Ng Chee Meng pledges to address struggles of low-wage, mature and middle-aged workers

SINGAPORE — Amid the economic restructuring, Minister in Prime Minister's Office Ng Chee Meng — who is expected to become labour chief — voiced his concerns for three groups of workers: Low-wage earners, mature employees and middle-aged workers who are not drawing high salaries.

"We must continue to close social gaps by addressing the struggles of all our working people, especially the sandwiched middle-class and lower income workers," Mr Ng told the House on Tuesday (May 15) during the debate on the President's Address.

"Help will always be available to those who need it, whether for employment, housing or education. Those who have done better should reach out to the less fortunate. In Singapore, no one should be left behind."

Mr Ng, the new National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) deputy secretary-general, said some workers may feel they will not have enough to afford housing, retirement, healthcare and child-raising costs, no matter how hard they work.

He proposed setting up a tripartite committee to provide better support for the ageing workforce and to help mature workers to continue working if they choose to.

While the government can legislate retirement and re-employment ages, "the real question here is whether employers are willing to employ senior workers instead of having the fixed mindset that these workers are a burden, more expensive and untrainable", he said.

For low-wage workers, he proposed expanding the use of NTUC's Inclusive Growth programme and find pathways to support more workers. The programme promotes job redesign, the use of equipment and technology as well as best-sourcing initiatives.

Mr Ng noted that over 70,000 workers in the cleaning, security and landscaping sectors have seen an increase in wages through the Progressive Wage Model, and real median gross wages of those workers have increased by up to 6.4 per cent per annum from 2011 to 2016, he said.

But low-wage workers in other sectors are still facing low wage growth, and the tripartite partners should also ensure freelancers receive Central Provident Fund protection, medical coverage and skills development, said Mr Ng.

For middle-aged or middle-income workers, he said the Labour Movement will need more support from the Government and business leaders to redesign jobs and encourage workers to upskill and stay relevant, he said.

It will continue to look into career-matching programmes, initiatives to change the mindsets of workers and employers and work towards giving displaced middle-aged workers a second chance at employment, he said.

Employers want "plug and play" workers but the reality is that workers need to "plug, train and then play", said Mr Ng.

Even though there are several government schemes outlined for this group, "entrenched mindsets against hiring middle-aged workers is worrying," he said, More support is needed from the government and business leaders, to redesign jobs, encourage workers to upskill, and staying relevant, Mr Ng said.

The Labour Movement believes that the best way to improve the lives of Singapore's workers is through "gainful employment, in good jobs with good wages," Mr Ng said.

"We need employers to maintain a nimble mindset and workers to help themselves by upgrading their work skills. Both employees and employers must stay relevant in the evolving business environment."

Responding to Mr Ng's speech which also touched on the industry transformation maps and how it is important to translate them into "tangible outcomes" such as having training programmes for workers, Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry's president Roland Ng said a "concrete re-structuring of businesses and good company performances would bring greater gains" to the workers.

"The SCCCI would take a multi-pronged effort and harness the strengths of the trade associations and enterprises so that we can work in a collective spirit to achieve the economic transformation goals, and in alignment with the government's strategies to promote digitalisation and internationalisation," he said.

The Singapore National Employers Federation said in a statement the impetus for companies to transform has become greater with a slower workforce growth and technological disruptions.

"With the strong support and close partnership of the Labour Movement, employers must press ahead with their efforts to transform their business, create better jobs and raise productivity to achieve sustainable and inclusive growth," said its president Robert Yap.