scheme. This scheme supplements their incomes and helps them save for retirement. Since its inception in 2007, the Workfare Income Supplement has supported over 1.1 million workers with $12.7 billion in payments.
Assoc Prof Jamus Lim called upon the Government to increase the qualifying monthly wage cap for the Workfare Income Supplement. We did so last year, when we raised the qualifying wage cap from $2,500 to $3,000. The 20th income percentile for a full time resident employee is about $2,800 currently. So, the Workfare Income Supplement qualifying monthly wage cap of $3,000 continues to target Singaporean workers with earnings in the bottom 20%, with some support to those who are slightly above. At the same time, we will also increase Workfare Income Supplement payments to up to $4,900 per year. [ Please refer to " Clarification by Minister of State for Manpower ", Official Report, 3 March 2026, Vol 96, Issue 23, Correction By Written Statement section. ]
We have and will continue to review the Workfare Income Supplement regularly to ensure it remains effective in supporting our lower-wage workers, complementing the PWM and LQS.
Secondly, we provide various forms of support for businesses to transform. Mr Melvin Yong highlighted business transformation is crucial as it enables sustainable wage growth through productivity improvement. It also unlocks opportunities for lower-wage workers to take up higher value-added job roles. Recognising that this is a process that takes time and to cushion the impact on business costs, the Government introduced the PWCS at Budget 2022.
Third, we enable progression of our lower-wage workers through support for training and upskilling. Schemes such as the Workfare Skills Support (WSS) reduce the opportunity cost of training for lower-wage workers. This opens doors for workers to move up in their careers, including progressing up PWM job ladders.
Our approach had delivered tangible outcomes for lower-wage workers. Today, 150,000 lower-wage workers benefit from wage and career progression pathways through the PWM, more than five times the number it was in 2020. The LQS requirement was also broadened in 2022, such that firms hiring foreign manpower are required to pay LQS to all their local workers. This ensures that no Singaporean worker is left behind. Another 104,000 lower-wage workers not covered by PWMs are therefore supported by the LQS. This has made a significant difference for the incomes of lower-wage workers. From 2021 to 2025, the real income at the 20th percentile rose cumulatively by 10.1%, outpacing the 7.4% increase at the median.
Workers in PWM sectors have and will continue to see significant improvement in their wages as our economy grows. As an illustration, the baseline wage requirement for entry-level office and commercial cleaners has increased by about 50% cumulatively since 2021. By 2028, it will be $2,420, which is almost twice the requirement in 2021, which was then $1,274. Likewise, compared to 2021, entry-level outsourced security officers can also expect to earn a higher monthly gross wage by about 40% more in 2026, and 60% in 2028.
This is progress that we can be proud of – progress that reflects the collective resolve of unions, employers and the Government working in unison to improve the livelihoods of our lower-wage workers.
But we are committed to going even further. We will build on our efforts across each of these areas, to further uplift and upskill our lower-wage workers and broaden the range of good jobs as recommended by the Economic Strategy Review Committee.
First and foremost, we must sustain our momentum in uplifting wages. In 2025, tripartite partners announced updated wage schedules for Retail, In-house Security, Administrators and Drivers. The remaining PWM sectors will negotiate their next-bound of wage schedules increases later this year.
As announced by the Prime Minister at Budget, the Government will also raise the LQS so that our lower-wage workers continue to see wage improvement. We will raise the LQS threshold from $1,600 to $1,800 for full-time local employees. This will be implemented from 1 July 2026. Raising the LQS to keep pace with wage growth ensures that locals are employed meaningfully, rather than in token jobs just so that firms can hire foreign workers.
Second, we will spur business transformation to raise productivity and create better jobs, including for our lower-wage workers. Mr Melvin Yong would be pleased to note that MOM will be introducing various initiatives in support of this.
The Minister spoke about these initiatives earlier. For example, the SkillsFuture Workforce Development Grant (Job Redesign+) will be rolled out in March this year to provide enhanced funding support for job redesign and workforce transformation as part of the Enterprise Workforce Transformation Package . We will also launch the redesigned SkillsFuture Enterprise Credit this year, to provide additional support for workforce development.
Businesses have also shared their concerns around near-term economic uncertainties and manpower costs. We hear these concerns. Businesses will not be left alone to deal with cost pressures as they seek to do their part for our lower-wage workers.
You have heard from the Prime Minister at Budget that we will extend PWCS to 2028. This builds on four earlier enhancements to PWCS, most recently in 2025. Since the scheme was introduced in 2022, PWCS has supported wage improvement for lower-wage workers, even as firms undertake the longer journey of transformation. For wage increases given between 2022 and 2024, the Government provided about $3.6 billion of PWCS funding to over 110,000 employers. These wage increases have been meaningful – the median monthly increase supported by PWCS was about $250, across more than 710,000 workers.
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Mr Pritam Singh asked about the outcomes of the PWCS, including how it had been tied to business transformation, sector productivity and worker upskilling.
Uplifting wage outcomes for lower-wage workers and narrowing the wage gap with the median is, in itself, a key objective of this Government. I have shared earlier of how we have performed well on these measures and these are measures in real income terms.
But ultimately, productivity needs to rise for wages to be sustained. Raising productivity is, therefore, a key focus of the PWM as it links wage growth to skills development, career progression and job redesign. This is complemented by our enterprise grants that enable business transformation and job redesign, and support for upskilling, such as the Workfare Skills Support scheme.
PWCS provides transitional co-funding for wage increases given to lower-wage workers, allowing businesses the space to restructure business processes and reap productivity improvements
There are many good examples of forward-looking companies which have moved to innovate and evolve in this area. Let me just take an example of ISS Facility Services Singapore.
