• About Us
    • Fact Checking Policy
    • Ownership & funding information
    • Volunteer
  • Subscribe
  • Letter submission
    • Submissions Policy
  • Contact Us
The Online Citizen Asia
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • Comments
  • Current Affairs
    • Singapore
    • Malaysia
    • Indonesia
    • China
    • ASEAN
    • Asia
    • International
  • Finance
    • Economics
    • Labour
    • Property
    • Business
  • Community
    • Arts & Culture
    • Consumer Watch
    • NGO
    • Lifestyle
    • Travel
  • Politics
    • Civil Society
    • Parliament
    • Transport
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Housing
  • Law & Order
    • Legislation
    • Court Cases
No Result
View All Result
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • Comments
  • Current Affairs
    • Singapore
    • Malaysia
    • Indonesia
    • China
    • ASEAN
    • Asia
    • International
  • Finance
    • Economics
    • Labour
    • Property
    • Business
  • Community
    • Arts & Culture
    • Consumer Watch
    • NGO
    • Lifestyle
    • Travel
  • Politics
    • Civil Society
    • Parliament
    • Transport
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Housing
  • Law & Order
    • Legislation
    • Court Cases
No Result
View All Result
The Online Citizen Asia
No Result
View All Result

Workers’ Party’s MP Sylvia Lim questions the need for NTUC’s involvement in administration of Gov’t SIRS scheme

"What does this mean for government accountability?" she asked

by The Online Citizen
05/06/2020
in Current Affairs
Reading Time: 4 mins read
9

In Parliament on Thursday (4 June), Workers’ Party chairman Sylvia Lim raised some questions on the Government’s decision to have NTUC administer the Self-Employed Person Income Relief Scheme (SIRS) and what that means for government accountability.

SIRS is an auto-inclusion scheme introduced by the Government in the Resilience Budget to support eligible self-employed persons tide through the current economic hardships by providing S$1,000 per month. However, Ms Lim said that while the scheme operates on an auto-inclusion basis, NTUC would be assisting the Government in administering appeals for those who were not included.

She mentioned that she had received equations from the ground about the purpose and fairness of the scheme. She noted a question that MP Dennis Tan asked during the Resilience Budget debate about what the annual value of the property one lives in has got to do with whether the person has suffered serious income disruption as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“To illustrate, I have several residents who are disqualified from SIRS due to this criterion because they are living in their parents’ homes. Others are renting,” said Ms Lim.

She also stated that the SIRS auto-inclusion mechanic doesn’t require a self-employed person to show income loss which has “resulted in full SIRS payments being made to self-employed persons whose incomes are unaffected by COVID19″.

Going further, Ms Lim asserted that NTUC has partially allowed some appeals under SIRS for a reduced payment of S$800 per month instead of the full S$1,000 in some cases, adding that other appeals have been outright rejected.

“Suffice to that these disparate outcomes have caused frustration and feelings of arbitrariness and unfairness,” she remarked.

Ms Lim then asked, “How does NTUC decide? What are the criteria for allowing or rejecting appeals?”

She also questioned the administration of the scheme by NTUC. She asked, “SIRS involved public funds. To be exact, SIRS involves the use of past reserves. Who should be in charge of the scheme?”

Noting that NTUC has been fronting all communications and appeals for the scheme while MOM “is not visible”, Ms Lim further questioned, “From a governance perspective, why was there a need to outsource the administration of SIRS appeals to NTUC in the first place? Was this done due to a lack of manpower or other reasons?”

“Will this set a precedent for the Government to outsource its schemes to external parties to manage? What does this mean for government accountability?”

In response to Ms Lim’s questions, NTUC secretary-general Ng Chee Meng said that NTUC was asked by the Government to help, adding that organisation agreed because it cares and has the capability to help the Government extend assistance as quickly as possible to those who need it.

Though he conceded that NTUC could do better in certain areas, he stressed that this introspection will be done after more immediate issues have been dealt with.

He noted, “I think in time to come when we can settle the immediate issues that we have to deal with with COVID19 and the transformative things NTUC is embarking on, I will humbly say that yes we will look at areas where we can do better.”

Mr Ng also spoke on tripartism, describing it as a strength, and stressing that while the Government has “put up the S$100 billion budget”, business owners, NTUC, and workers have to collectively play a part as well in this fight against the pandemic.

He remarked, “Tripartism is a strength and we should ride on this strength to execute this strategy that I mentioned well and to the extent possible, remain adaptive and learn lessons along the way.”

Mr Ng went on to say that NTUC has been helping taxi drivers since January and February upon noticing that the income for this group of workers were “dropping like a rock” due to COVID-19 – almost 50 per cent.

“We set up a quick reaction, small group and put up S$77 million to help our drivers cope with the initial hit of COVID19,” he added.

However, despite all that, Mr Ng did not quite address Ms Lim’s question on the criteria NTUC follows for rejecting or allowing SIRS appeals; nor was there an answer as to why the administration of the scheme was outsourced to NTUC at all – whether it was due to a lack of manpower or something else.

