The gist: New govt unit to deal with severe hoarding, noise cases
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A new Community Relations Unit will be created under an updated law, with its officers given powers to intervene in neighbour disputes.
PHOTO: ST FILE
SINGAPORE – In a major move to curb spats between neighbours, a new government unit will be empowered to tackle severe noise and hoarding cases.
Twenty MPs rose to speak on the Community Disputes Resolution (Amendment) Bill, in a debate that lasted five hours.
Anti-discrimination laws were also tabled, which set out stronger protections for employees, dispute resolution processes, and penalties for errant employers.
There were also several parliamentary questions on the plan to add up to 20,000 certificates of entitlement (COEs) in the next few years, and how this could impact Singapore’s car-lite ambitions.
Here are the key takeaways:
Officers to get powers to order mediation in neighbour disputes, forcibly declutter hoarders’ homes as last resort
Mediation will soon be mandatory for neighbours involved in disputes, after Parliament passed a Bill to amend the Community Disputes Resolution Act.
The updated law will also create a new Community Relations Unit (CRU), whose officers will be given powers to intervene in such disputes, including to order mediation and enforce orders.
The unit will also be able to forcibly declutter a hoarder’s house as a last resort and in the public interest, for severe cases where existing regulatory levers have been exhausted.
The CRU, which will have an initial team of 15 full-time officers, will be trialled for a year in Tampines from the second quarter of 2025. The town was picked as it has an average caseload of neighbour disputes.
The Community Disputes Resolution Tribunals (CDRT) will also get enhanced powers to resolve cases brought before it more quickly and effectively.
Why it matters
Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong said the updated law plugs an existing gap, which is that agencies do not presently have sufficient powers to intervene and more effectively deal with individuals who are seriously disrupting community harmony with their behaviour.
Public agencies have received an average of 2,500 noise complaints every month, or over 80 complaints a day, in the past three years. Such complaints account for the vast majority of all feedback on neighbour disputes received, he noted.
Enhancements to the CDRT, such as requiring mediation before someone can file a claim with the tribunal, will encourage neighbours to attempt amicable resolution before resorting to adjudication, he added.
READ MORE HERE: Mandatory mediation a first step in settling disputes between neighbours: Edwin Tong
Boosting COE supply before projected peak in 2026
An injection of up to 20,000 COEs over the next few years is not linked to the potential implementation of distance-based charging, said Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat.
Instead, the COE injection announced by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) in end-October was the result of lower car usage from 2019 to 2023, and better congestion management capabilities with the roll-out of the new satellite-based Electronic Road Pricing system, or ERP 2.0.
Mr Chee said the additional COEs will give LTA more flexibility to meet an earlier commitment to increase COE quotas before the projected peak supply years from 2026. The additional COEs will raise the vehicle population by about 2 per cent of current levels.
Responding to questions from MPs, the minister added that a car-lite Singapore does not mean the total car population cannot increase.
“A car-lite vision doesn’t mean no cars,” said Mr Chee. “It also doesn’t mean that we want to reduce the total car population. What we want to manage is the congestion.”
Why it matters:
After rising significantly over the past two years, COE prices have remained high in 2024, with the premium for smaller, less powerful cars hovering around the $90,000 mark.
This is despite LTA’s efforts to reduce quota volatility by filling supply troughs with COEs that are due to expire in the coming years.
All things being equal, the injection of up to 20,000 additional COEs should help to moderate prices, Mr Chee said. But this would also depend on demand from motorists, which has remained strong.
Dispute resolution processes, penalties for errant employers in proposed workplace fairness law
If the legislation is passed, Singapore will join countries such as the UK and US, and the European Union, which have laws against workplace discriminatory behaviours.
PHOTO: ST FILE
Workers here are set to get stronger protections from discriminatory practices, under a proposed workplace fairness law.
It makes clear that hiring, firing and appraisals based on characteristics such as age, nationality, sex or marital status are unlawful. It will also prohibit retaliation, such as dismissals, salary deductions or harassment, against staff who report workplace discrimination.
Besides laying out the principles for protecting workers, the proposed law also outlines dispute resolution processes and actions that can be taken against errant employers.
On the flipside, workers who take employers to court frivolously can have their cases struck out or be ordered to pay legal costs, and be subject to employers’ disciplinary action.
The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said the law aims to reinforce fair and merit-based practices as workplace norms; bolster protections for employees, and create a safer environment for employees to bring up bias grievances.
If passed, the legislation will likely take effect in 2026 or 2027.
Why it matters:
For the first time, there will be penalties here for serious discriminatory practices by errant employers in the form of fines and civil lawsuits filed by MOM.
The legislation also makes it mandatory for employers to put in place grievance handling processes to facilitate dispute resolution within the company.
If it is passed, Singapore will join countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union to have laws against workplace discriminatory behaviours.
If you have a few more minutes:
New canteen models for schools an option as MOE tackles stallholder shortages
In the light of challenges in filling vacant canteen stalls as stallholders age and retire, the Ministry of Education (MOE) is in discussion with schools that may be keen and ready to adopt a different canteen operating model.
A central kitchen model – where meals can be pre-ordered and prepared before they are delivered to schools – is being explored and has already been piloted at Yusof Ishak Secondary School.
Existing stallholders who are affected by such a transition will get help to move to a nearby school, or to work for the central kitchen operator, said Education Minister Chan Chun Sing.
When asked if the central kitchen model would be scaled up to other schools, he said it would depend on the different needs of various schools, and that the necessary transitions will be made.
Child-minding pilot to be launched in December
The Early Childhood Development Agency is in the midst of finalising details for a three-year child-minding pilot for infants that will kick off in December, said Minister of State for Social and Family Development Sun Xueling.
The pilot comes as childcare centres here will, from Jan 1, 2025, no longer be required to provide their services on Saturdays, as earlier announced. This means early childhood educators will have a five-day working week.
The pilot seeks to provide an affordable, safe service that is trusted by families with infants, said Ms Sun. It will also test if there is a market for such a service, and whether operators can get a sustainable pipeline of child-minders.
Details on the operators appointed, as well as how interested parents can apply, will be shared in the coming weeks.