ISS has benefited from the PWCS support in providing its lower-wage workers wage increases, as well as productivity improvements, through the various technology-enabled solutions. For example, ISS' cleaning services now deploy a fleet of more than 130 cleaning autonomous robots, which have led to considerable gains in productivity.
ISS' investments in technology and automation have also unlocked opportunities for its workers to progress to more value-added roles. For example, Mr Arthur Lim, a healthcare cleaner under the PWM, has been able to take on more complex duties with greater technical requirements.
Mr Lim tapped on upskilling opportunities, including those supported by the WSS scheme. He is now proficient in operating specialised equipment, such as the ultraviolet disinfection machines and also manages enhanced healthcare cleaning protocols and contributes to infection control workflows. Mr Lim shares that learning these new skills has given him a renewed sense of purpose and contribution to his workplace.
Likewise, there are F&B firms that are adapting to enhance their capabilities and boost their business performance, as stated in the Singapore Productivity Centre's recent Food Services Productivity Report. For example, Sushi Express leverages sushi robots and these have reduced the time taken to mould a piece of sushi to below 15 seconds, while improving production consistency. With this PWCS' extension, we will continue to support businesses in doing so.
In deciding on the enhancements, we took into account the current uncertainty in the economic and geopolitical landscape, business conditions as well as consultations with our tripartite partners among other factors.
The Government will co-fund up to 30% of wage increases given to eligible lower-wage workers in 2026. And this actually higher than the 20% which was originally announced. Co-funding support will be provided in 2027 and 2028 at 30% and 20% respectively.
The extended PWCS support in 2027 and 2028 will also have a higher minimum qualifying threshold for wage increases of $200, from $100. This better encourages and rewards businesses that invest in transformation and workforce development in line with PWCS' objectives.
We urge employers to take advantage of the Government's various forms of support, including the initiatives to be rolled out as part of the Enterprise Workforce Transformation Package, such as the SkillsFuture WDG(JR+) and the SkillsFuture Enterprise Credit. Employers can leverage these to further their respective transformation journeys and support their lower-wage workers in skills upgrading to perform higher value jobs.
This brings me to our third area of focus – our support for lower-wage workers in upskilling.
As Ms Yeo Wan Ling observed, this will allow our workers to move alongside instead of being displaced by business transformation, so they can take on new roles and advance in their careers.
Minister Tan has outlined how Career Health SG empowers individuals to take charge of their careers and how we are evolving our SkillsFuture movement to refresh our jobs and skills ecosystem. These are moves that will support all workers in their career planning and upskilling journey.
However, lower-wage workers may face unique constraints in stepping away from their work to pursue training. This therefore becomes a catch 22 situation as taking time off to upskill may mean forgoing income that they may need for immediate expenses. Lower-wage workers can be assured that the Government understands these challenges. They will not have to choose between earning an income today and equipping themselves with skills for tomorrow.
Those who pursue long-form courses can now benefit from the new Workfare Skills Support (WSS) (Level-Up) scheme.
As announced at Budget 2025, trainees undertaking long-form courses will be supported with a training allowance significantly higher than the existing WSS support for short-form courses. These long-form courses include Nitec or Higher Nitec qualifications, diplomas, post-diplomas or undergraduate degrees.
I am pleased to share that we will broaden the list of courses supported by WSS (Level-Up), to include long-form Workforce Skills Qualification (WSQ) full qualifications and that these courses will be similarly eligible for the training allowance under the SkillsFuture Level-Up Programme. The changes will take effect from fourth quarter this year.
WSS (Level-Up) will support lower-wage workers in pursuing these more substantive forms of upskilling and reskilling, without needing to worry about making ends meet.
To give just a few examples, retail workers can benefit from higher training allowances to undertake a Nitec qualification in Retail Services or a Diploma in Retail (Operations).
At the same time, we will also enhance the WSS (Basic) scheme to support workers undertaking shorter training. This will help workers meet their PWM training requirements or take up WSQ courses. We will increase the training allowance for self-sponsored trainees from $6 per hour to $10.50 per hour effective as at 1 July 2026. With the increase in the hourly training allowance, workers can now actively consider training without having a significant reduction in pay.
We will also streamline the scheme to reduce complexity. Only trainees who attain full qualifications will receive the Training Commitment Award of $800 per year. Full qualifications are sets of related courses that result in a formal qualification, such as the WSQ Qualifications or Academic Continuing Education and Training Qualifications. These have been found to lead to better outcomes for trainees, compared to modules that do not lead to any formal qualifications.
Mr Melvin Yong suggested developing better AI-relevant skills pathways. He would be glad to know that the courses supported by WSS include industry-relevant AI skills courses that are suitable for lower-wage workers, so that they will not be left behind amidst this AI transformation that we are currently undergoing.
Our work is not complete. Employers must press on with wage increases for lower-wage workers and go the extra mile in redesigning jobs and business processes. Workers should embrace opportunities for upskilling and chart new paths to build their careers. And Government will partner employers and workers through co-sharing the near-term costs of transformation and ensuring that training and skills upgrading remain accessible.
Consumers too, have a role to play. Consumers can make their choices count by supporting businesses which pay Progressive Wages to lower-wage workers. They can look out for and support businesses that may have attained the Progressive Wage Mark.
Our promise to lower-wage workers is this. We are united with you, and we are here to support you in every way that we can. You can count on us for our support, and we will be here for the years to come as well.
Let me now move to my second segment which is on ensuring safety in our workplaces.