For just US$7.50 a month, sign up as a subscriber on The Online Citizen Asia (and enjoy ads-free experience on our site) to support our mission to transform TOC into an alternative mainstream press.
Tags: NTUCSIRSSylvia LimWP

Related Posts

Court of Appeal finds former AHTC town councillors acted in good faith for the award of contracts to FMSS
Court Cases

Court of Appeal finds former AHTC town councillors acted in good faith for the award of contracts to FMSS

09/10/2022
Giving “senior approved persons” powers to conduct frisk searches of public transport passengers raises concerns: WP MP Sylvia Lim
Law & Order

WP’s Sylvia Lim raises some reservations about changes made to Criminal Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill

14/09/2021
PA and NTUC: For the good of the People or for the good of the Party?
Editorial

PA and NTUC: For the good of the People or for the good of the Party?

22/06/2021
Giving “senior approved persons” powers to conduct frisk searches of public transport passengers raises concerns: WP MP Sylvia Lim
Parliament

Giving “senior approved persons” powers to conduct frisk searches of public transport passengers raises concerns: WP MP Sylvia Lim

12/05/2021
Workers’ Party asked to file PQ over FAS corruption investigation; reply from Ministry was “not appropriate to comment further at this point”
Parliament

Workers’ Party asked to file PQ over FAS corruption investigation; reply from Ministry was “not appropriate to comment further at this point”

06/04/2021
Increase in CPF contribution rates should not be delayed any further, says NTUC’s Heng Chee How
Labour

Increase in CPF contribution rates should not be delayed any further, says NTUC’s Heng Chee How

05/02/2021
Subscribe
Connect withD
Login
I allow to create an account
When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account.
DisagreeAgree
Notify of
Connect withD
I allow to create an account
When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account.
DisagreeAgree
9 Comments
Newest
Oldest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Latest posts

38-year-old Indian mother who has her two kidneys “stolen”, deserted by husband

38-year-old Indian mother who has her two kidneys “stolen”, deserted by husband

01/02/2023
Can we trust the words of prosecutors, police officers, civil servants and their witnesses at face-value?

Can we trust the words of prosecutors, police officers, civil servants and their witnesses at face-value?

01/02/2023
Myanmar junta prepares for poll, raising fears of more bloodshed

Myanmar marks coup anniversary with eyes on junta election plan

01/02/2023
No update on Karl Liew’s criminal hearing for providing false evidence against Parti Liyani

No update on Karl Liew’s criminal hearing for providing false evidence against Parti Liyani

01/02/2023
Record jobs growth in 2022, but no breakdown of the foreign and local workers in the workforce and jobs growth

Record jobs growth in 2022, but no breakdown of the foreign and local workers in the workforce and jobs growth

01/02/2023
Temasek and GIC reportedly in talks with Adani Group accused of “brazen” market manipulation and accounting fraud

Market ignores Adani’s 413-paged rebuttal against Hindenburg’s allegation and continues the sell-off

01/02/2023
Driver dies after vehicle fell into sea at Keppel Terminal

Driver dies after vehicle fell into sea at Keppel Terminal

01/02/2023
One pilot dead after Vietnamese military fighter jet crash

One pilot dead after Vietnamese military fighter jet crash

31/01/2023

Trending posts

Former Singaporean shares change of life in Australia with annual pay of S$80,000 as a plumber

Former Singaporean shares change of life in Australia with annual pay of S$80,000 as a plumber

by Yee Loon
30/01/2023
19

...

Two Indian nationals paid about S$330 and S$730 respectively for forged certificates submitted in their S-Pass application

MOM found issuing EPs meant for foreign PMETs to PRC waitress and general worker

by Correspondent
26/01/2023
41

...

Earning only S$400 a month, delivery-rider turned hawker threw in the towel after two years of running a rojak stall

Earning only S$400 a month, delivery-rider turned hawker threw in the towel after two years of running a rojak stall

by Yee Loon
26/01/2023
24

...

Indian rupee falls 60% since signing of CECA while Singapore becomes top investor in India

by Correspondent
25/01/2023
67

...

Temasek and GIC reportedly in talks with Adani Group accused of “brazen” market manipulation and accounting fraud

Temasek and GIC reportedly in talks with Adani Group accused of “brazen” market manipulation and accounting fraud

by The Online Citizen
26/01/2023
58

...

Ho Ching breaks silence over Temasek’s write down of its US$275 million investment in FTX, says it “can afford to be contrarian”

US regulator questions VCs’ due diligence work prior to investing in FTX; Ho Ching says Temasek can afford to be contrarian

by The Online Citizen
24/01/2023
28

...

June 2020
M T W T F S S
1234567
891011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728
2930  
« May   Jul »

The Online Citizen is a regional online publication based in Taiwan and formerly Singapore’s longest-running independent online media platform.

Navigation

  • Editorial
  • Commentaries
  • Opinion
  • Politics
  • Community

Support

  • Contact Us
  • Letter submission
  • Membership subscription

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • Fact Checking Policy
  • Privacy Policy

© 2022 - 2023 The Online Citizen Asia

No Result
View All Result
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Commentaries
    • Comments
  • Current Affairs
    • Malaysia
    • Indonesia
    • China
    • ASEAN
    • Asia
    • International
  • Finance
    • Economics
    • Labour
    • Property
    • Business
  • Community
    • Civil Society
    • Arts & Culture
    • Consumer Watch
    • NGO
  • Politics
    • Parliament
    • Transport
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Housing
  • Law & Order
    • Legislation
    • Court Cases
  • Lifestyle
    • Travel
  • Subscribers login

© 2022 - 2023 The Online Citizen Asia

wpDiscuz