This letter was first published by The Straits Times on 22 February 2019.

We refer to the report (NTUC urges higher wage payouts for younger low-income workers, Feb 13).

The Association of Women for Action and Research (Aware) agrees with NTUC’s point that, if the Workfare Income Supplement (WIS) is intended to be an income supplement to reduce income inequality, then it should be pegged only to income, and not age and income as it currently is.

NTUC proposes that all workers regardless of age receive the same quantum payout. We want to push the envelope on this recommendation and urge the Government to consider lowering the current age eligibility criteria of 35 for lower-income families.

Our experience showed that many of the lower-income workers were second-generation poor who were forced to prematurely stop their education at the N or O levels to supplement their household incomes.

Although they averaged 36-40 years in age, they were still working in the same type of jobs in F&B and retail, and earning more or less the same income, as when they first started work at 16 years old.

To break the cycle of poverty, we should supplement the income of these second-generation poor workers at the time they start having children.

Thus, WIS eligibility for low-wage workers with children should be pegged at 30, the median age of the mother at first birth, or at the time the lower-income worker has his or her first child.

The earlier intervention will go some way to prevent a further cycle of poverty.

NTUC also points out the disparity in the needs of lower-income employees – who require cash for daily expenses – and the payout structure of WIS, which favours CPF to cash payouts in a ratio of 60:40.

This disparity is even starker for the lower-income self-employed, with Medisave to cash payouts at a 90:10 ratio.

We too urge the Government to review this so that it does not deplete the cash that low-income employees and the self-employed have available for immediate needs.

Finally, we must make a concerted effort to reach out to the large numbers of working poor who are not in formal employment.

These workers tend to be in ad-hoc jobs. They are technically covered by WIS under the self-employed category but many of them, are not aware of this.

We urge the Manpower Ministry to help this group access WIS benefits.

Shailey Hingorani (Ms)

Head of Advocacy & Research

AWARE