DPM Heng explains focus on helping self-employed workers

In fighting the "moving target" that is the coronavirus pandemic, the Government's priority is to save jobs and protect Singaporeans' livelihoods, said Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat yesterday.

And a key group of workers in need of assistance as sectors such as aviation and tourism grind to a halt and others see a sharp dip in activity are the self-employed, he noted in an interview with Mediacorp's Channel 5.

Explaining the focus on this group, he said: "We think the impact is going to be broader and deeper... We had a lot of feedback from the self-employed, because activities have been cut down severely," he said.

The difficulty, he added, is that the stricter the measures governments take to fight the pandemic, the deeper the economic impact will be.

On Thursday, Mr Heng, who is also Finance Minister, announced the Self-Employed Person Income Relief Scheme as part of the supplementary budget, which he called the Resilience Budget. Around 88,000 Singaporeans are set to benefit from the new scheme.

They will get three quarterly cash payouts of $3,000 each in May, July and October.

Mr Heng acknowledged that details had to be worked through carefully in order to prevent abuse.

The Government is looking to provide longer-term security for the self-employed, and the National Trades Union Congress has worked to better organise taxi drivers.

Meanwhile, a new SGUnited Traineeships programme seeks to help fresh graduates entering the job market. The SGUnited Jobs initiative will also create about 10,000 jobs, starting with the public sector recruiting for longer-term roles as well as temporary jobs.

"We have asked various ministries to bring forward (their hiring plans)," said Mr Heng. "We will need many more workers in the early childhood and healthcare sectors. In the area of science and technology, we want to continue to build up our strength. So those are the areas we can accelerate."

On Thursday, he had announced a slew of measures to support the immediate priority of saving jobs, supporting workers and protecting livelihoods - measures that account for over one-third of the $48.4 billion supplementary budget, which will require a drawdown of $17 billion from past reserves.

One of these measures is the enhanced Jobs Support Scheme, where the 25 per cent of the first $4,600 of the monthly salary of all local workers will be paid by the Government. This subsidy is 50 per cent for food and beverage firms, and 75 per cent for firms in the aviation and tourism sectors.

This is up from the 8 per cent wage subsidy announced in the Budget last month. The help will also last for nine months, instead of three, until the end of this year.

The Prime Minister, Cabinet ministers and other political office-holders, as well as the President, will also take a three-month pay cut to stand in solidarity with Singaporeans during this difficult time.

Explaining the rationale behind the pay cut, and whether this is a signal for the private sector to follow suit, Mr Heng said it is important for the Government to stand together with Singaporeans "because we are in this together".

"I think it is a very important aspect of our values and our society, that those who are able to sacrifice more should do more. I hope that many people will also come on board," he said.

On whether a third support package is needed, he said the nation's reserves must be used only for the right purpose, such as during this coronavirus outbreak.

He noted that the returns from Singapore's reserves, or net investment returns contribution, continue to be the top contributor to government revenue, overtaking corporate and personal income taxes, and goods and services tax.

Likening the reserves to a piggy bank given by one's parents, he said that while Singapore's reserves are sizeable - and will allow the country to respond if the situation deteriorates further - it is not wise to break the piggy bank instead of earning one's keep. "The piggy bank is not just meant for us, it's meant for our children, their children and future generations," he said. "But we will have to use it, and borrow from the piggy bank, when the situation demands it."

Calling on Singaporeans to stay united, he said they must face challenges squarely and look after one another. "All of us must have the mental fortitude to face adversity. By staying together, I think we will emerge stronger as a nation, as a people," he added.