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     Previous FrontPage Edition 6 Sep 2005

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Workfare to help low wage workers in six key areas

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The Government will help and reward those who make an effort to find and keep a job and who upgrade themselves to earn more. Workfare is better than Welfare. It is better for the individual, as he earns his own keep and retains his dignity and self esteem. For the family, it sustains respect for the care-givers and transmits sound values of work to their children. For our nation, it restores citizens to productive livelihoods and empowers them to contribute to society.

For those who are truly needy but physically or mentally incapable of work, ComCare will continue to serve as the safety net.

Low Wage Workers Whom Workfare Will Target

We have some 240,000 full-time workers who earn $1,000 or less per month. Many of them are older and with less than secondary education. Their incomes have not risen as fast as that of other Singaporeans in the past five years.

Of these, about 67,000 live in households with a monthly household income of $1,500 or less. Some also face multiple problems beyond low incomes, ranging from marital conflict or divorce, having too large families, to poor parenting and juvenile delinquency. The future of their next generation is put at risk.

Workfare - Six Key Thrusts

Workfare will help low wage workers in six key areas.

i. Make Work Pay. The individual must find work a clearly superior alternative to social assistance. We will be studying measures to increase take-home pay and other benefits for low wage workers so that remaining in work is worthwhile. Low-income families will also get additional grants to help them purchase their first HDB flat, provided they fulfil some work criteria. At the same time we must continue efforts to raise the productivity of these workers through job redesign and training. Working and upgrading is the sustainable way to build hope of a better future through better jobs and wages.

ii. Social Support for Work. Workfare will not reward those who are capable of work but do not make an effort to find or keep a job. Nonetheless we recognize the challenges that some families face in keeping a job and at the same time taking care of their dependents' children, elderly, the disabled, the ill. We will work with community-based organisations to provide extensive and adequate support to make it possible for them to return to and stay in work. We will also help them find flexible work arrangements to suit their needs. But such help should be extended only if they make the effort to work. Parents who remain in the workforce signal the right social values to their children and are a better example for the next generation than those who unconsciously slide into low-income dependency.

iii. Higher Skills for Better Jobs. Those with less than secondary education and who are less skilled are currently at highest risk of unemployment. As we transit to a knowledge economy, workers without post-secondary education or relevant skills will also find it increasingly difficult to find jobs. We will work with unions, companies and employers to look into various forms of skills upgrading that can help low wage workers keep their jobs and take on higher value added and better paying jobs.

iv. Expand Job Opportunities. Workfare will only be effective if job seekers can find work. We have already begun the process of re-designing existing low paying jobs into higher productivity and higher paying jobs, such as hawker centre and conservancy cleaning, healthcare and teaching aides, and as landscape technicians. We are also working with various companies e.g. in finance, public transport, retail and childcare, on retraining and job redesign initiatives to open up more job opportunities for mature workers. The government provides generous subsidies in workforce retraining and job redesign in these initiatives. Together with the unions and industry, we will scale up such efforts. Employers will be key partners in this national effort to facilitate more and higher productivity job opportunities for workers through both job re-design and job creation. But it is not enough for workers to take up these redesigned jobs with professionalism and pride. The public must also support them and recognise the dignity of the work they are doing.

v. Hope for the future. We must help children from lower income households complete their education and join the workforce. We will work with community-based organisations to tackle the problem of young children who are not adequately prepared for primary education as well as the problem of youths who leave school before obtaining post secondary education. Otherwise they will add to the pool of low wage workers in the future. Intervention may be needed at every level - pre-school, primary school and secondary school.

vi. Sharing in the Nation's Progress. Finally, when the economy is doing well, we will examine ways to share the fruits of our economic progress with the low income households in a way which is fair and helpful.

Workfare - A National Effort

Workfare can only succeed through collective efforts.

a) Individuals must make their own best effort to help themselves.

b) Families must support individuals who wish to work or upgrade.

c) Unions, companies and employers must support low wage workers in their efforts to stay in work and to improve their employability.

d) Community-based organizations can provide support to help low income households upgrade and become self reliant.

Extensive Public Consultation with Stakeholders

The Committee will hold extensive consultations over the next few months to help us formulate and fine tune our recommendations.

Read also: Key Data on Bottom 20% of Households

Source: www.mom.gov.sg Press Release 30 Aug 2005 Brief On Workfare

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