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SMS Koh: Hawker stalls can hire LTVP holders as stall assistants from 1 January 2025

On 14 October, Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment, Koh Poh Koon, announced a policy change in Parliament allowing hawker stalls to hire long-term visit pass holders as stall assistants starting 1 January 2025. In response to concerns about high rental bids, Dr Koh stated that these bids are exceptions and emphasised that market competition would help regulate prices.

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SINGAPORE: During the parliamentary sitting on 14 October, Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment, Koh Poh Koon, announced a policy change aimed at addressing the manpower challenges faced by hawkers.

Effective 1 January 2025, hawker stalls will be allowed to hire long-term visit pass (LTVP) holders as stall assistants.

Currently, only Singapore citizens and permanent residents are eligible for such positions in NEA-managed hawker centres.

This policy relaxation will enable LTVP holders with approved work rights, particularly those with familial connections to hawkers, to serve as assistants.

SMS Koh reiterated that the high tender prices in hawker centres managed by the National Environment Agency (NEA) are exceptions rather than the norm.

He emphasised NEA’s ongoing review of its policies to ensure the system remains effective while keeping hawker food prices affordable.

Dr Koh revealed that in 2023, one in five cooked food stalls were tendered at or below S$500 per month.

The median successful tender price for cooked food stalls decreased from S$2,000 in 2022 to S$1,800 in 2023.

While higher bids were observed in popular locations, they do not reflect overall trends. The NEA conducts monthly tender exercises, which Dr Koh characterised as “transparent and fair.”

Dr Koh’s comments were made in response to parliamentary questions from Melvin Yong, PAP MP for Radin Mas SMC.

Mr Yong inquired about the median rent for hawker stalls over the past two years, the potential for NEA to review the tenancy period to mitigate disproportionately high bids, and whether a ballot model with fixed rental rates had been considered.

In July, a bid of S$10,158 was submitted for a vacant stall at Marine Parade Central Market and Food Centre, the second-highest for the unit and reportedly the highest bid for a hawker stall in six years.

Of the top five bids for the Marine Parade stall, the highest bid of S$10,680 was withdrawn, with three others exceeding S$8,000.

MP Yong Warns High Rental Bids Could Trigger Ripple Effect on Food Prices

Mr Yong later in a supplementary question further raised concerns that some new hawkers, after placing high rental bids, may increase food prices to cover costs.

This, he said, could lead to other hawkers raising their prices, creating a ripple effect. He suggested the ministry implement a system, similar to the HDB resale portal, to alert prospective bidders when their bids exceed the median rent in the same hawker centre by 10%.

In response, Dr Koh said the ministry did not track food price increases in hawker centres with high rental bids but suggesting that market competition would naturally moderate prices.

He argued that hawkers with high rents would still need to offer competitive prices to attract customers and sustain their businesses.

He emphasized that excessive rental bids were outliers, and the majority of hawker centres continued to offer affordable food.

Dr Koh also supported the idea of improving transparency by providing detailed rental data on NEA’s website, helping bidders make more informed decisions.

MP for Bukit Panjang SMC Liang Eng Hwa noted that disproportionately high rents could undermine the original intent of hawker centres, which is to provide affordable food.

He suggested that NEA conduct due diligence on bidders, assessing their financial capacity to sustain high rental levels.

Dr Koh acknowledged the concern but cautioned against imposing stringent requirements that could disadvantage smaller hawkers.

He emphasised that hawker centres are competitive environments, and the market would filter out those unable to sustain their bids.

He reiterated that high rents affect only a small number of stalls, while most still offer affordable prices.

Leong Mun Wai, Non-Constituency Member of Parliament from Progress Singapore Party (PSP), raised the possibility of further liberalizing manpower policies to allow work permit holders to be employed in hawker stalls, referencing the mini restaurant licence scheme that allows some hawkers in coffee shops and food courts to hire such workers.

In response, Dr Koh stated that there were no immediate plans to allow work permit holders to work in hawker stalls. He stressed the importance of preserving the local hawker culture, which is primarily run by Singaporeans.

While LTVP holders can work in hawker stalls due to their familial connections, extending this to work permit holders is not being considered.

Instead, the focus remains on helping hawkers adopt more productive methods to reduce reliance on manpower, he added.

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