Through the collective efforts and commitment of all stakeholders, our WSH performance has continued to improve. I am heartened by the steady progress towards our WSH 2028 goal of sustaining the fatal injury rate at below 1.0. Singapore's workplace fatal injury rate for 2025 was 0.96% per 100,000 workers. This is the lowest on record other than when COVID-19 disrupted work.
That said, we must not rest on our laurels. Every workplace death is a tragedy, and we must continue to stay vigilant in uplifting our WSH standards and to build a strong and sustainable WSH culture.
There are many companies who have heeded this call, and I will cite one example.
Teambuild (ICPH) Pte Ltd, an SME in the manufacturing sector. Teambuild has invested in technology to redesign work processes and create safer workplaces for their workers. By introducing the rebar mesh welding methods and machines, they have automated stackers for completed prefabricated, pre-finished volumetric construction units. Teambuild has reduced the need for manual handling of these very heavy materials. This has, in turn, brought down the musculoskeletal injuries amongst their workers and increased productivity at the same point, where they were able to improve productivity costs of about $180,000 per year. Hence, a double benefit. Teambuild's efforts show that when companies prioritise their workers' safety and health, they also build a more productive and sustainable business over time.
As the nature of work evolves and our workforce changes, new opportunities emerge alongside new challenges for workplace safety and health. The greater use of digital technology and an ageing workforce are two such examples.
Together with NTUC and SNEF, MOM will be launching the Alliance for Action on Safety and Health for Employment Longevity (AfA-SHEL) in the second half of 2026.
Mr Melvin Yong emphasised the need to go beyond traditional high-risk industries and to pay greater attention to common work-related injuries and occupational diseases. He also underscored the importance of moving upstream to make workplaces safer. We agree and we have incorporated part of his suggestions into three focus areas that AfA-SHEL will focus on.
Firstly, injury prevention for the general workforce. Second, the support for those who are returning to work after a period of injury or a health episode. And third, workplace adaptation and job redesign, to make workplaces safer and more sustainable for our increasingly diverse workforce comprising people with various physical and health needs.
We also agree with Mr Yong's calls to treat fatigue as a core safety issue and better leverage technology in the WSH space. These are areas the AfA-SHEL could explore, through prototypes of technological solutions or fatigue management systems customised for specific workplace settings. We welcome the Labour Movement's active participation in the AfA-SHEL.
Mr Melvin Yong has also underlined the importance of the Government's role in driving change through procurement policies. And that is why WSH procurements for the public sector construction and construction-related projects have been raised since April 2024. The enhancements, which include a requirement to adapt and adopt mature WSH technologies when tendering for projects that are above or at $3 million, are aimed at doing exactly that.
On platform workers, Ms Yeo Wan Ling has called on MOM to leverage the Platform Workers Trilateral Group to explore how we can strengthen platform worker safety. We have taken the Member's suggestion into consideration, and more will be announced later this month.
Let me move quickly to my third segment on supporting our migrant workers. They have worked tirelessly to build and to keep our towns and homes running smoothly every day.
Over the years, we have worked closely with employers, dormitory operators and community partners to build a resilient ecosystem supporting migrant workers' well-being, spanning their housing, healthcare and recreation needs.
These efforts have been impactful. In 2024, the Migrant Worker Experience Survey has shown that more than nine in 10 migrant workers shared that they were satisfied with their working and living conditions in Singapore. This was the highest that was seen since the survey was first conducted since 2011.
Migrant worker housing has been our key priority. Migrant workers have built our homes, and it is our responsibility to ensure that they too have a conducive place to rest after a hard day's work. Good rest also ensures that they will continue working well and most importantly, work safely. That is why we have raised dormitory standards and enhanced pandemic preparedness in recent years.
To support existing dormitories in meeting improved standards by 2030, MOM has introduced the Dormitory Transition Scheme Grant to help defray retrofitting costs for about 900 existing dormitories. These improvements include provisions such as ensuite toilets and isolation facilities for better public health resilience. By 2040, all new and existing dormitories will meet the New Dormitory Standards, providing residents with more spacious rooms including in-room wi-fi coverage as well.
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Improving the housing conditions of our migrant workers does not necessarily mean higher costs. Earlier this year, MOM opened its first Government built-and-owned dormitory. The NESST Tukang Dormitory, as it is called, went beyond regulatory standards to incorporate design features shaped by migrant workers' feedback and improving their liveability and pandemic resilience. Notwithstanding these innovations, NESST Tukang is able to offer bed prices at below those of dormitories that meet the new dormitory standards and is expected to be financially sustainable.
I invite dormitory operators to join the Government in reimagining what is possible for migrant worker housing in Singapore. MOM is committed to working with you to testbed innovations and enhancements for the dormitory industry, as we press on with the construction of our second dormitory that will be in Sengkang West.
Equally important are spaces where our migrant workers can spend their rest days, build friendships and connections. To this end, MOM has made significant strides to transform and enrich Recreation Centres, which have seen higher visitor ship over time.
Ms Yeo Wan Ling and Mr Melvin Yong have called on the Ministry to continue enhancing migrant workers' access to key amenities and community spaces. I am pleased to share that building on existing Recreation Centres, we will introduce the Recreation Hub model, and this will expand the scale and range of offerings for our migrant workers. This will start with the redevelopment of the Soon Lee Recreation Centre into the first Recreation Hub. In 2030, migrant workers can look forward to a Soon Lee Recreation Hub that is about two to three times larger with its upgraded facilities and more offerings.
