S’pore to ‘progressively, cautiously’ restart economy but recovery will be long and hard: PM Lee

SINGAPORE — The Government has set its sights on progressively restarting the economy but this has to be done with safeguards such as stepped-up testing and quicker contact-tracing, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Thursday (April 30).

“After we bring down the number of new Covid-19 cases, we can ease the circuit breaker measures and progressively restart our economy,” he said. “This will not be straightforward… we must proceed cautiously, with safeguards, so infections do not flare up again.”

And the road to recovery will be “long and hard”, with Singapore’s economy likely to undergo significant structural changes and some industries disrupted permanently.  

Hence, Singaporeans should be under no illusion that all will be well the moment the circuit breaker period ends or the number of infections comes down, he added.

“We will not be able to save every job. But we will look after every worker,” he pledged.

Mr Lee was speaking in his May Day message, which was televised for the first time. The usual annual May Day Rally organised by the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) is not being held owing to the circuit breaker measures.

In his speech, Mr Lee noted that while the Government has kept essential services going, the rest of the economy will have to open up step by step, and not all at once.

“Some industries will open up earlier than others and recover sooner. For example, those critical to keeping our economy going domestically,” he said.

“And those that keep us connected to the world and to global supply chains. Other sectors will have to wait, especially those which attract crowds, or involve close contact with other people, such as entertainment outlets and large-scale sporting events.”

Nonetheless, he added that Singapore “must keep all these industries intact, ready to resume business when conditions allow”.

This demands close cooperation between companies, workers and the Government, he said.

GOVT ‘DETERMINED THAT SIA WILL SEE THROUGH CRISIS’

Mr Lee said that sectors such as tourism and aviation will most likely take much longer to recover than others as international travel restrictions will remain in place as long as the Covid-19 pandemic is a problem across the globe.

“Air transport is fundamental to Singapore’s role as a global and regional hub. It is a strategic sector. This is why the Government is providing extra support for aviation,” he added.

He noted in particular that Singapore Airlines (SIA) has been hard hit by the pandemic, but that as the national carrier, it has supported the Republic’s efforts to fight the coronavirus.

“They help to fly in essential supplies. They have mounted evacuation flights to bring Singaporeans home,” he said.

“Their cabin crew are serving as care ambassadors in hospitals and safe distancing ambassadors in trains, markets and malls. But like most other airlines, most SQ flights will remain grounded for some time.”

But Mr Lee added that the Government is “determined that SIA will see through this crisis”.

“SIA has always flown Singapore’s flag high all over the world and made us proud. We will spare no effort to enable it to do so again.”

ADAPTING TO A POST-COVID-19 WORLD

Mr Lee said that in the longer term, Covid-19 will result in many changes to the global economy which, in turn, will lead to major structural changes to Singapore’s economy.

Around the world, he said, the movement of goods and people will be less free and countries will strive to rely less on imports for food and essential items like medicines and face masks.

“Companies will have to change their business models to survive. Some jobs will simply disappear. Workers in these industries will have to reskill themselves to take up jobs in new sectors. But there will also be new opportunities and new jobs created, too.”

Some of these new opportunities will arise out of the lifestyle changes that Singaporeans have had to adopt amid circuit breaker measures, he said.

“We have learnt to telecommute and work with others virtually. Students are getting used to online learning. And more people are buying things online and making e-payments,” he noted.

“We will not go back to status quo ante, after the circuit breaker ends. And that will mean opportunities in these new ways of doing things.”

Meanwhile, industries such as medical services, biotech, food production and delivery, and information technology are still growing in Singapore, while other emerging industries will be new to the Republic and it will have to build up its expertise and workforce, Mr Lee added.

The Government will help companies adapt to this new operating environment and retrain workers for the new jobs available, he said.

This will be done by scaling up SkillsFuture programmes to train workers on a large scale, while the NTUC has set up a Job Security Council to help match and train displaced workers for new job opportunities.

The Government will also find ways to buffer freelancers in the gig economy against economic volatility, he said.

A month into its circuit breaker period, Singapore is down to 10 to 15 community cases daily, Mr Lee noted. But while this is significant progress, there is more to do.

“In the migrant worker dormitories, there are still many cases. Fortunately, most of them are mild, probably because the workers are young,” he said.

“Nevertheless, we are doing everything we can for their health and welfare. We have assigned medical teams from hospitals to provide support in the dorms.”

Mr Lee also noted that migrant workers from the S11 dormitory in Punggol, Singapore’s biggest Covid-19 cluster, are being cared for in Sengkang General Hospital, which some of them had helped build.

“May Day is a day of celebration for all workers, including migrant workers. I, too, send my thanks and good wishes to all migrant workers in Singapore, for what you have built and contributed here.”

OVERCOMING THE CRISIS

Mr Lee noted that the pandemic has taken a heavy toll on the global economy, with the International Monetary Fund forecasting the steepest decline of global gross domestic product since the Great Depression in the 1930s.

As an open economy, Singapore has “felt the full brunt of this downturn”, he reiterated.

Mr Lee also touched on how the circuit breaker has affected locals, saying that he knew this period has been hard for everyone.

“The restrictions have disrupted businesses and jobs, and created considerable inconvenience. But you have been resilient, and you have taken this in your stride.”

With support from measures rolled out by the Government, companies have been able to retain their local employees, but businesses still have other costs to bear, he noted.

This could result in “unavoidable” pay cuts, either from lost overtime or wage reductions.

“I encourage both employers and workers to take a longer-term view. Workers must accept wage sacrifices to keep businesses going, and employers must make every effort to keep their workers and help them through this difficult period,” he said.

Singapore is not alone in having to adapt to the post-Covid-19 world, Mr Lee noted, but its challenge is greater than most, because it is so small and globalised.

“However, these are also advantages. Our smallness lets us be nimble. And global connectivity means we can quickly identify new growth areas and move into them,” he said.

“Most importantly, we have what it takes to succeed. We have experienced economic restructuring before, having done it more than once to get here. We have the resources to support businesses, invest in our workforce, and take care of our people.”