MPs raise ideas to better protect workers, such as requiring advance notice of retrenchments

SINGAPORE - MPs debated the challenges facing Singapore’s workers, proposed ways to strengthen protections, and pointed to groups who may need more support, during the second day of the Budget debate on Feb 25.

Ideas discussed included how to support retrenched workers, improve inclusivity in workplaces, strengthen work-life balance, and provide support for workers with disabilities.

Labour chief Ng Chee Meng (Jalan Kayu) said the high-profile retrenchments in the Republic which made headlines in 2025 could have been avoided if companies worked with the union involved and if NTUC had been informed earlier.

“Advance retrenchment notifications support our ability to work together with companies to provide timely and tangible support of our affected workers before retrenchment, not after retrenchment, five days post, when many of the workers may have left the company already and are no longer contactable,” said Mr Ng, who is secretary-general of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC).

He noted that many major economies already have laws or policies requiring advance notice of retrenchments.

“The intent of the labour movement is not to constrain companies’ flexibility. It is to put our tripartism to work in upholding responsible retrenchment and delivering more coordinated support for workers, including PMEs,” he said.

Mr Ng also called on the Government to review the income threshold for the SkillsFuture Jobseeker Support Scheme (JSS). He suggested raising the income cap for the scheme to the median income of professionals, managers and executives (PMEs) – about $7,600 in 2025 – instead of the current $5,000 limit.

Launched in 2025, the scheme provides temporary financial support of up to $6,000 over six months to people who are involuntarily unemployed.

Singapore must do more to support such workers who face retrenchment today, he said. “As more PMEs may experience churn, it is timely for the Government to review this income threshold so that the JSS can provide baseline assurance to our middle-income PMEs during retrenchment.”

NTUC assistant secretary-general Patrick Tay (Pioneer) noted that according to the Ministry of Manpower, 60 per cent of 7,200 JSS applications were rejected from April to August 2025. “One of the top three reasons for unsuccessful applications was exceeding the income threshold of $5,000 per month,” said Mr Tay, who added that more can be done to support involuntarily unemployed workers.

By easing financial pressures, JSS helps workers avoid rushing into poor job matches that lead to underemployment, he added.

Mr Tay said it is important to create policy that encourages foreign PMEs to complement rather than displace the local workforce, encourages skill transference and local-foreign integration, and positions local PMEs for senior and leadership positions as well as high-paying and high-value jobs.

He also called on the Government to introduce advance mandatory retrenchment notifications to unions and for the Government to provide more time for early interventions. Currently, employers with at least 10 employees are required to notify the Ministry of Manpower within five working days after notifying employees.

Nominated MP Sanjeev Kumar Tiwari said the continued prevalence of fixed-term contracts, especially annual renewals, puts pressure on workers.

He said that although the share of workers on fixed-term contracts fell in 2025, with more than 90 per cent of resident employees now in permanent roles, about 7 per cent remain on such contracts, with older workers disproportionately represented among one-year arrangements.

For them, uncertainty over renewals makes long-term planning and upskilling harder, putting them at risk of falling behind, he added.

Mr Tiwari suggested that the Public Service, as one of Singapore’s largest employers, can lead by example.

“We should be more transparent about contract tenure patterns, renewal outcomes, and pathways to permanency, where roles persist so officers can contribute with confidence and plan for retirement with clarity,” he said.

Mr Tiwari called for more regular employer reviews of fixed-term contracting, particularly for such workers, and for the Public Service to publish more granular indicators on contract-to-permanent pathways where functions continue beyond a cycle.

Mr Tiwari, who is an NTUC central committee member and general secretary of the Amalgamated Union of Public Employees, also cited surveys that showed more than 90 per cent of employees working beyond official hours, with 71 per cent fearing reprisals if they do not respond after hours.

He called on employers to set organisational norms around after-hour responsiveness, escalation rules and protected focus time, and urged the Government to monitor hours-and-intensity indicators and spotlight firms that redesign work to raise productivity and protect recovery.

NTUC assistant secretary-general Yeo Wan Ling (Punggol GRC) called for more support for workers with disabilities. She said the Enabling Mark, a national accreditation launched in October 2020 to encourage businesses to hire people with disabilities, must go beyond being just an award.

“It must not remain something companies aspire to do just once a year... It must be normalised as a workplace standard with adequate funding and resourcing – embedded into hiring practices, job redesign, leadership KPIs, and organisational culture,” she said.

Ms Yeo also suggested building a national database of inclusive employers – a live resource base for job seekers with disabilities and their families.

“This will not only improve job matching but also make inclusion visible and importantly, measurable,” she said.

Ms Yeo also listed measures the Government can take for inclusion “to be real for women in every season”.

“When we speak of inclusive workplaces for women, it cannot mean just guidelines. It cannot mean just legislation. It must mean cultural adjustments,” she said.

She noted that while many are aware of the Tripartite Guidelines on Flexible Work Arrangement Requests, more than half of workers have never made the request for flexible work arrangements (FWAs), “not because they do not need flexibility, but because they fear being seen as less committed”.

Ms Yeo added that women returning to work regard flexibility as their top-most consideration.

“But what worries them more is whether in asking for FWAs, they would be ‘marked’ by their organisations, and even if they managed to get their FWA approved, whether their bosses and teammates will genuinely support them,” she said. “Because the lived reality is that even with FWAs, caregiving doesn’t go away. Children fall sick. Parents require ongoing care. Caregiving is not a short interruption. It is part of life.”

To address this, Ms Yeo urged the Government to scale job redesign funding and build expertise, especially in non-office-based, front-line and shift-based sectors.

Progressive workplaces can also be recognised and benchmarked so inclusivity becomes part of Singapore’s competitive edge, she said.

Ms Yeo also called for clearer tripartite guidance on supporting women through perimenopause and menopause as legitimate workplace health matters.

NTUC assistant secretary-general Melvin Yong (Radin Mas) said the Progressive Wage Model (PWM) needs to be strengthened amid “concerning wage trends”.

He noted that median wages are beginning to outpace those at the 20th percentile. Real income grew by 3.6 per cent at the 20th percentile, but 4.1 per cent at the median between 2024 and 2025.

Urging the Government to extend the PWM bonus – which functions much like an annual wage supplement – to all PWM sectors, he argued that there is no reason to limit this to just the cleaning, lift and escalator, waste management and landscaping sectors.

Mr Yong also called on the Government to raise the baseline entitlement leave for PWM workers in outsourced sectors from seven days to 10 days.

He welcomed the Government’s decision to raise the Local Qualifying Salary (LQS) from $1,600 to $1,800.

An LQS of $1,800 corresponds roughly to the 10th percentile wage in nominal terms in 2023, he said.

“If LQS lags too far behind actual wage distributions, adjustments will become reactive and steep,” he added.

On the extension of the Progressive Wage Credit Scheme (PWCS), Mr Yong urged the Government to review the scheme’s parameters to include all sectors and occupations under the PWM and Occupational Progressive Wages.

“If we expect employers to sustain higher wages, we must align fiscal support with operational realities,” he said.

Similar suggestions were made by Mr Liang Eng Hwa (Bukit Panjang).

He urged the Government to increase medium term co-funding support under the PWCS to help businesses manage rising wage costs associated with the uplifting of the low-wage workers.

“We are already observing higher tender prices on the ground from, for example, cleaning contractors, because they have to price in the higher wages for their low-wage workers, and that is putting pressure on the service and conservancy charges as well,” he said.

“So greater transitional support would ease these adjustments for businesses to pay low-wage workers better salaries,” he added.