Beyond this model, MOM will also pilot smaller-scale satellite Recreation Centres to bring social and recreational options closer to where migrant workers live. Even as we improve the physical infrastructure of housing and recreation centres, what truly makes our migrant workers feel at home is the assurance that Singaporeans accept them and appreciate their contributions. How we treat our migrant workers in our daily lives says much about who we are as a people and as a society.
I would like to conclude Mr Chairman, that our efforts to support our vulnerable workers are an investment in social cohesion and resilience – they will preserve confidence in our social compact and foster enduring trust.
The Government is firmly committed to this undertaking and will continue to pursue it in close collaboration with our tripartite partners. Together, we will walk alongside every worker as we move forward with confidence.
The Chairman : Senior Parliamentary Secretary Shawn Huang.
The Senior Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Manpower (Mr Shawn Huang Wei Zhong) : Mr Chairman, I will begin by sharing how we are strengthening our workplace fairness framework so that all workers are treated fairly.
I appreciate Ms Diana Pang's suggestion to make inclusive practices manageable for SMEs. TAFEP will step up public outreach and education efforts on the Workplace Fairness Act. TAFEP's resources and guides are kept simplified and bite-sized. Even SMEs with no dedicated HR personnel can easily apply them.
Ms Diana Pang also spoke about strengthening protections against workplace harassment and bullying. No worker should be subjected to such unacceptable practices in the workplace. The Workplace Fairness Act strengthens protections for workers facing harassment by requiring firms to put in place grievance handling processes. Beyond this, we will go upstream to help employers prevent workplace harassment and bullying.
MOM and tripartite partners are reviewing the existing Tripartite Advisory on Managing Workplace Harassment and developing a new Tripartite Standard on this matter. This will enhance the guidance for employers to adopt best practices to prevent and respond to workplace harassment.
Let me now highlight or outline our targeted measures for groups that need more support, starting with women and caregivers, two groups that tend to overlap. Too often, women who take on caregiving responsibilities may feel that they are making a zero-sum choice between caring for their loved ones or pursuing their careers.
As Ms Mariam Jaafar pointed out, caregivers who leave the workforce often find it hard to return. Programmes like Workforce Singapore's Career Conversion Programmes can help them get back into jobs with good prospects. But MOM also wants to ease their dilemma upfront by making work and caregiving sustainable. This is where flexible work arrangements come in.
FWAs are much more than just working from home. They also include flexible load arrangements and flexible working hours. These arrangements give employers and workers more options to organise work in sustainable and productive ways.
Mr Ng Chee Meng and Mr Abdul Malik have highlighted the pressures faced by sandwiched caregivers who care for both children and seniors. Both Members asked for stronger support for this group, through measures like financial support and leave.
On financial support, eligible working caregivers can boost their income and CPF savings through the Workfare Income Supplement and the Earn and Save Bonus under the Majulah Package. Non-working caregivers who have taken extended breaks can also benefit from other measures. For instance, they can boost their CPF savings in their senior years through the Matched Retirement Savings Scheme and the Budget 2026 CPF top-up.
On leave, many employers have voluntarily introduced caregiving-related leave provisions as part of their strategy to attract and retain talent. In 2024, around 6,100 employers offered paid family-care leave. This represents about 36% of private companies with at least 25 employees. However, many working caregivers tell us that FWAs are their preferred means of support.
FWAs offer caregivers the flexibility they need to stay in work. If a family member needs help with daily routines like medication or meals, caregivers need flexibility across the work week, not just a single block of time off. FWAs are thus more sustainable for caregivers to stay in employment. By staying in work, caregivers can secure a reliable foundation for their longer-term financial security.
Mr Abdul Malik has asked for the Government to collect data on caregiver employment. We already do, and our data suggests that FWA provision has risen. More women and caregivers have been able to stay in or return to work.
Based on MOM's surveys, one in two firms offered scheduled FWAs before the pandemic. When the pandemic hit, this changed our working norms and increased the provision of work-from-home and flexi-load FWAs. Now, around seven in 10 firms offer FWAs, even as firms adjust to new post-COVID-19 norms and adjust provision. And this has supported our labour force participation rate.
The share of caregivers who were neither working nor looking for work among residents aged 25 to 64 fell from 28.2% in 2019 to 17.2% in 2025. Similarly, the female labour force participation rate among those aged 25 to 64 has also risen, from 76.1% to 80.5% over the same period.
FWAs do not only benefit workers, they are a competitive advantage for employers. They widen the talent pool, strengthen retention and support productivity.
Dementia Singapore, a leading social service agency, knows this well. It has fully integrated FWAs such as staggered working hours into their workplace culture. For example, all employees can select their preferred working hours, allowing working parents to start and end work earlier to pick up their children. This has led to high levels of staff satisfaction and a low attrition rate.
But conversation about FWAs can be difficult. That is why we launched the Tripartite Guidelines on FWA Requests in 2024. The guidelines replace uncertainty with clarity, guiding structured conversations on requests for FWAs.
Let me illustrate how Dementia Singapore has used those guidelines. A cancer survivor in her late 50s required a reduced workload arrangement, or flexi-load, to manage her health. She submitted a formal FWA request in line with the Tripartite Guidelines. Dementia Singapore then considered it by weighing its operational requirements. Her work responsibilities were reviewed and redeployed in consultation with other teammates. Her request was approved and she is now on a three-day work week.
If employers do not consider requests in line with the guidelines, workers can seek assistance from TAFEP. TAFEP will engage the employer to align its processes. This could include requiring the employer to attend educational workshops on FWA implementation.
