Covid-19: Essential services may continue, but all other workplace activity to be suspended or errant operators face penalties

SINGAPORE — Businesses providing essential services, such as food establishments, healthcare and social services, will still be able to operate at their workplaces, though with only “core essential staff” and with safe-distancing measures in place, Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing said on Friday (April 3).

Speaking at a press conference following Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s televised message of significantly stricter measures as part of a national “circuit breaker” to help combat Covid-19, Mr Chan emphasised that these measures are not about business closure.

“This is about closing work premises for the duration to enhance safe distancing measures... All business that can be done from home, without the need to commute, will also be allowed to continue,” he said.

Essential services that are exempted from the measures include:

• Health and social services, such as hospitals and community care services

• Food services, including hawker centres for take away only, food delivery services and food supply

• Energy services, such as petrol kiosks and electricity generation

• Water, waste and environment services, including water supply and funeral services

• Transportation and storage services

• Information and communications services, including postal services

• Defence and security services

• Construction of projects that support essential services and public safety, facilities management and critical public infrastructure

• Manufacturing and distribution of essential products and high value activities

• Banking and finance

The list may also include firms that are part of the supply chains to companies providing these services, Mr Chan said. Those who wish to apply to be exempted from the suspension may do so at https://covid.gobusiness.gov.sg by the end of April 13.

Government agencies will also be “proactively” informing these essential firms, he added.

These moves ensure that essential services will continue to flow, despite the stricter restrictions that will kick in from next Tuesday and will last until at least May 4.

Mr Chan stated twice: “All supermarkets, wet markets, hawker centres and food establishments will remain open.”

Eateries may provide only take-away meals and Mr Chan urged people to take along their own food containers to help conserve the eateries’ take-away supplies.

“There is no need to rush to the supermarkets to stock up as it will only cause disruption to our logistics system. We can continue to purchase our essentials and groceries as usual,” he said.

While they may be exempted from the suspension of all activities at work premises, companies that are providing essential services will also have to operate with core workers and will also need to adopt safe-distancing measures to reduce physical interactions, he said.

Activities that can take place through telecommuting must be done from home, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said in a statement.

MEASURES TO SUPPORT JOBS

All other businesses, which are not on MTI’s list of essential services, must close their work premises and adopt work-from-home arrangements in order to continue operations.

This is a change from a previous concession that allowed workers to continue working from the workplace if no alternative arrangements were possible, Manpower Minister Josephine Teo said.

“With this, all businesses (not on MTI’s list) will have to come to a stop, and everyone will have to work from home,” she said. Those who cannot do so will need to reduce their business operations or stop completely.

“For all others, unless you are able to get approval, it will be an offence to still continue operations in the workplace,” Mrs Teo said.

Anyone who is found guilty of not following the measures can be fined up to S$10,000, jailed up to six months, or both.

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said a statement on Friday: "MOM officers will begin enforcement operations from April 7 to ensure that only businesses who are exempted from the suspension are operating from their workplace premises." 

Mrs Teo said that these measures to suspend workplace activities will have an impact on jobs, which will be “the top of workers’ minds”.

If businesses affected by the suspension are still operating fully, employees should continue to be paid, she said, adding that MOM and MTI are working on rolling out the Jobs Support Scheme announced in the Budget in February and the subsequent Resilience Budget that allows the Government to co-pay at least 25 per cent of wages of Singaporeans.

The scheme is aimed at helping businesses retain local workers during the health crisis, which is affecting all types of jobs.

In Parliament next Monday, Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat, who is also Finance Minister, will be announcing new measures on top of those previous two Budgets to support households and businesses.

Besides resident workers, Mrs Teo said that the Government is also reviewing measures to help businesses retain their foreign workforce.

“In the past, the Government has said no to waiving the foreign worker levy. We will look into it. We will also look into temporary help to ensure that essential workforce will restart,” she added.

When asked about whether lottery services operated by Singapore Pools will continue, Mr Lawrence Wong, co-chair of the multi-ministry task force for Covid-19, said that all Singapore Pools outlets will be closed.

“They are not considered essential services,” he said.

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