Written by Lee Yoke Mun and Kimberly Wong

From February 28 to March 7, 2024, members of Parliament participated in the Committee of Supply (COS) debates to discuss each ministry’s estimated expenditure in 2024. This came after Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong’s Budget statement on February 16. In total, 598 cuts were filed during the debates, several of which aligned closely with AWARE’s advocacy. 

Below are some highlights: 

1. Stronger labour protections

There was a strong call for greater protections for all workers, with a focus on the challenges faced by vulnerable groups in the workplace. 

Speaking on the upcoming Workplace Fairness Legislation (WFL), MP He Ting Ru (WP) called on the government to work towards prohibiting all forms of discrimination (e.g., indirect discrimination, discrimination-related harassment) in the next five years and to cover these under TAFEP guidelines in the interim. She also sought clarity on the protections against retaliation available to employees reporting forms of discrimination not covered under the WFL and advocated for the inclusivity and accessibility of grievance-handling processes to ensure that all workers who face discrimination can seek redress. 

On reasonable accommodations, Minister of State Gan Siow Huang acknowledged that these will enable persons with disabilities (PWDs) to undertake meaningful employment. Stressing the importance of such accommodations, MP Rachel Ong (PAP) asked for an evaluation matrix to monitor the implementation, effectiveness, and impact of the forthcoming Tripartite Advisory. Going a step further, she asked if the government plans to incorporate reasonable accommodations for PWDs into the WFL in the future. 

MP Gerald Giam (WP) highlighted the need for better workplace support for women experiencing menopause, especially given the rising number of older women in our workforce. Apart from fostering a supportive work environment, the MP suggested incentivising women turning 45 to seek preemptive check-ups and providing leave or subsidised treatments for menopause symptoms.

MPs also put forth suggestions to address the gender wage gap: MP Desmond Choo (PAP) proposed greater disclosure and transparency in the gender composition of senior management roles and compensation, while MP He Ting Ru called for mandatory reporting on the gender pay gap for the same job description for companies with ten or more employees. MP Choo also stated that closing this gap requires us to confront the structural barriers limiting women’s economic opportunities.

Given the rising cost of living, MPs also expressed concerns about low-wage workers’ ability to meet their basic needs, with MP Yip Hon Weng (PAP) asking if Singapore is on track to ensure that these workers receive liveable wages. DPM Wong’s update on the increases in the qualifying monthly income cap and the maximum annual payment under the Workfare Income Supplement scheme from $2,500 to $3,000 and from $4,200 to $4,900, respectively, is thus welcome. 

2. Caregiving for children and the elderly

With a rapidly ageing population and falling total fertility rate, support for parents and caregivers of elderly persons was an area of significant concern amongst MPs.

To help employees juggle work and caregiving responsibilities, several MPs highlighted the importance of flexible work arrangements (FWAs) and posed questions on the upcoming Tripartite Guidelines for Flexible Work Arrangement Requests. MP Yeo Wan Ling (PAP) inquired about safeguards against employers rejecting FWA requests without fair and proper consideration and suggested providing alternative benefits for workers whose jobs are not suitable for FWAs.

Complementary to FWAs, MPs Yeo Wan Ling and Jamus Lim (WP) recommended the expansion of family care leave to cover workers with elderly parents as well as a wider range of family members requiring care. Further, MP Louis Ng (PAP) urged the government to provide a firm timeline to mandate four-week paternity leave and reiterated his call for the equalisation of maternity and paternity leave, which AWARE has also long advocated for. 

Beyond considerations of the workplace, we were heartened to hear that MSF will lower childcare fee caps in Anchor and Partner Operated Preschools over the next two years and that all families with a monthly household income of $6,000 and below will qualify for the maximum amount of childcare subsidy for their income tier. These subsidies will go some way towards alleviating childcare costs for families.

As for childminding, MPs Melvin Yong (PAP) and Ng Ling Ling (PAP) raised concerns about ensuring that safety and quality standards are met, on top of keeping the option affordable, particularly for low-income families. Minister of State for Social and Family Development Sun Xueling shared that several measures, such as background checks, will be put in place and that ECDA will work with operators to co-develop industry standards.

MP Carrie Tan (PAP) renewed her call to introduce CareFare as an income supplement for those who have to involuntarily give up employment to assume caregiving duties at home.

On other eldercare-related measures, we applaud MOH’s plans to introduce standardised care assessments and progressively appoint bundled service providers so that seniors can enjoy more seamless care delivery.

3. Support for vulnerable groups and all families

AWARE welcomed the sustained advocacy for enhanced support for vulnerable groups and marginalised families.

As MP Ng Ling Ling remarked, Singapore needs to be inclusive of different family types, such as single-parent families. 

Focusing on transnational families, MP Faisal Manap (WP) shared that applying for the Long-Term Visit Pass (LTVP) remains a stressful and costly process for many low-income migrant spouses. He asked if ICA has engaged other relevant organisations towards a more coordinated approach in assessing these LTVP applications.

Several MPs raised questions about ComLink+. MP Ng Ling Ling inquired about the measures that will be used to assess the efficacy of family coaching under the scheme, while MP Denise Phua (PAP) sought updates on the scheme’s progress, lessons learnt from the pilot and strategies to enhance the effectiveness of family coaching. The latter also shared MPs Faisal Manap and Xie Yao Quan’s (PAP) concerns about recruiting enough manpower with the necessary skills to ensure that families are well supported without coaches and befrienders burning out.

As Singapore continues to experience high demand and limited supply in the post-pandemic housing market, access to housing has remained front of mind for many MPs. MP Carrie Tan identified several groups that may be facing housing instability, including families living under cramped conditions in public rental flats, under-35 singles with strained familial relationships and single parents. To address this, she recommended that MND offer more co-living rental housing options for singles of all ages with tiered subsidies and lease terms ranging from one to five years.

MP Faisal Manap spoke about the challenges that divorced parents experience in securing housing during and after the disposal of their matrimonial flat. He asked if MND would consider granting these parents in-principle approvals, provided they meet the other criteria for the public rental scheme.

MP Louis Ng continued to advocate  for the end of housing discrimination against single, unwed parents, who can only obtain temporary accommodations under the Parenthood Provisional Housing Scheme (PPHS) on a case-by-case basis. Although the recently announced PPHS (Open Market) Voucher will help many offset rental fees while waiting for their flats, the exclusion of single, unwed parents from PPHS means that they are less likely to benefit from this initiative in the coming year.

Finally, we are encouraged to see the removal of the age limit cap and the increase in the annual matching cap of the Matched Retirement Savings Scheme, as well as the quantum of the Silver Support Scheme payments, which will increase the ability of older individuals to achieve retirement adequacy.