Ms Eileen Chong proposed making Tripartite Guidelines into law and making provisions of FWAs a presumptive right for working parents with young children. These moves are a little blunt as businesses differ across industries and roles. For instance, working from home is not possible for frontline jobs. Rigidly mandating FWAs across the board can stifle business operations and competitiveness. In the long run, this could hurt employment opportunities for Singaporeans. Instead, we have focused on more sustainable ways to enable companies to implement FWAs through initiatives such as job redesign support and providing a fair process for employers and workers to discuss mutually workable and beneficial arrangements.
Ms Diana Pang spoke about the challenges SMEs face when implementing FWAs. I wish to assure the Member that support is available. Firms, including SMEs, can utilise the Enterprise Workforce Transformation Package, set to launch later in March. The Enterprise Workforce Transformation Package provides funding and advisory support to help companies adopt new work models like FWAs.
We are also looking to enhance support for flexi-load arrangements. Flexi-load arrangements like part-time work, job sharing and fractional roles may be suitable for caregivers who need work at a reduced load to fulfil their caregiving duties. However, in 2024, less than half of employees who required the part-time work arrangements were provided with it compared to over 70% of employees who were provided with time-related FWAs like staggered work hour arrangements and location-related FWAs such as scheduled tele-working.
Today, we have the Part-Time Re-employment Grant which provides up to $125,000 to employers who offer part-time employment, FWAs and structured career planning to our senior workers.
Ms Mariam Jaafar asked about grant uptake and outcomes, and strengthening incentives to employers. Employers have responded positively to the grant. More than 7,600 have taken it up, benefitting more than 66,000 senior workers. As Senior Minister of State Koh has mentioned, we are extending the grant to end-2027 to continue supporting employers.
Given the grant's success, we are reviewing how we can enhance it to keep employers providing flexi-load jobs to more workers. This could potentially benefit other segments of workers who rely on flexi-load jobs such as caregivers.
Moving on to persons with disabilities. They too benefit from inclusive workplace practices. Imagine Daniel, a wheelchair user, applying for a job. He has the skills and qualifications. But some employers hesitate, unsure of his capabilities or concerned about additional costs. This is where the Enabling Employment Credit, comes in. The Enabling Employment Credit helps employers take that first step by covering up to 20% of Daniel's wages, easing cost concerns.
The results of our efforts have been encouraging. In 2025, 6,800 employers received the Enabling Employment Credit for hiring 10,800 Singapore residents with disabilities, up from 6,600 and 10,000 in 2022. To sustain this momentum, we extended the Enabling Employment Credit last year to run until end of 2028.
At the same time, Daniel needs support of his own. While the Enabling Employment Credit may help employers overcome hesitation, the Open Door Programme supports both the employer and Daniel as he navigates the job search and workplace. Through the programme, Daniel is matched with a suitable role. He also receives ongoing support to help him settle into work, such as personalised job coaching at his workplace. And if Daniel needs workplace modifications, like a wheelchair ramp to move up to office, the programme also covers up to 90% of that cost.
The programme has delivered strong results. It has supported over 2,400 persons with disabilities into employment in the past four years. More than 80% remain employed for at least six months. This shows that with the right support, persons with disabilities are not just employable, they are valuable, long-term contributors to their employers.
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But work is both about earning today’s income and long-term financial security. While employment helps Daniel through regular contributions to his CPF, additional support can go a long way in easing his financial worries. That is why, starting this January, we expanded the Matched Retirement Savings Scheme to include eligible Singaporeans with disabilities of all ages. With this expansion, around 24,000 Singaporeans with disabilities below the age of 55 can benefit from the scheme this year.
But inclusive workplaces cannot be built on incentives alone. They require clear norms and practical guidance. That is why MOM is working with tripartite partners and social service agencies on a new Tripartite Advisory on Reasonable Accommodations. The Advisory will provide practical guidance on how reasonable accommodation can be implemented at the workplace. This gives employers clarity, and for workers, confidence to raise accommodation needs early.
Nevertheless, workplace demands are evolving, and many families wonder if their loved ones with disabilities can adapt. That is why last December, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced the formation of the Taskforce on Assurance for Families with Persons with Disabilities, chaired by Minister of State for Social and Family Development Goh Pei Ming, and supported by myself and colleagues from the Ministries of Education and Health.
MOM will work closely with the Ministry of Social and Family Development to examine how to better support persons with disabilities in our changing job market: through upskilling, reskilling, expanding opportunities, strengthening employer support and building career resilience. Mr Chairman, let me recap in Mandarin.
( In Mandarin ) : [ Please refer to Vernacular Speech .] As the saying goes, “The sea embraces all rivers. It is great because it is inclusive.” In this rapidly changing era, the Government's goal is very clear. We want to help every employee continuously improve and move towards success. We firmly believe that an inclusive workplace environment will benefit all Singaporeans. Employees can better utilise their strengths and companies can also recruit more outstanding talent. MOM will continue to spare no effort in strengthening Singapore's labour market.
Although we have already achieved some results in promoting workplace inclusivity, we understand that some Singaporeans still face challenges when seeking employment.
Moving forward, MOM will further improve systems to create more employment opportunities for them. We will approach this from three aspects. First, raising industry standards. MOM will work through close tripartite cooperation to set higher standards and encourage more inclusive workplaces. Second, promoting flexible work arrangements. Allowing women and employees who need to care for their families to better balance career and family responsibilities. Three, supporting employment for persons with disabilities. MOM will actively guide employers, address their concerns and help persons with disabilities find good and suitable jobs where they can utilise their strengths.
These measures are not only practical but also complement each other to create a conducive work environment for all Singaporeans. Let us work together so that every Singaporean can contribute and share the joys of success.
( In English ): Mr Chairman, let me now close in Malay.
