If Singapore had an unemployment insurance scheme, the Government may not need to spend as much as it is spending today to help workers tide over the coronavirus crisis, said Workers' Party chairman Sylvia Lim (Aljunied GRC) in Parliament as she cautioned against holding on to ways of doing things that may no longer be adequate.
If people had been allowed to use their excess Central Provident Fund (CPF) savings before they reached 55 years old, the age they can start to withdraw the money, some workers "would not be facing the cliff-edge today", she added.
Suggesting that it might be time for Singapore to include more stabilisers in its system, Ms Lim warned about being "shackled to models from the past" which may no longer be appropriate.
In a speech that highlighted groups that have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic, she said Singapore had to be aware of its blind spots in order to emerge stronger.
Ms Lim said the coronavirus and the circuit breaker period, during which people were asked to stay home, has had varying impact on different segments of society.
For those with small or over-crowded homes, or who live with violent family members, for instance, staying home for most of the day has harmed some of them, contrary to the mantra of "stay home, save lives", she said.
Essential workers, who include those like cleaners, have also continued to work on the front lines and been exposed to danger, while those who are more highly paid have been working from the safety of their own homes, she added.
Another group she cited was women. She said the pandemic had exacerbated gender inequality with data from around the world indicating that jobs most exposed to the virus are largely held by women, and anecdotal evidence indicating that mothers have been the ones spending more time than fathers on their children's home-based learning.
She called for gender-aggregated data in fields like public health and economics to be studied, saying that it would make Singapore more resilient should another crisis hit.
"Currently we are preoccupied, almost bogged down, by the health and economic fallout of the virus," she added. "Nevertheless, it is necessary to look to building for the future, and to that end, we need to learn from the blind spots that the virus has uncovered, with humility and grace.
"Let us not waste this opportunity to amplify the voices of those most affected by the pandemic, in our search for a sustainable recovery."
Meanwhile, Mr Faisal Manap (Aljunied GRC), the only other Workers' Party MP to join the debate yesterday, raised the issue of whether President Halimah Yacob had been furnished with all information necessary for her to decide on the use of past reserves to fund some of the support schemes announced in the four Budgets.
She had given in-principle support for the Government to draw up to $52 billion from the savings of past governments to cushion people and the economy from the coronavirus pandemic.
Specifically, Mr Faisal wanted to know if she had been told exactly how much is in the national reserves before she made her decision.
He said the information would have been crucial to know before she could come to a view on whether or not she should approve a draw on the reserves.
