SINGAPORE: Expanding the progressive wage model to more sectors as well as giving those in essential services higher payouts under an income supplement scheme were among the suggestions made by Members of Parliament from the People’s Action Party on Tuesday .
“Over the last few years, SkillsFuture Singapore has comprehensively mapped out the skills framework for many job roles. Leveraging on these skills ladders, we should now move towards universal PWM across all lower paying job roles.” Dr Koh acknowledged that while it may not be the best time to raise wages during a global health and economic crisis, authorities should start looking into the matter.
The scheme was recently enhanced, with the qualifying income raised to S$2,300 a month and the maximum payout increased to S$4,000 a year, allowing more low-wage workers to “experience strong, real wage growth”, he said.Marine Parade GRC MP Mohd Fahmi Aliman, who is also an NTUC director, urged the Government to consider providing a higher WIS payout to workers in the essential services to “acknowledge their social value”.
"While this effort should be applauded, let us not rest on our laurels and continue to work to enhance the WIS scheme to benefit more workers and their families and strengthen our social security net,” he said. “Because COVID-19- induced recession is unprecedented in scale, depth and duration, we might reasonably expect the negative impact to last longer. This makes improving job mobility paramount,” he said.
“This Government has to weigh the different interests, hear the people, and find balanced solutions that care for the older generations, while creating space for the younger generations to shape this nation into one that they can be proud to call home,” she said. “For mature workers who are displaced, or who face severe wage cuts, the journey ahead will be tough as they seek to provide for themselves and meet family commitments,” he said, urging the Ministry of Social and Family Development to consider a second tranche of the COVID-19 Support Grant and the Temporary Relief Fund to provide some relief to displaced workers.
The first-time MP cited the example of authorities using the value of housing as a criteria. As a result, some are unable to qualify for SIRS as eligibility is tied to the annual value of the homes they live in.
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