The task of supporting lower-wage workers goes beyond the Government’s role — instead, it is a collective effort among employers, the workers themselves, and even on the part of consumers, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
Delivering his English speech at the National Day Rally on Sunday (29 Aug), PM Lee said that while the Government will help lower-wage workers with transitional support, employers will have to absorb part of the additional wage costs.
Such workers themselves, he said, will also need to to upskill or reskill.
Even consumers have a role in supporting lower-wage workers by helping businesses cover higher cleaning and waste collection costs, said PM Lee.
Supporting lower-wage workers this way will not only enable workers to keep their jobs at higher pay, but it will also show that the Singapore society values their work and contributions, he says.
Referencing his 2006 speech in which he said “mee siam mai hum” (mee siam, no cockles), instead of “laksa mai hum” (laksa, no cockles), PM Lee quipped that consumers should “pay a little bit more for some of our favourite things like bubble tea or bak chor mee… with or without hum”.
Earlier in his speech on Sunday, PM Lee said that the Government will increase the Workfare Income Supplement Scheme to S$1.1 bil annually and will lower the qualifying age to 30.
He said that this “major change” will see higher payouts for recipients and a greater segment of younger workers benefiting from the scheme in the next two years.
Currently, nearly 500,000 workers benefit from the Workfare scheme. It costs the Government S$850 million per year.
Branding the Workfare scheme essentially “a negative income tax”, PM Lee said that the Government tops up low-wage workers’ salaries in cash and CPF contributions instead of taxing their incomes.
PM Lee also said that the Government will extend the Progressive Wage Model to workers in more sectors in the future.
Next year, for example, retail employees will be covered. This will later be followed by those in the food services and waste management sectors, he said.
Specific occupations across all sectors, such as administrative assistants and drivers, will also be included, said PM Lee.
Currently, cleaners, security guards, landscape workers and those in lift maintenance are covered by the model.