( In Malay ) : [ Please refer to Vernacular Speech .] MOM's ambition is clear – we want to enable workers to thrive, regardless of their background or circumstances. We want to create inclusive workplaces that allow workers to achieve their career aspirations and participate meaningfully in the workforce.
We must do this together. Employers must build a culture where every —
The Chairman : I am sorry, time is up. Guillotine time is 7.00 pm, so we only have about 25 minutes before we have to end this Head. Clarifications, keep them short as usual. Mr Saktiandi Supaat.
Mr Saktiandi Supaat : Thank you, Mr Chairman, for seeing my hand. Mr Chairman, I got three clarifications. One is with regard to Minister Tan's speech earlier about GRIT and OMIP. If Minister can actually share a bit more about the reception of GRIT from graduates thus far, I think Minister mentioned that there is room to expand the scheme in view of the increased uncertainty over the new tariffs and geopolitical tensions. Can Minister share a bit more about that? We already have 400 GRIT capacity. Whether there can be more that we can, or what is your view in terms of expanding beyond that 400?
The second one is I am happy to hear just now about the Overseas Markets Immersion Programme. It is very important as Singapore tries to internationalise. Can Minister share a bit more about how much more we can do to create spaces for the Overseas Markets Immersion Programme?
Second question is with regard to my question on the skilled trades. I hear Minister mentioned just now about the sectoral move to create the electronic or electrical trade framework. In my cut, I suggested to do a national master trade accreditation framework. Why not do that? Why not do that national rather than a specific sectoral, because I think we may be too slow if we do on a sectoral basis. I do not know, maybe can hear from Minister his view on that, given that the medium- to long-term manpower projections for critical skilled trades might be in need.
The last question I have is in terms of the life-cycle investment scheme. I asked a question in my cut, whether the scheme will allow for flexibility in selecting target retirement dates as we extend working lives and members may retire later than age 65. Whether there is some flexibility in terms of that?
Dr Tan See Leng : To his first question, for GRIT, we have originally, as of the outset, sized up about 800 of them, so the majority will be at GRIT; and then there is a smaller quantity, number of places at GRIT@Gov.
We have as of the outset about 4,000-plus applications, but I do not have the exact numbers with me, but the vast majority of them actually found jobs while they were applying for GRIT, because they contemporaneously also apply for jobs. And we are happy for that, because the whole objective of GRIT was to place them into permanent jobs. Having said that, today, 400 have come on board. There are still quite a substantive number out there that are undergoing on board clearance, including some security checks as well. What we are heartened to see is that by the end of January and into February, like I said, the majority of the original GRIT applicants have actually found jobs. [ Please refer to " Clarification by Minister for Manpower ", Official Report, 3 March 2026, Vol 96, Issue 23, Correction By Written Statement section. ]
But having said that, we continue to maintain the scheme. We will extend it to include the 2026 cohort as well. And given the uncertainty that just, the tensions that just came up — actually, the war that just came up over the weekend, we will not sunset the scheme. We will continue to hold it and, depending on the requirements, we may expand it if necessary.
For the Overseas Markets Immersion Programme, we are also very heartened by the response. What we are now doing is to expand it to more companies, to even potentially to younger employees as well who join companies. The most important thing that we require the companies who participate in the the Overseas Markets Immersion Programme, the funding is actually quite generous, it is up to 70%, it is for them to have a clear business plan. There must also be a very clear career path. What are the roles that they are going to transition post that overseas attachment? With that, with our programme partner and WSG dispersing the grant itself, we hope to be able to reach out to a larger swathe of the young population.
On the last one, the CPF Investment Scheme, and then maybe the Member could tell me what was the second one. The investment scheme is meant to provide a longer-term horizon for younger CPF members at the point of either starting or maybe very early on in their careers when they have a runway. What we have taken, with getting consultation with many of the investments consultants and advisors is that, we wanted to set it such that that life-cycle product allows for first, an automatic rebalancing without the member having to actively manage the portfolio with age; and the second part is obviously once they reach a certain age, then there would be a liquidation, a phased liquidation.
As far as what is that time horizon and whether we can extend it, today, we are just about to talk to the different providers. When we get more information, and once the scheme runs over the course, not the entire course at this time, once we have got the experience in working with some of these providers, we would be able to continue to refine and tweak the scheme further.
Having said that, even at our Payout Eligibility Age of 65 today, we find that quite a number of our CPF members have opted to get the payout at 70. And in fact, many of the members have asked us, can we extend beyond 70? So, ostensibly we understand, we take all this feedback into consideration. We are all living longer, hopefully healthier and these are the considerations that we will constantly take back and review.
What was the second? The national masters trade. We wanted to start with three sectors, because obviously there are multiple sectors all over. So, the first one we work with was the electrical trade. Part of the reason is that I am very familiar with the electrical trade, because I happen to also cover energy in the Ministry of Trade and Industry. Our licensed electrical workers (LEWs), they are also rapidly ageing. In fact, if I am not mistaken, the median age of our LEWs is about 60, 60 something.
So, I think for our own resilience, for our own security and our own reliability, we have to train this group of people. And earlier on I mentioned Jia Xing, I think he has done very well. So, we want to start that on a very firm footing.
The other two trades that we have identified is plumber and then the third one is air-conditioning technicians. These are all very important, key. And I think the Member knows the size of our population. If we want to try to spread it too thin, then obviously how to differentiate according to the importance and so on, I think that impact would be a lot more less impactful compared to being very focused on these three. So, we are starting off with these three first. [ Please refer to " Clarification by Minister for Manpower ", Official Report, 03 March 2026, Vol 96, Issue 23, Correction By Written Statement section. ]
The Chairman : Assoc Prof Jamus Lim. You had two cuts for eight minutes.
Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim : Chair, if I heard Minister Tan correctly, he indicated the Government generally subscribes to the principles of on-the-job training through a traineeship programme, such as GRIT. May I confirm if this means that the Government will indeed be looking not just to expand the depth of the programme in terms of numbers, but to also go beyond science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and finance in terms of field coverage for all graduates from our ITEs, polytechnics and autonomous universities. And if so, does he anticipate that there will be a clear timeline for this expansion? And finally, in terms of GRIT, will this henceforth be administered under the new SSG, WSG Statutory Board?
Dr Tan See Leng : Let me clarify to Assoc Prof Lim. We, at this current moment, do not intend for it to be a national institutionalised programme for on-the-job training, because we think that, given the current employment situation, at least up to last year, or even up to January, there are still more job vacancies than there are jobseekers. A big part of it, of course, is the expectations may not match the type of jobs that are available in the market today. What we are considering for GRIT is for a group of graduates who may need the additional internships.
Having said that, there are many graduates who have already arranged their own industrial attachment and internships while they are in flight, whether it is through ITE, Polytechnics or in the IHLs. So, we do not have plans to develop this into a national programme. Suffice to say, today, we already have a whole series of all these programmes available – GRIT, Overseas Markets Immersion Programme, and these are for junior level persons. Beyond that, even at the mid-career level, we have also got different types of attachment programmes. So, let me set that record straight.
A large part of these programmes will be administered by the newly formed WSSG indeed. When it comes to the finance sectors and so on, I believe that WSSG would have to work with the Monetary Authority of Singapore, with the Institute of Banking and Finance Singapore and maybe other specialised institutions to get traction and to make sure that our reach and our impact is optimised and maximised for our locals.
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I think we all want the same thing for our people. We want to ensure that we deliver the best outcomes for them. We cannot deliver equal outcomes for everyone, but we want to deliver the best outcomes for them. I think the fundamental difference is that, today, we want to see a more differentiated, a more targeted and a more surgical approach towards each sector, rather than a blanket nationalised programme.
The Chairman : Ms Jessica Tan.
Ms Jessica Tan Soon Neo : Thank you, Mr Chairman. I would like to ask the Senior Minister of State, with regard to the mid-career renewal and the various programmes that he has talked about. Would MOM consider expanding a Company Training Committee-style support, specifically for mid-career PMEs, who face possible disruptions and to enable employers also to redesign the roles and redeploy staff more proactively, because the Company Training Committee support could act like a enterprise-wide thing to allow for the health diagnostics, career health diagnostics, then the co-funding of the renewal and then the multi-stage career planning. So, I would like to ask if that would be possible?
The other is in terms of planning ahead and integrating a multi-stage career, would MOM explore sector-specific adaptations of the multi-stage career pathways particularly for sectors that are facing disruptions, for example, structural shifts, manufacturing, professional services and ICT?
And finally, on caregivers, there has been a lot of discussion about giving caregiver support for employment. But for those who have already been disrupted and are trying to enter the workforce, what additional support could be given to them, to help them re-enter the workforce?
Dr Koh Poh Koon : Sir, on the Member's first question about whether we will consider a Company Training Committee-style support. The answer is yes, because the Company Training Committee structure and the format is really a means to an end. So, if there are companies today, even before we start with the Career Longevity Centre, for example – even today, any company that is keen to do a more systematic transformation of their workplace in the business model, together with bringing workers along, can already approach NTUC, where there is a team of dedicated industry training officers that can guide a company through a Ops-Tech road mapping process and then chart out the road map for them to do a Company Training Committee-style transformation. That can affect the whole entire company's workforce, not just for the mid-careerists.
The second question on whether there will be sector-specific multi-stage pathways. That is one area of thinking we are looking at as well, because as I said in my speech, there is no one-size-fits-all model that will work for all companies or for all sectors. So, in order to have a little bit more of a targeted, tailored-made kind of a pathway for companies, we think that the AfA concept of what we are doing by having companies from different sectors piloting some of the ways in which they help to transform into a multi-generational workplace. They could then start to share their learnings with fellow companies in the same sector. So, that is one approach that we can take.
How we can actually then enlarge this could be through the various trade associations and chambers or even through the Career Longevity Centre, where employers themselves can conduct conversations and workshops, share their own experience, so that SMEs and companies of different sizes can learn together, have a community of practice and that then takes away some of the fears of even embarking on this transformation of the workplace, by the companies. So, that concept is exactly what we are thinking of. How we operationalise it, is something that is still in discussion and we are open to ideas.
The third one on how we can help caregivers. If we can get our career and employment support ecosystem, as Minister and myself had articulated, up to speed, crowding in a lot more of the private sector players in this space as well, some of the resources that we put forth, not just for the senior workers, can also be useful to those caregivers who have left the workforce for some time, who needed maybe a bit more of a skills uplift. So, the concept of the Career Longevity Centre or the combination of WSG and SSG coming together can do, is indeed in that direction, to put a one-stop kind of service for those who may need not just upskilling, but also have a bit more planning on how they can re-enter the workforce, and eventually find a better way to manage their entry into the workforce, perhaps even consider a case management-type of approach.
In other words, the caregiver who may have been out of the workforce for some time, you cannot just leave the person alone to just, "Oh, here is a job, and good luck to you. It is between you and your employer."
Maybe a case management approach to check in on the person, to just find out how you are doing after the first few months, to just make sure you handhold not just the individual, but maybe work with the HR in the company to understand how the HR for the company can better support this person who may need a lot more guidance, being away from the workforce for some time. So, these are ideas we are all exploring right now.
The Chairman : Mr Patrick Tay, for your five cuts, totalling seven minutes.
Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan : Firstly, on Mandatory Retrenchment Notifications, and secondly, on the ONE Pass.
Firstly, for the Mandatory Retrenchment Notification. Even as early as last month, I had another company that informed of a retrenchment exercise a day before. I think we were scrambling trying to help the workers, so I urge MOM to relook at the Mandatory Retrenchment Notification to MOM specifically, prior to the retrenchment exercise, so that we can act on it. And for those who breach Mandatory Retrenchment Notification requirements, not just a slap on the wrist, but more enhanced penalties and not just merely administrative penalties.
Second clarification is on the new ONE Pass (AI and Tech) track. How does it differ from the current Tech.Pass, and who are we really hoping to attract?
The Chairman : Who is taking this? Minister Tan.
Dr Tan See Leng : Mr Chairman, I will take both in the interest of time. The short answer is, for the Mandatory Retrenchment Notification advance notice, we are undertaking the review of the Employment Act and we will look at all that comprehensively. So, rest assured.
On the second part, with regard to the ONE Pass. The construct of the ONE Pass is meant to bring the movers and shakers, the rainmakers, the network brokers, here. We believe that the three most valuable traits that we have collectively is our one people, the trust that we have built over the years and the credibility that we have as a hub. And of course, today, in the uncertain world that we live in, the safety, the predictability, the transparency and the frameworks that we have here, and the type of robust debates, the constructive debates that we were able to have here, in the House, all put us in a very good position to attract global talent to be here.
And with that, they can spawn multiple enterprises. They can uplift the calibre of all, by transferring cutting-edge technology, thought processes and so on to our locals. Then I think we would have arrived and achieved our end objective.
The Chairman : Ms Yeo Wan Ling, you had four cuts, totaling 10 minutes.
Ms Yeo Wan Ling : My clarification is for the Minister. In the Labour Movement, I have seen first-hand how PWM brings dignity, structured progressions into our workers lives when previously there was none.
In this House today, I heard differing views questioning the relevance and efficacy of our PWCS and, thereby, impacting the PWM productivity and upskilling intents. When something has demonstrably improved livelihoods for thousands of Singaporeans is portrayed as burdensome or ineffective, it risks eroding confidence in policies that have made actual differences on the ground. There has been a diversity of views expressed today, including specific suggestions to policies, how will the Government take all of these on board?
Dr Tan See Leng : I recognise and I respect the diversity of the views that have been expressed, not just today, but I think in many of our sessions. And there are also many different views, huge dichotomy and also many tensions between the views that have been expressed. For example, some would want AI to move faster and then others urge more caution. We have even had Mr Gerald Giam and Assoc Prof Ho, who called for rapid AI democratisation, put AI skills into every workers' hands, as quickly as possible.
On the other hand, Mr Pritam Singh cautioned against unfettered expansion, urge for tighter guardrails, stronger regulation; and Ms Yeo Wan Ling, Dr Wan Rizal, Ms Mariam Jaafar have similarly echoed views to ensure that AI adoption actually translates into real wage growth and not jobless growth. Then, we have got other examples where some want to raise productivity skills and wages in the domestic sectors, while others ask to support lower productivity sectors with easier access to foreign workers.
Ms Yeo Wan Ling spoke about the limits as to how much we can expand our foreign workforce and yet, Mr Gerald Giam warns of the dangers of a dual-speed economy. However, at the same time, with some Members, for instance, like Assoc Prof Jamus Lim and Mr Mark Lee, have called for more leeway for domestic-oriented sectors, including F&B and retail, to access foreign workers, to help our SMEs cope with cost pressures.
Members of the House, Mr Chairman, these are examples that reflect the fundamental trade-offs that we must all square off. As with all policy decisions, we strike a very careful and a very delicate balance between all of these competing priorities. As the Government of the day, we are entrusted with the responsibility to navigate these complex issues. We have to reconcile all of these tensions into coherent, fiscally sustainable and forward-looking and practical policies for all of our fellow Singaporeans.
So, we consult widely. We consult widely with workers, with employers, with unions, with industry partners and we try as much as possible, to ensure that the voices and the concerns are heard. We have this singular objective. We want to empower Singaporeans through all stages of life and we want to ensure that they are equipped to succeed in this changed world.
We also have to contemporaneously ensure that our businesses continue to thrive in this transformed landscape, so that we can continue to foster an environment where innovation, where opportunity continues to be accessible to all.
So, we balance all these priorities. Sometimes, certain, very expedient and clear pathways may seem so intuitive. Why is it that we are not able to do it? It is because whatever policy that we come up with and implement, it will trigger a cascade of ramifying effects, much further, laterally and down the line. And hence, we walk on a very tight rope and we hope that with your support, with that focus on singularly building a better future for all of our Singaporeans and our future generations that will come after us, we will continue to work hard to build a Singapore that is prosperous, that is full of optimism, resilient and safe for all. So, I thank the Member for her understanding.
Mr Chairman : I am sorry. We have reached the guillotine time. So, can I invite Ms Yeo Wan Ling, if you would like to withdraw the amendment?
6.58 pm
Ms Yeo Wan Ling : Thank you to all who were involved in this very robust and rich discussion. Chairman, with that, I seek leave to withdraw my amendment.
[(proc text) Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. (proc text)]
[(proc text) The sum of $3,920,999,400 for Head S ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates. (proc text)]
[(proc text) The sum of $178,690,100 for Head S ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates. (proc text)]